GTD + Evernote = The Secret Weapon

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All twelve people who read my blog…most of you all friends or family…know me quite well. You all know me as a highly relational, “water cooler” guy, that seems to fly by the seat of his pants and is not real organized. That is a pretty fair assessment. I have fought for years with the ugly four letter words in my life called “discipline,” “productivity,” and “organization.” I always seem to try to find ways to be productive and more organized in my life, but often fail miserably.

While on vacation over Thanksgiving, I finally got around to reading David Allen’s book, Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress Free Productivity (or GTD for short). It is a really good read and makes total sense…and if I can do the concepts in the system, anyone can do them!

The biggest concept that I have taken from the GTD process is the goal of having a “mind like water.” In essence, when you are not thinking about all of the things you must do, but have a reliable system to refer to, you use much less brain power remembering–which frees you up to dream really big dreams and make a difference in the world. I know that I waste a LOT of energy and brain power worrying about “everything” I have to do and then I am paralyzed not knowing what to do next. I am finally getting more organized and have felt like I have found the “holy grail” of productivity with “The Secret Weapon.”

The folks over at TRUETONIQS have created a perfect system to go along with David Allen’s book, Getting Things Done (GTD). Their solution is a combination of an amazing, free application called Evernote, your email load, and the GTD process. It is really cool, and something I have been looking for quite some time now.

I have used “Things” for the Mac and iPhone, but have found it really slow to keep up with updates and bug fixes. The other negative with Things is that you have to sync manually over WiFi, not remotely over the cloud…not cool. Oh, and it is a bit pricy as well. Oh, and did I mention that Evernote is FREE!? AND…it works with both Mac and PC as well as all smart phone platforms! Sweetness!

What I love about The Secret Weapon is that these creative people are already using Evernote and training all of their employees to be more productive. It is working extremely well for them…and they want to share it with everyone. Here is an extremely creative overview of The Secret Weapon:

[tentblogger-youtube zQObM8qrE6g]

Make sure you check out The Secret Weapon website and watch all of their videos to get you up and running quickly with The Secret Weapon.

I found out about Evernote several years ago from Michael Hyatt’s blog, who has several great posts about practical, real world use of Evernote for everyone. Check them out. You should also check out Brett Kelly’s awesome e-book, Evernote Essentials, Second Edition. It is $25, but well worth the time and money to get you up and really proficient in Evernote really quickly.

So tell me, what system do you use to Get Things Done?

Coca-Cola 125th Anniversary Celebration

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Check out what Coca Cola Headquarters in Atlanta is looking like these days to celebrate their 125th Anniversary. They have made their entire building in essence a 3D canvas for video. Amazing

[tentblogger-youtube KFshiUe_Mmw]

Coca-Cola Pimps It’s HQ | ChurchCrunch.

Friday is for . . . farkling

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Tucker came home the other day and said, “we can’t play Rock-Paper-Scissors at preschool.” Now, I’m sure there is a good reason for this. Maybe it causes a lot of arguments and it’s not just that game that is banned from the classroom. It could be that it wasn’t an complete ban of the game from the entire school–maybe just the classroom. But, if Tucker is any indication, it has been banned from the school because the boy simply doesn’t know the rules and gets mad at his brother and just punches him in the gut!! Read more

Friday is for . . . farkling

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Tucker came home the other day and said, “we can’t play Rock-Paper-Scissors at preschool.” Now, I’m sure there is a good reason for this. Maybe it causes a lot of arguments and it’s not just that game that is banned from the classroom. It could be that it wasn’t an complete ban of the game from the entire school–maybe just the classroom. But, if Tucker is any indication, it has been banned from the school because the boy simply doesn’t know the rules and gets mad at his brother and just punches him in the gut!! Read more

Friday is for . . . farkling

/0 Comments/in , , , /by

Tucker came home the other day and said, “we can’t play Rock-Paper-Scissors at preschool.” Now, I’m sure there is a good reason for this. Maybe it causes a lot of arguments and it’s not just that game that is banned from the classroom. It could be that it wasn’t an complete ban of the game from the entire school–maybe just the classroom. But, if Tucker is any indication, it has been banned from the school because the boy simply doesn’t know the rules and gets mad at his brother and just punches him in the gut!! Read more

Goodbye stonesthrowblog.com, Hello pastordavidstone.com!

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As many of you know, I have been searching for a new pastorate for quite some time. Many churches will want to see videos of my sermons. I had placed my sermons online at a “private” page, but didn’t really find it the best option for me.

I have also been reading John Saddington’s blog, Tentblogger. He is a WordPress guy and posted on having a “personal landing/branding page” to point people to your information online. It does seem a bit presumptious, I have to admit–on the surface.  However, there are some really legitimate reasons why I decided to buy pastordavidstone.com and combine my stonesthrowblog.com and this new personal landing page. Read more

Goodbye stonesthrowblog.com, Hello pastordavidstone.com!

