The first major difference that struck me is the prioritized backlog that is central to agile vs. the list of next actions split by context that is key to GTD. In trying to follow the non-prioritization ethos of GTD, I always have this feeling in the back of my mind that perhaps I’m working on the wrong thing at a given time. My work around has been using due dates and flags within Omnifocus. Specifically, due dates are for items that have some consequence if I fail to deliver on that date and flags are action items I’d like to complete that day.

Here are some initial thoughts of how to apply concepts from both GTD and Agile within the framework of the GTD weekly review in order to achieve some level of prioritization.

1. Start with your list of projects and stack rank them in order of priority.
2. Make sure every project has a clear next action defined along with a context.
3. When you are ready to work, considering your context, check your calendar, check items with a due date and then grab the top most item from stack.

I believe Omnifocus respects the ordering of your projects, so now, when you look at a particular context it should display the next most important item at the top.

The main difference between this method and what I currently do is the ordering of the projects within Omnifocus. One challenge with this method is that grouping projects by folder (in Omnifocus) may no longer be feasible. In that case, I would have one folder to archive all projects I’m not going to work on during the next week and the rest of the projects would be stack ranked outside of that folder. Perhaps using a tagging method could help organize the projects without of folders. I’m not sure yet how this would effect planning at the project level since I like to be able to drill down to a particular project’s folder and work with the sub-projects within.

Are you using Agile or GTD in your own personal productivity system? Do you combine personal with business? Have you merged ideas to create your own custom solution?

Collect Loose Papers and Materials
Gather all accumulated business cards, receipts, and miscellaneous paper-based materials into your in-basket.

• Physical Inbox
• Wallet
• Backpack/Briefcase
• Various Moleskine Journals
• Postal Mail

Get “IN” to zero
Process completely all outstanding paper materials, journal and meeting notes, voicemails, dictation, and emails.

• Process Physical Inbox
• Process OmniFocus Inbox
• Process Email
• Process Missed Calls, Text Messages and/or Voice Mail
• Process Voice Recordings
• Process Data from Note Applications
• Process Imported Photos
• Process Computer Desktop and Downloads Folder
• Process External Project Management Software
• Process Journal
• Process Time Log
• Process Book Annotations

Empty Your Head
Put in writing and process any uncaptured new projects, action items, waiting-for’s, someday-maybe’s, etc.

• Add them to the OmniFocus Inbox and don’t worry about processing them yet.

Review Previous and Upcoming Calendar Data

• Review past calendar in detail for remaining action items, reference data, etc., and transfer into the active system.
• Review upcoming calendar events – long and short term. Capture actions triggered.

Review Lists

• Evaluate status of projects, goals and outcomes, one by one, ensuring at least one current action item on each.
• Make sure each next action is really a next action and write it as if I were delegating it to someone.
• Browse through project plans, support material & any other work-in-progress material to trigger new actions, completions, waiting-for’s, etc.
• Review for any projects which may now have become active, and transfer to “Projects.” Delete items no longer
• Assign time to any critical projects on the Calendar

Review Any Relevant Checklists
Use as a trigger for any new actions.

Be Creative & Courageous
Any new, wonderful, hare-brained, creative, thought-provoking, risk-taking ideas to add into your system???

What does your checklist look like?

Of course, you could use the old fashion method of simply telling your friends and family your resolutions, but then you probably wouldn’t be reading MakeUseOf.com if you participated in such old school methodologies. I’m kidding of course, but if you are reading this, you are interested in how to help make your resolutions a reality using free web 2.0 tools.

Following are two free social networks that can help you create, share and follow through with all of your 2010 new years resolutions and beyond.

ToolstoLife.com

If you prefer a guided approach, then this service is what you need. According to their latest blog post, there is a free program called the Personal Freedom Revolution of 2010 that will walk you through the process of creating real change in your life day by day.

At ToolsToLife.com you have the opportunity to invite friends (within and outside of the website) and share all types of content, including blogs, video and photos. All of the programs on this site are free and include: the 90 Day Tools to Life flagship program, Body Makover Jumpstart Tools, Get a Job Tools, Tools to Optimum Health and Start Living Green Tools.

The programs take you through a daily 15 to 30 minute regimen that is located in a metaphorical toolbox. In the toolbox you will view a video, listen to audio, read an article, create and execute a checklist and answer questions. There are also other tools included such as a goal setting mini-application.

Another interesting feature, are the challenges. Here you can create a challenge and invite others to participate with you. During the challenge you update your progress and have the ability to “nudge” those who are lagging.

If you need more inspiration or motivation, head over the Achievements and Inspiration tabs. There you will find blogs written by the community members (at the time of this writing there are over 35,000 members) and the coaches. The coaches are the members who actually created the free programs.

