apps « thinkproductive.co.uk

Graham Allcott

It’s considered cool to be an early adopter. One glimpse at the line of people camped outside the Apple store when they introduce a new version of the iPad or iPhone is proof that people like to be the first to get their hands on new gadgets.

However, it is certainly not smart to be an early adopter.

Let the crowd figure stuff out, then spend time asking them for their informed opinions (which they’ll be delighted to give, seeing as their aim in being an early adopter is so they get to talk about it to anyone who’ll listen!), before deciding to buy.

The same is true of online software. There are thousands of new sites out there purporting to be the next Facebook or LinkedIn that will revolutionise your life. Some of these things might turn out to do just that, but many of them will be consigned to history in a matter of months.

Many people are excited or flattered to spend time being amongst the exclusive first few geeks to check out the latest Google product or new tool. Not only is there a very high chance these things will fail to ‘stick’ and that everyone will move onto something else very soon, but at that stage, the software is still full of bugs precisely because it hasn’t had enough user feedback, so it will also be more difficult to use in the early stages.

Patience is a virtue.

You don’t need to look cool. And even if you really want to look cool, no one really cares if you do. On your deathbed, no one will ask you what you owned or what software you used and they certainly won’t ask you whether you were amongst the first to have it.

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Tags: apps, Attention, Attention Management, early adopter, focus, tools
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How To Be a Productivity Ninja With Pocket Informant iOS

Graham Allcott

Think Productive isn’t particularly interested in purely technological solutions to Productivity challenges; we believe that the answer lies with psychology, not technology.

Having said that, our Productivity Ninjas use a variety of different apps to manage their exemplary psychological behaviours. Ninja Matthew has for years used an app called Pocket Informant. Pocket Informant runs on iOS, Android and Blackberry, and offers a highly flexible and customisable task and calendar management tool.

So great is Ninja Matthew’s love for Pocket Informant that he has collaborated with the developer behind the app, to write a quick-start user’s guide, called “How To Be a Productivity Ninja With Pocket Informant iOS”, which is now available to the public – see here.

Why would this be of interest to the Think Productive community?

Well, Ninja Matthew’s guide is a game of two halves. The first half is a rapid run-through of our Productivity philosophy. The key concepts – in eight pages. The second half explains how to apply this philosophy to Pocket Informant. So, whatever app you use, the first half will offer tips and tricks to raise your Productivity to new levels. And if you are already a Pocket Informant user, the second half will take your skills to Ninja level.

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Tags: apps, Blackberry, IOS, IPhone apps, productivity app, time management app
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Productivity Ninjas at work – Think Productive founder, Graham Allcott

Graham Allcott

We’re big fans of Lifehacker here at Think Productive, especially their “How I Work” series

So, we thought we’d do our own version – starting with Think Productive founder (and productivity experimenter), Graham Allcott

What would your answers be? No idea? Need some help?

WHAT HARDWARE DO YOU USE?

I have 3 main machines:

A 15″ HP laptop that is my main machine. It’s super-quick.

I travel a lot, so I have a tiny Samsung netbook. It’s about 3 years old and is only really used for emails, word docs and projecting Powerpoint slides when I’m delivering workshops and talks.

Then, I have an iPad which I use primarily for quick-email use, web surfing and reading.

My phone is an iPhone 4S, with a Mophie Juice Pack to make the battery life bearable.

WHAT SOFTWARE DO YOU USE?

I’m a big fan of Outlook and the Microsoft Office suite. I know that’s uncool these days, but they just work better than the Google equivalents in my view. And because the vast majority of our clients are PC users, moving completely to the Apple world isn’t an easy option, really.

Other stuff I use:

> iPadio for recording phone audio

> Audacity for editing audio

> Evernote for my ‘digital filing cabinet’,

> Dropbox and SugarSync for file-sharing.

WHAT MOBILE APPS AND TO-DO APPS DO YOU LOVE?

Toodledo is my to-do app. I use that mainly on the iPad.

On my iPhone, I love TuneIn Radio (especially for when I’m out running!) and Headspace, a meditation app is another favourite.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE PRODUCTIVITY BOOK?

Well, apart from “How to be a Productivity Ninja” (!), I’d probably say Seth Godin’s “Linchpin” (Amazon) just beats David Allen’s “Getting Things Done” (Amazon).

HOW DO YOU ARRANGE YOUR DESK?

At home, I have 2 screens, so that’s where I tend to do stuff like writing, video-editing, and other ‘creating’.

I use an in-tray and my bottom drawer is where I keep my “current” reference materials (the paperwork for projects I’m still working on).

