I implemented the Secret Weapon—a productivity system that combines Evernote and GTD—and have been making use of it quite effectively. I also have kept up on my recently started gratitude journal.
You have also lead to me implementing Secret Weapon by mentioning it here.
EDIT:Having now done this for 6 months I can attest to sticking to it and it very much being helpful for both checking on what I have done that day and planning for future days. Will keep doing it
Yay! I don’t want to wax too positive about it this early on, but I really do feel like it will continue to work wonders for me, especially during the school year.
So far, not too intense, which is why I’m a little hesitant to fully recommend it. I’ll have better information once the school year starts.
I like it right now not so much because it helps me be that much more productive, but primarily because it is a very natural extension to the way I already use Evernote. Evernote becomes better the more you do with it and the more you put into it, so a productivity/to-do system that allows me to make use of Evernote’s features (tagging, searching, etc.) is great.
I stopped using this system several weeks ago. It proved to be more effort than it was worth, at least in the context of frequent college assignments and meetings. Since very few of the things that I needed to get done were “assigned” through email, the very cool ability to forward emails to one’s Evernote address to automatically convert them to notes did not see much use.
I’ve since transitioned to a very simple (physical) calendar and planner system, combined with flagging emails which need further attention.
Yes, definitely. I frequently use Evernote to save online references (one of my notebooks is actually named “(Intellectual) References” and has stuff like academic articles that I later want to refer to) because the ability to tag, comment, and later search these web clips makes bookmarks seem completely useless. I also use Evernote for journaling purposes and as a way to improve exam studying.
Before an exam, I go through my handwritten notes and other class materials and compile a summary in Evernote. This ensures that I have a record of the most important things from my classes (some of which I would otherwise forget), as well as makes studying for a cumulative test easy.
Sorry for the long answer, but yes, I still find Evernote awesome.
I skimmed through the methodology there but didn’t see anything about how to handle repeating tasks. For instance, if you’re trying to train yourself to floss, having a task that automatically comes up every day that you can “check off” can be very helpful. Is there something like that in this GTD implementation?
I have been using a modified GTD system for a few years using ToodleDo (and Remember the Milk before that), and definitely think it’s a great system. For me, there was a significant reduction in stress as I came to rely on my task list and calendar to let me know what’s what. I still haven’t found a really good way to track task dependencies without having to retag every task in a tree (or review the tree after completing each task to change something from “waiting” to “next action”).
Hm, I think the ”!Daily” sub-tag under the ”.When” tag is meant for things like that, i.e., things you’re trying to do every day.
Two problems with that, though:
What about repeating tasks that aren’t daily? One solution might be to just create another appropriate sub-tag, say, “7-Weekly”.
Another problem is that this implementation doesn’t really have tasks “automatically come up.” You still have to put in the motivation to look through your to-dos; the system just makes it easier by ordering them by several filters, most critically by when you want them done (i.e., the ”.When” context tag).
I implemented the Secret Weapon—a productivity system that combines Evernote and GTD—and have been making use of it quite effectively. I also have kept up on my recently started gratitude journal.
In other news, Evernote is simply awesome.
You have also lead to me implementing Secret Weapon by mentioning it here.
EDIT:Having now done this for 6 months I can attest to sticking to it and it very much being helpful for both checking on what I have done that day and planning for future days. Will keep doing it
Yay! I don’t want to wax too positive about it this early on, but I really do feel like it will continue to work wonders for me, especially during the school year.
How hard have you pushed this system? As in, how intense was the work required of you during the period in which you tested it?
So far, not too intense, which is why I’m a little hesitant to fully recommend it. I’ll have better information once the school year starts.
I like it right now not so much because it helps me be that much more productive, but primarily because it is a very natural extension to the way I already use Evernote. Evernote becomes better the more you do with it and the more you put into it, so a productivity/to-do system that allows me to make use of Evernote’s features (tagging, searching, etc.) is great.
Ah, okay. Please let me know how this went once it’s been pushed a good bit.
This is fairly late, but better late than never.
I stopped using this system several weeks ago. It proved to be more effort than it was worth, at least in the context of frequent college assignments and meetings. Since very few of the things that I needed to get done were “assigned” through email, the very cool ability to forward emails to one’s Evernote address to automatically convert them to notes did not see much use.
I’ve since transitioned to a very simple (physical) calendar and planner system, combined with flagging emails which need further attention.
Upvoted for providing a useful experience report.
Are you still using Evernote for other things, and are you still finding it awesome?
Thanks!
Yes, definitely. I frequently use Evernote to save online references (one of my notebooks is actually named “(Intellectual) References” and has stuff like academic articles that I later want to refer to) because the ability to tag, comment, and later search these web clips makes bookmarks seem completely useless. I also use Evernote for journaling purposes and as a way to improve exam studying.
Before an exam, I go through my handwritten notes and other class materials and compile a summary in Evernote. This ensures that I have a record of the most important things from my classes (some of which I would otherwise forget), as well as makes studying for a cumulative test easy.
Sorry for the long answer, but yes, I still find Evernote awesome.
(That was two paragraphs. I weep for the future of humanity :-).) Thanks!
Will do!
I skimmed through the methodology there but didn’t see anything about how to handle repeating tasks. For instance, if you’re trying to train yourself to floss, having a task that automatically comes up every day that you can “check off” can be very helpful. Is there something like that in this GTD implementation?
I have been using a modified GTD system for a few years using ToodleDo (and Remember the Milk before that), and definitely think it’s a great system. For me, there was a significant reduction in stress as I came to rely on my task list and calendar to let me know what’s what. I still haven’t found a really good way to track task dependencies without having to retag every task in a tree (or review the tree after completing each task to change something from “waiting” to “next action”).
Keep us posted on how this works out for you.
Hm, I think the ”!Daily” sub-tag under the ”.When” tag is meant for things like that, i.e., things you’re trying to do every day.
Two problems with that, though:
What about repeating tasks that aren’t daily? One solution might be to just create another appropriate sub-tag, say, “7-Weekly”.
Another problem is that this implementation doesn’t really have tasks “automatically come up.” You still have to put in the motivation to look through your to-dos; the system just makes it easier by ordering them by several filters, most critically by when you want them done (i.e., the ”.When” context tag).
And will do!