Comments on: GTD with plain text files http://leafraker.com/2007/10/24/gtd-with-plain-text-files/ Personal Productivity and Mac OS X Thu, 06 Oct 2011 16:30:12 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Mike http://leafraker.com/2007/10/24/gtd-with-plain-text-files/comment-page-1/#comment-13398 Mike Thu, 17 Mar 2011 01:17:41 +0000 http://leafraker.com/2007/10/24/gtd-with-plain-text-files/#comment-13398 I use 1 text file per project, 1 text file for all next action lists, 1 text file for the tickler file, google calendar as my family's calendar, and my email inbox (yes, it is gmail) as my GTD inbox. with this system, I just email quick notes to myself to have it dumped into the GTD system, and all real-life emails are there too, ready to be processed. And, yes, I use google docs to manipulate the text files (so I guess they aren't actually txt files, but googled files) I use 1 text file per project, 1 text file for all next action lists, 1 text file for the tickler file, google calendar as my family’s calendar, and my email inbox (yes, it is gmail) as my GTD inbox.

with this system, I just email quick notes to myself to have it dumped into the GTD system, and all real-life emails are there too, ready to be processed.

And, yes, I use google docs to manipulate the text files (so I guess they aren’t actually txt files, but googled files)

]]> By: Graham http://leafraker.com/2007/10/24/gtd-with-plain-text-files/comment-page-1/#comment-3443 Graham Thu, 03 Jun 2010 09:08:03 +0000 http://leafraker.com/2007/10/24/gtd-with-plain-text-files/#comment-3443 Great post. A quote I really like is Merlin Mann from 43 Folders. He talks about email saying "make sandwiches dont just take the orders". If you worked in a sandwich shop and spent all day taking orders, playing with the order sheets, moving them around and so on, you'd be fired! I think GTD's strength is that it can make even the strategic and creative people (like me!) interested in the tactics of getting stuff done and as a result we're engaged in completer-finisher activities. BUT this is also a weakness if we spend too long perfecting the system. How do you know if you're doing well with GTD? Measure this based on how little you even think about your GTD system! Now get back to doing something productive! Great post. A quote I really like is Merlin Mann from 43 Folders. He talks about email saying “make sandwiches dont just take the orders”. If you worked in a sandwich shop and spent all day taking orders, playing with the order sheets, moving them around and so on, you’d be fired! I think GTD’s strength is that it can make even the strategic and creative people (like me!) interested in the tactics of getting stuff done and as a result we’re engaged in completer-finisher activities. BUT this is also a weakness if we spend too long perfecting the system. How do you know if you’re doing well with GTD? Measure this based on how little you even think about your GTD system! Now get back to doing something productive!

]]> By: laddiebuck http://leafraker.com/2007/10/24/gtd-with-plain-text-files/comment-page-1/#comment-306 laddiebuck Fri, 07 Nov 2008 18:57:09 +0000 http://leafraker.com/2007/10/24/gtd-with-plain-text-files/#comment-306 My method is very similar. I use vim, which also supports folding, so my text file, projects and tasks and calendar and all, runs into some 5000 lines. But when I fold everything up, I only see 10 lines, of which 2 are mottos I want to see at the top Mottos, line 1 (sorry, that's private) Mottos, line 2 (sorry, that's private) ---- +- Daily (15 lines) +- Now (604 lines) +- Review (36 lines) +- Tasks (306 lines) +- Projects (3204 lines) +- In (376 lines) +- Goals (51 lines) +- Optional (364 lines) +- Done (1155 lines) +- Scratch (0 lines) +- Formatting (5 lines) "Now" is just my calendar. It's much the same as yours, but I don't have a Today list, I just move the old day to "Done" at the end of each day, transferring any tasks that weren't done. The idea is to do no task management at all, just have a weekly review be a task, when I also create a calendar entry for next Sunday's weekly review. Then I just chug along and if the calendar tells me to do something, I do it. I don't really do "task management", I just give orders to my future self. Glad to see there are still calendar-based (and plain text to boot!) people around! Good luck, mate. My method is very similar. I use vim, which also supports folding, so my text file, projects and tasks and calendar and all, runs into some 5000 lines. But when I fold everything up, I only see 10 lines, of which 2 are mottos I want to see at the top

Mottos, line 1 (sorry, that’s private)
Mottos, line 2 (sorry, that’s private)
—-

+- Daily (15 lines)
+- Now (604 lines)
+- Review (36 lines)
+- Tasks (306 lines)

+- Projects (3204 lines)
+- In (376 lines)
+- Goals (51 lines)

+- Optional (364 lines)
+- Done (1155 lines)
+- Scratch (0 lines)
+- Formatting (5 lines)

“Now” is just my calendar. It’s much the same as yours, but I don’t have a Today list, I just move the old day to “Done” at the end of each day, transferring any tasks that weren’t done. The idea is to do no task management at all, just have a weekly review be a task, when I also create a calendar entry for next Sunday’s weekly review. Then I just chug along and if the calendar tells me to do something, I do it. I don’t really do “task management”, I just give orders to my future self.

Glad to see there are still calendar-based (and plain text to boot!) people around! Good luck, mate.

]]> By: kingrajul http://leafraker.com/2007/10/24/gtd-with-plain-text-files/comment-page-1/#comment-265 kingrajul Thu, 09 Oct 2008 18:01:25 +0000 http://leafraker.com/2007/10/24/gtd-with-plain-text-files/#comment-265 Thanks for sharing. I use e text editor for GTD. I really liked the concept of using markdown to keep it more readable. Thanks for sharing. I use e text editor for GTD. I really liked the concept of using markdown to keep it more readable.

]]> By: Davide "Design" Muzzarelli http://leafraker.com/2007/10/24/gtd-with-plain-text-files/comment-page-1/#comment-234 Davide "Design" Muzzarelli Sat, 20 Sep 2008 00:57:40 +0000 http://leafraker.com/2007/10/24/gtd-with-plain-text-files/#comment-234 Thank you, Markdown is really useful for a GTD tickler file. Now I use it in Kate but I prefer the MediaWiki markup for my to-do lists. Thank you, Markdown is really useful for a GTD tickler file. Now I use it in Kate but I prefer the MediaWiki markup for my to-do lists.

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