Comments on: Personal digital assistant or paper for on-the-go collecting

By: Jim Watson

Jim Watson — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 11:17:14 +0000

I prefer to use a combination of tools:

Capture digitally:
I love the voice recorder on my iPhone, particularly to capture those fleeting thoughts.

Organize on paper:
Yes, I still use a DayTimer. And I still write my appointments and to-do’s in it.

There’s something about the tactile act of writing on paper that causes me to think, envision, and engage more of my brain in the process of getting organized.

Call me half-evolved, but it works for me!

Jim Watson
Portland, Maine
http://bit.ly/rmOYIf

By: Canyon R

Canyon R — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 15:07:38 +0000

I use a combination of paper and digital for capture.

My primary capture is my Franklin Covey Task List Wallet, which holds 3×5 cards and my ID plus a few credit cards. That and my cross pen go everywhere with me. I also use Evernote on my Android phone for capture and as my reference system. The new voice input is much better. I also take a picture of the whiteboard after a meeting, and save it strait into Evernote for processing later.

My Projects and Next Actions are all in Toodledo, but I try to never capture directly into it unless it’s just recording a Next Action.

I tried to find a link to the FC Task List Wallet but it looks like it’s discontinued. Now I’m worried about mine finally wearing out. I have been carrying it for 4 years.

By: Noel

Noel — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 04:02:13 +0000

I use (and created) an iPhone app called Purpose. It was designed from the ground up for GTD. Much more convenient than trying to do GTD with general purpose to-do apps. It has a quick audio record feature for quickly dumping things out of your head wherever you are.

By: Ben

Ben — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 23:44:13 +0000

I have the tri-fold note taker wallet, predates having a smartphone. Now that I am on year 3 of having an Android smartphone the note taker wallet pad is seeing less and less use. (still use it on occasion though, so handy!)

For immediate capture I use ToodleTask. If a data connection is not available it waits and sends updates to my ToodelDo inbox when there is a connection. Simplest interface I have found for immediate task/idea capture.

For general notes and information collection I use Evernote. Been working on going paperless with this tool.

With 4.1 of Android (Jellybean) you will be able to do offline dictation. So basically any application on an Android device that takes text as input will have voice dictation available anywhere anytime…

By: mel

mel — Sat, 07 Jul 2012 21:49:55 +0000

Like Ann M, I use Toodledo and a moleskine. I just got an iPhone but I can already see that it will replace a lot of my need to carry the moleskine.

By: David Popely

David Popely — Sat, 07 Jul 2012 14:19:58 +0000

Paper, always. My entire system is paper. A smartphone comes a poor second in almost every way. Scrambled/deleted/corrupted data, poor speed of access (by comparison), battery failure, poor/non-existent connectivity. As a phone book it’s great. For everything else, I have paper

By: Stephen P Smith

Stephen P Smith — Sat, 07 Jul 2012 11:47:07 +0000

I mostly use 3×5 notecards that I keep in my IPB for most capture, as it seemlessly goes into my kanban system, but for some things (pics, audio snippets) Evernote on my Android is excellent.

Like Wendy, I do not always have coverage for my phone, so I can easily run down my battery if I do a lot of syncs without internet access (I live out in the country…).

By: Ann M.

Ann M. — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 14:09:12 +0000

I use Toodledo on my iPhone and then on my computer at the office and it has transformed my life.

In addition, I always carry a moleskine for the times when using a smartphone is not convenient or possible.

By: TJ Wolfe

TJ Wolfe — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 12:26:49 +0000

Like many others, Evernote and iPhone are my capture tools. Evernote offers text, audio, images, and video input, syncs with all my other devices, and I always have it with me.

I tried having my phone and a separate pad and pen, but having to lug all of lose around, and keep track of two separate capture devices was too much for me.

One tool (iPhone) and one program to capture (Evernote) all of the ways I like to input ‘stuff’ (text, audio, images, and video) is a ‘no brainer’ for me!!

By: John C.

John C. — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 01:37:02 +0000

Phones are getting better as capture tools, but I still use a small notebook and pen.

I have two reasons for this.

1). My phone is great for info. retrieval, but is clunky at info. capture.

2). I prefer to put the pages into my existing physical inbox rather than to send an electronic note to one of my other electronic inboxes (ie email, voicemail). I don’t like getting email or voicemail from myself, and I want less inboxes, not more.