The Holy Grail of GTD systems

Every few months I have a look around to see what new developments there have been on the GTD software front.  I'm currently using Toodledo ( the Pro Plus subscription is good value, allows file attachments and has iPad and Android apps) but it is not perfect.  The ideal GTD system would have:

• Ability to attach files and link to cloud file storage from Dropbox, Box.net, Sugarsync etc;
• Evernote integration - Nozbe sort of does this but it is not a true 2-way integration;
• Recurring tasks - it can't be that difficult;
• Email in facility;
• Integration with Google Calendar;
• Native apps for Android and iPad - those are the 2 mobile systems I use;
• Contact integration - this is the missing link for most systems - Insightly offers this but currently has no iOS or Android App and the paid subscriptions are too expensive for solo workers;
• Reasonable pricing - Toodledo offers good value but others are either too expensive or have not yet introduced a pricing scheme which puts me off investing time in what might become a pricey solution.  $5 a month is about my limit for something that would do all the above.

Am I being unrealistic?  What would you add to the list above?  Is there something already out there that meets my needs?

What tools are in your GTD toolbox? - update 25 May

Following some requests on the LinkedIn thread for this discussion I have updated the chart showing which are the most popular tools used by GTD practitioners.  The picture has not changed much at the top end of the chart but there are a lot of new apps and tools at the bottom end.  On this post I've included a list of the tools that only had one user but which you might want to check out. My original post from April is HERE)

Click HERE to download a PDF of the chart.

Tools With One User

AceProject

Active Inbox (Firefox plugin)

ActiveInBox plugin

Adobe Ideas

AgendaOne

Alfred

Apple Mail

Aquacalendar

Bento

Calvetica

Checklist

Clippy

Close The Loop

Comapping

Confluence wiki

Curio Mindmap

DEVONthink

Diigo

Due

Ecco Pro

Echofon

Entourage

FastEver

GoToMyPC

GotToDo App

Gyronix Results

iAnnotate

iBlueSky

Insightly

Jotnot Pro

Justnotes

Licorize

ListPro

mail act

mail.app

mailplane

mailtags

Mental Case

Midnight Inbox Touch

MindNode

MobileNoter

MoesNotes

MS Project

MSN Mail

NoteLife

Noteshelf App

Notional Velocity

Pages

Pester

Power.me

Remind Me Later

ResophNote

REXconnect

Ribbit

Socialite

TaskSync

Thunderbird

Touchdown Sync

Ultimate To Do List

Viira 2

Vyew

Wunderlist

Yojimbo

YouMail

What's in your GTD toolbox?

Over the last few weeks members of the GTD Group on LinkedIn have been posting what GTD tools they use.  It's been an interesting thread and I've seen the names of tools and services I'd never heard of before.  I thought it might be useful to summarise what tools are most popular and the graph shows all those which have more than one user.  I did the analysis on the 4th April when there were 86 responses.  I've only looked at software and left out hardware devices, notebooks and other GTD paraphernalia that users mentioned.  My observations:

Evernote comes out well and reflects its cross-platform nature as well as its good integration between web, desktop and mobile applications.  The fact that its basic offering is free and it is an excellent information capture service is obviously also an important factor;

Outlook at number 2 is probably no surprise.  Many of us have to use it at work and its task, email and calendar integration makes it a useful GTD tool, particularly when set up using the GTD guide;

OmniFocus at number 3 is a bit of a surprise in that it is Mac only and not cheap.  However, I guess there may be a Mac bias in the sample and, although I have never used it, I hear it is an excellent product.

One of the interesting things to come out of the comments is the variety of tools used ( I counted 84) and the complex systems that some of the users had set up.  I guess if it works for them then that's fine but in some cases it seemed like a lot of tools to keep track of. I've written about the ever-increasing number of GTD-type solutions coming on to the market before and this unscientific survey confirms that. This is a dynamic and exciting segment of the software/web market to be in but eventually there will be a shakeout as users congregate around a smaller number of tried and tested solutions.  However, with the rise of tablet devices and increasing demand for cloud-based, low-cost, collaborative solutions it's anyone's game to win.  I suspect that the more traditional software vendors that don't embrace or migrate to the web will be the biggest losers.  One of the biggest challenges facing new cloud-based entrants will be persuading the corporate market that their solutions are secure and reliable.  Many freelancers and micro-businesses seem to be convinced but their more conservative and larger cousins are not there yet.

Nirvana - a promising GTD solution

I've just spent 20 minutes playing around with the web-based Nirvana GTD service.  It is build around the principles of the Getting Things Done (GTD) system and, although it is still in beta (invite only - mine took about a week to come through from requesting one), I like it.  The interface is clean and simple while following the GTD basics of separating tasks and projects.  It responds quickly to creating new tasks and projects.  At the moment you cannot attach files to projects and tasks and that is annoying but it looks like that is in the pipeline.  You can email tasks in which is good.

Do I prefer it to Toodledo as a task manager?  Yes and no.  I prefer Nirvana's clean interface and the clear distinction between tasks and projects but not being able to attach files means I'll probably stick with Toodledo for the moment.  Pricing will also be a factor  - Toodledo is pretty cheap ($30 a year) for a premium account.  Nirvana is planning to introduce a freemium model but the prices have not yet been set.

If they introduce file attachments, have an Android app and don't charge too much I'll probably make the switch.  

UPDATE - I take back my comment about a need for an Android app - it works very well on my phone web browser.

Tools for keeping data in sync

Home/Work IM setupOver the last couple of years I've spent quite a bit of time playing around with productivity and data synchronisation tools.  I spend most of my time in my office at the university where I work but I also have a home office where I like to be able to access all my work information.  The picture is a rather clumsy attempt to show how my current systems works.  Let me break it down:

Hardware- laptop at work, PC at home, netbook for travelling and HTC Hero Android phone.

Email - the university uses Outlook so I have the client software set up on my work laptop and home PC.  If I need to access work email with the netbook I use web access.  I can also access work email on the phone but very rarely do that.  I use the GMail client on the phone.

Calendar - a few weeks ago I switched to using Google Calendar as my primary organiser but use Google sync on the home PC to sync it with Outlook just in case someone else needs to see my diary. The main reason for switching to Google Calendar was the HTC Hero which syncs perfectly with it.  

Information Capture - I've been using Evernote for a year now and find it invaluable for capturing ideas and planning projects.  I used OneNote for a while but had problems synching it over multiple PCs and the lack of web access made it less useful.  I run the Evernote software on my home PC and work laptop.  Web access allows me to also access it on the netbook which can be tethered to the HTC Hero when out and about.  Evernote also has an excellent Android app which allows the capture and uploading of photos and audio memos - very useful

File Synchronisation - I've been using Sugarsync for this for over a year now and it has never let me down (ironically there have been some glitches this morning but it seems to be working now).  I have a folder where all my work-related information is kept and which is synchronised between my home PC and work laptop.  Sugarsync also allows web access to files so can be used with the netbook as well or any other Internet-connected PC.  If the Sugarsync issues come back then I'll take a look at Box.net which I hear offers a similar service.

Task Management - I used to use Outlook for this but, like with the calendar, I could not access my tasks on the phone.  Toodledo has solved that and the Got To Do Android app syncs seamlessly with it. I really like being able to forward emails to Toodledo which automatically turns them into tasks.  The name may not sound very business-like but so far I am very pleased with it and it integrates well with my Getting Things Done (GTD) system.

At the moment I'm pretty happy with this setup but no doubt it will change as new services emerge.

What system are you using? - comments and questions welcomed.