Setting Contexts

In the last few months, my life has changed significantly. My company was acquired in December and our corporate structure is significantly different. I have a number of accounts assigned to me as well as being part of the senior strategy team on many of the others. It’s exciting but exhausting - and I need to be able to organize everything and hopefully share among the necessary teams. All of whom I work with remotely.

So I’ve been using OmniFocus since last May - I adore this app and the Omni team. The effort and enthusiasm that went into building this application was infectious, the whole beta process was an incredibly collaborative and enjoyable experience. I very much love this application.

But with my new world order, I needed to shake this up a bit.

I was at SXSWi and saw Jason Fried’s keynote on “What We’ve Learned at 37Signals” (side note - who at SXSWi thought it was smart to schedule JF’s keynote at the same time of John Gruber’s panel? Bad, bad scheduling!). It was the best panel of the day (for me - the whole conference) and it reminded me how much I love their products and how much I enjoy using them.

Backpack is a particular favorite. I have used Backpack when it was really just a great personal organizer - all of the bit and pieces of my life went in it. In fact, my friend Patrick Rhone and I met through our shared love of this product (and his Productivity White Paper - where Backpack is a major factor). In the last few months, Backpack has gone through a significant upgrade and it was time to look at the product again.

Backpack is now a multiuser solution - great for small team collaboration (which is what I do - many small teams, much collaboration).

New Features:

* Multiuser - All team members can log into a single account
* Calendar - Users can log into a single calendar with additional controls as to who can see what
* Reminders - messages can be sent by email or text to many users as well as yourself (love this feature!)
* Messages - People can post messages and can also receive comments
* Newsroom - (my favorite new feature) gives you an update on all recent activity in your Backpack.

So I’ve been using it for a couple of weeks and really enjoying it. But for a couple of projects I need a bit more control. So I upgraded my Basecamp account and have started to use that for some larger projects.

I’ve used Basecamp for about 3 years - first with my prior company and now with Zeta. What I love about Basecamp is that I can set milestones for my projects, assign to do’s, messages and use the system to email all appropriate team members.

What’s great also is that there’s a Open bar at the top where I can switch from Basecamp to Backpack (and to Highrise - but that’s another post). So according what I’m working on, I can switch between the accounts I’m using to track those projects.

But there was one more thing that I was missing - I’m traveling a lot, in a ton of meetings and pitches and also need the ability to shut everything and everyone out when I can to get some stuff done. But I don’t want to miss anything or give people the impression that I can’t be reached.

So a couple of days ago I added Campfire - and as the website says, it’s iPhone compatible!

Campfire lets me set up “rooms” according to need - projects, conversations, etc. I use these to chat with my teams, share links and screenshots on projects, etc. It also integrates with Basecamp - so I can set up these rooms for each of those projects. It also allows me to participate when I want to - not always immediately.

So for the first time in a few months I feel like I’m more in control - not just organized, but working with my teams more efficiently. And my teams have been very supportive in trying these tools out and participating. While I don’t have the ability to block off time each day to get work done (too many meetings - grrr) without interruption, I can track what needs to be done and get things done before and after the “workday”.

I’ll track our success (hopefully!) and our challenges and will report on them here. BTW - I’m not the only person struggling with these issues right now - see the related link below.

Offices and the Creativity Zone - Dan Benjamin (found via. Daring Fireball)

A few months ago I received an email asking me to check out this new to-do list application, TaskPaper. I’ve been using OmniFocus which is a full-featured GTD app. But sometimes you need something simple that allows you to just get your job done.

TaskPaper takes the principles of GTD and uses a clean user interface with the focus of an outline to easily organize projects and tasks. Project titles and tags are all hyperlinked to create easy filters to find whatever you’re searching for with a click - whether you have a couple of projects or thousands of tasks.

Another thing that I like about this app is the community that has sprung up to support it. A number of developers have released products supporting TaskPaper:

* TaskPaper.web — TaskPaper on the Web
* TaskPaper.vim — TaskPaper in Vim
* TaskPaper.textmate — TaskPaper in TextMate
* TaskPaper.tada — Ta-da List export to TaskPaper
* Blocks — Pure plugin framework
* TaskPaper.bbedit — TaskPaper in BBEdit
* Tasko — Online TaskPaper

TaskPaper is a great application for down and dirty project management - and makes your life easier at the same time.

values of n

I love falling in love with a company. Someone that gets how to add value to my live and actually cares about integrating into my workflow. 37Signals is one of those companies (and is the bar that everyone is measured against) and now I’ve found values of n.

Values of n is based out of Oregon and has two (at least today) products - Stikkit and I Want Sandy.

