Categories can be used for GTD contexts, projects, and more.
Syncs with mobile devices.
Notes are handy for capturing ideas.
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It can get overly complex.
GTD setup is a bit of a hack.
Microsoft Outlook is a popular calendar and email system in the business world.
It follows the productivity combination of calendar, tasks, notes, and contacts.
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An Alternative to Notepad: Microsoft Sticky Notes
Simple, distraction-free note taking.
Sticky Notes ships in Windows 11 and Windows 10 and can be downloaded from Microsoft.
Productivity Software That Brings Kanban Boards to the Cloud: Trello
Simple visual system.
Great for distributed teams that need to visualize their workload.
Doesn’t do complex scheduling and resource leveling like Microsoft Project.
Doesn’t allow context reminders like GTD in Outlook.
Kanban uses visual cards to keep sight of the jobs you should probably do.
However, Trello replaces cards on a physical board with a digital Kanban board that lives in the cloud.
A Great MindMapping Productivity App: SimpleMind
Visual notes.
Syncs across all platforms.
Presentation might get in the way of ideas.
The software is pricey.
SimpleMind capitalizes on this by enabling you to create MindMaps on Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS.
For Keeping Post-it Notes in the Cloud: Google Keep
Flexible visual note taking.
Set reminders by time or location.
Locations must be a single location.
It’s available online, primarily for PC use, and it syncs to Android and iOS.
Reminders can be set by time or location, but they can only be a single location.
Free Alternative Productivity Software: Google Calendar
Simple and easy to use.
Great for shared calendars.
Lack of task categories makes GTD difficult.
Google provides a simpler calendar and task system than the one in Outlook.
The cloud-based system is great for shared calendars.
Sync Data Between PC and Phone Productivity Apps: CompanionLink
Syncs Outlook to Android or iOS.
Complete sync, including categories.
Expensive to sync your phone.
There are further costs for cloud-based sync.
To keep your data synchronized between Outlook on your PC and phone, CompanionLink is the best app.
CompanionLink syncs everything in the standard Outlook database and also allows you to configure custom fields.
For Serious Project Management: Microsoft Project
Industry-standard project management.
It can be time-consuming.
For this punch in of project management, Microsoft Project is the industry standard.
However, while it’s a powerful piece of software, it can be time-consuming.
Simplicity With Calculation: Microsoft Excel
Simple and flexible for planning.
Easily calculate workload and schedule.
Microsoft Excel has many uses for organizing data and performing calculations.
Excel can then calculate the total time required, as well as target start and finish times.
Its easy to cut and paste tasks and adjust times as you plan your project.
For When You Want Simplicity: Windows Notepad
Simple distraction-free notes.
Included free with Windows.
Text reformats to fit in any sized window.
Doesn’t automate anything.
Doesn’t sync with mobile devices.
