Choosing a Planner: GTDagenda Review + Giveaway
Congratulations to AlaskaTeacher, the winner of the GTDagenda.com giveaway! I’ve sent you an email!
This month I’m been reviewing a variety of planners, calendars and to-do list systems to give you the information you need to choose the one that works for you. Be sure to enter to win a LobotoME weekly planner as well!
If you’ve spent much time reading or researching time management and productivity tips, chances are that you’ve heard of Getting Things Done by David Allen. Although not developed by David Allen himself, the GTDagenda system is an online productivity program that uses many of the GTD principles and can be incorporated with almost any time management system.
Let me start by saying that I can’t see myself using this program for regular home management tasks. It’s over-qualified for simple list-making and calendar tracking. However, as a blogger and consultant, I absolutely love it for managing projects, goals and tasks, and I think it’s a valuable tool for any business person, especially innovators and entrepreneurs. The program itself is robust, and they continue to roll out updates on a regular basis. The occasional time management and productivity tips they send out prove that they truly understand those principles.
Use the GTDagenda system to set up:
:: Goals
Goals are a tool to concentrate your effort and move you in a direction. Set goals in each of your life’s areas, along with the time lines you are commited to acomplish them by.
:: Projects
Action plans that map to one of your goals. Each completed project moves you closer to the completion of your goal.
:: Tasks & Next Actions
Break out each project into specific tasks (actionable items), and decide what the next action is going to be.
:: Contexts
Context is where or how a task is accomplished.
:: Checklists
Use checklists for your repeating/recurring tasks, things that you must handle weekly, monthly, quarterly, etc as well as action items that may be tied to a specific month (e.g. wax car every April and November). You can tie them to your goals. Consistent, daily action makes things happen.
:: Schedules
Schedules are tools for organizing your daily activities, with exact timings. Each activity can be linked to one of your existing projects and tasks.
:: Calendar
Use the included calendar to keep note of and remember your “set-in-stone” activities, that need to be done at certain dates. Set events, appointments, anniversaries, to-do’s and notes.
To be honest, I still don’t think I’ve even scratched the surface of everything you can do with this program, but I’m looking forward to using it more in the New Year. And I’m hoping they’ll develop a collaboration tool that allows me to share projects and tasks with others as well!
This week, one lucky Organizing Your Way reader will win a year-long subscription to GTDagenda!
Every reader has four methods available to enter this contest (for a total of up to four entries):
1. Leave a comment. Which of the GTDagenda features most appeals to you?
2. Subscribe to my feed via RSS or email. You must confirm your email subscription for it to be a valid entry! Leave a separate comment letting me know you have done so. If you’re already a subscriber, simply leave a separate comment letting me know you’re already subscribed.
3. Tweet the following on Twitter. Be sure to come back and leave a separate comment once you’ve done so!
Increase your productivity and enter to win a one-year subscription to GTDagenda from @mandiehman: http://bit.ly/79kQYC
Prize:
(1) Premium Year-Long Account at GTDagenda.com
This giveaway ends at 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, 12/26. I’ll use Random.org to select the winning comment. Winner will be notified by email, and this post will be updated with their name as well!
I like the fact that you can link the actions together. Schedule and Tasks and Actions most appeal to me and would be what I use the most.
Southern Gal´s last blog ..A giveaway winner
Tasks and Next Actions. Sometimes I just need be told (or tell myself) what to do for the next small piece.
I’m already a subscriber, is that okay?
I am learning to embrace the GTD system, and think this tool might help me over the hurdle. I would love the mobile phone access too!
Rachel V.´s last blog ..Happy Haunting!!!
I like the “context” feature. I’m in a non-proift, and it can be like herding cats to get things done. I think that keeping context in mind will keep us on the right path.
I already have you in my Google Reader, but I subscribed by email too!
Rachel V.´s last blog ..Happy Haunting!!!
Tweeted by @questforbalance
Rachel V.´s last blog ..Happy Haunting!!!
I love the fact that it’s electronic. I carry my laptop with me everywhere these days, so having a separate planner seems unnecessary..
The checklists!!
I’m a subscriber!
I subscribe via RSS feeder.
I like the checklists the most.
I like the breaking down of the goals… what task is next and seeing the goals all written out.
I’d like to do this with my quilting-mixed media projects.
Joyce´s last blog ..Nina & the Rules
I’m not sure about being subscribed… you are in my iGoogle Reader.
Joyce´s last blog ..Nina & the Rules
My husband could do with a planner like this.
Naomi´s last blog ..So much to do…
I’d love to not always be looking for where I wrote my goals.
Barbie´s last blog ..School Begins
thanks for the heads up on this site – picked up a few things from GTD but had not seen this online way of using the system. I like the checklists.
i am a subscriber in Google
already a devoted subscriber! Merry Christmas!
Hello! I tweeted about this GREAT giveaway!
I am already a subscriber through Google Reader!
I think the feature I like best is the checklist feature. I am constantly writing checklists everywhere. Having one place to keep my checklists would be great. I have a Blackberry, so I can have my list with me everywhere I go.
happy holidays and would LOVE to get one of these to help me usher in 2010!
Moving me towards accomplishing my goals in a more painless way!
I actually like the goals, projects and tasks…another way to look at your calendar but, I think, pretty powerful. Thank you for this post.
I’m definitely loving the checklist! I can always use one!
Lisa @ Simplified Saving´s last blog ..Crocs Deal of the Day: $9.99 Alice
I’m an email subscriber!
Lisa @ Simplified Saving´s last blog ..Crocs Deal of the Day: $9.99 Alice
I love the schedules and calendar and how everything is linked!
I subscribe to your feed through Google Reader!
I subscribe via email
I think the checklists would be features I would use the most.
I like the format, linking checklists with goals and tasks/ actions linked with schedules. Will definitely make my life management seamless ;D
I am an email subscriber. And this is one giveaway I can enter without having to worry about imposing international shipping charges on the organiser ;> So I really hope I win this one ;p
I love that it’s designed to work well with the GTD system.
I’m a subscriber!
I like the checklist feature as well as the calendar.
Michelle´s last blog ..Mindful Eating: How to get started
As a new subsriber I am interested in every tool they mention, but schedules run my life, so a better way to organize it would be great!