GTD, MLO and BlackBerry
To begin with, the BlackBerry is a very unusual device, the ideology of which is very different from all other smartphones. Most of the frustrations of those who bought it for the first time arise from the fact that they are trying to apply their skills to communicate with the phone, based on the experience of previous smartphones. It does not matter on which platform - Symbian, Android, iOS, Windows Mobile. I will make a reservation right away - this path will not lead to anything good. You are constantly confronted with the fact that either the required functions simply do not exist, or with the fact that there are too many choices of actions that seem completely unnecessary to you. The more you fight with the device, the less comfortable you feel. And after a while you ask yourself the question - how could such a device find love from a huge number of users abroad ?!
The answer lies in the very principles of working with BlackBerry. I, too, was once perplexed, turning my first BlackBerry Bold 9700 in my hands - what is so special about it? Everything is the same as in my previous Nokia E71, HTC s620 Excalibur / Dash and Palm Treo 650. However, the longer I worked with him, trying to understand why this was the case and not the other, the more I became attached to him. And now it is very difficult for me to switch to a device on another platform - there are not many small things there that at first glance were not visible.
The conclusion to which I came - the methods of working with this device should be different. What they resemble the technique “Getting Things Done”.
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Everything has its time . Get used to the idea that there are situations when you cannot do something or the performance will be extremely uncomfortable and unproductive. Leave it for later. Do something else or just relax.
You can have a good rest for an hour in a cafe, or you can write on a napkin, constantly breaking through it with a sharp pencil, bumping into a cup of coffee. In terms of productivity, you have not rested and did not work. Therefore, once again - everything has its time.
In short, a convenient keyboard, user interface responsiveness, data synchronization, cross-integration, full compatibility with Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Exchange (via BES).
But this scheme can work on any smartphone, the main thing is the synchronization and input mechanisms. Nothing else matters.
As in the theater, everything starts with a hanger, so in BlackBerry everything starts with a menu. All the functions that you can perform are collected there. We select the item and press the "Menu" button. Here is our list of actions that we can do with this element. Everything is unified. But the most delicious thing is that this menu literally permeates through programs. You can send the news to twitter, facebook, e-mail. You can send the link from the browser immediately to any of the communication channels. And this concerns not only proprietary applications from RIM itself. Any application where the authors are interested in this issue has such a function. Cross-integration is the basis of the system itself. You do not need to copy to the clipboard, enter another program, perform a number of functions, insert this clipboard. Just a couple of clicks - and all the data has been transferred to the right place.
It is on cross-integration that most GTD applications for BlackBerry are built. For example, LaterDude or FollowUp Reminder - they allow you to create a task directly from the contact list, list of messages, after a call, from an SMS, by the selected text. No need to start a third-party application - just press the menu button and select the desired item. Done!
Yes, it's the little things you can live without. But damn it, it's more convenient to live with them! But when you got used to them, it becomes sad without them.
First, let's learn shortcuts (quick keyboard shortcuts). And in general - on keyboard shortcuts is built a lot in working with BlackBerry.
Alt + I - inbox
Alt + O - outgoing mail folder
R - reply to the letter
F - send email
C - create a letter
W - mark the letter Follow Up flag / change flag status
Alt + F - show all letters marked with Follow Up flag
J - go to the next message in the conversation.
K - go to the previous message in the correspondence thread.
U - go to last unread post
I - select folder (this is only for BES users)
The behavior that is embedded in the BlackBerry email client assumes that you process emails as they arrive. They opened the message, read it and made a decision - what to do with it. There are few options here - this is to answer, delete, postpone to the archive, leave for later to make a decision. All of these features are available.
What am I doing? Opened the letter, read it. If I can’t answer or do something about this letter now, then I mark it with a flag (pressing the W key). Everything, I am calm. There will be time, I will either open Microsoft Outlook, where letters marked with a flag will be displayed in the taskbar, or on my smartphone I will press the Alt + F combination and process this mail. The flag also has advanced settings, such as a topic and a reminder by a certain date, what to do. You can use it too. But my opinion is already superfluous. Periodic viewing of mail marked with a flag is more than enough.
