Managing a Productivity System on Android

 

Ever since I first got my Android, I’ve been diligently seeking the best possible productivity system on my phone. Needless to say, I’ve been tweaking my system and trying a whole plethora of apps for some time. With the amount of time I’ve spent fiddling with productivity apps, I probably could have mastered the hipster PDA system.

My Ideal Productivity System on a Phone
Before I describe my current system, I’d like to describe my vision of a perfect productivity system (for me at least). In order for a productivity system to really be above and beyond, I expect it to follow most of the following guidelines:

1. It must have a complete reference filing system. In other words, everything – every note, thought, idea, memo – should be stored and accessible from my phone, preferably in one organizational system.


2. It must be easily searchable and have customizable hierarchy. I should be able to easily search and find any note or notebook for a given task or project. I should be able to arrange tasks and projects by any hierarchical label system of my choosing.


3. I can edit it on my phone or on a browser. I don’t want a system contained wholly on my phone. I want it to be available online should I ever switch phones (which usually means it’s easy for the system to switch phones). Plus it’s sometimes easier to manage systems on a computer screen.


4. I don’t have to navigate multiple apps or programs. My cutoff is two apps. If I have to open more than two, the system is too clumsy and slow to use efficiently.

My Actual Productivity System on a Phone
I’ve been a long time user of Evernote, which is great for being a reference filing system, but not the best task management system (it can be hacked and arranged in a way that accommodates the GTD system but it’s not quick or pretty). This is mainly because you can’t put due dates on notes.

Evernote - Click on the image to download

I use Evernote mostly to snap pictures of my hand-written notes, so that I can see them online. But I also use Evernote to save receipts for products I may return (just snap the receipt and store it), gift ideas I see at a store (again…snap photo), record audio notes when my hands aren’t free (say, if I’m driving), and clip websites I find that would be good research for a project (through the browser extension).

For task management, I use Astrid. Astrid has been around the Android Market for a pretty good while, and for good reason. Astrid allows you to organize and assign due dates to any task. The due dates then appear on your phone as notifications, so you’ll never miss a task when it’s due. Plus, a funny little octopus sarcastically reminds you of the tasks past due until you finish them. You also have the option to snooze reminders by intervals of your choosing.

Astrid - Click to download

However, until recently, it didn’t have a very solid way to view your tasks on a browser. Previously, it could only sync with Gtasks or Producteev, but it wasn’t ideal. The tasks would be available online, but essentially you would have to organize them into lists twice; once on your phone in Astrid and then again in Gtasks or Producteev.

Very recently though, Astrid has given users the ability to sync to their very own site, Astrid.com! At first, I was skeptical, thinking the site would be cumbersome and a pain to use. It’s actually better than I could have hoped, and even allows me to share tasks with contacts from Google or Facebook.

Best part of it all: Astrid and Evernote work pretty well together. When you make a note with Evernote, you can share it with Astrid on your phone, which turns it into a task and links you to the note’s URL in the task description. The only minor qualm I have is that the link opens the note up in my Android browser and not in the Evernote app, but I guess I can’t have it all. Regardless, I’ve been amazed with the fluidity and effectiveness of using both apps.