Jan 28, 2008
Posted by arif in GTD and Productivity | 7 comments
Earlier this is what I would go through:
1. Before Packing: Pretty much the whole day I would be thinking: “Oh my God, I’ve still got so much packing to do. When will I do it? I’m still at work. I better leave soon, but there’s still so much to do.”
2. And while I’m packing: “I’ve got to pack clothes and then there’s my toothbrush, and oh-my-God I cannot forget my mobile charger…aargh!”
3. But worst of all after I’m all packed: “hmm I’m know I’m forgetting something, but don’t know what that is.”
These days, packing is so easy when I’ve got to travel. (Ofcourse that’s mostly got to with the fact that I’ve got my sweet wife to help me out). But even then, every time I start packing, all I need to do is pick up my Travel Checklist and then blindly, without a shadow of a thought just start piling stuff into my laptop bag or suitcase as it maybe. Gosh, do you know how relieving that is. Ah, if you could just taste the sweetness of being in the state of no-thought, the mind-like-water. (Thank you David Allen, may the Lord bless your kind soul).
Have a Travel Checklist:
Even if you travel as less as once a year, I highly recommend making a Travel Checklist the very next time you start packing. It’s been an amazingly time-saving & stress-saving tool for me. The trick is to have it complete. If it’s not compete, then it’s only half-a travel checklist, and the other half is in your head & it’s giving you lots of stress.
I started mine using David Allen’s Travel Checklist as the initial draft and then customised it for my needs. I’ve saved it as a note in my Outlook Notes folder, which then automatically syncs to my Blackberry. You’ll find my entire Checklist below.
Feel free to use it, copy it and share it. I’m sure you’ll find quite a few things below that will make you go “Aha!” and want you to add it to your checklist. If so, or if you’ve found anything useful, do mention that in the comments below. Also if you’ve got any other Travel-tip would love to hear it.
Keep smiling ☺
Arif
Ps. I’m currently typing this being a royal house-guest of my wonderful in-laws at Mahuva in Gujrat. Thanks to my Travel Checklist, I had everything in place (laptop, charger, mouse, Reliance USB NetConnect) to make this blog post.
Arif Vakil Travel Checklist
To Carry in my Pocket:
Blackberry and Bluetooth
ipod with headphones
wallet (with enough money)
business card holder
pocket notepad
Pilot red & black pens
Sharbo pen/pencil in one
Laptop bag:
Macbook
power cord
Mouse and mouse-pad
Reliance usb connect
All gtd folders: (blue Ins, read/review etc)
2 books for reading
Dua book
Namaaz Compass
Sajdagha
Prayer Mat
Crocin red & blue
Red bull
Regular Bilt notebook to take notes
Business Cards
small yellow post-it
Empty cd
Cd writing pen.
Home keys in laptop bag keychain
Multi-plug converter (esp International travel)
Cable case only if feel necessary (ipod cable, camera cable, bberry cable)
Headphones splitter
Suitcase:
Running shirt
Running short
Running shoes
Climbing shoes (if going to Mumbai)
Deodrant
Laptop sleeve
Totebag / travel bag
Toothpaste/toothbrush/
Floss
If journey crosses Thu/fri: a Nail cutter.
Lens kit
Extra pair of lenses
Lenses
Spectacles
Lens cleansing solution
Hair comb
Underwear
Socks
Dress Shirts
Jeans
T-Shirts
Night Clothes (T shirt + pajamas)
Belt
Dress Shoes
A Bag to Carry Clothes that I have worn and now for Laundry.
Sweaters
Jackets
Slippers
Neck Support (for long journeys)
Phone Charger
Ipod charger (if travelling for 3 days or more)
Bluetooth charger (if necessary)
Tickets
Camers
Camera Charger
Video Camera if travelling with family or to meet family.
Car-tuner (esp if travelling with family)
Go through conference checklist if going to conference.
Handled (stuff to do):
Put forward tickler file.
Take support papers (credit card copy) from travel folder and put in Action support.
Browse through article/blogposts folder for read/review material to carry.
Collect laptop sleeve bag/tote travel bag from Ramesh
Ask Ramesh to get talking yellow pages tel number for city visiting and put in Addressbook
Hotel booked
Car P/U Arranged or taking airport taxi, decide (Ensure driver speaks hindi/english)
Mac Backed Up
Taken cash from accounts/atm
Print Off The Web:
Subway restaraunts in the area
Closest mosque
Weather checked
International
Passport
Foreign currency (eg Dirhams when Dubai)
If Traveling With Family:
Markers (for writing on cartons)
Jan 26, 2008
Posted by arif in GTD and Productivity | 13 comments
I have found the Tickler file to be an immense stress buster. It’s a brilliant tool when it comes to forgetting about something I need to do someday later and then remembering about it just the day I need to. There are two types of tickler file I maintain. One is a digital one and the other is a paper based one.
My Paper Based Tickler file:
Here’s a picture of the open drawer of my physical Paper based Tickler file. You may click it to see the full-size image.