If I have already read and answered the letter, then either I delete it or leave it. Anyway, mail that is not archived or flagged will be deleted after 30 days (default setting) from the smartphone.
The presence of J and K keyboard shortcuts allows me to easily “slide” along the correspondence thread, without going to the main list of messages.
As you can see - the starting point here is a letter that you read and actions that you should take. After this action is completed, you simply turn your attention to something else. It is productive! You do not need folders, because there is nothing to store in them. If you want to save something important, then select “Save” in the menu, and this letter will be moved to a special “Saved” folder on your smartphone, where you can always quickly find it. But keep only what is really important to you, do not drag any garbage there. A smartphone is an access to operational information, and not a dump. The “Saved” folder should be periodically reviewed and cleaned up unnecessary mail.
If you need to pull something from the archive, then perform a remote search for letters on the server.
Retreat : Your work style will change over time. You will strive to reinforce your conversation with a subsequent letter. The phrases “well, I understood everything, but better write me a letter”, “I will write all this to you now in a letter” and the e-mail reports on the work done will begin to enter your life. Consciousness is discharged, work becomes more efficient, the authorities appreciate you for not forgetting anything and documenting everything.
To summarize the work with e-mail - BlackBerry involves the immediate processing of mail using the simplified method “Getting Things Done”, as the most effective. At the same time, the user is not given any unnecessary tools so that he deviates from this technique. You are “trained” by showing how to work. Do not resist - it is really convenient. You can, of course, transfer this technique to other devices, but there you have places for making mistakes / deviations from a pre-established pattern of behavior much more. The effect of such an error will accumulate over time and will be expressed in the cluttered folders and the inbox that will have to be parsed. BlackBerry does not give you that right to make a mistake. And I am grateful to the authors of this email client for this.
To plan things on a smartphone comfortably fail, do not try. Use a desktop or laptop for this. But the smartphone is very good at collecting incoming information. I initially tried to find specific applications, complex, created specifically for use in GTD. Alas, they all limped. What is on one foot, what is on all four.
As a result, the effect “the simpler, the better.” And for sure - if we follow the laid down scheme - do not process incoming immediately, then everything falls into place.
We got the idea, it should be written down. We take out the smartphone, press the button T (call the application Tasks) and say - "new task". In the subject we write our thought. Everything, then you can forget about it. I recommend using only this app for collecting inboxes! More you do not need, believe me. The calendar is needed only for scheduling meetings, no more.
Here we are come to the aid of a specialized application - MyLifeOrganized for BlackBerry . I keep it on the smartphone only for control, but not for planning.
When you leave home, everything is synchronized via cloud or lanyard. The maximum that I can do when working with him is to mark the work done or change his context / status. The default view is ToDo List, slices by contexts are configured under the state “Out of home / office”. And the truth is - why should I see those things that I will see in my workplace in the desktop version of MLO?
Tasks - collection of incoming tasks
FollowUp Reminder - fast creation of tasks in context, scheduling calendar appointments
Messages - mobile email client
MyLifeOrganized for BlackBerry - control over the execution of tasks
MS Outlook - email processing, inbox synchronization tool
MyLifeOganized for Windows - planning on the PC
What does all this give us? We accumulate incoming, separate from the general list of MLO. Yes, you can immediately throw them in the MLO, but then it will be tempting to immediately put the case where you think it is a place or give it a context. I strongly advise not to do this. Why? Because such a decision you take in haste. This is best done on a cold head when you disassemble the inbox. Well, the very speed of the mobile version of MLO, its extremely unfortunate UI will only annoy. The built-in tasks work much more pleasantly, and the work behind the PC / laptop screen is much more convenient than the same thing, but on a small smartphone screen.
The answer lies in the very principles of working with BlackBerry. I, too, was once perplexed, turning my first BlackBerry Bold 9700 in my hands - what is so special about it? Everything is the same as in my previous Nokia E71, HTC s620 Excalibur / Dash and Palm Treo 650. However, the longer I worked with him, trying to understand why this was the case and not the other, the more I became attached to him. And now it is very difficult for me to switch to a device on another platform - there are not many small things there that at first glance were not visible.
