Backpack is a natural fit with Getting Things Done. Here are some idea starters for how to bring the two together to improve efficiency.
In Backpack: New GTD Implementation Ideas, Patrick Rhone discusses how he sets up Backpack pages to work with GTD.
Inbox (Home Page) - True to the spirit of GTD, the "home page" in Backpack has been re-titled "Inbox" and basically acts as a digital Inbox. There is one list on this page. One big dumping ground for any action item or project that pops into the head. Just what the name implies. Because it is on the home page it is easy to get to quickly (also, as Daniel pointed out when I ran it past him, easy to get to and dump things from a mobile device - those euros love their mobiles) and that is what you want for an Inbox. Very GTD. When time allows (daily review), two minute or less items are knocked off right away (per The David) and any projects are migrated to and fleshed out on the @Projects page or it’s own separate page (more on that in a bit).
@Projects - This page exists how I use it right now, with a separate list for each project, but with an added but important modification. I have added a topmost list titled Next Actions. N/As are then moved from the projects below to the NA list at the top via Backpack’s ajaxy drag and droppiness. This way, I go to that page and see right away the next actions for all of the projects on the page.
Individual Project Pages - Now I should take a moment here to clarify what the projects are on the @Projects page. That page is for smaller one-to-five step projects as to do anything else would make the page too confusing and long. Projects that are larger than that (my wedding for example) I actually break out into their own separate page as they may have multiple lists and sub projects. Another advantage to this approach is that you can use the other features of backpack like notes, attaching documents, etc. for things that are specific to that project. With that being said, I still make a next action list the first list on the top so I can see right away what I need to do. I have an example project page here: Sweetime Project.
@Someday - Like any good GTDer, you need a space to defer and to dream. The someday/maybe list is where you do that. Scan this as part of your weekly review.
"What's the next action," a weblog about Getting Things Done, discusses Backpack and GTD.
More after the jump.
If I can relate it to GTD-speak, it is a Next Action List and Organizing tool in one application. Because you can make multiple lists on one page, you can make a list of “things to remember” and before that make a list of Next Actions to make sure you have everything.Like I said, it is not a GTD-app in the pure sense of the word, but hey, what is? To me, Backpack fills my need to use it whenever and where ever I want in a way I can think of myself. Therefore, I would like to go through some of my practical uses of Backpackit.com and in the process, explain some of the features.
In GTD and Backpack, Mike Burr talks about his usage.
1. I use the lists for actions and the notes for projects. The next action for each project on a page is always in one of the lists on the same page. I put the project in curly braces after the action to remind me to promote the next action from the project when I finish the current one. E.g. "take pictures of old LPs { sell stuff on ebay }".2. One page for home stuff, one page for work stuff, one page for my shopping list (each list is stuff I'm likely to be able to get on the same trip), one page for stuff I'm waiting for, one page to keep track of people's wish lists (one list per person).
3. If an action has a specific due date, annotate it with the date at the beginning. E.g. "[ 2006Apr15 ] file tax return". This makes it much easier to rearrange the list by due date as needed.
Do you use Backpack and GTD together? Tell us about it.
Related: Getting started with “Getting Things Done” [43 Folders]
