Ipod Touch 32GB

Ipod Touch 32GB
Originally uploaded by Candy Man

I took a short video comparing the size of the iPod Touch 16GB (1st Gen) and the 32GB (2nd Gen).

Searching to Get Things Done

Desktop Search

I recently posted  about how I use Evernote to get things done as it relates to project, and next action lists.  It's rare that you rely on any one application or method to get things done.  I've found that I require a small arsenal of weapons in order to properly attack all that comes my way in an efficient and productive manner.

This is where proper behavior, and a little program called Copernic Desktop Search  comes into play.  Sometimes I wake up in the morning running a little late.  I race from the bed, to the shower, to the closet, and to the dresser in search of the proper attire for the day.  Inevitably, as I open a drawer and reach for socks, none can be found where they're supposed to be!  Off to the laundry room I stomp.  I fling open the dryer door, and swim, hunt, and scour through the contents until finally, 10 minutes later, I find a match.  It wasn't that I didn't have socks, it was that I couldn't quickly find them when I needed them most.

Being the super smart reader you are, I'm sure you've connected the dots and realized my point behind desktop search.  Having information in a huge dryer full of other information is handy if you have time to search through it all.  What if you could find what you're looking for in record time by searching for keywords?!  Yeah, just like Google!  That'd be great, huh?!

For me, Copernic Desktop Search fills this need perfectly.  I've used other desktop search tools like Google's Desktop Search, and I've always leaned right back on Copernic.  Copernic indexes your files like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook mail, videos, pictures, music, etc, and gives you instant access to them from a clean interface.  Because Copernic indexes your stuff while you're away from your computer, the results are nearly instant.  It gives you the ability to preview most file types right inside the program.

I'm not necessarily trying to pimp Copernic as much as I'm trying to express how much I rely on search functionality in my everyday quest to get things done.  As I mentioned in my post about how I track my projects and next actions, I put relevant information inside my project tracking sheet, which may only be a few keywords that will aid in digging out more detailed information as I need it.  

For example, I may add a note like this to my project sheet:

11/21/2008 3:45 PM
E-Maied so-and-so today about when they plan to move project "A" along.  I haven't heard anything in a while.

Since I'm using a desktop search tool that properly indexes my e-mail, there's no need to put the text of the e-mail I sent to so-and-so in the project tracking sheet.  I simply need to put in the sheet that I e-mailed them.  If I need to pull up the e-mail, this is where desktop search comes into play.  I note the date from the project tracking sheet, and do a search for so-and-so's name in my search program, and boom, there's the e-mail I sent, and any other relevant information pertaining to this person. (Note:  Xobni for Outlook does this really well).  I could dig the information out using my e-mail client, but not nearly as fast.  Remember, Copernic is indexed, so the mail comes up instantly.  From within Copernic, I can preview the e-mail, reply to it, or forward it, without ever going into Outlook.  I may also want to do a quick search for supporting documentation related to Project "A" that I know I've stored on my hard drive.  By clicking the proper tab in Copernic, I can find that quickly too.

File & E-Mail Folder Structures

Along with desktop search, I also store my files in a very simple directory structure.  Inside of My Documents, I have a folder named "Work Docs".  Inside that folder I have folders for each type of file I have saved.  I have a "Word" folder, an "Excel" folder, a "PDF" folder; you get the idea.  I save all files by file type in each of the their respective folders.  Because I use the desktop search program, It doesn't really matter where I store the file, but I like to have the flexibility of navigating the directory structure and finding it myself.

I change the folder view to the details view.  Then, I sort the files by date modified, where it shows the newest files at the top.  Many times, the file I'm looking for is right on the top.

Very similarly, in Outlook, when I want to save an e-mail, which these days is just about every one, I simply process the information I need from the e-mail, and then move it to a Reference folder I have set up.  Every e-mail I plan to save goes into the exact same folder; Reference.  I couldn't care less if they're all in one folder, since my brain will recall the key words related to the topic I'm searching for, and Copernic will do the work of pulling up the exact information I need, when I need it, based on those key words.  Simple.

Closing Thoughts

I've been using this method for a few years now, and thankfully, it's worked out pretty well.  There are always exceptions to the rules, so your mileage may vary.  The goal is to have the information you're looking for in front of you, and be able get to it very quickly.  You also don't want to have to spend a lot of time thinking about how and where to store your reference material.  For me, it all has to be very easy or I'll fall off the band wagon.

16GB iPod Touch (1nd Gen)

For Sale - SOLD

iPod Touch 16GB (1st Generation)

$175

Includes:

• Apple iPod Touch 16GB Portable Media Player (1st Gen)
• Original Packaging
• Best Buy purchase receipt
• Charge/Sync Cable
• BestSkinsEver (protective skin)
• Plastic Shell Style Case
• 2.2 Firmware (November 2008)
• UPDATE:  Car Charger (1G charger won't work with 2nd Gen Touch)

I have come to rely on this device almost as much as my cell phone.  It goes everywhere with me.  The Apple App Store has so many applications to choose from, it's hard to decide what to get.  It's difficult to pin down the primary function of this device since it does so much.  I guess, at the heart, this is a portable media player, but with it, you can also browse the web, check your mail, check the weather, check your stocks, organize your day, set up reminders on a calendar, use it as an alarm clock, post to FaceBook, watch movies, calculate the tip amount while eating at a restaurant, read the bible, play a near endless supply of games, and the list goes on.  And, sure, you can listen to music and podcasts.

