As many iPhone users out there have done, I've experimented with various to-do apps. I currently have Things, ToDo, Ultimate ToDo and my favorite ToodleDo. As a fan of GTD (Getting Things Done), I've been a list keeper for quite some time. Here is a helicopter view of my lists as of a few months ago.
I was so proud that my head was clear and my lists were being populated with whatever would pop into my mind. Errands? Check. People to meet? Check. Places to go? Check.
Unfortunately, I realized last week that my lists had failed me. As a small group leader of a faith sharing group at church, I had been storing up names of folks that I wanted to invite to this season's meetings. The only problem was that I didn't actually invite them. Not even a little bit. As it happened, my group was cancelled in part because no new blood had signed up to participate. No one's fault but my own.
A list is only as good as the person who uses it. It can make you feel really good but it can do nothing on its own. In the end, it wasn't my shiny iPhone that failed me. It was plain old me. So here's the deal: an application doesn't make you productive, you do.
I was so proud that my head was clear and my lists were being populated with whatever would pop into my mind. Errands? Check. People to meet? Check. Places to go? Check.
Unfortunately, I realized last week that my lists had failed me. As a small group leader of a faith sharing group at church, I had been storing up names of folks that I wanted to invite to this season's meetings. The only problem was that I didn't actually invite them. Not even a little bit. As it happened, my group was cancelled in part because no new blood had signed up to participate. No one's fault but my own.
A list is only as good as the person who uses it. It can make you feel really good but it can do nothing on its own. In the end, it wasn't my shiny iPhone that failed me. It was plain old me. So here's the deal: an application doesn't make you productive, you do.