5 Task Apps for Visual Thinkers Most productivity tools and reviews focus on very linear, left-brained thinking. What if you’re a visual thinker and looking for a tool that suits your needs? Pen and paper, a massive whiteboard, or post-it notes can work for the right-brainers out there, but they’re also not necessarily very practical in this digital age, where you might need to access your tasks on the go, keep notes and track progress on them, or share them with someone else. Features to look for: If you’re looking at trying a digital app to help manage your to do list, and you’ve struggled with productivity tools in the past, here’s a few features that you might want to look for before you try yet another app: Color coding: This is such a simple feature that so many tools are lacking. My top 5 picks for task management for visual thinkers: KanbanPad Sporting an adorable mascot and a colorful design, KanbanPad is my favorite out of the kanban style task tools out there. Price: Free Trello Thoughtboxes Weekplan Teamweek
McSweeney’s GlimmerBlocker Getting Things Done Personal productivity system and 2001 book The GTD method rests on the idea of moving all items of interest, relevant information, issues, tasks and projects out of one's mind by recording them externally and then breaking them into actionable work items with known time limits.[b][c] This allows one's attention to focus on taking action on each task listed in an external record, instead of recalling them intuitively.[5] First published in 2001,[4] a revised edition of the book was released in 2015 to reflect the changes in information technology during the preceding decade.[1] Themes[edit] Allen first demonstrates stress reduction from the method with the following exercise, centered on a task that has an unclear outcome or whose next action is not defined. The most annoying, distracting, or interesting task is chosen, and defined as an "incomplete". An inboxA trash canA filing system for reference materialSeveral lists (detailed below)A calendar (either a paper-based or digital calendar)
My Ultimate Developer and Power Users Tool List for Mac OS X (2011 Edition) This is the third installment of my must have must have list of tools and utilities as a Mac and iOS developer. A lot can change in twelve months when you work in the technology space. The biggest change for developers in the past twelve months is the completed transition from Xcode 3 to 4 and from iOS 4 to 5. Oh, there may have been a new version of Mac OS X thrown in there for good measure too. The idea for this list was shamelessly ripped off from Windows developer Scott Hanselman whose list is an enjoyable read every year. Many of the products you will recognize from previous years’ lists. Hardware This year I transitioned back to a dual Mac setup again. I pair the iMac with a 13” i7 powered MacBook Air. I was a former proponent of the single machine lifestyle, but Dropbox has made sharing files between the two relatively painless. In terms of accessories and upgrades: I use a Wireless Apple Keyboard. Software I am really hard on software. The Essential Power User 5 Developer Tools
Performance Upgrades; FireWire USB SATA Storage; Memory, more at OWC node.js Jam - The JavaScript package manager