This is an inventory of software which can support the standard GTD process. Its not an exhaustive list, or the only solution. It’s just that we like these tools, have used them extensively, and understand how they can implement GTD. In some cases, the software can apply at all stages. At others, it depends on how you interpret each stage, each part of the process, and to what extent you want to do all of the GTD processes within one tool. For instance, you can use Obsidian at every stage. But perhaps you want more of a focus on using kanban, and while obsidian can do that, you prefer the way Trello implements kanban. ![[software-for-GTD.png]] ## Software at each stage of GTD | | Overall | Capture | Clarify | Organize | Reflect | Engage | | -------- | -------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | Obsidian | | Capture ideas in notes | Clarify means making information, actions clear enough to know what to do. | Organize using kanban, action notes, tasks and dataview | Reflect using graph view | Engage using tasks | | Ayoa | Strategy, reflecting | Capture in an Ayoa mind map | Clarify by making notes in a task board, whiteboard or mind map | Organize with Ayoa task board | Reflect by reorganizing a mind map, the order of tasks, making notes | Engage using a task board | | Trello | Projects and issues | Capture in task card comments | Clarify by arranging tasks and columns to form a logical executable pattern | Organize the kanban on boards | Reflect by making notes, comments in task cards | Engage by executing task cards, checklists | | Notion | | Capture web and other types of content | Use notes and comments anywhere within any document | Arrange data in tables, databases | Reflect using space in note body, create fields | Engage by building a custom task system, easy to check off and filter tasks. | | Todoist | Daily to do, time blocking | You can capture tasks, but Todoist not adapted to capture simple ideas. It is primarily a task organizer. | Clarify by arranging tasks into coherent project boards | Organize tasks on projects | Make notes in task comments, but todoist doesn't offer the full note format | Engage by doing and checking off tasks | | Calendar | Hard Landscape | Capture your hard commitments, milestones | Clarify whether your time allows you to execute tasks and projects. | The calendar is the hard landscape, the context in which you execute tasks. | Reflect as to the feasibility of executing tasks against commitments | Time-block tasks against your calendar commitments | | Evernote | | Capture information from the web with chrome extension | Clarify by adding notes, annotating images, using free-form note format | Evernote now has useful task function embedded in notes and available as an overview | Reflect using the freeform note format | Engage by checking off tasks, but the task function is not very advanced, or allow much customization. | ![[Management Software.canvas]] The associations are by no means hard and fast, just an indication of software that can be useful in the GTD process and an opportunity to expand on each. ![[Ayoa Trello and Todoist.canvas|Relationship between Ayoa Trello and Todoist]] There is some degree of competition between Trello, Ayoa and Todoist. Ayoa is for planning, items can be scheduled on the mid-term horizon, but it’s not so useful for everyday scheduling. ## Productivity Software ![[productivity-software-map.png]] It's a complex process. The idea is to store all that experience and then filter ideas into workable action plans. The names might change, but the functions remain. Notion might replace Evernote but the function is the same, to journal effectively, capture work experience and turn it into valuable knowledge. ## Obsidian for all of GTD *Capture and reflect*. Obsidian offers note taking, easy document storage, content creation. But also excellent document management functions with the dataview plugin and more. There is an Obsidian mind mapping plugin, you can link documents with a visual graph, very useful for writing and publishing. Obsidian is solid on the desktop, the phone and offline. But I like to keep my value-added content in obsidian, not the collection, which I keep in Notion. Obsidian addresses the idea of hierarchy with folders. But obsidian also allows you to have longer notes because the outline allows you to reorganize headings easily. You can find any text wherever you are, online or offline. But if you have a very large dataset in obsidian, you have to get into Dataview. Obsidian is open to the skilled developers who produce incredible plugins: mind maps, massive or focused visual views. It's easy to write in Obsidian. But capture is not just about software. It's about expressing and then capturing, and putting it in a place you're going to review. Obsidian is great to reflect on specific technical issues for instance. It's really clear in obsidian. You know where everything is. And tasks can be embedded in the content. Obsidian is content with tasks in it. You can build project lists in obsidian. *Clarify in obsidian*. Obsidian is a lot about clarify. Because it can really put paragraphs in their place to straighten things out. Obsidian is a lot about content. ## Evernote mainly for capture Use [[Evernote to Capture Ideas and Issues]], to store and recall experience and to feed into bottom-up projects. Evernote now also includes task management functions. The free form