Freddie Daniells

GTD people - take a look at ClearContext

Adrian and I are both fans of David Allen's Getting Things Done (GTD) methodology. For newbies, GTD is a bottoms up system for managing the countless projects and tasks that life throws at us.        

Adrian recently blogged about how useful he had found the Nelson Email Organiser (NEO) Outlook add-in for managing his Inbox. I dutifully downloaded the trial version but found it made my Outlook unstable. So, despite its promise, I had to uninstall it. (most likely a reflection on my system than on NEO)    

This made me keen, however, to try ClearContext, a similar system for managing your Inbox. And I have been impressed. Things I like are:                  

1. Unlike NEO, everything is done in the familiar surroundings of Outlook.
2. Great for all GTDers - ClearContext puts the onus on you to deal with your mail through your Inbox. Because Outlook rules automatically distribute emails to the relevant folder, I lose important to-do mails amongst these folders. By contrast ClearContext collects mail in Inbox, allocates a topic to it and waits for you to process it before filing it away by topic. For GTDers, this means you deal with the 2 minute items immediately, filing them away after, and use the GTD add-in to make tasks of the rest. Very neat.
3. My contacts can relate to me in several ways at one time - they may be working with me on a project as well as arranging a beer evening out. Outlook rules do not easily allow you to file messages relative to the context of the message. In ClearContext each mail is filed relative to its topic rather than by hard rules. It also recognises that a series of mails with the same subject is a conversation and so automatically gives the same topic to all mails about the same subject.
4. Finally ClearContext lets you prioritse mail. If you want new mail from your spouse, your boss or best customer to always show at the top of your inbox, this is a doddle. Out of the box, the software analyses your existing mail and guessed what might be important to you. This is easy to customise for your needs.

There are other features but ClearContext is well worth a look - its cheap and will help you if you are overwhelmed by your Inbox. Price $29.95. Take a look at NEO too.

PS Scoble likes it too!    

My recommended reads 17Oct05

Burnham's Beat: Early Warnings Signs A Software Stock Is In Trouble - The key metrics to watch when either investing in or starting a software company.    

Seth's Blog: The new rules of naming - Seth Godin's always wonderful advice. This time on how to name a company in the time of Web 2.0.

Getting Flat, Part 2 | Linux Journal - Just re-discovered this article - Doc Searls explains that how IQ can go up as well as down. Hope mine is on the rise! Part 1 here. 

WSJ.com - Home Sellers Turn to Blogs To Make Properties Stand Out - Interesting use of blogs. Been toying with the idea of what to do with my apartment - this would be a smart way to market it. Subscription required.    

MarketingProfs - KPIs to measure marketing effectiveness - Interesting dialog showing how marketers struggle with metrics and accountability.        

WSJ.com - The Hidden Dangers of Heartburn - If you thought Heartburn is something you could ignore, think again. It is one of the major causes of esophogeal-cancer, the fastest rising cancer in the US. Subscription required.    

My recommended reads 10Oct05

WHO | Avian influenza - good explanation of the issues around Bird Flu from the World Health Organisation.        

Tom Peters is also raging here about what impact this might have and how unprepared we are.    

Creating Passionate Users: How to speak at a tech conference - This is just great advice from Kathy Sierra for whatever the conference you want to present at.        

Presentation Zen: The "Lessig Method" of presentation - A great demonstration of an alternative style of powerpoint presenting.    

Micro Persuasion: It's Time to Go the Distance - Steve Rubel tells the PR community to start to educate the corporate world about blogs.        

Obsessive Branding Disorder - great article from Fast Company reminding us that product is more important than brand.    

OnlyOnce: What a View, Part II - Matt Blumberg, CEO of Return Path tells of how his 360 review works with the board. See Part I also.