Many, many factors account for this — let’s call it a character flaw. But the biggest is probably this one: My utter inability (or maybe it’s just an unwilingness) to see beyond what’s right in front of me. This one failing has knocked the pins right out from under every GTD implementation I’ve ever looked at, and I’ve looked at ’em all. You know in the cartoons, when somebody’s confused and words start circling his head? That’s me with a new GTD app. Projects? Next tasks? Near-term goals? Far-term goals? Why, you’re just talking gibberish!
This may be why I’ve embraced Do It (Tomorrow), a dead-simple to-do app for iOS. (Free for the iPhone; a $1.99 universal version adds cloud sync.) Do It (Tomorrow) builds on — or maybe it takes away from — the work done by earlier apps like Put Things Off, a simplified sort-of-GTD client that allows you to schedule tasks for today or shove them off indefinitely. The trouble is, even that feels like too much work to someone like me. Here’s the uncomplicated beauty of Do It (Tomorrow): It offers two choices: Do it today, or put it off for tomorrow. That’s it. In reducing the vista of available time, it allows me to focus on only those things that really need doing right now, or close to it. Do It (Tomorrow) embraces the functioning part of my brain, which can see about 36 hours ahead, and doesn’t bother with the rest. It’s simple, good-looking and — for me — supremely functional.