allows you to place anything in a note. But when it comes to suppliers and customers, there is a formal set of data needed that is best structured by a relational table type database. ## Todoist mainly for organise Todoist is good for ad hoc tasks. It’s OK for projects but things get a little confused with many levels of nesting. Its a lightweight task manager, great to use in everyday engagement, and includes very useful Today and Upcoming views. You can slide items around easily and (above all), modify scheduled items from the (Google) calendar). The presentation is, however, rather bland, with no colour. You can't paste images onto cards like Trello. *Organize in Todoist*. Todoist is for small tasks to schedule real-time with Google calendar, with dual-direction sync. A calendar item can be updated or added from the calendar and updates or additions reflected in the tool. ## Trello mainly for capture and organise [[Trello has many interesting features]] and allows you to capture, clarify, organize, reflect, engage in accordance with the principles of the [[Getting Things Done management framework]]. Trello uses lists as recommended in GTD, and cards header images provide an additional visual element. In Trello, you display upcoming tasks with a filtered table view. *Clarify* in Trello through comments, thoughts, to clarify what the thing is, how to move it forward. Try to make Trello embody desired outcomes. Like where you're going? What do you want to achieve? Its themes or outcomes with actions in Trello. *Organize in Trello*. In Trello, you can model time. You can play with priorities in a Tetris-like kanban and you can see what feels the most important. Trello can be reviewed regularly, and you can be confident that your stuff will be there. Once you have established your areas of focus and tasks, Trello is a system that you can follow. It's easy. It's fun. You can use colour and pictures. Trello is fun to use, playing with time, playing with priorities. Moving things around to see what feels the most important. It's a visual environment. It's fun. It's enjoyable. It's reliable. It can do a lot of stuff. Trello calendar sync is slow, however, and you can't change a Trello item from a synced Google calendar. The primary quality of Trello is its reliability and fast accurate sync between platforms (mobile, desktop). ## Ayoa for most stages Ayoa's interface is very pleasing, and fun to use. ![[ayoa-canvas-view.png]] It's great to be able to link tasks to a mind map but it's difficult to use the task board on a day-to-day basis, because the mobile app is not optimized. ![[mjl-tek-content.png]] Ayoa is great to *organize* content from Evernote. You can tag notes in Evernote to send them to Ayoa, arrange and prioritize them as in the Ayoa workflow view below. ![[ayoa-workflow.png]] Ayoa is great to prepare actions from a mind map on the built-in tasksbord. - It includes mind mapping and AI. - The calendar is the key to centralizing all scheduled tasks - Ayoa calendar sync is fast. A project can be divided into categories, and arranged into a useful horizontal kanban. Additional categories keep the number of items to a minimum or use checklists as subitems. The task is then more akin to an objective. Ayoa is easy to use on desktop, but it's limited on mobile. Ayoa isn't a task leader. It's not dynamic enough. *Reflect in Ayoa*. Ayoa is for reflecting. You can use Ayoa as a planner, to mind map, create whiteboards to organize thinking into work breakdown structures and then schedule onto a Gantt chart. In Ayoa, you can link tasks to a mind map. ![[technical-content.png| Link tasks to a mind map in Ayoa]] Ayoa is a great system to structure ideas, thoughts into achievable tasks and schedule them into an available timeslot. See an [[Introduction to Ayoa mind mapping and task boards]]. Ayoa is great for mind mapping and establishing a work breakdown from a mind map. ![[compare-todoist-trello-ayoa.png]] ## Notion mostly for capture *Notion to capture*. [[Notion is great to manage databases]] and working collaborative documents. Tasks are generally transient and better managed with dedicated task management software. ## Mindmapping to reflect and organise Particularly useful to reflect is a mind map. ![[mindmap-software.jpg]] ## Akiflow to block time and focus Use [Akiflow](https://akiflow.com/) to block time on the calendar, to focus your attention on the task at hand. ![[akiflow-today-view.png]] Akiflow to time block. It syncs with Notion and Todoist. ## Toggl when engaging Toggl isTime management software *toggl useful week summary* ![[toggl-useful-week-summary.png]] *toggluseful summary by project* ![[toggl-summary-by-project.png]] *Toggl useful summary of projects* ![[Toggl-summary of-projects.png]] ## Summary It is difficult to find one perfect system and it may take some time to adapt to a new system and find all the functionality that you need. I guess all software editors would like to have the perfect tool, the perfect [[The Trusted System in Getting Things Done|trusted system]]. For this to be the case, the system needs to be functional and yet available and synced on all platforms. You could use just one system, or at least fewer systems, and put up with the inconvenience of not having all the desired functionality. Everyone has their idea of the functional scope to include in their system. For now, it is up to us to make the best of the tools available.