So, why am I getting rid of all this goodness?  Since I am usually on the bleeding edge of electronics, I have decided to purchase the 2nd Generation iPod Touch, and will no longer be needing this one.  So, I'm letting this one go at a great price.  Please contact me at chance.evans [at] gmail dot com if you are interested.

Read CNET's review of the iPod Touch 1st Gen here.

Evernote and GTD

First off I want to say that I've been a GTDer for about three years.  I've used paper based GTD, electronic based GTD, and a combination of the two.  Personally, I've found a combination of the two works best.  The beauty of the GTD methodology is that it can be customized for most everyone.  Some parts of GTD I don't use at all, but I believe all 'parts' of GTD could be applicable given the right situation.

 

At it's core, GTD suggests using a series of lists called Next Actions, Someday/Maybe, and Projects.  These lists contain your projects, or any desired outcome requiring more than one action step, next actions related to your projects, and desired outcomes you might want to bring about at some undetermined point in the future.  Collecting information and putting them on the proper list is crucial to the success of GTD.  Assuming you already know a little about GTD, I'm going to attempt to share how I currently manage my lists.  If you need a GTD primer, Blackbelt Productivity has one here that is really good.

Evernote

From the title you may have figured out that the software I'll be focusing on in this post is Evernote. Evernote is a product that simulates a continuous feed of paper, much like a notebook.  What makes Evernote GTD friendly is the ability to 'tag' documents within your tape, which gives you the ability, in my implementation, to see only one particular context at a time.  Therefore, it's easy to set up a GTD structure with projects, next actions, and reference material; moving current projects to a completed status, and out of your view, simply by changing the tags around.  We'll dig a little deeper into this later.

Evernote and the Information Collection Phase

While all five stages of mastering work flow mentioned in GTD are important, I'm going to talk about the first two phases; collecting and processing.  Collecting information seems like an easy thing to do.  Think of all the ways we collect information; e-mail inboxes, the tops of our desks at work, pants and shirt pockets, you get the idea. 

With Evernote, you have the ability to create separate 'sheets of paper' for each desired outcome, or action step up to an infinite amount.  There are a few ways to get the information into Evernote.  One is via e-mail.  If I want to create the project, "Replace tires on the car", I can simply create a new e-mail from my mail program, enter in my super-secret address to my Evernote account, and hit the send button.  Evernote processes the e-mail adding the subject as the title the of the new note, and the body as the body of the newly create note.

Evernote has a desktop application, which I prefer to use, a web based version, which is very fast, (Note: Not compatible with Internet Explorer Compatible with IE7 and above - Thanks for the correction, Evernote Team.) and a mobile web version for viewing on a mobile phone browser.  If you're an iPhone users, there is a native application available for free via the App Store.  There's no shortage of ways to enter in new content into EN.

Once the note is in Evernote, you are free to begin tagging the entry.  Personally, I have created tags that match my GTD contexts; @Calls, @OfficeMobile, @Errands, Projects-Work, Projects-Home, and so on.  I have also created what Evernote calls a saved search.  This is basically a saved, personalized query of your bucket of notes, usually based on tags, or at least that's the way I have implemented it.

One example of my saved searches is for open projects I have going on at work.  I want to see a list of current, and open projects that I have going on right now related to work.  I do not want to see my home projects.  So, I created a query that looks like this:

tag:projects-work -tag:"completed items" -tag:"someday/maybe"

If you read this query out, it would say, "Show me notes tagged with "Projects-Work", but not tagged with "Completed Items", or "Someday/Maybe".  This way I won't see any project in this view that is already completed (tagged with "Complete Items", or has been moved to the Someday/Maybe list (tagged with "Someday/Maybe".  I've created each saved search similarly to this one for each of my tags; Projects-Home, @Errands, etc.

GTD philosophy says that a project is any desired outcome requiring more than one step.  So, what I've chosen to do is keep the project objective, and the action steps required to get to the desired outcome all within the same note.  To continue with our example mentioned above, "Replace Tires on the Car", I would do this:

• Open Evernote and create a new note with the title "Replace Tires on the Car"
• Just below the title of the project I would press ALT + SHIFT + D to date/time stamp the project.
• I would then bold the project title, and change the text to the color RED (I do this so if I choose to print my list of projects, they have a nice easily viewable title at the top of the page)
  
• At the top of the note, I would write out my desired outcome, which in this case would be very simple; at the end of this project, I would like to have a reliable set of tires that have a 50K mile rating or above.
  
• I would use the Evernote ALT + SHIFT + D shortcut at the top of the document which places the date and time stamp inside the note.  This helps me keep track of when I add updates to the document.  I may also choose to do a brain dump of possible next actions, but not necessarily organize them in any way.
  
