Setting Contexts

To Tag or Not to Tag?

Posted in 37signals, 43Folders, Backpack, Bare Bones Software, Del.icio.us, DevonThink Pro, Highrise, Journler, MailTags, Online Productivity, Packrat, PathFinder, productivity, Quicksilver, Yojimbo by jquig99 on October 8, 2007

Becoming a tagging kung-fu master | 43 Folders

I have become obsessed with tagging. Well, maybe not obsessed, but it’s becoming important to consistently tag across my applications and services. Which is why this article grabbed my attention.

List of Apps/Services I use tags:
– Yojimbo
– My WordPress Blog
– My Typeface Blog
– My Ning
– MarsEdit
– Pathfinder
– Backpack/Packrat
– Highrise
– Facebook
– del.icio.us
– Gmail
– Journler
– Mail.app (MailTags)
– DevonThink Pro
– etc.

So I’m starting to develop a list of tags (and the consistent format) that I’ll use across formats. While I refuse to keep a Sticky Note(s) – I’ll figure out a easily accessible file that I can open quickly (sounds like a QuickSilver trigger!).

(Via 43Folders.)

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Merlin & the OmniNerds coming to Tekserve in NYC | 43 Folders

Posted in 43Folders, GTD, MerlinMann, OmniFocus, OmniGroup, productivity by jquig99 on September 13, 2007

Merlin & the OmniNerds coming to Tekserve in NYC | 43 Folders

I’m bitter. I’ve been waiting for this presentation all summer and of course, NOW I can’t go. So someone please go and report back. Merlin Mann! Ethan Schoonover and Ken Case, all talking about OmniFocus.

I’ve been using OF since May and love it. And the team is dedicated, supportive and so responsive whenever I report anything. And the updates are constant and really move the product forward.

(Via 43 Folders.)

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Jott: How to GTD through your Phone

Posted in 30Boxes, GTD, Jaiku, Jott, nano-blogging, productivity, Social Networking, Twitter by jquig99 on September 4, 2007

Talk about GTD – Jott is a service that you can call in todos, reminders and more, as well as organizing them online.

I’ve been trying to incorporate Jott into my routine for the last couple of weeks (with less success than I’d like – my fault). But I have a feeling that’s all in the past.

New Features: (from the website)

Jott Links: Now you can update your blog, Twitter™, add to your 30 boxes™ to do list or send a message through Yahoo Groups™ – all with Jott! For example, when Jott asks you “Who do want to Jott” just say “Twitter”, speak your message and your update will appear in text on Twitter.

Twitter™, Jaiku™, Zillow™, 30 boxes™, Blogger™, Word Press™, Live Journal™, TypePad™ and Yahoo Groups™ are all accessible with Jott.

Jott Folders: With Jott Folders you create preset categories for your Jotts to self. Set up folders for family, expenses, to-do list, or anything that you want. Then simply say the name of the folder the next time you leave a Jott and it’ll be waiting for you in that folder at Jott.com.

Jott Reminders: With the new Jott Reminders, Jott can remind you of important events 15 minutes before they start. Just say “Reminder” and Jott will ask you for the date, time, and subject. Now you can stop worrying about remembering those important appointments in your busy life.

Profiles: Want to personalize your Jotts? Just create a profile to add your customized signature to the end of every Jott. You can include your name, picture, e-mail, title, and more.

Status alerts: Now you can update your mood on your blog, personal home page or other sites. Say “status” when asked “Who do you want to Jott?” and say how you feel that day. Your status will then be posted to the Jott flash widget wherever you put it.

There’s also a Jott Lab with new fun widgets and desktop apps.

This looks like it just got a whole lot easier to integrate into my system/routine (and a whole lot more fun!).

3 comments

Yojimbo – An Awesome Personal Information Manager (PIM)

Posted in Bare Bones Software, DevonThink Pro, GTD, Journler, Personal Information manager, PIM, productivity, Yojimbo by jquig99 on August 8, 2007

I’ve tried a number of Personal Infromation Managers (PIMs) – Journler, DevonThink Pro among them – and have donated or bought them. I had tried Yojimbo before, but had decided on a different option. Now I’m back.

Yojimbo collects and organizes all of my documents, serial numbers, PDFs, web archives and passwords. It takes pretty much anything I want to put in it.

Yojimbo features (from website)
* Effortless to install, learn and use
* Reliable and secure—it’s built using core Mac OS X technologies
* Store almost anything in Yojimbo—text, rich text, images, PDFs, even serial numbers and passwords
* Location independent access—use .Mac Sync Services and enjoy the same Yojimbo satori at home and at the office
* Organize your information any way that suits your style, from “everything in one spot” to “organized to the extreme”
* Instant Spotlight search
* Sync notes via The Missing Sync 3.0 for Windows Mobile

I’ve switched back for a number of reasons. One – I love the ease and the interface (the different entry points: the easy input field, bookmarklet and the Drop Desk). It’s a real Mac look and feel app. Two – it has an active forum community. Three – the ease of encription – you see nothing I don’t want you too.

I can organize, tag and create smart folders – all about GTD!

I just feel very much at home.

