Comments on: Putting The Effort In

By: Susan Locke

Susan Locke — Wed, 01 Jun 2005 00:00:20 +0000

Oh I’m so jealous. Backpack looks great and in my try out of it I loved discovering that it is based on wiki technology. But unfortunately the email reminders contain something that makes my email server service trap it as spam so I don’t get to see them straight away until I’ve checked the spam box (I don’t want to go there about the lack of a white list on my email service) and the mobile phone reminder doesn’t seem to work here in Australia. As a desktop tool though it is great and easy to use. My wish now (other than an email and mobile phone reminder fix) is for all the booking systems I link to to have an interface with Backpack. That would be heaven.

By: Keith

Keith — Fri, 27 May 2005 04:43:10 +0000

neha — I don’t. Not yet anyway. Again, I’m still learning new ways to use it.

I do make extensive use of reminders, the fact that Backpack can call and email me really lets me focus on things instead of constantly pinging myself about little things I need to do. This has probably been the most helpful so far.

I also have pages for a whole bunch of personal projects. I use the lists for to-dos and the notes for ideas. For example, I’ve got a page for To-done that has a list of things I’d like to do with the site as well as a bunch of notes for possible posts.

I’ve also got goals and contacts listed as notes.

For another project, a design project, I’m going to be posting all sorts of images and such to help give me a basis for brainstorming creative ideas. It’s been really helpful as an “idea” tacker/keeper.

For more serious projects, I’ve been using Basecamp. I’ve been using that for quite awhile now and as far as professional productivity goes I’d say it can’t be beat and I’ve tried countless other solutions.

By: neha

neha — Fri, 27 May 2005 01:33:50 +0000

So Keith, how do you use Backpack? I’ve been using it too, but I’m curious how people adapt it to their specific needs. Do you use it in a GTD like system?

By: Keith

Keith — Thu, 26 May 2005 23:32:07 +0000

Britt — Ah, you have brilliant timing. I’ve got a post in the works that addresses this very issue in many ways. It’s not exactly related to “how to get away” which I feel is an important topic, but it might serve as motivational for you.

Look for that next week sometime. After all, I’m taking the weekend off to get away from all of this! ;)

By: Britt

Britt — Thu, 26 May 2005 23:19:03 +0000

I think I’m at the point where I want to drop it all and go to one of those resorts where you sit in a sauna, get massages, do yoga, and eat healthy food for a week. No computers, no lists, no gadgets. Nothing.

But I have to prepare for a presentation on blogs, wikis, and RSS first.

This might be a topic for a different post, but when, where, how do you get away from all the “stuff” for an extended period of time? And how do you manage the stress from the return, when you have to catch up on where you left off?

By: Keith

Keith — Thu, 26 May 2005 19:51:07 +0000

Well, that’s confusing. I’ve updated the post to reflect the correct author.

By: Josh

Josh — Thu, 26 May 2005 19:41:55 +0000

Actually Mossberg didn’t write this article, though it did appear in the space normally devoted to his Personal Journal articles on Thursdays. It was Thomas E. Weber

By: Joe W.

Joe W. — Thu, 26 May 2005 19:30:48 +0000

Despite what the byline says, this story is by Thomas E. Weber, not Walter Mossberg. See here.

By: Laura

Laura — Thu, 26 May 2005 19:26:02 +0000

Keith, I just posted about Backpack on my site. I, too, am really enjoying it. I have it open on Firefox startup both at home and at work, so it’s always right there in front of me. I love that it’s simple to use and reliable.