Tag Archives: Evernote

The key to getting things done

Posted on by acrystelle
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Many will find I’m a huge fan of David Allen and his “Getting things done” (GTD) methodology. It works, the principles adaptable to any format or device. Well, I also follow David Allen on Twitter for the pint-sized pieces of wisdom he tweets every so often. I found this gem tucked away among my notes in Evernote tonight.
“Keys to getting things done: know what “done” means and what “doing” looks like.”

Simple, isn’t it? By knowing what “done” means, it becomes instantly clearer when to stop tinkering and move onto the next task. The “doing” part, as I understand it, is the smaller steps required to complete something. Upon finishing a small step, you then ask, what’s the next step? “Doing” may also mean to minus all the other stuff you do while you complete steps, such as surfing the web, updating a Facebook status and checking Twitter. These distractions are not “doing”, even of you are completing steps alongside these distractions.

What do we think? Are these the keys to getting things done?

Planning Session 3 – Clear out!

Posted on by acrystelle
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I can’t stand clutter. Organised desk, organised mind, I say. Clutter is almost a reflection of one’s state of mind. It certainly rang true for me last year. At a point of total chaos, my study area reflected much what I was thinking and feeling about the (more than) plateful I had going on.

Well, planning session three, for me, was to attack my study area with utmost brutality. I simply could not begin another year with remnants scattered about the place. I was determined to head into this year with increased clarity and freedom in my mind.

I can tell you it was liberating. I felt the weight of last year’s workload and items I had neglected come off my shoulders. Now I want to spend time in my study. I have set up my area with what I need handy, according to how I like to work.

I’m a big fan of ‘Getting Things Done’ and I highly recommend grabbing a copy of the book, or you can even download a bunch of helpful PDFs from David Allen’s website for free to get you started.

First of all, emptying inboxes had to begin with identifying all inboxes. Where do all the ideas, tasks, filing, readings, etc end up?
My inboxes: -

  • Google Reader (I have Instapaper too, but I’ve created an RSS feed from my ‘Unread’ folder to my Google Reader)
  • Evernote
  • (physical) In-Tray
  • Gmail
  • University (study) email
  • Task manager
  • Twitter favourites

Next, is to go through each of these inboxes and process EVERYTHING.

  1. Determine what the item is.
  2. Decide what needs to happen with it.
  3. If the item requires an action, or a series of actions, either enter into the task manager or write it down. Place a note on a post it and stick on the physical item.

DO NOT place anything back where it was before.

For physical items, such as scanning to do or statements to file, I grouped items into piles of similar tasks. I have a ‘To Action’ folder, a ‘To file’ folder and an ‘Inspiration’ folder on my project files rack for the physical items (courtesy of Kikki K). The key outcome of this process was each item’s next action was determined. When I go to my ‘To Action’ folder now, I don’t need to think about what items are or what needs to be done. I can just DO IT! A similar system can be applied to email inboxes and Evernote. I now ‘clip’ items directly to an ‘Inbox’ notebook and ‘empty’ this notebook on a weekly basis as part of my review. I also now use the task manager ‘Things’ and am finding the tagging function useful to apply contexts to my tasks. If a task doesn’t need to be completed immediately, I enter the task into my inbox in ‘Things’, then apply scheduling and tags, file into a project, at my weekly review. The most important thing here is the task’s entry into the system.

After the initial clear out, getting rid of stuff I didn’t require anymore (I must say a shredder was very helpful!), I then had a look at all the items needing to be actioned. As a general rule, if an action took less than two minutes, it got done right there.

I don’t employ every part of the GTD system, just bits and pieces integrated into my existing system of organising myself. Part of implementing GTD is being able to trust the system. If systems and consistent processes can be put into place, then I believe you can trust items to be captured and dealt with more effectively. When setting up a system, it is important inboxes are handy and easy to process.