43Things.com

At this writing, 43Things.com claims to have recorded over 207,044 new years resolutions. It’s no wonder, since they provide a very easy way to get your resolutions out of your head and into their system.

First, if you need some inspiration or ideas, check out the tag cloud on the home page and then check out the links along the right hand side under “New Year’s Resolutions”.

Next, create your account and get started. As with all social networks, I recommend you spend some time filling out your profile completely.

43things.com is used generally to list out your goals, cheer and be cheered by others (the equivalent of receiving a thumbs up or Digg) and comment on the goals of others. For each item on your goals list you can add blog entries, set reminders and mark the goal as done. Once you mark the goal as done, you can explain how you did it, providing inspiration for others.

They have enable a feature specifically for 2010 Resolutions; you simply click on the tab that says “2010 resolutions” from your own personalized profile page and answer the question: “What do you want to do in 2010?”

One drawback, in terms of building an accountability network, is that you can only subscribe to the lists of others. It think it would be best if we could invite others to subscribe to our lists also.

Conclusion

Whichever method you choose, it is important to take a moment and reflect on 2009 and think about where you want to go in 2010. It is my hope that at least one of these tools will help you create the changes you want and need in the coming year.

Do you remember your 2009 resolutions? Did you use any web based tools to help you follow through with those resolutions? Do you plan to use any of these tools, or do you have alternate suggestions? I can’t wait to hear your experiences!

1. Remove your ego and personality. Picture yourself as a objective third party whose goal is to make sure all parties win.
2. Research thoroughly the company or person you will negotiate with.
3. Always listen to the other party’s interests and point of view first.
4. Remember that if you do not negotiate with your customers, someone else will.
5. The more options the other side believes you have, gives you more leverage when determining terms.
6. Do not skimp on your preliminary research of facts and information regarding the topic of negotiation. Think through options and alternatives.
7. Minimize risk for the other side to help move the negotiations further and faster.
8. Always ask for at least 100% of what you want up front.
9. Never make a proposal unless you understand what the other party wants and why.
10. Be willing to walk away.

What are your top negotiating tips?

Podcasts

By far, the most used feature on my iPod Touch is Podcasts. I just don’t have the time to read through all the news I care about each day, but I do normally have time to listen, and you can’t beat the price! Here are some of my favorites:

• Buzz Out Loud – Daily tech news
• Diggnation – Top stories from Digg.com, good for information and some comic relief
• The Drill Down – Discussions on the top tech stories from Social Media masters
• GTD Virtual Study Group – A round table of GTD practitioners sharing their experiences
• Linux Outlaws – Linux news with humor
• MacBreak Weekly – Top Mac related news
• The Moth Podcast – Interesting stories from amazing story tellers
• TEDTalks – Inspiring videos of amazing thinkers
• Tekzilla – Get your tech geek information in video form
• This American Life – A topic based show with usually interesting stories
• This I Believe – People from all walks of life submit essays about things they believe in
• This Week in Tech – Discussions on the top tech stories of the week by the technorati
• Windows Weekly – Weekly Windows based news and tips
• 60 Minutes – Investigative journalism

Audible

While not free, I find that the cost is definitely worth it. I subscribe to the Platinum plan (if you use this link you can try it free without obligation), which allows for two credits per month. That usually amounts to two books, but there are some longer books that need two credits. Here are a few titles I’ve recently listened to that I would recommend:

• The Last Lecture - Inspiring!
• Reality Check – Fuel for the Entrepreneur
• The Tourist – Spy novel
• The Company – Spy novel
• Winning – Great advice and motivation for life and business
• Outliers – An interesting look at success
• The Groundswell – Social Media in the Enterprise
• Making it All Work – GTD continued
• The Post American World - An interesting take on the rist of non-American countries
• How to Drive Your Competition Crazy – Just as the title says …
• Search – A interesting look at the history of search
• Legacy of Ashes – The History of the CIA – A behind the scenes look at … wait, why is there a black helicopter hovering overhead …

Tweetie

This Twitter client makes it easy to manage multiple Twitter accounts. It will set you back a few dollars, but the time it has already saved me has paid for the app many times over. Thanks to Gabriel for introducing this app to me.

Safari

My start.io page loads fantastically in mobile Safari. That web page serves as my dashboard which points to all of the web sites I need to use on a regular basis. The downside is that it becomes tedious to surf for too long because of the tiny screen, but in a pinch it definitely gets the job done, and much better than my Windows Mobile phone.

FaceBook

This app makes it easy to interact with FaceBook friends. I find it easier to use than the FaceBook web site due to it’s simplicity.

