The Cranking Widgets Blog

So after spending a few months with this new-fangled GTD thing using only paper-based tools, I can’t help but notice all the super-cool web apps that keep cropping up all over the place. I’ve played with a couple of them (SimpleGTD, Vitalist and Nozbe – the last only briefly), and while some of them are very cool indeed, I was always able to think of several reasons why the wouldn’t work for me. Since, ultimately, they’re all designed to solve the same problem, they all also share the same shortcomings (as far as my needs are concerned). Mostly, it came down to a single issue: portability.

As I’ve described in the past, my primary reason for choosing to use a wholly analog GTD system was the notion that I would be able to manage that system from anywhere I had my notebooks, index cards and a pen. Capture would benefit most directly here, as that’s the one task I do frequently when not near a computer. It’s worth mentioning that I spend very little time more than 30 feet from a computer on a given day – my drive to/from work and any socializing I do outside of my home (which is very little considering I have a toddler son and a baby daughter due this June). Heck, even my in-laws have a computer with Internet access that I could use should the need arise. So, given these circumstances, it seems like I’ve just made a pretty strong case for using a digital system (or at least a hybrid). Why then don’t I pull the trigger and switch?

Before I get to that, I’m going to let you in on a little secret about me: I like having my bases covered. I’m the kind of guy who keeps Kleenex in strategic locations throughout his house/car/desk, even when he’s not sick; the sort of chap who has several unopened packages of index cards in his major work areas, just in case the need should arise. I have trouble concentrating if I don’t have a writing utensil within arm’s reach. Don’t even get me started on the total breakdown I experience if I misplace my cell phone. Getting the idea?

So the paper system offers me, in a very fundamental sense, “security”. I can sit comfortably just about anywhere with my Moleskine notebook and calendar and be ready to rock. I can very easily pack up my entire GTD system (sans the filing system, of course) into my messenger bag and be on my way. I don’t have to wonder if my cell phone won’t have reception or if my Internet connection will go down. The beauty is in the simplicity. Of course, there are downsides to all-analog GTD:

1. Volume of Stuff – As I write this, my (somewhat extravagant) GTD setup – again, minus the filing/reference stuff – fits snugly into it’s own average-size messenger bag. That’s 2 notebooks, a calendar, a tickler file, a mobile file folder thing, my “mobile in-basket” and other assorted odds and ends. I know I have more pieces than are required by canonical GTD, but I do best when well equipped. All that is to say that paper GTD requires you to have and use a lot of tangible crap.
2. No Backups – If somebody took a lighter to my project list, I’d be pretty close to hosed. This is probably my biggest beef with analog GTD. I’ve seen the havoc that a lack of effective backups can cause, and I find that vulnerability to be quite problematic.
3. Manipulation - Last time I checked, index cards and paper notebooks don’t support drag-n-drop, search-and-replace or any other of the little benefits you get when using a computer.

Despite these issues, (up until recently) I was still very happy with my analog GTD system, overall.

But then Stikkit had to show up and be totally freaking awesome.

I won’t belabor the finer points of what makes Stikkit extremely cool, as somebody much more popular than I am has already done a pretty good job of doing just that. Suffice it to say that it’s one of the slickest Web 2.0 applications since Flickr. Seriously. Being able to drive an entire application through little more than natural language is just too sweet.

Granted, it wasn’t built for GTD. There are certain key bits of missing functionality that preclude it from being a turnkey GTD solution. But the fact that Merlin Mann is on their advisory board would certainly lead me to believe that a whole pantload of frothing GTD monkeys will be close behind. There’s also the API which, given a sufficient amount of hacking and bastardizing, could allow you to build a pretty slick GTD system on top of Stikkit. Logistically, it would take some work – especially if it were going to be shared with the masses, but I definitely think it could be done.

Bottom line, I’m very seriously considering moving my GTD system partially off of paper and onto Stikkit. The majority of the functionality is there (projects, tasks, calendar, contacts, tickler-like reminders, etc.) The only thing missing is a clearcut way to link everything together into an intelligent system – and I have to believe that’s coming soon.

Is anybody out there using Stikkit as a GTD tool (in whatever capacity)? I’m curious to hear how such people are liking it and if they’d recommend it.

Technorati Tags: stikkit, gtd, merlin mann, productivity, web2.0, moleskine