Here are some other tips and hints to clearing out and planning: -
Getting Things Done FAQ by zenhabits
Get all inboxes to zero, and have fewer inboxes by zenhabits
5 Ways GTD helps you achieve your goals by zenhabits
7 Steps to achieving your goals by Alexandra Samuel

Reflecting back, looking forward

Posted on by acrystelle
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Urges to write come at inconvenient times, don’t they? My most recent was last night in the middle of a concert, Cold Chisel actually. Bizarre. All of a sudden words starting pouring into my mind with no where for them to go at that moment. This is one of the challenges I’ve encountered this year, aiming to develop a regular writing habit. Frustrating. By the time I have a chance to sit down to write, the moment I was experiencing had past. I wonder how I can tackle this challenge…..perhaps something to ponder in another post, but not this one.

(So you can imagine now that I’m desperately trying to brainstorm some of the things I was thinking about.)

One of the things I thought about was my bit of a break of late, mostly since the completion of studies for the year. I’m working full-time, but also still on the mend. Goodness knows I’ve needed it. I’ve spent this time reflecting, re-evaluating priorities, making plans for next year and beyond, thinking about what to focus on, taking brazilian dance classes (so much fun!) and just ‘being’.

Within this time, gosh, so much has happened I’d really like to write about and share, as well as other blog post ideas sitting in my Evernote.

  • my physical and psychological challenge in Margaret River, Western Australia
  • saying ‘good-bye’ (for now) to my job in aviation
  • settling into my new job in archives and its challenges
  • one year anniversary volunteering for ALIA New Graduates Group
  • learning to say ‘no’ to look after my well-being

I’ve most enjoyed just ‘being’ (evident in my dance classes) and it’s what has struck me about a week ago that proved this little ‘switch off’ to be invaluable for my preparation for the year ahead.

I’m grateful.

I’m grateful for what I have, for who I have around me, the support and encouragement they provide, and the kind of opportunities and inspiration found in ‘little wins’ that drive me forward, personally and professionally.

I’m grateful for the life I have.

I believe this mindset is perfect to start the new year.

I’ve learnt a lot from this year by pushing my limits. Now I can move forward into next year with this knowledge and plan to be more effective in whatever I wish to achieve.

It’s time for me to breathe and re-boot.

Audit Your Personal Learning Environment

Posted on by acrystelle
2

No doubt there are others like me who have signed up for, downloaded or acquired tools, applications and devices which make up our Personal Learning Environment. There is every intention to integrate these into our daily or weekly routines. Perhaps we just wanted to try them out, used them for a specific task or project or have used them only on an ad-hoc basis at most. It’s time to clean up!

In an earlier post, where I distinguished a PLN from a PLE, I hinted at my own definition of a Personal Learning Environment. There appears to be variations of a definition, yet two components stick out – tools and learning. Here’s my definition: -

A PLE consists of an individual, learner-oriented collection of tools, resources, services, and connections organised and used to gather and engage with information, reflect, and communicate and collaborate with others, in pursuit of continual learning and achievement of goals and objectives. 

The goal of a PLE audit (or mine) is to re-organise and co ordinate components to increase efficiency by minimising effort required to access and use each component. The outcome of this process is a more effective PLE, better suited to the achievement of learning goals and objectives.

I’ve taken three steps to audit and tidy up my Personal Learning Environment – stocktake, assess and organise.

Stocktake

  1. Gather all log in details for each tool, resource or service. I found this was the easiest way to identify what I’ve signed up to, tried, or use.
  2. Create a list of email subscriptions, web applications, wikis, software of your computer and devices. My list consisted of over 20 tools (!) including Gmail, Mindnode Pro (on my Mac), Dropbox, Twitter, Slideshare, Evernote and Skype.
  3. Divide a page into three columns – Tools/Devices/Resources, Use it?, What for?.
  4. Fill in the table as much as possible.

Assess

Go through each component and assess its role and contribution to your PLE. I created the diagram below to provide consistency and assist with the process.