Stikkit, “little yellow notes that think”, turns the traditional sticky note on it’s head. You can use Stikkit to:

- Plan a Meeting
- Share/Comment on Ideas
- Plan a Trip

This is the jumping-off point to adapt Stikkit to your own workflow. Stikkit gives support through it’s forums

Values of n’s other product is an online personal assistant, I Want Sandy. Sandy keeps you organized through your email, text messages and integrating into existing workflows and programs such as Twitter and Jott.

I’ve been using Sandy for over a week and it’s just been really easy to adapt into my everyday system. I can use the website, call Jott or email any to-dos, appointments, notes as well as add contacts and bookmarks.

It’s a lot of fun, too!

Doin’ it, delegatin’ it, deferrin’ it.

(Via What’s the Next Action.)

I’ve had the beta - Skitch for a few months without really using it.

From the Plasq.com website:

Uploaded with Skitch!

So - this is what I’m now going to use for all of my screenshots, uploading my photo, capturing chat (I’m thinking of Kyte.tv chats). I can see this becoming a daily ritual, especially as it takes the time that I’ve used to illustrate my posts and articles and cuts it by 2/3rds.

So sign up for the public beta and enjoy a quick, easy and feature-rich graphics program.

“Distraction Free GTD: 32 Todo List Web Applications”

I was just looking through my Clippings on NetNewsWire, which I use to save articles I want to read, just not that second, and I saw this post from Internet Duct Tape.

Now I love Safari and I can stop myself (I can, really!) from browsing the Web as a distraction from work. But for those who can’t - there’s Web Runner. There’s a Distraction Free GTD Web bundle - so for those who can not resist - go forth and browse no more.

Me - I’m off to enjoy all that 43Folders (addicted to the new format - and Merlin is really on stride!) has to offer - on my own time.

(Via Internet Duct Tape.)

I’m starting to look at different ways to update my blogs. As I my professional life gets more intense, I need ways of updating my web presence that easily integrates into my workflow.

A new medium that I’m experimenting in is video. Last weekend I bought a FlipCamera Ultra. It’s a really small camcorder that can fit into my bag that I can use to do video blog updates on the fly, short interviews and conference transcriptions. And a built-in USB connector and software makes uploading a snap. I’ve been carrying it everywhere and working on how best to use it. I love working in this new medium and I think it’s going to make my updates easier and more frequent.

I’m working on my closeup!

The other thing that is making things much easier is Jott. Since I started using it, Jott has made thing much easier.

Using Jott, I:

- Update my blogs
- Update Twitter
- Create Groups to update many people at once
- Send Jotts to individuals
- Update my 30Boxes calendar
- Update Jott from my desktop.
- Creating reminders and tasks across Folders

I Jott to myself, I Jott to my friends, I Jott to my collegues, I Jott to my blogs. I’m seeing more and more people in my network Jott-ing. Brian Solis at PR 2.0 just wrote a thoughtful post on how Jott impacts his productivity. Glad to see he’s Jott-ing instead of texting-while-driving!

These are two of the services/products I’m using to help me Get Things Done. I’m looking to forward to tracking how these continue to adapt to my workflow.

Becoming a tagging kung-fu master | 43 Folders

I have become obsessed with tagging. Well, maybe not obsessed, but it’s becoming important to consistently tag across my applications and services. Which is why this article grabbed my attention.

List of Apps/Services I use tags:
- Yojimbo
- My WordPress Blog
- My Typeface Blog
- My Ning
- MarsEdit
- Pathfinder
- Backpack/Packrat
- Highrise
- Facebook
- del.icio.us
- Gmail
- Journler
- Mail.app (MailTags)
- DevonThink Pro
- etc.

So I’m starting to develop a list of tags (and the consistent format) that I’ll use across formats. While I refuse to keep a Sticky Note(s) - I’ll figure out a easily accessible file that I can open quickly (sounds like a QuickSilver trigger!).

(Via 43Folders.)

David Allen: Getting Things Done - Living Now on The Huffington Post

David Allen, Father of Getting Things Done, now has a reoccurring gig on The Huffington Post! In today’s post, he goes over the why’s and the benefits of GTD. A beginner’s primer.

Awesome!

(Via Robert Scoble’s Link Blog.)

Merlin & the OmniNerds coming to Tekserve in NYC | 43 Folders

I’m bitter. I’ve been waiting for this presentation all summer and of course, NOW I can’t go. So someone please go and report back. Merlin Mann! Ethan Schoonover and Ken Case, all talking about OmniFocus.

I’ve been using OF since May and love it. And the team is dedicated, supportive and so responsive whenever I report anything. And the updates are constant and really move the product forward.

(Via 43 Folders.)