So, I’m currently getting into the Getting Things Done (GTD) methodology.

While I’m usually pretty good at remembering things, sometimes I feel like I’m juggling too many things at once, or alternatively, I think of something on the bus or while I’m daydreaming in lectures at uni and forget it later on. Good blog posts are notorious for this.

I’m not a huge fan of carrying around a notebook around, so something I always have with me is my iPhone – and while it does notes, it doesn’t do them well enough to warrant using on a daily basis. The iPhone’s Notes don’t currently sync with the Mac in any way (that’s going to be fixed in iPhone OS 3.0, though), and while it’s simple and easy to use, doesn’t offer the functionality I’m looking for.

So, what exactly am I looking for? A couple of things:

1. Syncing between iPhone and Mac. If I think of something while I’m out and about, I’m going to write it in my iPhone. When I get home, I want to have the same lists on my iPhone as well as my Mac, so syncing between the two is a must-have. I don’t care if it’s over Wi-Fi or over USB – either way, syncing is too important to ignore.
2. I want something that will act as my second brain – things that I can just push items (be it text, a URL, a list, or anything) into, and forget about. While ShoveBox fulfils this requirement, it doesn’t have any sort of “list” support – and for the GTD mentality, that’s a huge negative.
3. I need the ability to cross things off once I’ve done them – if not for the fact to show myself that I’m actually accomplishing things, then for the ability to see what I’ve already done, and can now forget about (so I stop worrying about it later on). Things currently does this, and comes with an iPhone app to boot! It’s on my shortlist, but the price for the Mac version scares me… 😮
4. While “Projects” are good for things that need to be done that have a lot of steps, they’re not good for lists and stuff. One of my main gripes with Things is that there’s no support for folders, only areas of responsibility and projects (which can then contain projects). However, The Hit List does have support for simple lists and folders, so for usability in that area, The Hit List wins. No iPhone app as yet for The Hit List, though, and it’s not as polished as Things. 🙁 For now, The Hit List is on my shortlist.

For now, there’s no clear winner in the GTD department. When I find a winner (in roughly 15 days, as that’s when my Things trial ends), I’ll be sure to tell you right here.

Comments below – I’d appreciate it if you could point out your GTD methodology, and what apps you use to accomplish it. 😀