Just found a blog entry describing some GTD programs using a proprietary database and a new one which completely takes usage of the already available features from the BlackBerry.

May be someone is interested in this too: http://www.blackberryinsight.com/200...ur-blackberry/

Could you spell out "Getting Things Done" and abbreviate "Blackberry" instead?

Also, how about posting an excerpt of the linked article, perhaps the first few lines. Your description is very vague, especially given the obscure thread title you chose.

I can give you a short excerpt but the article is too long and I don't like to "just copy" it ;)

"Implementing Getting Things Done (GTD) with your Blackberry is not as straight forward as you might think. On a Blackberry Version prior 4.0 you do not even have Category support which is essential for the system." [via http://www.blackberryinsight.com]

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that looks perfect!

copying the entire article isn't necessary (for many reasons), but the first few lines or paragraph should suffice to identify the material.

if the article obeys the basic rules of journalism, that much will provide the gist of the story and hopefully lead the reader to the next paragraph.

for our purposes, it will prevent needless click-throughs, or hopefully encourage some to click and learn. either of those results should please the original author in some manner, as long as the source is appropriately cited.

He provided a link! That's all he needs to do. Your mouse works, right? Needless click-throughs? They're not needless; that's what the web is for.

Thanks for the link, funkym.

Hehe, thanks for the support "gdpmumin" ;)

It's just because I found a nice thing and wanted the world (aka you all) to know about this. However, posting an excerpt is not as difficult.

I am interested but didn't see a link where I could get it and try it out. I need something like this but not have it linked to a BES if possible.

http://www.handango.com/PlatformProd...88662&R=188662

-MrKyoo

Interesting conversation going on...I just got done playing with Next Action I think it is a good attempt but I recently bought todoMatrix from rexwireless.com...that program is amazing and well done. I'm a GTD "lite" person, I like and use the concept of GTD contexts.todoMatrix isn't GTD preconfigured (Getting Things Done by David Allen for the non-GTD people) out of the gate but offers the ability to search all the data in any to-do very quickly which makes it easy to configure to-do contexts. It also searches special characters, a problem in some BB programs.

So...what I did is set up the standard auto text short cuts in regular BlackBerry Options. I went to Autotext to insert "@office" or "@car" or "@home" etc with a couple of regular keystrokes (I use (qqo = @office) (qqh = @home) (qqa = @all) (qqc = @car) because qq doesn’t appear in many words but you can figure out whatever is best for you). I can simply do a "find" in todoMatrix on "@of" and hit enter and I immediately see all the @office context to-do's, which I can sort anyway I choose. That is another feature I really like! Todomatrix remembers the last find, so referring back to the found folder works really well. I can also update my task status from the found folder...I do not have to go to the folder any one task is stored in. What is so cool about doing it the todoMatrix way...is that doing it this way makes the number of contexts and groups absolutely unlimited.

I think what you gain doing it this way is using the best overall to-do appl which gives you a lot of other functions. The downside is that TodoMatrix is not Outlook sync-able...but I never loved Outlook and I'm moving to a mostly wireless existance anyway. SO no love lost here!

I really hate bursting any bubbles on the Next Action GTD program but if you really want a great app and good support the rexwirless guys do it well!

Sounds like you are working at rexwirless

Am I missing something?

There's no trial version of this software, is there? I can't find a link on the Handango page, and the other piece of software by this company has exactly zero downloads. Further, the blackberrybooks domain is set to expire - causing me to question the legitimacy of the vendor itself.

I'm intrigued by the app description, but there's no way I'll take the plunge without a trial.

As of right now... I'd say buyer beware.

I just finished a more-thorough-than-skimming but less-thorough-than-reading look at the todoMatrix user's guide. I have never been tempted to buy a task management app, e.g., PocketDay or bbToday, for my BlackBerry simply because they added little to no functionality. They do little more than re-skin the built-in app.

todoMatrix appears to be a complete rethinking of task management and it looks very exciting. I'm still using the trial, but I may very well end up buying it when it's all said and done. I'm giving heavy consideration to ideaMatrix and impactMatrix (which isn't yet available but looks promising), too.

