WebedtecH

GTD and other systems have leveraged the concept of contexts for a long time. These are the places that actions should be taken, for example @home, @computer, or @phone. It makes it simple to find things to take off your to-do list in groups when you can filter them by where you are.

Evernote Mobile gives you the ability to add tags to your captured items and then search for those tags. If you are using Windows Mobile as I am and capture a text note you can tap on:

Then add a title by selecting Options and Edit Title.

Once you have added a title select Options and Assign tags to add your context to your note.

Now when you create your note and synchronize it with Evernote the context will be pushed up as a tag and can be reference from the desktop, searched from the web, or used to locate all the related notes while mobile as you see below:

You can see that by searching for the context “@grocery” I can find all the notes applicable to that location.  Yet another way Evernote Mobile can help you keep your information organized quickly and easily.  Love this tool.

Note – when searching from your mobile device the system won’t filter on the “@” so you will get back any notes containing the text part of your context.  Not perfect but way better than nothing.

One of the challenges I have faced is keeping all of the facets of my schedule synchronized. Between work, family, and other interests, maintaining multiple schedules can take as much time as the activities on the schedules. No matter where I am I need to know my work, family, and school schedule on demand. One step towards solving this has been getting all the calendar information to one calendar…in this case it’s Google Calendar.

Since all my events now filter to one calendar it just became a matter of getting that calendar onto my phone in a regular, reliable manner. In came GooSync to solve the problem and address my contacts and todos as well. Here’s how it works for me:

GooSync is a two part application. One part is loaded on the phone to schedule the connection to the web based account and control the sync on this end. The second part is the web account that is connected to my Google Calendar, Google Contacts and GooSync task list (they don’t support Google Tasks yet because there’s no API, but I’m sure they will when it’s ready.) The GooSync application runs on a scheduled sync to pull and push events from my Google Calendar. Now there are other applications out there that do similar but I have found the GooSync app to be exceptionally adept at handling multiple calendars from Google. My entries on my phone begin with [Fam] or [V95] or [CCS] for family, crew, or school events. Even better if I want to enter an event to show up on one of those calendars (which are shared with other people) I can create an entry beginning with one of those tags and it is pushed directly to that calendar. Definitely a time saver for shared group calendars.

My contact listing, while not miles long as many people have, is a vital part of my communications and organization. I like to keep only one list and have it accessible from multiple spots. GooSync channels my Google contact list to my phone and back again. It’s a simple enough concept but at least now I know when I email from Gmail or through my phone, I have the same list of people and addresses.

Finally…my task list. I was a user of Remember the Milk for a long time, but experienced a disappointing letdown in their sync support so I abandonded that ship. I use GooSync’s task manager now on the web side and my phone when mobile. The GooSync solution is effective because it meshes well with the category functions on the phone as well as offering a new Google gadget for my iGoogle page to manage my tasks from the computer.

Lots of moving parts that need to be kept working together. Sounds like the story of most of our lives. In this case, GooSync is the solution I’ve found that keeps the wheels turning for me.

I have been a strong advocate of Evernote for quite some time now and the addition of Evernote Mobile as an extension of the web solution makes it that much more a vital part of my organizational toolbox. Evernote Mobile can capture text, pictures, and voice notes and synchronize them with the web account and the desktop. Using this you can capture whatever is necessary and send it right to your inbox without giving it a second thought. Now combine those functions will the option to search your posted notes and retrieve them anywhere and you have a one-two punch.

You can read all the details about how the application works at the Evernote web site, so how about I give you some ideas as to how I put it to use. Here’s a normal day of Evernote Mobile usage for me:

Start of the day:

Each morning I’ll pop open my Evernote Mobile and jot down anything that has occured to me during the night or over coffee that needs to be addressed. A simple text note takes care of this. (I know, GTD says handle everything only once so it should be going into my Task List right away…but it takes way less time this way.) Finish the morning routine (other steps I’ll describe in future articles) and I’m out the door.