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blog.pmarca.com: Quote of the week: Why brainstorming is a bad idea

Posted in brainstorming, Mind-mapping, NovaMind, productivity by jquig99 on July 31, 2007

I can see this point – but I am a firm believer in brainstorming (and mindmapping along the way!). Brainstorming generates more than ideas. It generates community, teamwork, it teaches being open to new ideas and paths of thinking. There are no wrong ideas in a brainstorming session.

But again – this is a different point of view…

blog.pmarca.com: Quote of the week: Why brainstorming is a bad idea: “blog.pmarca.com
Often wrong, never in doubt.
Quote of the week: Why brainstorming is a bad idea
JUL 31, 2007

From Frans Johansson’s book The Medici Effect:

Brainstorming [is] used in nearly all of the world’s largeset companies, nonprofits, and government organizations. And the reasons seem obvious… ‘The average person can think of twice as many ideas when working with a group than when working alone.’… But is it true?

In 1958… psychologists let groups of four people brainstorm about the practical benefits or difficulties that would arise if everyone had an extra thumb on each hand after next year. These people were called ‘real groups’ since they actually brainstormed together. Next, the researchers let ‘virtual groups’ of four people generate ideas around the ‘thumb problem’, but they had to brainstorm individually, in separate “

(Via http://blog.pmarca.com.)

BTW – http://blog.pmarca.com is one of my must reads each day.

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Merlin Mann on Inbox Zero

Posted in 43Folders, GTD, MerlinMann, productivity by jquig99 on July 30, 2007

I was able to watch Merlin Mann’s presentation at a Google Tech Talk from Last week (7.23.07). At Inbox Zero, you can download the actual presentation, watch the video of his actual talk, as well as the article that make up the series.

This is a great resource to keep going back to and refining you own GTD process. I review these every couple of months for a refresher (and a reminder – my email habits can go downhill fast!). I’m going to share this presentation and video with a couple of my GTD-minded co-workers.

BTW – if you’re on Facebook, join the Merlin Mann Fan Club!

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New blog…Social Days

Posted in Blogroll, productivity, Social Days, Social Networking, Twitter by jquig99 on July 23, 2007

I’ve decided that I’m posting about Twitter and Social Networking here too frequently, which is not really what this blog was created for. So I started Social Days, which will discuss my social networking experience. Setting Contexts will continue to focus on David Allen’s GTD system and my evolving adaption of it (as well as the tools that contribute to my system).

Anyway – how productive is Social Networking, anyway?

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37signals Product Blog: Create Backpack reminders via e-mail/SMS

Posted in 37signals, Backpack, iCal, productivity by jquig99 on July 16, 2007

37signals Product Blog: Create Backpack reminders via e-mail/SMS:

For those fans of 37Signals Backpack (I’m one of them!) – a great script that adds reminders when offline. I’m going to revisit Backpack, I’m having iCal issues and I think this might be a great stop-gap until I can get them straightened out.

(Via 37Signals Product Blog.)

2 comments

I’ve made a change…

Posted in NetNewsWire, NewsGator, productivity, Pukka, RSS by jquig99 on July 11, 2007

I’ve changed my NewsReader from NewsFire to NetNewsWire. Again – using a newsreader has changed me from an instant-gratification girl to one that enjoys the anticipation.

What I love:
– using just the space bar, I can fly through my (137 at last count) feeds
– I can “clip” articles I want to save
– I can post to this blog or my del.icio.us account(w/my Pukka account)

From the website:
– New! Desktop integration – Spotlight, Address Book, iCal, iPhoto, Growl, Twitterific and more.
– New! Great new look – improved combined view, feed “cover art”, full-screen mode, and tabs with thumbnails and animations.
– New! Performance enhancements – all new article storage system, memory optimization, and more.
– New! Synchronized clippings – read your saved articles from the web or another NewsGator reader.
– New! Microformat detection for contacts and calendar events.
– New! Automatic checking for newer versions of the software.
– Automatic download of podcasts and transfer to iTunes.
– Smart lists to aggregate news from your feeds based on criteria.

It automatically downloads my new OmniFocus builds and my podcasts. The Online component (NewsGator), let’s me access my feeds and clippings from any computer.

NetNewsWire has a Support section, Forums and Resource feeds. It’s been a terric pleasure working with this app for the last couple of weeks. Maybe it’ll inspire me to edit my feeds (not likely!)…

Also – read the blog!

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If You’re in or Around SF…

Posted in GTD, OmniFocus, OmniGroup, productivity by jquig99 on June 11, 2007

From the OmniFocus “Message of the Day”

“Anyone attending WWDC or is in(around) San Francisco is invited to join Ethan Schoonover, Merlin Mann, and the OmniFocus development team for an informal gathering on Wednesday evening. We’ll be meeting from 6:15pm-7:15pm in the “Commonwealth Room” at the Westin Hotel, one block from Moscone.

Please RSVP to omnifocus-wwdc@omnigroup.com so we can let you know if details change again (or if we need to find a bigger space), and we look forward to seeing some of you there!”

I’m stuck in NY and completely jealous. It would be amazing to see Merlin Mann and Ethan Schoonover walk through OmniFocus and how it fits into their own workflows. Hopefully (please!) some of the attendees will share as it doesn’t look like their will be any video/audio.

Share, people!

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