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GTD, software and 43 Folders
11/22/08
GTD, software and 43 Folders
I have complained a couple of times that there was no decent GTD software available for Windows... to the point I'm actually considering switching to the Mac just for that!
People keep advising me to just fall back to the real life method of using 43 folders. For the record, that is: 12 folders for all the months in the year + 31 folders for all the days in a month. You then rotate the folders in a way that will make them pop up whatever you need on a specific day.
I so disagree with 43 folders being a replacement for GTD!
While the 43 folders are part of David Allen's GTD method, they do not replace software. GTD software presents you with a list of next actions you can do in a specific context and you can choose from them what you want to do without forgetting anything important. It has nothing to do with dates and deadlines.
The use of 43 folders on the contrary lets you easily pop up whatever needs to be acted upon on a specific date.
Granted some GTD software also copes with dates and deadlines but that is not the gist of GTD.
Now... I bet the confusion has a lot to do with Merlin Mann's site, named 43 Folders (which is a cool name indeed) and talking a lot about... GTD! 
5 comments
Just a personal opinion but I believe net or cloud solutions are going to be the best implementation of GTD allowing anywhere access instead of being tied to a platform.I've done that with my own solution but am now giving Taskwriter.com a try. It's pretty simple, maybe too much so at the moment but I understand new features are on the way.
You'll still need 43 folders and a good reference filing system but tracking all those open loops can be done in a web app rather easily.
Just my opinion.
-Stephen
For a good web solution you can use: http://www.gtdagenda.com 
As far as GTD and the topic itself, Outlook Track-it (www.outlooktrackit.com) has been the best for me, it's an outlook addon that downloads a small toolbar and reminds you to follow up to emails. i think everyone needs this! 
Bacarli - I've used outlook track-it as well. It's amazing. Was gonna switch to gmail but after downloading that toolbar, I'm safe with outlook. 
Try ThinkingRock. This works on Windows. But I don't think anything bigger than a mobile phone makes sensse for gtd. you gotta have it with you always, and that will not be the case for any computer.use a blackberry and TodoMatrix / IdeaMatrix by rexwireless. Beats a PC any day.
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