For a GTD lite, PDLISTS will be great. It is by the makers of PocketDay. I am a beta tester and it beats all the other ones on the market ...

I found ideaMatrix so useful I purchased todoMatrix. They have a discount if you buy both applications. Neither are perfect but a lot better than what is standard on the BB.

Regards-Michael G.

I'm in the midst of my Pocket Day trial and like it very much, and expect good things from PDLists. Right now I'm also demoing ToDo Matrix, which is also very well done, albeit pricey. If they can deliver a desktop/web component that is serviceable, I'd be inclined to go with TDM over PDL (in the absence of a web/desktop component for PDL).

Back on topic, however - has anyone bought NextActionGTD? How could this software claim to use the BB databases, when porgrammers with evidently much more experience have said that RIM needs to make them more accessible for that to be possible. Seems fishy, huh?

funkym
Nope...not working for Rexwirless...just a die hard fan that loves their product. It is that well done.

Well, as I stated in an earlier post, I tried todoMatrix from Rexwireless. At that time, I mentioned that I was leaning toward purchasing it because everything I had seen from it was quite good. I was worried that I might miss the integration with Outlook, though, so that gave me a little bit of a reason to think about whether or not it was the right purchase.

I bought it Friday, and I have absolutely no regrets. It's a great task management system for the BlackBerry. I've been a long time PocketPC user (started with a brick called the Casiopeia E-125) and have been a BlackBerry user only for about six months. What I have seen of BlackBerry apps is that they tend not to be quite ready for release (developers' fault, not the BlackBerry's), but in general they improve over time. todoMatrix was ready for release.

The drawer and folder views, click-wheel options, overall app functionality are all very intuitive. There will be a very low learning curve. In fact, most folks won't need to even look at the user guide (a downloadable PDF). The alerts work as you would want them to work, and the ability to set a specific snooze time is very nice. The hot-keys work, even on 7100 models (well, most of them anyway). For hot-keys where the second letter on a key is the hot-key, simply pressing the Alt key followed by the letter gets you want you want it to do. The most common hot-keys are always right there at the bottom of the screen. Very helpful. A list of others is a hot-key away.

I sent Rexwireless some suggestions on Friday and I received a very nice e-mail reply within 30 minutes. Some of my suggestions included changing the task count to not include completed tasks. Right now, the total number of tasks in a folder is listed by the folder, regardless of whether or not a task is complete. Their plans are to change the task count to read 2 / 5 To-do's, where the first number indicates open tasks and the second indicates total tasks in a folder.

Another suggestion was to implement the ability for phone numbers, e-mail addresses, and website URIs to show up as hyperlinks. This would be helpful when setting a task to call someone. John from Rexwireless indicated this was a bigger task than it looks like, but they have added it to their customer suggestions to look at again in the fall.

Other minor suggestions included the ability to change the display font style and size and the ability to use a key to expand and collapse drawers and folders. I suggested the Enter key for this, but that isn't possible. I didn't know it at the time, but there's a hot-key (X) that should do that. That would be perfectly fine, except this seems to be the one hot-key I've come across that doesn't work on the 7100 models (at least not on my 7130e).

The price is a little steep, but I've always been willing to pay for software that delivers what it's supposed to and is helpful to me in my day-to-day activities. todoMatrix does that extremely well!

And when they release impactMatrix, those of who use a convergence of GTD and Covey methods (I do) may very well have the best of both worlds. Perhaps they can add a click-wheel menu item that allows you to move from one app to the other, making the three Matrix apps more like a suite than individual applications?

Just found the homepage of them: NextAction!

Not really... it's just the ad from Handango.

I'd like to believe it's legit.

But I don't.

Let's see a trial version. Let's see some real user reviews (i.e. not the ones the seller creates on Handango...)

The story remains the same - buyer beware.

Hope some users can share experience on GTD NextAction script. The Task Category is really helpful.

Berrynut:

I am very new to GTD, just learned the brief idea and the book is on the way. My question for you is that why you want to search for @office or @car? If you create a Drawer called GTD, and under that drawer, create some folders called: Office, Car, Calls, Errands, will this work too? And without the need of search??