AnalyticsApp

If you are obsessed with your Google Analytics account, then you need this app. It allows you to easily check out your stats in great detail. The interface is very easy to use and even though its not free, I find it useful enough to hold a permanent place on my Touch. Much easier to use than visiting the Google Analytics page using Safari.

LinkedIn

Similar to the FaceBook app, this app allows for easy interaction with my LinkedIn network. I don’t usually make the time to do so at my desktop, but in line at the grocery store provides a perfect opportunity to stay connected. It’s that or reading The Enquirer.

ToDo by Appiggio

For quick task and todo capture, this app works very well. I like it’s ability to synchronize with several popular services including Remember the Milk, Toodledo and even Microsoft Outlook.

Stanza

I’m currently reading Mac OS X Leopard: The Missing Manualwith this application and I love it. Once I found out that the desktop app allows for you to put in a web site URL and it will automatically format the article in ePub format and be made available on your mobile device, I now have no need for any other readers; with exception to the Kindle app, because currently it is the only reader that synchronizes with the Kindle.

WordPress

This app allows you to manage several WordPress blogs in a clean and easy way. It’s still not as efficient as when you are at your desktop, but it helps you quickly make changes to posts, pages and comments.

What apps or functions on your iPhone or Touch do you find greatly increases your productivity?

Rules

• Master the fundamentals
• Be action oriented
• Think with critical and rational thinking
• Be reality based
• Listen, embrace silence

Methods

• Operate through love
• Stay within the flow
• Planning
  • Where am I?
  • Where do I need to be?
  • Where do I want to be?
  • What are the actions to get from A to B
• Execute consistently
• Strive for a balanced Framework

Framework

• Health
• Finances
• Business
• Family + Friends (Relationships)
• Fun
• Personal Development
• Philosophy of Life / Spirituality
• Emotions / Feelings
• Self Discipline

Systems

First, a high level brainstorm of what systems and/or elements are actually needed.

• Email
• Voice
• IM
• Calendar
• Contacts
• Lists
• Files ( physical & digital )
• Accounting ( time & money & assets )
• CRM
• Marketing Automation
• Website
• External Project Management ( support tickets & milestones & deliverables )
• Legal
• Backup & Storage
• Internet Connectivity

Procedures

This is the method by which the systems will be executed.

• Checklists & Routines

Tools – Hardware

I think it’s first best to define your specific needs, then buy the tools that match. But in many cases, especially in a down economy, you need to get by with what you have. So an inventory of current hardware is useful in determining the best configuration to implement your systems. Following is my own inventory.

• iPod Touch
• Samsung Omnia i900 – Windows Mobile
• Dell Precision Workstation – Vista Ultimate
• Acer Desktop – Vista Home Premium
• Dell Ultraportable – Ubuntu 9.04
• MacBook Pro – OS X
• WD Extrnal Hard Drives
• 2 OfficeJet Printers ( with scanner + fax [why do people still have to fax?!? /minirant] )
• 1 Laser Printer

Tools – Sofware

Same idea as with the hardware, it’s a good idea ot list out your current assets. But keeping in mind that there may be solutions that vastly can increase your productivity and some of those solutions can even be free. Following is a listing of some software and web service assets that I will need to expand upon later.

• PhotoShop CS3
• Microsoft Office Professional 2007
• RoboForm
• PocketInformant
• QuickBooks Premier 2007
• Qtask
• Project Locker
• EchoSign
• Google Voice
• Paypal
• SalesForce.com
• Mail2Web Exchange Services

What’s Next

1. Define the criteria for each element of the System.
2. Map the Tools to the System, bound by Procedure.

Without formal testing, it seems that iGoogle begins to drain resources over time causing FireFox to explode after several hours. Usually, when I end my day, I leave FireFox open, with only iGoogle running. Too often I awake to a crashed FireFox.

So far (after three days) this problem has not happened with start.io.

I do miss having the weather widget and the world clock, but now I just use weather.com and http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock

What do you use as your Internet dashboard?

Paul Becker

This comprehensive piece shows you many ways to work out without weights along with some thoughts about best practices.

About.com

9 exercises with photos. At the bottom of the page there are links to other resources. Also, check out their Travel Workout.

2 Minute Workout

If you don’t mind the ads, this free video walks you through step by step.

Sandeep’s Fitness Page

Here, the exercises are broken down by muscle.

Men’s Health

An 8 minute simple, weight free workout.

The Playing Card Workout

I learned this one from a friend in the U.S. Navy. You will need a deck of playing cards for this one.

How do you keep fit on the road?

There was one issue I encountered that minimized my joy a tiny fraction at finding this treasure trove; 1) not enough time to listen to them all right now! and 2) no one place to go for an easy short list of all of the interviews (this is undoubtedly because Andrew is busy creating awesome interviews!)