The conclusion to which I came - the methods of working with this device should be different. What they resemble the technique “Getting Things Done”.
')
The basic principle
Everything has its time . Get used to the idea that there are situations when you cannot do something or the performance will be extremely uncomfortable and unproductive. Leave it for later. Do something else or just relax.
You can have a good rest for an hour in a cafe, or you can write on a napkin, constantly breaking through it with a sharp pencil, bumping into a cup of coffee. In terms of productivity, you have not rested and did not work. Therefore, once again - everything has its time.
Why BlackBerry?
In short, a convenient keyboard, user interface responsiveness, data synchronization, cross-integration, full compatibility with Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Exchange (via BES).
But this scheme can work on any smartphone, the main thing is the synchronization and input mechanisms. Nothing else matters.
Ideology UI. Cross-integration of functions
As in the theater, everything starts with a hanger, so in BlackBerry everything starts with a menu. All the functions that you can perform are collected there. We select the item and press the "Menu" button. Here is our list of actions that we can do with this element. Everything is unified. But the most delicious thing is that this menu literally permeates through programs. You can send the news to twitter, facebook, e-mail. You can send the link from the browser immediately to any of the communication channels. And this concerns not only proprietary applications from RIM itself. Any application where the authors are interested in this issue has such a function. Cross-integration is the basis of the system itself. You do not need to copy to the clipboard, enter another program, perform a number of functions, insert this clipboard. Just a couple of clicks - and all the data has been transferred to the right place.
It is on cross-integration that most GTD applications for BlackBerry are built. For example, LaterDude or FollowUp Reminder - they allow you to create a task directly from the contact list, list of messages, after a call, from an SMS, by the selected text. No need to start a third-party application - just press the menu button and select the desired item. Done!
Yes, it's the little things you can live without. But damn it, it's more convenient to live with them! But when you got used to them, it becomes sad without them.
Work with email in GTD style
First, let's learn shortcuts (quick keyboard shortcuts). And in general - on keyboard shortcuts is built a lot in working with BlackBerry.
Alt + I - inbox
Alt + O - outgoing mail folder
R - reply to the letter
F - send email
C - create a letter
W - mark the letter Follow Up flag / change flag status
Alt + F - show all letters marked with Follow Up flag
J - go to the next message in the conversation.
K - go to the previous message in the correspondence thread.
U - go to last unread post
I - select folder (this is only for BES users)
The behavior that is embedded in the BlackBerry email client assumes that you process emails as they arrive. They opened the message, read it and made a decision - what to do with it. There are few options here - this is to answer, delete, postpone to the archive, leave for later to make a decision. All of these features are available.
What am I doing? Opened the letter, read it. If I can’t answer or do something about this letter now, then I mark it with a flag (pressing the W key). Everything, I am calm. There will be time, I will either open Microsoft Outlook, where letters marked with a flag will be displayed in the taskbar, or on my smartphone I will press the Alt + F combination and process this mail. The flag also has advanced settings, such as a topic and a reminder by a certain date, what to do. You can use it too. But my opinion is already superfluous. Periodic viewing of mail marked with a flag is more than enough.
If I have already read and answered the letter, then either I delete it or leave it. Anyway, mail that is not archived or flagged will be deleted after 30 days (default setting) from the smartphone.
The presence of J and K keyboard shortcuts allows me to easily “slide” along the correspondence thread, without going to the main list of messages.
As you can see - the starting point here is a letter that you read and actions that you should take. After this action is completed, you simply turn your attention to something else. It is productive! You do not need folders, because there is nothing to store in them. If you want to save something important, then select “Save” in the menu, and this letter will be moved to a special “Saved” folder on your smartphone, where you can always quickly find it. But keep only what is really important to you, do not drag any garbage there. A smartphone is an access to operational information, and not a dump. The “Saved” folder should be periodically reviewed and cleaned up unnecessary mail.
