A customer recently wrote: "Your software has helped me not hate Notes!"  I hear this a lot from our customers. In fact, it's one of the two main reasons people buy eProductivity.

As the creator of eProductivity, I am always looking for stories from passionate users about how they have benefitted from eProductivity so that I can share them with others. So I reached out to Kiara and asked if she would be willing to share her story of eProductivity - to tell me how she uses it and what impact it had made personally/professionally? Most customers do share their story and my team and I read every one.

A few days later, Kiara wrote back...

Eric,

The bottom line is that you've given me a way to incorporate my GTD process back into my email and calendar client - in a way that really follows the GTD process.

I actually did the research to find out if I could move to a Notes client personally so that I could use eProductivity to manage my personal GTD process as well. Sadly, that's not a option, as far as I can tell, and I don't want my personal life merged into my corporate email/etc.

How I use it - the weekly review coach is a major win. I love being able to use it to hold myself accountable for staying on top of the floods of inbound information that otherwise get out of control. My personal adaptation of GTD involves a mini-daily review - dealing with loose paper and email box clearing daily is the only way I can keep my head above water, and I'd love the option to be able to have a customizable version of the weekly review that I could use daily (so I didn't feel like I was skipping things by not completing the weekly version every day.)

It's provided a robust way to manage my contexts, projects, and actions. I had been trying to figure out how to adapt my previously working GTD process to Notes for a year and a half, and had been failing. Notes, by itself, just didn't have the depth of functionality needed to do that.

So, ultimately, your product has given me a way to get back to using a system that just flat out works for me. Using the tools you've provided, I don't have to try to manage the process in a spreadsheet or on paper or in a standalone product. Given how much of my work life is lived in email, an integrated system is key to succeeding.

Thank you for creating a product that gave me back the ability to work with GTD effectively!

Best,

Kiara Rodemaker
Manager, IT Accounting Services
Czarnowski

Kiara, thank you for sharing your story. I'm glad that you find value in eProductivity and that it has given you a new appreciation for the power of Notes.

P.S. We get many requests from people that want to run eProductivity at home. That is easily done. You can install Notes on your home computer and use it as a POP3/SMTP client. (Sorry, Note IMAP does not work at this time). If you use the same Notes ID you do not need to purchase a separate license; your current key will work just fine. This weekend, I reread David Allen's third book, Making It All Work. One sentence from the book provides insight on how GTD helps people see IBM Notes differently:

"Thousands of users of popular enterprise desktop software such as Microsoft Outlook and Lotus Notes have rarely had good enough reason to utilize their 'Task' or 'To-Do' functions.  But once they see how those features can be configured for GTD they discover and access a new power in this software."

-- David Allen, author and creator of the Getting Things Done® ('GTD®') methodology.

In the decade that i have been helping people implement GTD with Notes this has proven to be true over and over. Once people experience how just thinking about their tools differently changes the way they work they begin to seek out other ways to improve their performance.

I designed eProductivity for IBM Notes by starting with the core principles of GTD and finding ways to integrate them into the IBM Notes environment so that even someone unfamiliar with GTD can immediately benefit from the principles. Someone new to GTD or eProductivity may not understand why it works but they do get how it works for them.

eProductivity is the only GTD® Enabled application for IBM Lotus® software. It is also the only productivity software for IBM software that David Allen uses or recommends.

Source:
1. Making It All Work, Chapter two, page 17

From the customer service inbox comes yet another customer story from a long time eProductivity user...

I've been using eProductivity for several years since learning about it during a "Getting Things Done" (GTD) seminar presented by Eric Mack and David Allen.

I had tried several other GTD systems, including some Notes databases, but was never satisfied that I was achieving my desired level of organization and focus on day to day tasks.  Since switching to eProductivity I am much more confident in my awareness of current tasks and efforts.  The recently added mobility features in eProductivity allow me to continue to clear my in-box and track work efforts while on the go.

The perfect integration of the tool in Lotus Notes, was the winning factor that pushed me to the immediate acquisition of the tool. I immediately started using full eProductivity, filling the project database and associating these actions and relations with all the information (contacts, notes) combined. Actually I have more than 50 active projects with related actions and notes.

eProductivity is a great product and one that I have recommended and demonstrated to several co-workers.

Regards,

Matt Corman Services Solutions Executive Industrial Sector IBM Global Technology Services

If YOU have a story about your experience getting things done with eProductivity, we'd like to hear from you. If you're willing to allow us to share it on our blog/web site, please include that in your email.

Another customer story from the customer service inbox:

I read the book, "Getting Things Done" in 2006, and was literally "struck" by the method proposed by David Allen and I started the implementation of the method immediately after the reading of the book. The implementation of the GTD approach has affected my entire life, both private and professional.

Three years ago I discovered eProductivity during a search on the internet relating to tools to support the implementation of the GTD method. At the time, I was looking for a tool that would allow me to integrate my project management and actions associated with them to the working environment. Until then I had to use, with much difficulty, all the relationships between projects, actions and e-mail.

The perfect integration of the tool in Lotus Notes, was the winning factor that pushed me to the immediate acquisition of the tool. I immediately started using full eProductivity, filling the project database and associating these actions and relations with all the information (contacts, notes) combined. Actually I have more than 50 active projects with related actions and notes.