/0 Comments/in , /by

As many of you know, I have been searching for a new pastorate for quite some time. Many churches will want to see videos of my sermons. I had placed my sermons online at a “private” page, but didn’t really find it the best option for me.

I have also been reading John Saddington’s blog, Tentblogger. He is a WordPress guy and posted on having a “personal landing/branding page” to point people to your information online. It does seem a bit presumptious, I have to admit–on the surface.  However, there are some really legitimate reasons why I decided to buy pastordavidstone.com and combine my stonesthrowblog.com and this new personal landing page. Read more

Goodbye stonesthrowblog.com, Hello pastordavidstone.com!

/0 Comments/in , /by

As many of you know, I have been searching for a new pastorate for quite some time. Many churches will want to see videos of my sermons. I had placed my sermons online at a “private” page, but didn’t really find it the best option for me.

I have also been reading John Saddington’s blog, Tentblogger. He is a WordPress guy and posted on having a “personal landing/branding page” to point people to your information online. It does seem a bit presumptious, I have to admit–on the surface.  However, there are some really legitimate reasons why I decided to buy pastordavidstone.com and combine my stonesthrowblog.com and this new personal landing page. Read more

Stevie Johnson tweets his frustration to God…in ALL CAPS no less!

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I know I am a little late to the party on this one, but Buffalo Bills wide receiver, Stevie Johnson, dropped a game-winning touchdown pass on Sunday.

Stuff happens, right?? I mean, things don’t always happen the way we want them to happen.? I sometimes feel that I am living out the wilderness wanderings experience of the Israelites on a daily basis.? However, I don’t think I have ever thought about tweeting to God for my problems. But, then again, Twitter has created a sort of online journal of sorts for us all to share our joys and frustrations, ups and downs.

I wonder what David would have “tweeted” on his Twitter after his cycle of sin with Bathsheba?? Well, we don’t have the twitter feed, but we do have the storyline as well as a song that he wrote to God about the whole deal in Psalm 51.? I have been reading through the Scriptures using Professor Horner’s Bible Reading System, (which is awesome, by the way.)? One of the 10 “lists” that you read through each day is the Book of Psalms.? As I read Stevie Johnson’s tweet, I thought to myself, “This isn’t really that different than the Psalms where the psalmist was asking God “why” are bad things happening in my life?”

There are many out there in the blogging world who have jumped on Johnson’s back about “you can’t blame this on God.”? Interesting enough, this post was going to be another “one of those posts”…until I read Johnson’s twitter feed.? Here is THE TWEET that started the whirlwind…

I PRAISE YOU 24/7!!!!!! AND THIS HOW YOU DO ME!!!!! YOU EXPECT ME TO LEARN FROM THIS??? HOW???!!! ILL NEVER FORGET THIS!! EVER!!! THX THO…

But I had a change of heart when I looked at a few more of the tweets after he had time to “cool off” and get some perspective about whole thing.? Later the following day…

I learned A lot Within 24hrs. Saw Both Sides.(Ups&Dwns) I AM HAPPY & THANKFUL 4 YESTERDAY! w/out Sunday iWldnt have grew closer w/The Lord!!

And No I Did Not Blame God People! Seriously??!? CMon! I Simply Cried Out And Asked Why? Jus Like yal did wen sumthin went wrong n ur life!

And then, Kurt Warner chimes in to the feed in support of Johnson and says this to him…

@StevieJohnson13 all I can say, is I have been there many times… (while coughing) 100 yd INT ret 4 TD in SB 43 was most recent!

Wow, Kurt Warner, classy guy with a great perspective on winning, losing, and worshiping Jesus in BOTH!

Also reading through the Book of Job in my reading plan and it is interesting how similar the Psalms and Job are in how we react to difficult times in our lives.? We all have had those “friends” who want to help us out and say “just repent of your sin” and “get right with God.”? We are left asking the same questions that Job, David and the psalmists, and Stevie Johnson all ask…”why God?”? What I love (and hate at the same time) about the Bible is that we don’t hear a clear answer to those questions.? I do know this…that God invites us to ask as many questions as we want.? And He understands and cares for all His children.

So tell me, what is the last thing that left you asking God “why?”? I hope you wrote about it in your journal so you can look back on it and learn from the situation.

Here is the video of the play in case you missed it this Sunday night…

Leaders & Readers Online Experience

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leaders&readersI am online watching a Leadership Experience sponsored by Leadership Network called “Leaders & Readers.“? Check it out and register online here.? Best of all…it is free!? Technology is amazing, isn’t it?