If you need to pull something from the archive, then perform a remote search for letters on the server.
Retreat : Your work style will change over time. You will strive to reinforce your conversation with a subsequent letter. The phrases “well, I understood everything, but better write me a letter”, “I will write all this to you now in a letter” and the e-mail reports on the work done will begin to enter your life. Consciousness is discharged, work becomes more efficient, the authorities appreciate you for not forgetting anything and documenting everything.
To summarize the work with e-mail - BlackBerry involves the immediate processing of mail using the simplified method “Getting Things Done”, as the most effective. At the same time, the user is not given any unnecessary tools so that he deviates from this technique. You are “trained” by showing how to work. Do not resist - it is really convenient. You can, of course, transfer this technique to other devices, but there you have places for making mistakes / deviations from a pre-established pattern of behavior much more. The effect of such an error will accumulate over time and will be expressed in the cluttered folders and the inbox that will have to be parsed. BlackBerry does not give you that right to make a mistake. And I am grateful to the authors of this email client for this.
Collection of incoming information
To plan things on a smartphone comfortably fail, do not try. Use a desktop or laptop for this. But the smartphone is very good at collecting incoming information. I initially tried to find specific applications, complex, created specifically for use in GTD. Alas, they all limped. What is on one foot, what is on all four.
As a result, the effect “the simpler, the better.” And for sure - if we follow the laid down scheme - do not process incoming immediately, then everything falls into place.
We got the idea, it should be written down. We take out the smartphone, press the button T (call the application Tasks) and say - "new task". In the subject we write our thought. Everything, then you can forget about it. I recommend using only this app for collecting inboxes! More you do not need, believe me. The calendar is needed only for scheduling meetings, no more.
Control system for current affairs
Here we are come to the aid of a specialized application - MyLifeOrganized for BlackBerry . I keep it on the smartphone only for control, but not for planning.
When you leave home, everything is synchronized via cloud or lanyard. The maximum that I can do when working with him is to mark the work done or change his context / status. The default view is ToDo List, slices by contexts are configured under the state “Out of home / office”. And the truth is - why should I see those things that I will see in my workplace in the desktop version of MLO?
A set of programs involved in the scheme. Roles
Tasks - collection of incoming tasks
FollowUp Reminder - fast creation of tasks in context, scheduling calendar appointments
Messages - mobile email client
MyLifeOrganized for BlackBerry - control over the execution of tasks
MS Outlook - email processing, inbox synchronization tool
MyLifeOganized for Windows - planning on the PC
How it all works
What does all this give us? We accumulate incoming, separate from the general list of MLO. Yes, you can immediately throw them in the MLO, but then it will be tempting to immediately put the case where you think it is a place or give it a context. I strongly advise not to do this. Why? Because such a decision you take in haste. This is best done on a cold head when you disassemble the inbox. Well, the very speed of the mobile version of MLO, its extremely unfortunate UI will only annoy. The built-in tasks work much more pleasantly, and the work behind the PC / laptop screen is much more convenient than the same thing, but on a small smartphone screen.
- Every morning begins with synchronization. First of all - MLO (PC and smartphone).
- Then I spend the synchronization of cases from MS Outlook to the inbox MLO. The to-do list in MS Outlook is cleared.
- Things in your inbox are sorted out and scattered around the right folders, contexts are assigned, and so on. The system works as usual.
- Mail opens in MS Outlook and filtering by FollowUp flags. All that we have marked on the smartphone will be noted in MS Outlook. This is what we need to handle. If required - create tasks in the inbox. Processed - the flag was removed. We work in the usual mode.
- If you need to leave the workplace, then the working copy of the MLO is synchronized to cloud (or with a smartphone) and we quietly carry away the actual copy of our tasks.
- Taking a call, I process it with the help of FollowUp Reminder , fixing the topic of the conversation, if it is important
- Incoming email is processed according to the scheme - “Answered / deleted or left for later, marking the flag”
- Upon return, we also perform MLO synchronization, mail is already synchronized, incoming messages are also synchronized.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/123227/
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