I am constantly fascinated and frustrated at the same time by GTD or “Getting Things Done” hints, tips, lifestyle choices and changes etc. Probably this is because like many of you I am living a life of information overload, too many things to do in not enough time and a job with a workload that always seems to grow and never diminish. So ‘I constantly look for better, quicker, more efficient ways to do things. I think that maybe part of my fascination with computers and programming is that they (or really the people involved in computing) have always promised that computers would reduce our workload, give us freedom and time to do the things we want. My experience is that Parkinson’s Law always prevails and that work always increases to fill the available time. This just means more pressure to “GET THINGS DONE”. So I continue to search for the holy grail, or at least something that might just give me a little more time to find it!!! In fact the more you get into GTD the more you realise that the biggest obstacle to success isn’t tools (software or good old fashioned pen and paper systems) that are ineffective but the processes and determination of the person using them.

At present I am constrained by the need to use MS Outlook at work so I really need some freeware utilities that can intelligently exchange data with Outlook. I have experimented with EssentialPIM (last Freeware version) and use other freeware utilities for notes and To Do lists such as Stickies and AAA. These are always compromises that don’t quite do what I need and the reviews will be an opportunity to reflect this. AAA hasn’t been updated since May 2000 but it has some nice features, I am sure there must be another utility out that does everything AAA does and more, but I haven’t found it yet. I still have lots more utilities on my list to try out and will bring more information on many over these in the future. Also the increasing number of web based applications such as Google Calendar and Don’t forget the Milk are adding to the choices available as well as providing utilities that can be accessed from anywhere with an Internet connection.

One of my favourite starting places for information is Lifehacker which has many excellent posts and links to other resources. As and when I come across anything that I find worthwhile in helping my daily routine I hope to share it with you I trust you will do the same for me.

Technorati Tags: Freeware, Getting Things Done, GTD, productivity, Reviews, Software, Utilities

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 5th, 2008 at 9:15 am and is filed under Getting Things Done. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.