David Allen on GTD and Cloud Computing
January 29, 2010 in Productivity
First, the video. Allen speaks quickly, he is obviously animated by the topic. Keep this in mind as you watch:
The Methodology is more important than the Technology
My Take-aways:
- It doesn’t matter where your list is – if you have the method down, you can keep your lists anywhere
- The cloud apps just don’t have the sophistication yet – I agree with Allen that the cloud apps need to get bigger and more robust, allowing physical interfaces to get smaller while the virtual interface fills the room
- Developers should build connectivity into all of the tools that we use – proprietary devices and services are most likely not sustainable in the long term
As so many people’s To-do lists are incomplete groupings of unclear things developers should consider ways to enhance the list-building experience. Improve clarity through tagging and clearly-defined Contexts. All of us can benefit from gaining mastery of the methodology, then the technology can become transparent.
More from Wired UK – How to Think Bigger
What if the following were really true? Suppose I need to create a presentation for one of our larger clients. In my office I push a button and a whole wall comes to life. A Bach harpsichord concerto starts playing. When I say “Acme Brick Ltd”, the words show up in the centre, linked to pictures of people, services, buildings, maps, all of which I can manipulate via the wall’s touch-sensitive screen. The real-time corporate data of the client shows in a small, connected box. Off to the side, I see icons of the various people I work with, along with small indicators of who’s currently online and what they are working on today. One is highlighted and blinking, because my assistant is at the moment trying to set up logistics for this particular program with the client’s staff.
I grab a keyboard, sit back in my chair, and begin to type words — concepts and themes I might want to integrate into my presentation. As I do, quotations that could prove relevant begin to scroll on another screen. Files of other presentations that have used those themes show up in another part of the wall. When I feel a bit stuck, I hit my Creative Hot Button, and randomly associated data scrolls, based on background input for this session appear.
And then imagine that scenario as a hologram in my office, which I can walk around in virtual 3D mode, creating, dragging and connecting content points in mid-air.
This tech all exists now, but it’s not integrated, accessible or easy to use. I still must exert an inordinate amount of mental energy to remember what to use to help me think about what I’d like to think about. That’s enough to put the kibosh on any creative process. Sorry, dear, I have a headache tonight.
I still believe that this is the ultimate mobile device:
