How can I apply David Allen's "Getting Things Done" as a programmer?

Question

Off and on I have read David Allen's "Getting Things Done" productivity books but never really implemented it.

What tools do you use to track tasks and projects?

How do you organize tasks when 95% of your tasks would be in the @Computer folder?

Answer 1

Check out Merlin Mann's 43 Folders site. He has lots of tips like this (dated circa 2004).

Like, for example, the @computer context doesn't cut it.

Answer 2

I recommend TiddlyWiki. I use it for everything including work/hobbyist projects, lists of contacts, and many random thoughts/plans/ideas. If you host it online using TiddlySpot you can access it anywhere with an internet connection which is nice.

Answer 3

I use GTD TiddlyWiki Plus. It allows me to keep a single file wiki that I can use to organize. It's based off of TiddlyWiki, with a GTD template.

Answer 4

You can use Tracks RoR application. I use it on daily basis. However a full spread GTD methodology might be an overkill sometimes. Take a look onto ZenHabits - it is a little simplified GTD.

Answer 5

I use myLifeOrganized. The bottom line is you just need to start documenting the next thing you have to do on each task. MLO lets you easily and quickly do that.

It has a handy rapid task entry dialog and you can quickly enter data into it. You can document as much or as little as you want. This software, because of the ease of adding stuff to it, has saved my butt many times. It has helped me remember things that I had forgotten. I now wonder how many things I've forgotten over the years and didn't realize it.

I run it off a usb stick and I have it on my phone. I even use it to help me outline code.

Answer 6

I tried to use a GTD type system in my daily routine, and I found it to be too cumbersome. I did however take to heart the short task rule. If a task won't take me longer than 5 minutes to complete, I will do it immediately because it would take me longer to organize it than it would to just do it.

I've had success with mind mapping and then printing off my map as a bulleted list weekly. It gives me paper to scratch all over and gives me a set of points to focus on for the week.

Answer 7

I can also really recommend Tudumo. I especially appreciate the bazillion keyboard shortcuts which really enable fast, fast, fast task entry, tagging, sorting and searching. Totally worth the 20€ or whatever they are currently charging for it.

Answer 8

Oh, and also check out http://nowdothis.com - totally great for staying focused, and includes contexts (simply have lines with @context).

Answer 9

You can't apply GTD as a programmer. You should apply it as a human being. Then, may be, it'll work.

Answer 10

I track various tasks and projects in all areas of my life with Things from Cultured Code. It's one of the very few task management apps that I am consistently enthused about using. The UI is simple, clean, friendly, and it's incredibly easy to move around swiftly with all the keyboard shortcuts.

You can place tasks in projects and/or "areas" (i.e., Work, Home), and mark them as something for today, soon, or someday.

I also purchased the accompanying iPhone app, which syncs with my laptop. I cannot recommend it enough.

Answer 11

I have a wiki on my site. I have "ongoing" projects and "this week" projects. Then I have "need to do" items. I update it roughly weekly or whenever I have something Moderately Needful that I don't want to forget. I also use google calendar for scheduling stuff.

Answer 12

The most amazing new organizer tool available anywhere is Chandler at www.chandlerproject.org,and it runs on all platforms, can be synched with its online website and is open source and free.

I found out about it reading the book: "Dreaming in Code" by Scott Rosenberg. It is subtitled "Two Dozen Programmers. Three Years. 4732 bugs. And one quest for transcendent software".

I thought the book was about a failed software venture. I was so surprised a few weeks ago to have seen that they have succeeded.

The person originally behind the development of this package was Mitch Kapor, most known for Lotus 1-2-3. This is a pet project of his. He started Chandler to do what he felt an organizer must do that the other organizers did not do.

I'm not that personally familiar with Getting Things Done, but if you search for "Chandler GTD" on Google, you get lots of references.

Answer 13

I myself use:

• Remember the Milk jotting down EVERYTHING, not just work. That is how GTD will work.
• FreeMind for mind-mapping
• A white-board in my cubicle, and one at home.
• Stubbornness. It takes hard work.

Answer 14

I could never really do GTD until I started using OmniFocus. It really helps organize things, especially with the way it lets you assign actions both to projects and to contexts. As with Things, you can sync between desktop and iPhone versions of the app. (I'll refer to OmniFocus in the rest of this answer, but you can probably substitute any of the other GTD software packages.)

I create a project for each "project" I have at work, and use OF to list all the tasks I've been assigned and which I know I need to do. Once it is in OmniFocus, I can safely forget about it until I am finished with whatever I am working on, and looking for the next thing to do. Having my GTD system on the computer makes it very easy to copy-and-paste stuff from e-mails, bug tracking system, etc. into my trusted system.

The weekly review is essential to keep things from falling through the cracks, and to get rid of all those things you thought you'd have to do but don't need to do anymore.

Answer 15

I see that nobody seems to have answered this question:

How do you organize tasks when 95% of your tasks would be in the @Computer folder?

You need to go back, and take another look at this context - chances are that it can be further broken down into different contexts. There's a similar question that was asked in the forum at link text . . . you'll need to do a search for this.

Answer 16

Take a look at Putting Things Off. It's the anti-GTD.