Merlin’s weekly podcast with Dan Benjamin. We talk about creativity, independence, and making things you love.
Merlin’s weekly podcast with Dan Benjamin. We talk about creativity, independence, and making things you love.
”What’s 43 Folders?”
43Folders.com is Merlin Mann’s website about finding the time and attention to do your best creative work.
Getting Things DoneGTD is a personal productivity system and book by David Allen that we like a lot. Read: Getting Started with ‘Getting Things Done’. My kGTD setupMerlin Mann | Dec 7 2005Related to today's earlier post, a number of people have written over the past few weeks with curiosity about kGTD ("Is it worth buying OmniOutliner Pro?" "Is it worth buying a Mac?" "Will I be able to vanquish all foes?"). While I'm not prepared to do a major sales presentation, I am happy to oblige the folks who wanted to see how I've set mine up. Also gives you a little window into my current contexts (as well as my atrocious personal habits). Screenshot here (best viewed full size): comments and questions will be entertained. read more »52 Comments
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Ethan Schoonover: Learn GTD's load-bearing wallsMerlin Mann | Dec 7 2005Knocking Down Walls: GTD Ownership vs Orthodoxy Kinkless GTD developer Ethan J. A. Schoonover has some great insights on moving beyond GTD "orthodoxy": read more »POSTED IN:
James Fallows on Mac thinking toolsMerlin Mann | Dec 4 2005Mac Programs That Come With Thinking Caps On - New York Times _The Atlantic_'s James Fallows -- who also wrote one of my favorite pieces on The David -- has done a piece for the New York Times_ on the various "thinking tools" for the Mac. He covers all the goodies, including Devonthink, Tinderbox, Circus Ponies Notebook, AquaMinds NoteTaker, and my current steady date, OmniOutliner Pro (including a nice shoutout to Ethan's _amazing Kinkless GTD for OO).
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Ev Williams: Achieving balance with GTDMerlin Mann | Nov 27 2005evhead: Ten Rules for Web Startups Ev's ten rules for a startup are all strong, but #10 particularly caught my eye:
Right on. Slightly off-topic, but on my mind...as I commented earlier today, I'm finding myself increasingly uncomfortable framing techniques like GTD strictly in terms of "productivity" (although the ability to be more efficient and productive is definitely a nice perk). GTD fights stress not by transforming you into a drone or a brainless corporate cog, but by affording a framework for recovering and maintaining smart focus. What you do with that focus is entirely your affair -- clearly people will use it for everything from building a very swell startup to managing their music career and beyond. Gratefully, nowhere does The David say you have to turn into an enormous-toothed White Guy running sales seminars at the La Quinta Inn. In any case, when we're doing GTD right, Ev is right on the money: balance is sewn into every stitch of your week. Even two years into using GTD, I have to say I'm still pleased -- and sometimes even surprised -- at how well it still works for me. Whenever I fall off the horse, I'm usually just a mini-review away from feeling retuned to my priorities and commitments. I agree with Ev; it's powerful stuff. I do wonder if there's a better term for GTD's goals and methods than simply "productivity" or even "time management" What do you think? Does it matter? POSTED IN:
Tinderbox Weekend talk: Slides and links postedMerlin Mann | Nov 19 2005I've posted the slides from my talk today at Tinderbox Weekend along with links to some of the posts and cool applications I mentioned. Thanks to all the participants for great questions and conversations. POSTED IN:
Mike Mahon: Whacking the stupid out of his systemMerlin Mann | Nov 16 2005Wow. I love this practical outline of stuff Mike Mahon does to get things done. It's primarily a list of useful life-hacky stuff that helps him keep it together, but it also repeatedly brings the funny: read more »POSTED IN:
KGTD keeps getting betterMerlin Mann | Nov 4 2005Kinkless (Home)
I'd already been meaning to have another look at the Omni Outliner-based Kinkless GTD, which -- after my heartfelt infatuation a month ago -- fell off my radar screen in a frenzy of air traffic that sent me into Extreme Tool-Reduction Mode™. Yesterday I realized the time was right and that KGTD would be perfect for this particular blizzard. Well, jeez Louise: I returned to find an already amazing project had actually gotten much better. I mean, damn, man. The marquee feature for us Quicksilver flying monkeys is the addition of an Applescript for adding to a KGTD inbox from anywhere. I swear by these sorts of scripts (and currently use about 7 of them to generate Category-based Tasks in Entourage). Note that in the image above, you're seeing where I've created a Quicksilver trigger ( The QS stuff alone is worth a look, because it frees you from the agony of the modal change, but I'm also intrigued by a bunch of other little finials in the latest editions: read more »POSTED IN:
Recap: Turning procrastination into actionMerlin Mann | Oct 31 2005Monday's the perfect day to climb back on the horse; if you've been feeling behind and guilty about the crap you've been putting off, have a quick browse here. And when you're done, try a fast dash to get back your confidence and knock down a few "mosquito tasks." read more »POSTED IN:
Applescript to "sync" iCal to your Hipster PDAMerlin Mann | Oct 27 2005Mike McCamon offers a clever way to get just his task list from iCal printed onto index cards for his Hipster PDA. Applescript to the rescue: read more »POSTED IN:
NPR: Clive on "Interruption Science"Merlin Mann | Oct 19 2005read more » POSTED IN:
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