Whenever I feel like I’m falling off the wagon with GTD, it always comes back to my inbox. If I don’t keep it at zero, things pile up quickly and I lose some control. Even if you’re not a believer in the complete GTD system, Inbox Zero can help you out a LOT.
This video is from a few years ago, but has some great tips on how to achieve (and maintain) inbox zero. Merlin Mann really knows his stuff. Check it out:
As I continue to grow in my use of GTD, I’m discovering just how important the trust factor with your system can be. David Allen says that you need to really trust your system for it to work. You can say you trust it all you want, but that’s irrelevant. When it comes down to it, a trusted system works and a semi-trusted system doesn’t.
So what does it mean to really trust your system? I have a few thoughts.
Trust it like a Christian should trust God
You may or may not believe in God, but the point still works. Andy Stanley gave a great analogy for how a Christian should trust in God. He held up the stool he was sitting on and said to trust in it. To trust in the stool means to sit ON it. Not on the edge. Not with your feet on the ground a little bit. On it with your full weight. You might be nervous at first, but over time you’ll learn to trust the stool completely.
Trust it like you should trust your spouse
If you’ve been married, you can understand this. Saying you trust your spouse is one thing. Really trusting your spouse is another. For a marriage to really work, you need to completely trust in your spouse.
GTD is the same way
If you don’t really trust the system, then you can never have a “mind like water”. I’ve found that as I’ve learned the system works and I can trust it, anything I put into it is instantly out of my head. Getting the junk out of your head is the key to focusing on the task at hand, and GTD is a great way to get it done. Whether you use software, a website, your PDA or just pen and paper, make sure you use a system that you can trust completely.
It’s a beautiful combination — the new Evernote 3.0 with the new iPhone 3GS. First, you can read about Evernote 3.0 here or watch the short video below.
My problem with Evernote on the previous iPhones (original and 3G) was the lackluster camera; it was nearly impossible to get a clear shot of a business card. Now I can snap photos of business cards, receipts, etc in great quality with the iPhone and immediately push them to Evernote using the app. Due to the clear quality, Evernote makes all of the text in those items searchable and it works very well.
Version 3.0 had a few uploading bugs in it, but the 3.0.1 release (came out yesterday, I think) solves those and it’s a great little app. If you’ve got a new iPhone, this is certainly a must-have app!
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