I’ve set it up using standard Mercury Filing Cabinets, available at Pan Furniture store, with Surya Filing Folders.
To get those nice neat labels I’ve used Brother QL Label Printer or you can also use the DYMO LabelWriter 400, both of which should be available at the well-stocked stationery store. I’ve seen the labelers at the shelves of Staples, here in Bangalore.
I’m probably not making full use of it as I probably can and as David Allen does. What I currently have in my Tickler file is:
Affirmations and other Positive messages: I currently have printed out Affirmations from Susan Jeffers e-book “Why Affirmatins are so powerful“, placed it randomly in my Tickler File.
Reminders for Events: Misc invitations and seminars brochures which I need to be reminded of just a few days before to decide if I can make it or not.
Notes that I’ve decided to Process later: Some notes which I have taken during meetings, conferences which I did not have the mental-stamina to process right away I have put it to be processed some other day. When the later day comes up, I pickup the notes from my tickler file, and process them by asking:
- Is there any Project in this that I need to undertake?
- What is the Next Action on this?
- Or is this purely reference that I need to file away.
Digital Tickler File:
My Digital Tickler File is simply a Category in my Outlook that is named ‘@ATickler’. Here’s a screenshot below.
As you can see I currently have 112 items in my Tickler file. All these are things I need to do on a specific day only. I wouldn’t want to do the items before the day specified, that would be too soon and after the day specified, the item would just expire.
Therefore on that day, these tasks appear in Yellow in the Tasks pane of the Calendar view of my Outlook screen as can be seen below. I either complete the task that day while right-clicking the task and checking it complete. Or make a conscious decision to take up the task some other day and then right click once again and select the day to which it should remind me again.
Some examples from my 112 Tickler items are:
Reminder to expect Reports: I have a weekly/monthly reminder to expect the cashflow reports from my Accounts department.
So if I don’t receive it, I can followup on them.
Reminder for Backups: I have a monthly reminder to backup the hard-disk of my MacBook.
Reminder on the expiration of any subscription: I’m currently trying out the Aweber emailing service, I’ve put a reminder after a month to unsusbcribe if I’m not pleased with the service or not using it to it’s full potential.
Reminder to clean up my ipod ‘ToListen’ playlist & to Sync it: Review all unheard podcasts and tag the good ones as “ToListen”.
I’m subscribed to a number of spiritual, business, personality development podcasts. Currently I’m easily subscribed to some 40 odd podcasts. (side note: Five of which I listen to regularly I’ve blogged about here.) To get maximum value so that I hear the ones just what is most relevant to my needs, I have created a Tickler task that reminds me on a particular day every week to browse through these podcasts and tag the (using TuneTag for Macintosh only, sorry.
) podcasts I fancy as ‘ToListen’ and sync my ipod to it. Therefore next time I’m in my car I don’t need to go through the 50 podcasts I’m subscribed to see which of them should I listen to. I just open up my ‘ToListen’ playlist, select any one podcast/speech/Audiobook from the 10 I had pre-selected and hit play.
Misc FAQs on Tickler File:
Why is it called a Tickler File?
David Allen of GTD fame calls it that as it helps him get stuff out of his face when he doesn’t need to see it and then when the time is right it tickles him and the stuff come back into his face as he needs to see it then.
Isn’t the Tickler file just a glorified reminder system?
Yes, and a highly efficient and effective one too. The beauty of using this system is one you actually use the Tickler file to it’s limits. Use it to remind you 100% of the stuff you need to be reminded about. When you eventually have it set it up like that, you’ll finally taste what it feels like to have nothing on your mind.
Why have two Tickler Filing systems (ie a digital and a physical-paper-based one)? Isn’t it creating more work for oneself?
It’s highly efficient. When my hands are on my keyboard and if there’s something that I remember that I need to do on a particular day, I use the following quick steps to place my Tickler item:
1. Cmd + Tab to go to my Outlook screen (Alt+Tab for Windows users)
2. Crtl + Shift + K to create a new task
3. I type in my reminder in the new task that’s created.
4. Hit alt+d and type in the date for the reminder (tip: Outlook recognises text like tomorrow, next day, next week, even First Sunday of December, which it then converts to the relevant day).
5. Press alt+s to save and close the task.
6. Finally press Cmd+Tab to get back to what I’m currently doing (again Alt+Tab for Windows users.
That may look like it takes a lot of time, but after a couple of attempts, actually takes less than a minute to do.
Similarly, when my hands are not on my keyboard and I’m clearing away papers from my intray, all I need to do is swivel to my tickler file and get it out of my face by dropping it in to the relevant day folder it belongs to.
Why I use Outlook Tasks in a paritcular category, rather than putting it my Outlook Calendar?
- I can review or just scan all my items in my Tickler file if I ever want to.
- Very often a Tickler item gets converted to an @Agenda, or @Errands or @Waiting For and it’s quicker to changed it from a @ATickler into the other category if it’s a task already.