Maybe I missed something without reading the book first.

I read somewhere that its 256 character limit for TodoMatrix. Why should we need IdeaMatrix? I am trying to find a reason to buy both. Seems like TodoMatrix is the same as IdeaMatrix except for the input limit.

Thanks for sharing.

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That's how I do it. Each context has its own folder. Works fine for me.

For those who consider to implement GTD on blackberry, I suggest you take a look at the GTD outlook plugin here:

http://gtdsupport.netcentrics.com/buy/

Try their 30-day trial version. I think it's a huge help for any one who values their time and efficiency with emailing. The TODO Matrix is nice, but too bad they don't integrate with outlook. After comparing both, I found it's much easier to use GTD Outlook plugin than trying hard on TODO Matrix. Both will do the job, but the Outlook Plugin is much more efficient. Try it yourself and let us know what you think.

I was a long time user of the GTD Outlook plugin. It's a very nice application. But, this thread is entitled Real GTD for your BlackBerry, and because the built-in task app on the BB is so lacking, the GTD plugin provides no benefit for the mobile BB user. So, having used both extensively, I would disagree with pengrus that the GTD plugin is "much more efficient." Certainly one or the other will work very well for their respective users. But if you want fuller control of your tasks on your BB, todoMatrix is the only way to go. I've abandoned using tasks in Outlook altogether in favor of todoMatrix.

GDPmumin,

Good to hear your perspective who has used the Outlook plugin for a long time. The reason I said that is I feel with outlook provides the full control, and BB Tasks being synced with the category information, it is still very decent process. On the other hand, if I rely on TodoMatrix alone, I have to focus on BB, work in outlook will be redundant and not syncable.

I guess if you use BB much more than outlook, i.e. travel a lot, TodoMatrix is the answer. If you use the outlook a lot, then the GTD for Outlook plugin is the way to go.

Thanks for the discussion and to hear others input is very helpful.

Guys,

that's why I mentioned NextAction. I do also like to sync my tasks with my desktop and this is mostly not possible. NA provides exactly this features with the combination GTD implementation ...

For me, programs like todoMatrix have some knock-out disadvantages:

1. No synchronization to my Outlook possible
2. (Much more important) Synchronizes to an external database. Which means, my tasks are transferred through the internet to some server. Who protects me if this server is exploited? I do not want my data send through the internet!

Just my 2 cents, forgive for interrupting

You're not interrupting, so no worries. But I echo what others have stated as NextAction's main issues: no trial and the developer, although I'm sure he or she isn't, seems to be a phantom. No real website to speak of. I'm not willing to throw down that much money for an app I can't trial or for a developer that doesn't seem to exist.

todoMatrix, while it can't sync with Outlook (they're looking into the possibility), is very configurable -- to the point that I no longer need Outlook as a task manager. So that problem is solved. I understand your concerns about storing data on someone else's server. If this were personal information, I would be concerned, too. But I don't know how many people store truly personal information in a to do list. Maybe a lot do, I don't know. I personally don't, so that's not a worry for me.

Of course, I understand the issues.

For me it was a good buy. And as they have a money back guarantee (in their shop, at handango you have that anyway) it seems to be reliable.

I wasn't yet in the situation that I needed support from them so I cannot tell anything about this but I as of now I guess I don't need one

funkym,

So you have the software? Can you provide some screenshots (I know there's some at handango, but I'd like to see some "personalized" so we can get past this "vaporware" thing... Are you in some way connected to the vendor?

I'm particularly confiused by the fact that there are several "more established" (see: rex and pocketday) software companies that are saying Outlook sync is not readily possible without a lot of work - and yet, an unheard-of "company" with no other real software in their arsenal shows up saying their software synchronizes with Outlook.

Sounds like a scam to me. They can engineer Outlook synchronization, but can't set up trial software. Yeah, riiiiight.

Don't get me wrong, if someone (other than funkym) can chime in here (someone with a post count above the single digits) and give us the thumbs up on this software, I'd jump on it in a heartbeat. I'm just very wary (and beating a dead horse, too probably...)

