I picked up Getting Things Done by David Allen last summer and worked my way through about half the book. There were a lot of good things I picked out.

  • I purchased a physical inbox and process everything in it every couple of days.

  • I created a filing system and bought a label maker to simply the process.

  • I made a moleskin replacement out of old plastic covers from a notebook and duct tape. I also got a pen, the Zebra F-301 Compact, which fits comfortably in my pocket.Duct Tape Moleskin & Zebra F-301 Compact

  • I started using Google Calendar to keep track of events I’m attending. I can choose to have an SMS message sent as a reminder since I don’t have a smartphone.

  • Just this week, I got back into the book and was reading about “tickler” items. I got the idea of setting events on my calendar that will send me an email reminder on the day I need to be reminded about them. The agenda view of the calendar lets me see all my upcoming actions and when they will occur. Here’s an example of what it looks like.

Getting Things Done w/ Google Calendar

The biggest thing with GTD is you must be vigilant in getting the things out of your head and getting them written down.  When it’s on paper your brain can focus on more important things.  For GTD to be most effective you have to find what works for you and you have to stick with it. And with a little ingenuity, you can think up a cheaper solution or just re-purpose something to meet your need.