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Hi there,

I listened the following up podcast a couple of month ago. I am using a different (outlook) calendar for following up several things. My problem is, that I am forgetting to many things before I could put them to the calendar. I am a high D - so I have issues with daily todos.

Has anyone a tool or an idea how to get better with this?

jk0108

brianr5's picture

I really like using Evernote for this.  It runs on pc's, tablets, smart phones... and is web based so all of your devices stay in sync.  And you can drop lists, weblinks, pictures... into your notes.  You can take a picture of the whiteboard after a meeting with your phone and a few clicks later you have your action items captured to Evernote... and as long as you have your phone, a table, laptop... with you, you always have access to it.

Brett Kelly's Evernote Essentials book is pretty helpful to get started.

svibanez's picture

I carry a notebook just about everywhere I go and I am always taking notes. I write down new tasks, questions, things I need to get status updates on, etc.whenever I think of them.

I tried using Evernote but found it a bit clunky for me - I just can't type on my smartphone as fast as I can scribble in my notebook.

spiderwj's picture

I carry a notebook everywhere I go to take notes in meetings, action items, etc.  My notebook is a moleskine large sized notebook (not always a moleskine but that is the size I work with).  I take notes on the right-hand page and use the left hand page for my action items and waiting on items.  Each day I start with generating my to-do list which consists of the top 3 items I need to accomplish in the day.  during the day to-do's get added but the top 3 are the most critical at the start of the day.

3/4 of the way down the page, I write "waiting-for:" and as the day goes on, I list items I am waiting on.  During my weekly review, it is easy for me to flip back through the pages and see what items I am waiting on.  Either I didn't check them off as received and need to follow-up or they are completed and get checked off during the review.

If an action has a specific deadline, I will add a to-do item to add it to my outlook calendar.  Then when I get back to my computer i take 10 seconds to add it and I am automatically reminded in the future when it is due.

Web

 

jl_herrera's picture

The problem that I have with notebooks is that as much as I take notes, I have trouble going back to read those notes.  I agree with using Evernote or other calendar-based application.  I rely on tasks & calendar reminders popping up on my computer or mobile device, and it's easy to attach files to those.

edzaun's picture

Listen to the cast on the Cornell note-takng system and adapt it to your needs. Develop a set of symbols you can draw quickly and cleanly and use them to mark important items so you can pick them out of your notes.

It does take a little practice but it also makes you a better listener and keeps you in the meetingin everyone's view.

 

Ed

vlines's picture

I use my iPad for my journal notes and use Notability.  I've looked at Evernote, but notes have to be typed and I much prefer to handwrite my notes (no, the app does not change the writing to typed text).  With this I have the ability to change the color of my notes if I want to follow up on something or highlight a note.  Every Monday I review the prior week's notes and make sure that I followed up on the items that needed to be taken care of.  I also take pictures of whiteboards, etc. and embed them in the notes so I have all the pertinent information.  I've done this for years and it works well for me.

Jrlz's picture

It is old school, but I use a standard letter size notepad.    At the end of each day I write down the daily to-do items for the following day, then throughout the day as things come up that need attention (same day or another day), I write them down.   I also keep a seperate sheet for longer term items that do not need to be done same day.  I have used this process for sometime now and it has worked very well.   By having it right in front of me I can not forget it.  I have tried evernote, but found it took too much time to log a taks and for me if it was out of sight it was out of mind.  In addition, I can write down items during meeting, where as a tablet or smartphone does not always work in some meeting settings.

v_flomed14's picture

After reading David Allen's book -Getting Things Done (MT's book recommendation), I set up a tickler file. I have a stack of scrap paper on my desk for those things that occur to me to do while in the middle of doing something else. Right away I put that page on the day's file folder and review the folder later on in the day to make sure I have either done what I needed to do or file onto other days those things that can wait or that are not due right away.

The trick is to review your files once  week and especially at the end of the month. I highly recommend it. Good luck to you!

TNoxtort's picture

I use a couple tools. I follow Mark Forster's Superfocus method where in my planner, I write things that have to be done on the left column, and urgent items on the right hand side. As I  read my E-mails, people ask me things, I just capture it on the handwritten list, which I review every Monday morning.

While I am a huge Evernote fan, I don't like it for tasks. I use an app on my phone called Any.do that syncs with Google Chrome and my phone to capture things I may think of. I can dictate tasks into Any.do since I often think of things while driving.

A third tool I use is followupthen. You send / forward an E-mail to the date/time @fut.io and it comes back to you at that time. Like I need to call the dentist today; I had a picture of his business card and my new insurance card in Evernote. I had merged them in Evernote, and then sent it to [email protected] and it will send me an E-mail at  1 PM, and include the pictures of the business card and my insurance card.