I had been struggling in a decision between using MonkeyGTD 2.1 alpha and Vitalist to keep track of my projects. Both GTD systems have their advantages. Unfortunately, the advantages of both made the decision of using one or the other really tough.
The MonkeyGTD is a modified TiddlyWiki that can be ported on a thumbdrive. The file is completely self-contained and uploadable to the TiddlySpot website. The main advantage of using the MonkeyGTD tiddlywiki is that it is, after all, a wiki. This makes each entry highly customizable. You can create entries that fall outside of David Allen’s GTD system. Sometimes you just need to write a note that is neither actionable, urgent, or even important. This high level of flexibility made the MonkeyGTD 2.1 a great tool for staying organized. Finally, I love that I can print out the Dashboard, Projects List, or Context list. This is helpful in inspiring ideas for next actions which can be captured on the printout.
I did have problems with the MonkeyGTD, however. Since it uses scripts to process information, the MonkeyGTD is totally useless for me on my phone. Mobile browsers simply cannot handle scripts.Therefore, MonkeyGTD tied me to a computer for updating. I could, as mentioned earlier, make printouts and then update later. Another problem, also related to scripts, is that my old laptop can’t process stuff as quickly as the computers at work. So each update to the MonkeyGTD was painstakingly slow.
I was not satisfied with Vitalist at first. Going from a wiki to a structured site is a tough transition. My biggest problem with Vitalist was that it was so basic. The best feature it had going for it was that Vitalist had created a mobile version of their website. This would allow me to post ideas and quick notes via my phone’s browser. This is a great freedom from having to carry around a sheet of paper with my list of Next Actions. Sure, I have to carry my phone with me; but I generally do that anyway. Within the past couple weeks, as things are getting busier, I’ve been overcoming my hesitation and started relying on Vitalist to capture notes. The mobile version of the site is so light that it quickly updates.
This weekend, Vitalist added more functionality to their service. They added the ability to create subprojects, make contexts as tags, quick add/edit and even added priorities. The improvements are great in that they add some elbow room in using the system. They did, however, get something wrong that is important to people who adhere to the GTD system. They removed the ability to sort by context and by project. That’s like having a Corvette with a lawnmower engine. They took out the heart of the GTD system and put in Priorities.
For those of you uninitiated in the GTD system, priorities have no place. The entire GTD system works on the basis of doing the next actionable activity. You look at your list of projects and ask yourself, what is my next action (for each project)? The whole reason is that your brain does not distinguish between saving the planet and feeding the dog. They are both things that need to be done and will take up brain computing cycles until they are done. If you don’t want to do something for now, you simply put it in your tickler file for consideration at a later time. It’s either a priority nor not. Adding levels of priority is pointless because it ALL has to get done. We filter by deciding whether we’ll do it now or at a later time.
The Vitalist team did do away with one key feature of the GTD system. You cannot sort your next actions by context or by project. In the case of sorting by context, this is useful in that you can have next actions for stuff to buy at the grocery store. If you can pull up all of your @grocery projects together, you can get all those items without having to hunt through your list. Maybe you had things to talk about with your co-worker Bob. If you have an @Bob context, you can bring up all the things you wanted to discuss with him the next time you see him. The ability to sort by project is also key. Sometimes you want to focus on the next actions of one particular project for one day. It can be distracting to have to go through the list of your other projects’ next actions to find next actions related to your current one.
To their credit, Vitalist heard the outcry of their users and plans on putting context and project sorting back in. I don’t think they understand that priorities were unnecessary. In addition, I contacted them because the changes to the main website made the mobile website almost worthless. I can’t write notes from my phone anymore, which was one of the key selling points for switching to Vitalist from MonkeyGTD. They do promise to get the mobile site straightened out this week. I look forward to that.
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