I have 3 clear plastic files in my bag so that my bag is both the ‘go-between’ between my two offices as well as being as close to a virtual office wherever I am. These are called “To Office” “To Home” and “Office On The Move” – the final one contains stamps, envelopes, thank you cards, a smaller plastic file to chuck receipts into, Think Productive’s marketing materials and so on.

Under both my desks is an external hard drive, USB Hub, laptop chargers and phone chargers, so that I don’t have to constantly think about things like cables, back-ups and remembering the right kit.

DO YOU USE ANY PRODUCTIVITY OR TIME-SAVING TRICKS IN YOUR HOME LIFE?

To eliminate time wasted thinking about such things, I have only black socks and I buy 3 pairs of the same trousers online when I need new ones.

I also ‘outsource‘ cleaning and ironing, which I never grow tired of appreciating.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE PRODUCTIVITY TRICK OR TECHNIQUE?

Managing attention, not time.

I have 3 main office categories on my Master Actions List: Home-Office (proactive attention), Office (active attention), Office (inactive attention). This allows me to categorise everything I do by difficulty and energy-level, which has been really powerful.

WHAT’S YOUR BIGGEST PRODUCTIVITY STRENGTH AND WEAKNESS?

Strength? I think my curiosity is what keeps me constantly evolving the way I work and coming up with new ideas.

Weakness? Being my own boss, I often give myself permission to avoid or leave until last the things that involve a lot of detail. I hate detail. On the positive side, I’m also good at hiring people who love detail!

AWAY FROM WORK, WHAT DO YOU LOVE THE MOST?

It used to be watching Aston Villa. But that’s not much fun for anyone at the moment. Generally, I’m pretty all-or-nothing: you’ll either find me tearing around on trains and planes for either business or pleasure, or I’m curled up on the sofa with my iPad. I’m either on a mission or I’m a hermit – there’s little in between!

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE PRODUCTIVITY QUOTE?

The one that constantly motivates me is from an interview with the artists, Gilbert and George. Gilbert said “Any picture we don’t make will not be made by somebody else“. I think we waste so much time in states of distraction, when we all have so much more inside us to give.

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Tags: apps, how I work, technology
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How to choose a useful productivity app

Graham Allcott

You may have had a new gadget for Christmas, or just need some extra help to keep those New Year Resolutions. Either way, here are some of the things to think about when choosing a new productivity tool.

Find out more about personal productivity at our How to be a Productivity Ninja Workshop

apps

Functionality

This is the main factor to consider – so I will spend the most time on it.

Above all, you should look for one that has at least the following:

> A way to add Projects (often called ‘lists’).

> A way to create sub-list categories for your Master Actions List (often called ‘contexts’ or ‘tags’). They will often have both a tags and a context function, in which case you can use both for different things!

> A way to mark priorities, such as high, medium and low (this can either be used as it is intended, or actually used for Proactive, Active and Inactive attention).

> Ability to synchronise with your phone – this is where you start to get the added benefit of being able to view your lists or capture new ideas anytime, wherever you are! Other added extras to look for here include:

> Good search functionality and the facility to save some of your regular searches.

>Date and alarm functionality – personally I trust my system enough not to need to schedule a lot of things by date and my system is enough of a reminder, but many people find this a good additional facility.

>Location/GPS functionality – the ability to have location-specific actions pop up on your screen when your software detects you’re in that location (again, not a necessity, but pretty cool!).

> Ability to capture straight into the program from other places. (For example, one of the most popular apps, Remember the Milk, allows you to capture items inside it by sending them as tweets on Twitter, through Gmail and through web-browser plugins).

> Ability to synchronise with another program such as Outlook (often this is a paid for added extra rather than inherent in the program itself).

> Ability to export your data out of that program if you decide it’s no longer working well for you. (This is also a nice safety feature if you’re worried about one of these apps going bust and your data being stuck in there, which is admittedly pretty unlikely!)

Reliability & track record

With any piece of software you’re trusting to store a lot of data on your behalf in ‘the cloud’, there’s always a small risk that there may be short periods where their servers go down and all of your lists are inaccessible.

Read reviews of the software to look for any issues of reliability, notice what’s being said about customer support if things go wrong and make sure you’re entrusting your valuable data to someone with a track record that suggests they’re able to look after it. Reviews count.

Stylishness

Stylish user interfaces that make it both easy and fun to use are of course a big part of the appeal for the tech-savvy. If something feels easier to use, you’ll instinctively use it that little bit more.

Price

Last and certainly least in terms of consideration should be price.

Paying a couple of pounds for a good phone app that you’ll use every day for years should never be an issue when you think how easily you might waste that money elsewhere.

Similarly, spending £100 on the perfect app has paid itself back very quickly if you imagine the extra revenue, extra commission, pay rises or reduced stress that it brings.

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Tags: apps, gadgets, get things done
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