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The Best Software to Get Things Done!

If you are anything like the students on my college campus, you are dreading the next three weeks. Thanksgiving break is a fond memory of home-cooked meals and freshly pressed laundry, as you are assaulted with final assignment after final assignment and can’t possibly imagine how you will finish it all.

Have no fear, tech girl is here! I’m a chic tech-geek, and use my computer and my iPhone on a daily basis to help me get things done.

The tagline “get things done” is a new, or at least relatively new, concept in the business world. David Allen, consultant and author of the book “Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity,” created the GTD (as it generally called) method in an effort to streamline the way business is done. So why can’t this work for college students? IT DOES AND IT CAN.

Now I don’t really know all the logistics of the GTD method, but I do know that it has spawned a variety of software programs and applications for both Mac and PC users.

My Favorite Programs:

Macs/iPhones
If you’re a Mac like I am, and have the iPhone too, you will most definitely appreciate these programs:

1. Things: Things is a Mac OS inspired program which lends itself to GTD. Originally a member of their team, Bartek Bargiel, created iGTD – a free program that was 100% Mac friendly. The Culture Coded team recently incorporated his innovations into their program “Things”– available for $49.95. You can try out the program via that link for 30 days and then the program reverts to a read-only model that you can always view, but in order to save you must purchase a license. The cool thing about Things is that there’s an app for that. The Things iPhone Application allows you to sync all of your information from the device to the computer – for $9.99. If you have cash to spare this the way to go.

2. If you don’t have cash to spare try out iProcrastinate, it’s free. It’s a great program, very similar to Things, but without the price tag. If you really like it, shoot the developer a donation. It also has its own iPhone app, also free. The only problem is that you can’t sync the two automatically, but the savings (if you’re on a budget) make up for it.

3. Cram: Not necessarily a GTD product, but definitely a college-productivity program. Cram is a Mac program that allows you to make (and share!) flashcards and multiple choice tests on your Mac. Though it’s not free, this program is $30 and if you can study on a computer it might help save money in flashcards, printing cartridges, and printer paper. And hey, you’ll be green, so go you!

If you’re a PC, try out these programs, some of which also sync with Pocket PCs:
1. MyLifeOrganized: A program similar to Things, this program has an organized flow for projects, homework, or application deadlines, and costs $45.95. It also syncs with Outlook email, and adapts to your to-do system, unless that consists of a to-do list on the back of a pizza box, that’s definitely not compatible.

2. The David Allen Company provides a Outlook plugin to manage all your data directly from your inbox. The license costs $74.95, and doesn’t appear to have any mobile components.

3. ClearContext for PCs offers another Outlook plugin to get you organized directly from your email; however, this could break your bank at $89.95. Try it free for 30 days and if it works, hit up the ‘rents for an early holiday present.

4. AgendaOne, for $30 allows you to update your mobile with its very own GTD software. According to the site, it works with a variety of devices and all sorts of Windows Mobile operating systems.

Those are just a few of the many great programs out there. This Web site has a large database for all GTD programs–for Windows, Mac and Linux. And also here’s a great blog post on a quick overview of the GTD philosophy, definitely worth a look.