• I would then tag the document "Projects-Home", and maybe "@Calls", because my next physical action could be to call the local tire shop and begin asking questions about tires.  The next physical action could also very well be "@Errands" indicating I should drop by the shop on my lunch hour or after work to place my eyes on a new set of tires, and talk directly with a service representative.  The next physical action is entirely up to you, and dependent on the project at hand.  The cool thing about Evernote, is that you don't have to decide one or the other right away.  By having it tagged with both @Errands and @Calls, I can easily see the next action when I look at these contexts individually via my saved search list.  Depending on which context I'm in at the present time, I may or may not choose to 'do' the action.
  

My project is now created, and I have it tagged properly.  Once the Projects-Home tag is added, it is never taken off for the entire life of the note.  As I take action on the project, I use the ALT + SHIFT + D shortcut key to properly stamp it with the date and time, and then make a note of what action I took.  I also take this time to update the project with the next physical action, and change the context accordingly if needed.

Below is an example of a task I have in Evernote right now.  It's tagged "Projects-Home" and "@Errands" because I now have to take the handle back to Home Depot for a refund, as noted at the bottom of the example.  The system is not very sophisticated at all.  It's simply a top-down record of the status of the project; each physical action taken, along with an occasional bit of reference material for the project sprinkled in. 

Fix handles on Tanner's Dresser

 

7/22/2008 4:53 PM

I tightened everything up that I could.  I'm missing two handles, and a few screws.  I need to take one of the handles to Home Depot and see if I can find replacement screws for them.  Then, I need to locate some handles that will match.

 

7/23/2008 2:45 PM

One of the handles is in my bag.  The next time I'm in town I need to stop by Home Depot and see if I can find a match, and also I need to see if I can find matching screws.

 

7/29/2008 4:21 PM

Today I picked up one handle to be sure it's going to work (it was $6!!).  I also picked up some screws that will hopefully work.  I now need to test the screws and see if the new handle fits.

 

7/30/2008 5:00 PM

The new handle is to small!!  I will need to return it.

Once this project is done to my satisfaction I will remove all tags except for the "Projects-Home" tag, and add the "Completed Items" tag.  Based on my saved searches, this project will not show up in my active projects view because I have filtered out all notes tagged with "Completed Items".  If I want to view complete items, I would use a manual search from Evernote's search bar, or click on the "Completed Items" tag in the Tags area of the left pain.

Closing Thoughts

This post has taken me quite a while to complete.  I've had a lot of things going on since I first began writing it, but have felt compelled to complete it.  It's in no way an exhaustive list of Evernote's functionality.  It's just the way I use it.  I didn't mention that you can attach photos, PDF's and audio files into Evernote.  I also didn't mention you can search inside of attached pictures, PDF's, and hand written notes (if you have a Tablet PC, or if you've scanned hand written notes).  I didn't mention that your EN database is synchronized to the cloud so you can view it from anywhere you have an Internet connection, and run the desktop client from multiple computers, ie, work and home.  Oh, and didn't mention that you can easily take screen shots of your desktop environment and paste it into EN.  I'm sure there are things I'm forgetting!  Evernote is a powerful, yet simple tool for doing many things, and it's FREE!

I've been using it longer than any other solution for tracking my projects, lists, next actions, and all things GTD.  For me, Evernote and GTD, really do help me get things done.

Normal

For the past three months, I did pretty much the same thing day in, and day out.  I was doing an exercise routine called P90X.  By the way, it was the best workout I've done since I began working out regularly in 2003.  Anyway, it's amazing how comfortable we can get with routine.  For about a month and a half I was loving it.  It was very difficult at first, but then began to be 'normal'.  About three weeks from the end, I started to get a little tired of it all.  I was very glad when the three months ended.  I wasn't only glad because I had worked my tail off for three solid months, six days a week, but I was also glad because of some personal things going on too.  The wife had a planned surgery, and I was going to have to watch after her for a few days afterwards, not to mention my seven month old.  

I've spent the last four or five days in a totally different routine.  I've not exercised in over a week, for which I'm feeling really bad about, and I haven't been back to work in about six days.  It doesn't take very much time to long for the routine you had so recently come to grow tired of!  I'm so ready to get back to what I had come to accept as normal.  I'm having a hard time distinguishing day from night.  I want to stay up late, and sleep even later!  I guess what I'm trying to say is, I should have been a little more thankful for 'normal'.  Abnormal times come along, and they're fun for a while, but like a cruddy vacation that finally comes to an end, I'm glad abnormal eventually returns to the mundane, unexciting, 'normal'.

Back to Blogger

I'm not really sure how much updating I'm actually going to do on this site, but I wanted to check and see if anything had changed since last using it.

I decided to drop personal web hosting (thisthatother.net) and come back to blogger.  I simply do not have the time to blog if it's going to be difficult.  I also want to save the cash that I was dumping into domain registration, and hosting fees.

I've since started using Twitter, and FaceBook, which I can update via my mobile phone.  I could also set up mobile blog posting with Blogger (I think), or at least it could be done back when I was using it (way before Google took over).  I'm sure it can still be done.

Feel free to check back from time to time.  Who knows, I may start posting regularly again.