The iPhone’s 2.0 software introduced a new range of capabilities to the phone and the iPod Touch, the chief of which is the platform for new applications. For the first time, I’ve been able to create a plan for Getting Things Done that include a true mobile workflow and not a workaround.
Todd’s Six Workflow Requirements
Your list may differ.
- * Syncing to-do lists
- * Syncing calendars, contacts, mail
- * Document access
- * Notes
- * Voice recording
- * Cross-platform blogging workflow
To-do
I need easy, ubiquitous capture to make my to do list effective and trustworthy, but I also need immediate access to the full list. I use Remember the Milk to capture long-range thinking (the “Someday/Maybe” stuff in GTD parlance) and Omnifocus for managing day-to-day lists and projects.
RTM is web-based and I have all kinds of ways to get stuff on the list. I can email tasks to the list, send them via IM or Twitter, enter them directly on the phone, configure a browser bookmark to popup, etc. RTM has excellent functionality and it’s easy to use. Since it’s web-based, there’s no need for syncing; your modifications show up everywhere immediately. If you use RTM in Firefox, you can take advantage of Gears technology to get offline access to all your lists.
Omnifocus has been a favorite of mine since it was in alpha release. It’s a thoughtful implementation of GTD and it’s packed with capabilities. The software is somewhat opaque, however, and it loses a point or two on usability. There are fewer open doors into the device, but the ones that matter to me are available: I can email tasks into the system, and with the launch of iPhone’s 2.0 software, Omnifocus introduced an excellent app that syncs to the desktop using either MobileMe or WebDAV.
I feel more tightly connected to my to do list than ever, and fun perks like Omnifocus’s ability to use GPS to remind you of tasks that you can complete nearby, add to its indispensability.
Calendars, contacts, mail
Do I need to say much about this? Probably not. I have Gmail and MobileMe accounts; I can work with my mail on all web-connected devices, and both accounts play nicely with Apple Mail, thanks to IMAP. Contacts sync across devices with MobileMe, and my calendars are a web of syncing: basically, MobileMe and SpanningSync ensure that any change made to any calendar gets expressed everywhere, from iPhone to iCal to GCal.
Contacts and Calendar data also port to my Windows desktop at work, and here, your syncing method depends on your platform. GCal can sync with Outlook’s calendar with Google Calendar Sync; MobileMe has a Windows client that pushes contacts and calendar data to Outlook, too.
Document access
This is even easier - choose your preferred puffy cloud and go for it. I use a few: Google Docs for things I’m doing at work, particularly for stuff I want to share with others. MobileMe’s iDisk lets me put all of my personal documents in the cloud and keep a synced local copy on my MacBook Pro; they’re also accessible on my Windows desktop and my phone. I’m also a big fan of Zoho Writer, and I’ve used Writewith and Buzzword with good results. Zoho and Google Docs have good iPhone interfaces, which will help keep you sane if you want to review a document using your phone.
Notes
One of the most annoying things about the iPhone is the land-locked nature of notes on the device. Yes, you can email them to yourself, but that’s not a way to maintain notes that are synced across devices. Into this gap steps Evernote, which brings its strengths as a note-taker and capture tool to the iPhone.
Evernote’s first appearance on the phone was as a web-app, which allowed little more than access to notes that one had already stored in the system. (Evernote allows one to capture notes, sync them securely to Evernote’s servers, and make them available on other computers, or even make them public.) Since then, Evernote has evolved into a full-featured app for the iPhone. You can create new notes, edit them, sync them with the server, and access or edit them on your other computers, using either Evernote software, or Evernote’s web interface.
It’s free, but Evernote limits the amount of content you can upload each month. If you upload a large number of notes, you can buy additional space, too. I keep notes for work and home, all of my receipts, pictures of business cards I receive (Evernote’s software can recognize text in photos and make it searchable), and scraps of code… and I come nowhere near to maxing out my free account. (I you upload lots of photos into Evernote, you’ll want the paid account.)
Voice recording
Sometimes, it’s easier to record yourself a reminder than take the time to transcribe it. Jott is a service I use constantly to record small bits of information, which then get transcribed by a nice person somewhere and sent to me via email or sms. Jott also lets you set reminders. The Omnifocus iPhone app lets you attach voice recordings to tasks for those times when your task is a detailed plan for taking over the planet. There are also several iPhone apps devoted to recording memos or complete meetings and lectures. I use QuickVoice for recording items that aren’t task-related. Recorded to-do list items move through the Omnifocus system as attachments to tasks. If, six months ago, you’d told me I’d be using voice memos as a task input mechanism, I’d have said you’re crazy. But it works for me.
Cross-platform blogging workflow
I’m not going to pretend that I enjoy long-form blogging on my iPhone. I like the keyboard, but not that much. Chuck, on the other hand, uses the iPhone Wordpress app to write short posts and edit his blog. It works for him. I don’t mind writing short posts in that format, but mainly my blogging workflow depends on MarsEdit, where I can publish posts to a number of blogs, work offline, edit existing posts, etc. I also edit draft posts on my phone.
As for microblogging, I use Hahlo and Twitterific on my iPhone.
Will I always use both Google and MobileMe apps? Probably. As long as they sync to each other easily, I don’t think there’s any reason not to. I like knowing there’s some redundancy, just as I like knowing that when I’m offline, I have local copies of everything. Thus far, I’ve been a very lucky MobileMe user, with about 6 hours total downtime that I’ve noticed since the first days of the launch of the service. Everything has worked almost without a hiccup. (Others haven’t been so lucky.) Should my luck run out, I have something to fall back on.
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February 23, 2008 
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