When you *do* get there, actually enjoy it! Check out my on-topic post: What's the GTD definition of "vacation?" [is.gd]

For anyone practicing GTD, I've found daily planning to be one of the highest-impact extensions (not a replacement) - light years beyond anything else. I have readers and clients who've told me it has transformed their practice. I've experienced this too. Do you have to be willing to scrap it at a moment's notice? You…

In the "I can't believe this isn't Microsoft" category, 10.5.3 broke badly iChat. Check the apple user forums. I literally was going to have my Mom buy a Mac, but stopped her due to this broken killer feature. I really expected more from Apple...

Sorry if I missed this, but does iCal tasks now actually sync? This is a mind-boggling oversight, esp. for us GTD users.

I'm just getting into iCal, and I've searched pretty hard for a smart command-line front end to creating events. The closest I've found is QuickSilver's iCal support. To create an event I:

Great article, Gina. Like you I continue to push on the best ideas from GTD and other modern systems.

Sweet article! Reminds me of something Mark Hurst (author of "Bit literacy") told me the other day: He found the Unix principles to be highly influential in his thinking, for reasons similar to what you've outlined.

Tried it, found it very unstable and slow. Good tip, though. I'll check out the other options.

You should definitely check out this related post: How to Think Like Albert Einstein [nicholasbate.typepad.com]

The new interface has some serious limitations around contacts, but the new URLs are *awesome*. I use it with

Determining the "ideal" time chunk is a really interesting question. There probably isn't a single "one size fits all" answer. A few perspectives: Drucker suggest 90 minutes, and there's 96 minutes (80-20-ing an 8 hour day).

I think the biggest issue with Twitter is using it productively. Tools and hacks are great, but keeping it from sucking up your time - putting it in its place - should be a user's first consideration.

You may be interested in this gadget:

Great stuff! Here's a fascinating and funny look at the origins of the little buggers:

Boy a big one for me is paying bills on-line. They become two minute tasks that get done then forgotten! The only ones I don't pay immediately are larger ones (e.g, mortgage) that need to wait for cash flow reasons.

The link given required (now requires?) a subscription. Here's another one: [www.crestonnewsadvertiser.com]

Thanks for the heads-up, and the tip from ENGTECH. To the rescue: Blogger's killer "create anonymous email as feed" feature.

I'd challenge folks to 1) consider seriously checking less - it's a huge time suck, and 2) change from "checking" to *working* - process each message, decide action, and get it out of the inbox!

Hmmm. This is an interesting one. Why not just send an email asking for action? I guess if you want to batch up emails to go out at a certain time, then great. But why not use a tickler?

I think there's room for both. That's why use a highlighter to mark "done" items. I can still see them (sense of satisfaction), but those incomplete ones still stand out. The Time/Design folks call the highlighter your "Personal Motivation Device."