(I understand the diagram can be hard to read. Click on the image to view a larger version)

Organise

Once you have identified the next steps required to re-organise your PLE components, ensure that you action them! If it will help, create a diagram or edit your list (created during ‘stocktake’) to show your newly designed PLE.  A visual reminds and assists me to see the ‘big picture’. I’m that sort of person, I guess.

Other Tips

  • Take stock of your PLE on a regular basis.
  • Include your online presence in this process. Which ‘presence’ (eg. LinkedIn, blog) is lagging, not being properly maintained that it’s potentially damaging your brand and identity?
  • Identify the role of each component by their function. For example, my Google Reader performs a collecting function and my blog is a thinking and contributing space.
  • Create (and stick with) consistent use of tags, vocabulary and folder structures across similar applications. For example, a project folder on my mac will resemble an arrangement of notebooks in Evernote.
  • If you use Instapaper, create an RSS feed for your “Unread” folder and add it to Google Reader. You’ll only need to look in one place for reading material and resources, not two.

The aim here was to prompt thinking about the effectiveness of a PLE and its components’ efficiency of use. The suggested audit process is intended to be a guide and is by no means exhaustive or absolute. I’m sure there are other ways to evaluate tools and ‘tweaking’ a PLE. This was just my approach. I hope it can be of use to others.

Resources for PLE definition: -

Attwell, G 2010, ‘Supporting Personal Learning in the Workplace’, The PLE Conference, ISSN 2077-9119.

McElvaney, J & Berge, Z 2009, ‘Weaving a Personal Web: Using online technologies to create customised, connected and dynamic learning environments‘, Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology, 35(2).

Educause 2009, ‘7 Things you should know about Personal Learning Environments‘.

A Pending Purchase

Posted on by acrystelle
4

It’s about this time of year when I ponder and plan what I will do with my tax return. I’m expecting a decent one, as I have a lot of expenses to claim and I also have a feeling I’ve paid too much tax this financial year.

I’ve made a deal with myself that if I receive a return over X amount, I’d like to purchase an iPad. I’m a careful buyer of such purchases. I always try to make sure I receive the best value for my money. I make it my mission to squeeze out the most possible benefit and use from an item. I’m not saying I’m ‘tight’ by any means, just don’t like my hard-earned money go to waste.

Main reasons for using an iPad are: -

  • Take notes at conferences and similar events such as professional development workshops
  • Read articles, blogs and other items delivered to my Google Reader
  • Traveling – use Skype, Evernote and internet for notes, writing and contacting home while away (business or pleasure)
  • Hook it up to the network at work – if allowed to, ‘sweet talking’ required
  • Take notes in work meetings
  • Casual mind mapping
  • General internet browsing

 

Benefits include: -

  • Notes are input straight to Evernote. No need to transfer hand written notes after the event and can email notes to my work inbox if required
  • Minimise need to take my laptop from the study to the couch to only read items from Google Reader (Is that just lazy? I find it annoying to move a 15 inch laptop)
  • Make traveling luggage lighter by having little need to take my laptop
  • At work – I can become more ‘mobile’ if I’m able to answer library questions from anywhere in the hangar office. I have people ‘grab me for a minute’ when I walk around and I often need to either go to their desk or have them walk to mine.

 

Now, the all important question – to 3G or not to 3G?

I’m leaning towards doing without 3G, mostly because of the extra cost for a data plan. If the majority of my use will be while connected to wifi, I shouldn’t need it. My thinking is that if I urgently need to look for something using the internet while ‘on the go’, I can use my iPhone. I have home internet, plus my iPhone which has a data plan included. So to add another data cost will take my total bill over $100 a month. That’s a lot of data! And money

Another question – how big?

I’m undecided between the 16G and 32G. When I think about it, the iPad will be mostly a work and study device. My notes are in Evernote so the data is not stored on the iPad. I won’t be storing books for leisure reading as I (still) prefer hard copy. Music is stored on my iPhone and Macbook.

 

So over to you. I need some advice.

What do you use your iPad for? Why did you buy one?

Am I missing any possible uses?

Did you opt for 3G? Why? Why not?

How big did you go? Why? Why not?