In this post, I have created a list of all the interviews in a easy to browse format that takes you directly to the interview page for your convenience. On that interview page, Andrew has an introductory video, written summary of the interview, streaming audio and download link. Enjoy! I sure am.

The interviews are listed starting from the most recent:

1. Chris Winfield – How to grow your business with social media and not have it take over your day
2. James Siminoff – How to get the world excited about your business
3. Jason Fried – Bootstrapping lessons from 37 signals
4. Mateo Gutierrez – How to build your online community
5. Derek Sivers – How a musician built a $22 million dollar business from his home
6. Brent Csutoras – How to get traffic from social media
7. Kurt Daradics – how to organize an event for investors, ceos and influencials
8. Kareem Mayan – How to work while traveling like a business nomad
9. Tony Adam – Yahoo’s SEO manager teaches you how to get more search engine traffic
10. Douglas Atkin – What cults can teach you about building community
11. Adeo Ressi – “Almost everyone i counciled got funding”
12. Guy Kawasaki – How alltop is growing by following its founder’s advice
13. Keith and the Girl – 7 secrets for building a community so passionate that they get your tattoo
14. Jason Kiesel – Myspace app developer teaches how to build a social network application
15. Sloane Berrent – simple tips for networking into your dream job 
16. John King – Do you want to be donald trump or steve jobs?
17. 2 Top Hacker News Members – Why do people join online communities?
18. Ryan Scott – What he did after he sold his company
19. Michael Dorausch – How is this guy getting so many hits to his site?
20. Bob Dunlap – An ebook on birds made $500,000?!
21. Jason McVearry – Social marketing techniques
22. Timothy Ferriss – How blogs helped the four hour work week become a best seller
23. Mark Jeffrey – Real entrepreneurs get back up
24. Laurence Gonzales – Do you text while driving?
25. Aj Vaynerchu – Community before cash
26. Ted Murphy – Tips for successful online marketing
27. Olivier Chaine – How to increase conversions
28. Peter Pham – 5 steps to becoming a networking superstar
29. Justin Premick – How to grow an email mailing list
30. John “Ol’ Chumbucket” Baur and Mark “Cap’n Slappy” Summers - how “talk like a pirate day” became a sensation
31. Susan Smith – How domainers profit
32. Dan Olsen – Why your site isn’t viral
33. Davy RothBart – “Mario, i f-cking hate you.” how to build community
34. Chris Bechtel – 5 ways to create good content
35. Kelly Perdew – 6 business lessons i learned from donald trump’s apprentice winner
36. Karel Baloun – Why did facebook succeed? an early hire speaks
37. Devlyn Steele – How to build an online community
38. Hiten Shah – 7 essential tools of viral marketing
39. Clinton Swaine – 7 negotiating and sales secrets
40. Max Alexander – How to organize a master mind group
41. Revere Strategy Group – Learning from obama, mccain and other politicians
42. Sean Percival – Get traffic to your site
43. Frank Warren – How postsecret uses social media to grow its mission
44. Tony Hsieh – Surprising customers with amazing service
45. Magento Team – You don’t need outside funding
46. Eric Stephens – How to develop intuitive user experience
47. Robert Schoble – How to become internet famous
48. Matt Mickiewicz – Quickly building and selling sites
49. Rich Demuro – How to get your startup on the news
50. Roger Ehrenberg – Launch in phases
51. Andy Oliver – Do-it-yourself public relations
52. Rosalind Resnick – Is goal-setting outdated?
53. Gregory Galant – Everyone is accessible 
54. Ori Brafman – What sways people
55. Sarah Lacy – Author of “Once Your Lucky, Twice Your Good”
56. Jackie Peters – How to market on the social web
57. Mark Suster – From the mixergy funding forum
58. Douglas Campbell – LA’s version of the ted conference
59. Alex Funk – Understanding widgets
60. Deborah Shadovitz – Learning to organize a conference
61. Dave Balter – How to build buzz
62. Tara Hunt – Why & how to build social capital online
63. Register at Mixergy.com to get an additional interview with Seth Godin.

Also, check out these shorter video business tips:

1. Timothy Ferriss – Business suggestion
2. Jeremy Shoemaker –  How to be a successful blogger
3. Darren Rowse – How to get more traffic
4. Jesse Stay – How to raise your profile online
5. Jeremy Shoemaker – How jeremy schoemaker became “internet famous”
6. John Chow – Why does john chow’s personal site make $30,000+ per month?
7. Robert Scoble – Building a personal brand

Be sure to subscribe the Mixergy RSS feed  and bookmark his “interview” tag to get new interviews and other fantastic content. Be sure to follow Andrew on Twitter also.

Thanks for all of your great work Andrew, and please keep it going.