Google Calendar very close to launch

It looks like Google is really close to launching their rumored calendar service. A subdomain is already working, which is exactly what happened before the launch of Google Talk and Blog Search.

read more | digg story

Nano Nano!

I have seen reports on the Internet regarding how easily the iPod Nano is scratched. I can only confirm this sad truth. Back from Hamburg, having owned my Nano for just two days the case is scratched. I have been very careful but still, there are scratches. The case is also harder to keep clean than my Sony PSP. Besides, polishing the iPod Nano with a cloth will properbly just scratch it more. Pity for such a great product, and I hope Apple changes the material in the case ASAP.

Be all the GTD you can be

I found this encouraging quote in the latest "Productivity Principles" newsletter from David Allen:

But even if you have all kinds of things that you’re avoiding, don’t want to think about, or just don’t have the energy to tackle, you can still “be GTD” about it. Just get a big box and label it “Stuff I Don’t Feel Like Dealing With,” put all that stuff in it, and review it often enough to satisfy yourself that’s still true for you about everything in there. You’ll be free!

Wohoo! That made me feel much better. Resently I have been embaressed about all the stuff at home I haven't processed and made into Projects and Next Actions. I felt like a failure, but now I realize that I am still "GTD" about it as long as I know what I'm avoiding.

iPod Nano goodness

I just couldn't help it. While walking through Hamburg I came acrossa store that sold the Apple iPod nano, and I just had to buy a black one. I love it.

Packing things for Hamburg

I'm currently in Hamburg to attend a conference for a couple of days. The trip from Sweden was uneventful and the hotel here is very nice. Most importantly, wireless broadband, woohoo!

Since my last trip to Detroit I realized that I needed a checklist for packing. I always forget some item that would be needed. So before this trip I sat down making my canonical "PackingList". I still forgot a few things, but now they go directly in my list so I won't forget them next time.

A great site to visit if you intend to start your own list is UPL, Universal Packing List, that generates a list based on duration, weather, type of traveling and so on.

Google Blog Search

Google Blog Search is up and running. Naturally I started by searching myself, and found Google had all my posts indexed. I'm impressed.

After you have tested this, go read the short story The Nine Billion Names of God...

No soup for you!

What's this?! In this day and age? I was surfing around (using Firefox of course) for a deal on a mobilephone and followed a link to a online store in Denmark. Instead of welcoming me as a customer I was greeted with this:



Instead of shopping I get a "sad computer" and a link to Microsoft...
The number of Firefox users are increasing so Shop4All.dk must be loosing more and more customers everyday. Customers that, like me, wont return.

The title of this post is a quote from the "Soup Nazi" in Seinfeld. If you didn't do exactly as instructed, you didn't get to buy any soup. Well Shop4All.dk, no money for you!

Doing GTD with a notebook

As you may have noticed, I am using notebooks. But I can't get myself to use a notebook for Getting Things Done (tm). To do this I have to divide the notebook into areas for Next Actions, Stuff, Context lists. That is to rigid for my taste, I like to be able to move things around, shuffle the lists. On the other hand, using a completely loose leaf system is not my cup of tea either.

Around comes PigPog with a brilliant solution; keep the lists out of the notebook. Just use the notebook for collecting and processing. This insight plus a simple but very visual way of bookmarking with Post-it tags makes it into perfect solution.

But what about the context lists? You must be able to carry around at least one Next Action list? Here I intend to use an idea from Jeff Torgerson. He uses a Moleskine and tape DIY Hipster PDA pages into it. I don't particularly like to tape pages into the notebook, so I intend to use my holder hack (or a variant of it) to keep loose DIY Hipster PDA pages.

So by combining PigPog PDA, Torg's Moleskine, DIY Hipster PDA and Holder Hack I think I will have the perfect analog GTD system for my needs. More later when I have this Frankennotebook in my hand.

My circadian rythm, one month later.

After experimenting with my circadian rythm for a month, what is the result?

• I still need my alarm clock to get up in the morning.
• I have been using the silent hours on early Saturday or Sunday mornings to:
• Take walk while listening to a podcast on my MP3 player
• Reviewing my "stuff"
• Read articles that I wouldn't have time for otherwise
  
• Do some planning for my next week at the office
• My wife loves this, because I have the breakfast ready when she wakes up
• My collegues at work thinks I'm crazy

Lately I have found myself slip back into night sessions by the computer, but I still find myself more productive in the morning than late at night.Thinking and planning is much easier in the morning when you and your brain are relaxed.

So the result of the experiment is positive. I will continue for another month and recommend you to try it too, at least for a month.

I forgot!

Yes, I forgot two things that I should do, they totally slipped my mind. Thats really embarassing when you are a GTD follower. One item should have been done within a certain timeframe, the other on a certain date. I missed them both. Sorry...

As I mentioned earlier, I have two GTD systems, one for work and one for home. The system at the office works fine, but at home... Obviously it doesn't work at all. The problem is the classical GTD trap, no regular review process. I would have catched both items if I only had a proper review process in place.

I don't want this to happen again, so I have started to do a weekly review every Saturday morning. Thanks to my experiments with my circadian rythm I have a couple of totally undisturbed hours in the morning. Something I very rarely had before.

So, I have found out the hard way that there is no shortcuts around the review process. Lesson learned.

Syncing to paper at Litwack.org

Geoffrey Litwack has a very interesting post about his experiences after a year of GTD. Some it is the same as mine, like finding out that a PDA doesn't quite cut it, experimenting with wikis etc.

I’m like 12% more efficient. But I’m 80% less worried about what I have to do, and that’s magic.

Exactly how I feel regarding my GTD system at work, I'm slightly more efficient but totally unworried since I have it all in my system.

Hm, it's been a year of GTD for myself now so maybe it's time I write a report as well.

Link