28 5 / 2012
Best capture tool for paper-based GTD system
When I read about paper-based GTD systems, one of the capture tools, which gets recommended a lot, is hipster PDA.
I however was never a fan of hipster PDA. I distrust a pack of index cards held together just by a paper clip. I mean, really, these things could get unclipped just as easily as the were clipped in the first place, and a precious peace of information could just slip out of the back pocket of your 501’s, and get lost, forever.
When I find myself wishing to switch to paper-based GTD system, I do not use hipster PDA to record ideas, things to do, useful information, etc. Instead, I use a very small spiral notebook.
Rules for using this ubiquitous capture tool are simple:
- Carry two notebooks: one that you use and an extra blank one, just in case.
- One sheet - one thought: this will help make processing it later a bliss.
- Process daily: once sheet is processed, tear it out and throw it away.
- Only capture: spiral notebook is for capturing things, not for storing them. Don’t keep your lists in it, there are better tools for that, e.g. Pocket mod.
There you have it - the best paper-based capture tool. In six years of practicing this stuff I have not found a better one, and I am not sure I ever will.