- The default filter function in the blackberry is very powerful. It’s really easy to zone into a particular Tickler item I need to from my blackberry as well if it’s Task item rather than if it’s a Calendar item.
If you would like some clarification to set up this system for efficient working for yourself, post your question in the comments below. I’ll be pleased to answer them.
Jan 2, 2008
Posted by arif in Reviews | 3 comments
What’s RSS?
RSS stands for Really Sweet Stories. Okay it doesn’t stand for that, but the stories is what it’s all about. It’s a web-technology that helps these Really Sweet Stories (like this one), news & information reach you in your web-browser (Internet Explorer or Firefox) rather than you going after it, day after day. If there’s one tech habit you acquire in 2008, let it be the habit of subscribing to various RSS feeds and getting your information through there.
How will subscribing to RSS, make my life better?
1. A Huge Time Saving: Most of us are spending more and more time on the web. Although the web is a great tool (the best really) for information, entertainment, staying connected with friends etc., it is a HUGE time-waster too. By getting information via RSS you can iscan through 40 to 50 webpages within 5 easy minutes, with no stress whatsoever. You settle upon which you’d like to read, then with the help of some RSS Readers you can choose to read it right away or mark it for later.
2. Keeps you Focused: By having subscribed to RSS feeds of only the websites that matter it will restrict you & hence be focused on the information you need to receive. Furthermore in an RSS reader you are spared from the clutter such as Ads & other distractions such as cute graphics and other information on the side panels of a website. The absence of which keeps you concentrated on the core message. Otherwise it’s very easy to be swayed away link to link and then forgetting what it was that you initially came to the website for.
3. Keeps you updated with the latest News: Instead of buying the newspaper, waiting for someone at home or office to finish it, or even instead of typing the URL to go to the website, the RSS reader pulls the News from BBC, Times of India, The Hindu or any news website and has it delivered to you for it to be read at your computer or your phone (more on this below). It’s a highly efficient way to stay on top of things, with minimum effort, very little time and without feeling overwhelmed.
4. Helps you restart your lost hobbies, interests & passions: Here’s where RSS has really helped me. I love writing, but for some reason either lack of organisation or motivation couldn’t get myself to write regularly. By subscribing to a whole lot of writing Blogs, I was exposed to the material regularly for 6 whole months. It supplied not only with the motivation, but even the method and the tools to finally make me take my passion seriously.
What is that one thing that you really want to do but can’t seem the time to do it? Is it some sport, exercising, starting a book or even a business maybe? Whatever it is your interest lies in there are hundreds of quality websites & blogs on the topic that are regularly updating information on that topic. By subscribing to RSS you don’t need to go to visit that information every time. It will be delivered to you. And reading it for long enough witll eventually spur you to go and do something about it.
5.Keeps you in touch with friends: Many of my friends have Blogs now. Thanks to RSS it’s really easy to keep up with the ongoings of their lives and their writings in just a few clicks.
6. Keeps you updated when you’re on the go. Sometimes, days pass by when I don’t go online on my laptop. I don’t need to. Just one glance to the RSS feeds in my mobile and I get to know the latest headlines, the weather and any info on the blogs/websites that I track. This is another huge time saver, as very often I’m at our various sites or I come across 10 minutes of time when a meeting is delayed and thanks to RSS in that small bucket of time I process a massive amount of information then.
How do I subscribe to RSS? Well it’s really very easy…
Step 1: Get an RSS Reader. There are plenty of Free readers out there. Google Reader seems to be the more popular one, we (me and Ali) prefer NetVibes. You can read Ali’s review of how useful NetVibes is by clicking here. Google Reader or NetVibes, either one is absolutely fine.
Step 2:Look for the orange icon.Be it a news site, a sports site, or even a filmy site, most of them now support RSS. How would you know, just look for the Orange icon. You can see one on top of this blog post, on the right hand side of the home page of our Blog.
Step 3: Subscribe.
a. Just Click on the Icon,
b. Copy the web address from your browser
c. Head over to your RSS Reader.
d. Click on Add/Subscribe to Feed.
e. Paste the web address there and click on Subscribe.
Step 4: Make your Rss reader your home page. Now to ensure that you read your RSS regularly, it would be a good idea to make this page, your home page. So that whenever you open your browser, it’s this page you are directed to. Which again is quite simple to do:
a. Click on Tools and then Options (or Internet Options) from your web browser.
b. Click on ‘Use Current’ under the Home Page option, beneath the Main/General tab.
That’s it. You’ve Done it! Hey, hey, now go treat yourself to warm cup of cappuccino with Hazelnut syrup. :-)
RSS in Plain English: a video on RSS:
I particularly like the short video right titled RSS in Plain English. It’s only 3.5 minutes seconds long and explains the benefits and how to subscribe to RSS in an very nice & simple way.
[wp_youtube]0klgLsSxGsU[/wp_youtube]
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