We thank all of you for reading our previous post on Website Creation Components! Please be sure to take a look at it (on the right), along with our previous posts when you get a moment! Also, we extend our condolences to the family of “a dear brother in the Lord,” Kenneth Lamar James. He was an encouragement to all of us, and will be missed….
After having our “focus” on Website Design & Photography, we’ll shift now to software. In the next couple of posts, we’ll be talking about some interesting apps and techniques that could be very helpful! So, here we go:
Getting Things Done
Now, for most people nowadays, the term “Getting Things Done” usually means getting a notepad, sticky, or a piece of paper, and writing down what it is that you need to get done. For many years, we used to do the same thing, but now that everything is shifting to the Internet, it is becoming more efficient to type your lists digitally, and make the technology work for you….
So, how is this done? Well, first it requires a basic understanding of the “Getting Things Done” method. It is simply the following:
- Collect/Capture
- Organization
- Take Action
In essence, you first Capture/Collect all the thoughts that you have in your mind of things that you need to get done. Then, you take the time to organize them into a series of lists. Then, you take action on them. Now, if you’re “old-school” (LOL) and write everything down, it may be difficult to organize stuff into lists because everything is “fixed” on a sheet of paper (unless you have a pencil, but then, you have to erase and write it down again if you’re shifting something….). Secondly, because you’re using paper, after you’re done, you end up throwing that paper into the trash, and start with new paper, which adds to the trash bin, etc., etc…..
2Do
So, in comes an app called 2Do. We’ve been using it for over 2 years now, and it has proven to be the most versatile “Getting Things Done” app that we have come across! We’ve “taken the plunge” (more on that later) of getting both the Mac app and the iPhone app, and it has proven to be extremely helpful! We’ve tried other apps such as Wunderlist, Reminders (a native app on the Mac), Microsoft OneNote, and others, but we kept gravitating back to 2Do. The reason is because of its interface and features….
Here’s a series of interesting thoughts on how we use it to get things done on a daily basis: 1) The night before, we capture all our thoughts into the app by adding them to our “Inbox” list (which is built natively into the app). It doesn’t matter the task: Anything from writing a blog, to getting a haircut, to writing down a list of items we need to get at the grocery store. Then, 2) we create a series of “Categories,” (ex. above: “Personal,” “Work,” etc.), which then are broken down into a series of “Lists” (which are color coded above; keep in mind #2 is usually a “one-time deal,” so once your Categories and Lists are created, this process becomes much quicker). Finally, we 3) go back into our “Inbox,” and begin to think through each task. For instance, “When do I get that haircut, and where?” “When getting groceries, what store should I get each item? And, which items are things that I need now?….”
With each of these tasks, we can keep it very simple (such as associating nothing with the task), or we can get incredibly detailed on them (such as putting a specific date and time, listing them in priority, tagging each with a word or series of words, assigning an action to them, placing a notification with the tasks, even recording our voice!!). Once done, we simply go out and accomplish those tasks, and the technology begins to work for us!
What does that mean? As we are out and about, the app on our phone begins to notify us of the different tasks we need to accomplish, at the times we need to accomplish them! When we arrive at Walmart to get groceries, our “checklist” comes up, notifying us (literally when we get there!) of what we need to do while there…. We get the tasks done, we “check” them off, and “go on to the next thing!” We then repeat the process that night, and get more things done the next day!
The Cost
Well…. How much does this cost??? It’s $49.99 for the Mac version, and $14.99 (55% off as of this writing) on the iPhone…. The recommendation, for those of you who don’t have this app, is to start with the iPhone or Android version (as they do have it for Android!), and then progress to the Mac version (if you have a Mac). Because of its myriad of features, each of which are very easy to implement, this will allow you to be as versatile with your tasks as you desire! Be sure to check out their website at http://www.2doapp.com to see more.