3 ways to get things done with your iPhone

Getting Things Done is David Allen's system of personal productivity; a deceptively simple process of collecting information, deciding what it is, identifying what needs to be done and then doing it (we've written about GTD quite a bit).

Geeks like me love it because the hardware and/or software used to achieve these goals can be whatever we like. The most important thing is what David calls the "ubiquitous capture tool," or "a way to write things down." You've got your iPhone with you where ever you go, so why not use it?

This post explores 3 ways to get things done with your iPhone, namely, iNozbe, iDo and Backpack.

iNozbe

The mobile companion to Nozbe offers all the features of its bigger sibling. After logging in, your presented with six lists under two headings. The first, "Your Lists," holds Next Actions, Projects and Contexts. Below that is "Create New," holding New Action, New Project and New Context. Navigation is speedy on Wi-Fi and not much different over EDGE.

Adding a new item to your inbox is easy. From the main page, click Projects then Inbox. The cursor is placed into a text field and the iPhone's keyboard pops up. Finally, click New Action and you've got it. Of course, the drawback is that you're limited by your keyboard speed, but that's unavoidable.

To process your inbox, select any action in your inbox and click Edit, choose a context, estimate the time needed, set a due date and assign that action to a project. Everything is done via drop-down menus, so it's quicker than typing.

You can add a "star" to urgent actions so they stand out. Contexts and projects are customizable, and you can even select a tiny icon to represent each. Best of all, once an item has been processed, it disappears from Inbox, just as it should.

Completed actions are easily marked Done (they turn a light grey) or deleted entirely.

Here's where it gets a bit labor-intensive. Doing a weekly review with iNozbe requires a LOT of clicking around. This isn't really the developer's fault, of course, as you're just navigating web pages, but it gets tiresome.

The pros of iNozbe include speed, appearance (it looks like a native iPhone application), price (free) and accessibility. Since it's online, your stuff is available to you anywhere. Finally, iNozbe has a "full sized" sibling in Nozbe.com, for when you're away from your iPhone.

The cons include all of that keyboard typing. Yes, I know there's no other way to get info into an iPhone, but it slows me down. Also, the weekly review is best left to nozbe.com.

Overall, it's a very nice way to get things done with an iPhone.

iDo

iDo by pmade is another great web-based solution. The functionality is similar to that of iNozbe, but it looks better (see above). Here's how it works.

When you first log in, you'll be prompted to create a new project. From there, tap "New Task," add a name, due date, (via a slick pop-up calendar) and any notes. Finally, assign that task to a project.

Here's where iDo gets good. Everything is color-coded. Actions with due dates go from green to red. Other elements - like the Done button, Edit button, etc. - are color coded as well, so you can recognize them instantly. It's very nice to use.

The pros of iDo include interface elements that are recognizable at a glance, and snappy response. Cons include the price ($6US/mo), and lack of a full-sized desktop companion. You can use the iPod-optimized site on a Mac, of course, but the UI looks kind of odd on such a large screen.

Backpack

Backpack by 37Signals wasn't designed specifically for use with GTD, but it works as one beautifully. When you create a new page, you can use it for any purpose at all. I've created an Inbox page, context pages and project pages.

iBackpack is a simple bit of CSS which, when added to the top of a Backpack page, forces it to display beautifully on an iPhone.

New items can be added either by typing directly onto the page, or via email. Each Backpack page has a unique email address. Anything sent to that address gets posted to its page. So, when I receive mail on the iPhone that I want to keep track of, I simply forward it to the appropriate Backpack page.

Mark actions as done by tapping them and touch a trash can icon to delete completely.

The pros of Backpack include the total customizability, email forwarding and a full-sized desktop companion.

Cons include pricing (the free package is limited, and paid accounts range from $5US/mo. to $14US/mo) and the fact that it requires a bit more elbow grease to be used as GTD system. Still, it's my favorite of the three.

There you have it: Three GTD solutions for the iPhone. None of them are perfect. The iPhone is really limited as a true GTD tool. You've got to rely on optimized websites, input is limited to the keyboard and there's no way to sync with a desktop application. Still, we encourage you to give these options a try. While you're at it, pick up the GTD iPhone wallpaper.

No go forth and be productive!