Using Digital Tools to
Get Things Done
E d Te c h 2 0 0 6 - A s h l a n d
Presented by:
John G. Hendron
Goochland County Public Schools
www.johnhendron.net

John Hendron
Creative
Musical
Macintosh-Guru
Right-Brained
Messy?
In need of organization?
Yes!

Goochland County Public Schools
Instructional Technologist
Teacher Training
Instructional Design
Webmaster
PowerBook G4

Goochland County Public Schools
preK-12
est. 2,200 students
5 schools
Mac OS X Platform
Faculty each have iBook G4/PowerBook
http://www.glnd.k12.va.us

Enough about me.
Let’s talk about my (dis)organization.

Will a Serenade help me?
Loose ends, disorganized tasks can cause stress.

“We need to transform all the
‘stuff’ we’re trying to organize
into actionable stuff we need
to do.”

“The key to managing your
‘Stuff’ is managing your
actions.”

www.davidco.com

Can we apply
personal productivity +
GTD to the
computer?
To my Macintosh?
www.43folders.com

GTD Overview

5 Levels of
Organization
• Collect
• Process
• Organize
• Review
• Act

Corral your E-mail
Inbox
1 Respond
2 Action
3 Hold
4 Waiting
5 Archive
(subfolders)

Get your Space in Order
Filing Folders
(Physical) Inbox
Filing System (Cabinet)
Paper Clips, Stapler
Label Maker
Sharpie Pens Someday/Maybe
Trash Can Reference Folders
Current, or Project Folders
Waiting-For
Notebook, or index cards

Action Items
• One of thein new light: establishis putting
keys to a GTD system
your tasks a list of
action items—in concrete, discreet
terms—that says what specifically you
have to do, and what’s involved.
• Organizeto do them—as opposed to by
these lists by context—where
you have
project

Example Actions
• @Home
• call Time Magazine at 1-800-665-5555 to
cancel subscription of Time by end of the
month.
• @Desk
• make 50 photocopies of science
worksheets for Wednesday’s lesson.

Example Lists
• @Waiting For...
• @Home
• @Classroom
• @Meeting
• @Computer

Using Software for GTD
Sidenote
TiddlyWiki*
Instiki*
iCal
Quicksilver
Backpack*
Omni Outliner

Using a Notebook
A travelling journal
Moleskine
Index Cards, i.e., Hipster PDA
Concept:
Don’t stress out over what you
cannot remember!

It takes practice...
www.glnd.k12.va.us/resources/gtd/

No Matter Where You are Headed...

Organize by function, not content.

GTD = Workflow
• Get everything in acan be manipulated
physical, or better,
digital format that
• Organize content by its need for
completion, or “action”
• Organize reference material by project
• Organizesteps in lists, or pass them along
actions by “quickies,” or into
discreet
to others for delegation, or set-aside in a
“someday/maybe” list

Digital Organization
• Starting a in the digital realm—it’smay
GTD-inspired workflow
start best simply
easier to begin organization with software
tools fit for the task...
• Use the conclusion of each week to collect
together new ideas—open loops—and
set actions for the week and days to come.