Morning commute:

I have an hour commute each way so I have plenty of time to think. It’s not safe to text while you drive (I’d never do that ) so I frequently use the audio capture function to record short and long notes to myself and store them in Evernote. Blog ideas, discussion topics, problem solutions, research topics, whatever comes to mind.

Listing to my satellite radio there are many times when I will hear an artist I haven’t heard before and want to track down their works when I get to my computer. I tried using the audio recorder on Evernote, but that proved unreliable for this aspect (though I could probably just record the artist name and song title). Instead I use the photo capture to take a snapshot of the radio display to get the artist name and song name quickly.

At work:

This is where Evernote Mobile really shines. I’m in and out of conference rooms and buildings all day long, many of which have questionable cellular coverage. By switching my Evernote Mobile to “pause” I can capture information without any connection at all. If I have a connection it’s that much better since then I can search for information just as easily as I can capture it.

Evening commute:

See “Morning commute”

Back home:

Grocery lists, to do lists, snapshots of birthday party invitations, event schedules, you name it…it goes into Evernote. I use the mobile app to speed up the capture and move onto the next item. No reason to waste time, just capture and go.

As you can see, my main input into my system is Evernote and Evernote Mobile. Mind you, they are not the only way into the system, but they have proven their worth time and time again in capturing and holding all the random information I would normally be writing down and struggling to retrieve.

Application Number 2 – Keeping things in sync

My organizational methods focus around two tools:  my Samsung Blackjack II and a Rollabind (or other brand) notebook.  Looking over the system I am amazed by the amount of work I can accomplish using just these two tools.

The core applications I use on a daily basis are (in no specific order):

1. Evernote Mobile
2. GooSync
3. eWallet
4. Palringo
5. Skyfire
6. Twikini
7. Viigo
8. My-Cast Weather
9. SBSH Calendar
10. SMS Bubbles
11. and an honorable mention to Google Calendar Sync

As part of a system review I thought I should detail how each of these applications fit into the organizational mix of my system.  Each of these applications serve a purpose in the daily capture and management of events, tasks, and information as I live and work.  I have a fairly mobile life between work and home with several core areas to manage.  Tightly integrating all of them while avoiding repeat entries and work is the key to this working well.  It’s not perfect yet, but it’s getting closer.

I’ve been spending a lot of time lately trying to position Evernote as the core of my information system. I think I’m finally there. Let me explain my needs and then I’ll explain what I did to make it work for me. As many people I have a very “portable” life. I am always on the go and need to capture information as well as retrieve it many times a day. The trick with this has been efficiency and consistency in capture. I carry a Samsung Blackjack II with me at all times so it just seemed natural to use it as the center of my capture tools when I am mobile. The Evernote Windows Mobile client was going to be my tool of choice until I discovered a fatal flaw…or so I thought.

Here was the idea. Using the mobile client I could capture text, photos, and audio notes and upload them to the sync’d Evernote space for later reference. It was here I hit the stumbling block. It seemed that the only time I could capture something was when I was in a place with a good network connection so it could be uploaded immediately. But many times I’m in places (like basement conference rooms) that don’t have connectivity. So much for that idea.

Not one to give up I contacted Evernote about the functionality (since it seemed so logical and it was also shown on their screenshots) and behold, in one quick response they told me to go into the Activity option and press Pause. That holds all the sync activity from the handheld to the cloud (great function…but needs to be easier to find, guys.) I was there…I had my solution…but yet again I was foiled. I created a text note with the mobile application paused. Smooth as silk. Then…wait…how do I edit it? I poked around in the application and finally found by going back into Activity and looking at the list of things queued to be sent at the next sync I could edit one by clicking on it. Saved! So now I have a tool that I can keep with me all the time, enter text or capture pictures, and when I have a chance upload them to the Evernote databfor reference and recall. Pretty sweet.

Part 2 – How it all works in the field…

and yes…that’s a Twitter hashtag in the title.  It’s intentional because when this is published it goes to Twitter automatically.