I would be interested in hearing more about how you use TodoMatrix as a replacement.
I have been using the trial and after reading the posts I have set up autotext shortcuts for my comon contexts. When i create a new task i use the appropriate context. I have also created some folders where i do not use the contexts as those tasks always need to be done in the same location. I am gonig to finish converting my tasks and was thinking that i would create a work folder with individual project folders with their appropriate tasks along with the context. This way i can see all the tasks for an individual project in one folder and i can also use the find to pull all the contexts together for say @Phone calls at one time too. This seems to make the best use of TodoMatrix. I was thinking if there was a category field in TodoMatrix i would use that to hold the context instead of in the subject. I also would like to be able to sort by subject so that i could search for all @ tasks then sort them by subject and i could see all my context related tasks at one time.
Any comments or suggestions.

If you create a Drawer called GTD, and under that drawer, create some folders called: Office, Car, Calls, Errands, will this work? And without the need of search??

Yes, that's exactly how I have mine set up. I have a drawer called GTD, with folders labeled Calls, Computer, Office, Errands, Home, Waiting for . . .

I have another drawer called Projects, where I have a folder for each of my active projects. I'm not big on just planning one single next action; I like to project out the order of tasks for a project. This is where I enter those tasks at first, in their appropriate project folder. When a task in a project folder really does become the next action for that project, I use the clickwheel to move it to an appropriate context folder.

I also have an Agenda drawer with a folder for each of the people I might have to speak with about anything.

@thunder33cat: i will prepare some data and shots for you and will post it asap

p.s.: better you do not talk about the post counter...

...but I'd also appreciate an additional review of the software from someone else, too. (Obviously...)

I tried to contact the vendor with a proposal to review the software here, but have heard nothing - no response... have you had any contact with them?

And by the way... the post-count comment wasn't directed at you per se, it was a hopeful request to have a review/perspective from an established member of the BBForums community, rather than a random single-digit post-count vendor-supplied "yeah, it's great - just buy it." (But that never happens, right?)

And I'm fully aware of my low post-count - I've been a lurker for a fair amount of time, but this is one time I thought it was worth posting/questioning...

Yesterday i set it up with the search which is really quite easy. I was more concerned about moving a task from a project folder to a context and then not remembering what project it it is related to. Also with search i can search for any "@" and get a single listing of all my context actions, I really like this. For Agendas i really like the suggested approach as those do not need a context. Have you found that you are more descriptive with your tasks so that you know what project they are related to?

Yes, I do have to be a little more descriptive with the task description than I probably naturally would be, because, as you said, once I've moved the task to its appropriate context folder and out of its project folder, it's easy to lose sight of what project it's for.

I haven't played with the search feature in todoMatrix yet.

The searching is pretty amazing and quick. I have found that i use it quite a lot. I did however set up a couple categories as you suggested and seem to be getting along quite well with a combination of both. Thanks for the suggestions!

Ok, how about this!
I created a contact for each of my contexts. Such as @Home, @Car, etc, with the same name in the email field in address book. Then when you create a new task from TodoMatrix think of the Delegates field as the context field. Now for each new task that i create, in the appropriate project folder, i then add the appropriate delegate(Context) such as @Car. Todo Matrix then automatically creates a new view under Delegates for each of these Contexts. Now you dont have to use the find function to see your contexts and they can easily be assigned to a new context if needed.
I just set it up earlier today and it seems to be significantly more flexible so far. Enjoy!
Craig

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Hey! Niiiiice! Fantastic idea. Thanks a lot.

Well i reworked my tasks over the weekend using the delegates function and i have found it remarkably easy and intuitive for GTD tasks management. The automatic delegate views are great and the ability to still view the tasks by project and see what context you have them assigned to makes for easy editing. I have also started to only assign the context when i am ready to work on the next task for a particular project. That way the tasks that are not ready or able to be completed are not cluttering up my views. However i can still see what they are by looking at the project folder.
Having my complete task list everywhere is simply awesome!
Anyone else give this a try yet?