43 Folders

Back to Work

Merlin’s weekly podcast with Dan Benjamin. We talk about creativity, independence, and making things you love.

Join us via RSS, iTunes, or at 5by5.tv.

”What’s 43 Folders?”
43Folders.com is Merlin Mann’s website about finding the time and attention to do your best creative work.

Jonathan Ballinger - About Me

Hi,

I missed this board or I would've posted here first! I first read David Allen's book in late 2005 when I was getting snowed under with things at work.

I tried the good old paper route first and thought it was a dismal failure (the use of paper for me, not the principles. Those resonated almost immediately) as I kept losing the relevant bits I needed to remind me of my options at that time and in that place.

For a long time I tried half-hearted implementations of various tools which all exhibited one of the following issues:

  • Not omnipresent enough - they weren't with me all the time
  • Not quick enough - this was rare but it is infuriating to have to wait for something to load slowly
  • Too much - GTD's benefit comes from its simplicity
  • Too little (rare, but occurred)

I'd be using software tools that required me to enter every last nuance of what I was working on which invariably ended with my giving up on the program. I'd buy moleskine notebooks that were used for other purposes because they didn't meet my GTD wants.

For a long time I was only using GTD on a sporadic basis which was annoying because I knew there was a better way out there but just wasn't doing enough to use it.

In the end I settled on the PocketPC as my always there tool, as it was. My Axim is always in my pocket and so it made sense. I handle email in its own area, Mail.app in my case at home, and Outlook at work but my day-to-day tasks and projects reside in my PPC.

Regarding this site, I've been a long time reader and it's influenced a lot of my ideas and implementations but never actually registered for the board. Ironically because I couldn't find the time to spend reading boards as I wasn't able to GTD! Funny how something that invariably takes a fair amount of time to set up works out as a massive time saver.

In the interests of full disclosure, I am also the developer of nActionr for the PocketPC.

About JonathanBallinger

 
EXPLORE 43Folders THE GOOD STUFF

Popular
Today

Popular
Classics

An Oblique Strategy:
Honor thy error as a hidden intention


STAY IN THE LOOP:

Subscribe with Google Reader

Subscribe on Netvibes

Add to Technorati Favorites

Subscribe on Pageflakes

Add RSS feed

The Podcast Feed

Cranking

Merlin used to crank. He’s not cranking any more.

This is an essay about family, priorities, and Shakey’s Pizza, and it’s probably the best thing he’s written. »

Scared Shitless

Merlin’s scared. You’re scared. Everybody is scared.

This is the video of Merlin’s keynote at Webstock 2011. The one where he cried. You should watch it. »