I Broke My Moleskine

When first buying a Moleskine, I got the impression that being covered in oilcloth would make it a bit more durable. I recently started using a Moleskine to keep up with all the details that go on at work and at home. I have to say that I am happy to have done so. I am able to dump so much information in it that I find myself able to follow the GTD way much better than with electronic dumping grounds; at least, this is true in my current job.

I work for a radio company, which is a mix of technology and physical labor. Lately, I’ve been on a project that requires daily use of power tools and a lot of rooftop activities. This means that there is a lot of movement and sweat. Keeping the Moleskine in my back pocket turns out to be a bad idea. I know we don’t like to think of it, yet the fact is that your butt sweats as much as any other part of you. In addition, with all the sitting and walking, a back pocket is probably a high-friction environment for a Moleskine. The end result is that the spine broke along the first segment and I am hoping to get to the end before the middle section breaks off the final segment. These things are held together with glue. If fact, Tim Ferriss, author of the 4-Hour Work Week, wrote about how his soft cover Moleskines like mine get ripped to shreds too.

I really do like the Moleskine and will continue using it. However, I may just be too much blue collar and not enough geek to keep the notebook in one piece. Another thought I have is that I probably should not hold back on writing things down so that I can go through them much faster. This way, I can ensure that I get through them faster than I can kill them.

Jumping on the Moleskine Bandwagon

Today I stopped by Barnes & Noble to meet a client who wants to learn about Microsoft Access. While waiting for our appointment, I came across the display of Moleskine products. You can learn more about them at Putting Things Off. I’ve heard about them from other bloggers who have a working concept of GTD.

OK, so this is my first Moleskine. I don’t know if it will be all that great or not. To help keep it with me, I chose one that will fit in my back pocket. This way I can whip it out at the first hint of an inspiration. Actually, I have a much more specific use for it. I have asked my GetFriday Virtual Assistant to call me daily so that we can go over my Highrise HQ entries. I am often traveling and doing physical labor, which does not lend itself to having my laptop out all the time. It would be much easier to write things down in my new Moleskine that I would like for my VA to put into Highrise. This way I can maintain the CRM without having to sit at a desk all the time.

Of course, there are other benefits to having a notebook handy all the time. For example, I can make drawings, which is impossible on my smartphone. Another benefit of having a notebook handy is that I can work on other things like blog entries or ideas. I have found that having written records of such things is quite useful. Once it is written, it’s a simple matter of taking pictures and putting the content into Evernote or something like that. The biggest pain in the ass with electronics is starting up the device and launching something. A notebook has more immediate access and better ease of use.

All of the above is just a theory. I don’t know if a Moleskine notebook will be all that life-altering. As always, I’ll keep you posted.

Robert Walker – Getting Things Done With Vitalist

One of my favorite web applications is Vitalist. Robert Walker from Vitalist is my guest on Friday, April 18 at 2 pm CST. Learn how you can use Vitalist to get things done using the GTD methodology described by David Allen. We can all be a little more productive, right?

You can listen to the show on Blog Talk Radio. You are also welcome to call in if you have any questions. The phone number is 646-716-8227, or you can join us in the chatroom during the show.

Robert Walker – Getting Things Done With Vitalist

Freelance Friday: Dealing with paperwork

Listen to the Show.

Download.

Probably, the bane of your existence as a freelancer is the mountain of paperwork you generate for yourself. How do you keep track of it all? How do you organize it? How do you find stuff?

Let’s talk about what you can do to keep yourself organized as a freelancer.

LINKS
IGS Bookkeeping
Freshbooks
QuickBooks Online
ADP
BlogTalkRadio: Organizing Your Tax Related Paperwork

Freezing Up When You Have a Lot to Do

Have you ever had a time when there is so much to do and not much time to get it done? I find myself in that situation currently. You have to make a decision on what you will get done; however, making the decision can be overwhelming. You don’t know where to start. What time-sink will you pick up to the detriment of the other tasks? If you are a fan of the GTD system by David Allen, then you know what the problem is.

You have allowed your “inbox” to overflow with stuff to do without doing your weekly review. You need to periodically review your projects and make notes on what needs to be done. Add to-do items to your list, remove those that don’t apply. Keep yourself focused on the big goals by sifting through all your little to-do items to make sure they contribute to achieving those goals. In this way, you can either keep the task in your list, you can chuck it, or you can save it on a list of stuff to do later. Yes, you can have a “to do later” pile, also known as a “someday maybe” pile.

Trying to take on your tasks by brute force may feel productive, but you may have some misspent effort. Sitting down for a while to figure out where your focus should be can ensure that you get everything done right, with the least effort, and on time. Tackling your tasks without a plan brings up the old cliche, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

Vitalist Adds a Twitter Interface

I have been using Twitter to send tasks to my Vitalist inbox for a few days. I got an email asking me to test out Vitalist Tools, which currently only has Twitter. Today, I saw that Vitalist has announced it on their blog. The setup is easy. Simply add your Twitter user name and your Vitalist API key. The only thing I did wrong was that I did not activate my Vitalist API key. Make sure to turn yours on before you link your Vitalist to Twitter.

You may be thinking, why bother? Doesn’t Vitalist have a WAP interface? Can’t you simply email your tasks to Vitalist? The answer to both is Yes. However, Twitter serves as a more convenient entry method for me. On most days, I have Twitter turned on throughout the day on my computer or on my mobile phone. Therefore, it is easy to simply send a reminder via direct message on Google Talk or to send a reply SMS from my phone. Making an entry via Twitter is less disruptive of my workflow. I don’t have to stop what I am doing to pull up an email client or web browser. I will, however, grant you one thing. Twitter has its issues with dropping messages or not being consistently available. That is damn irritating. On the upside, Vitalist gives you other options to make your entries whenever Twitter is down. Once Twitter is more reliable, this mashup should prove to be the perfect GTD app.