Among all the features, the ones that have given me more support are:

• The Weekly Review Coach: For years, the implementation of the GTD method, I did not implemented this key stage. With eProductivity, that provides a perfect tool to support this critical phase of the process, I have started to implement this phase, and it was the very big change and improvement in my "GTD life".
• The management of connections between emails sent and ongoing projects: In this way they are able to control and have the history of "relationships" with colleagues.

In summary, eProductivity has allowed me to have precise control under all my work activities. It allowed me to have a tool that focuses on a single point control and organized management of everything that has to do with my work. My productivity in the work environment has increased and for this reason. I have recommended it to colleagues, to use this great tool.

Cordiali saluti/Best regards

Gianluca Morbidelli Project Executive SO Certified Project Executive Global Technology Services, IBM

If YOU have a story about your experience getting things done with eProductivity, we'd like to hear from you. If you're willing to allow us to share it on our blog/web site, please include that in your email.

Many of you are already using IBM Traveler to sync your eProductivity Projects and Actions with your iPhone/iPad or Android. For those that aren't yet, IBM introduced the new IBM To Do App for Traveler last year and it's free for Apple iOS and Android.  


Image source: Apple App Store: IBM Traveler To Do App

The IBM Notes Traveler Design and Development Team would like to know what you think about Traveler and they are asking people to take a few minutes to fill out a Traveler survey. It asks about specific tasks and how easily you can accomplish them using Traveler. Your responses will help the design team in their effort to continually enhance Traveler in future releases.

I'm delighted that IBM is soliciting end-user feedback and I strongly encourage you to complete this survey as your input will help influence IBM's direction with regard to mobile.

The survey takes just a few minutes to complete and includes a blank space for you to write in any special comments or requests you may have.

May I also encourage you to share this survey link with your many mobile users who currently use or plan to use the IBM traveler software. I want IBM to hear from you and make the software even better.

Here's the link to the survey: https://www.ibm.com/survey/oid/wsb.dll/s/ag4f1

Time is of the essence as this survey ends in a few days.

UPDATE: Yes, I am aware of the sync problem with IBM traveler. You are welcome to include your comments to IBM in the survey. Addditiuonal helpful information may be found on the IBM Traveler support page or on the eProductivity IBM Traveler Troubleshooting page. Another customer story from the customer service inbox:

"Having been a long time IBM Lotus Notes, I was looking for a task management template/program. I was determined to find a Notes based software package as we are a Domino/Notes/IBM shop and was not interested in other packages. I stumbled on eProductivity via Google, which led me to the GTD methodology. I immediately ordered David Allen's book, which I spent the weekend reading.

The methodology made so much sense, that the next weekend I scoured my office top to bottom, making lists, disposing of non-essential items, making folders, etc. I downloaded the GTD/Notes set up guide and decided that wasn't as good as I wanted.

Now it was time to investigate eProductivity (which happens to be the software used and recommended by GTD creator, David Allen). I checked out the web site, downloaded the program and applied it to my mail file. I started making my Project and Action Item lists, then populating the various lists. All seemed good for awhile. I even took some coaching sessions from Julie Ireland, one of the David Allen coaches. By the way, this is very worthwhile.

After a year or so, I found myself overwhelmed with GTD/eProductivity. I decided to take a step back and try and figure out why I was resisting my lists. I still believed in the GTD methodology. I just didn't want to look at my lists in eProductivity. After some thought and reflection and a call with Julie, I decided to switch to paper.

Going to paper is another topic. What notebook to use, how to organize it etc. My biggest challenge was dealing with the meeting notices I receive and create. These needed to be in Notes. Then I was creating written calendar notes as reminders of things needing to be completed on a specific day.

The one thing I liked about paper lists, is there seems to be something about writing the item on a list that made me slow down and think about what I was writing.

Then there was carrying around a notebook. Since I carry an iPhone that is connected to my Notes through IBM Lotus Traveler, and I am so email bound, I came to the conclusion I was wasting time and effort.

Time to review eProductivity again.

A few weeks ago I downloaded the latest version of eProductivity, and applied it to my mail file. I spent some time reviewing the default Projects and Actions lists, while reviewing my paper lists.

In the end I set up my new eProductivity not as granular as the first time. As an example, I have one Project list, not a Projects-Work and Projects-Home. I didn't categorize my work list so it appears so detailed.

Today I use a Moleskin notebook for note taking at my desk. It lets me refer back to items until I get them in my system. While out of the office I use the note taker wallet or send myself an email.

Each morning I do a mini review if you will, and flag items to show on the "Today" view. Once these are complete, if I have time I then work my list.

Just yesterday I set up the mobile folders in eProductivity so that I can now process my email into projects and actions when I am away from the computer.

I am much happier now that I am back on eProductivity, but I had to go through the process to realize the full potential."

-Carl Novit

If YOU have a story about your experience getting things done with eProductivity, we'd like to hear from you. If you're willing to allow us to share it on our blog/web site, please include that in your email.

A global enterprise customer with offices in Boston asked me "who else uses Lotus Notes in the Boston area?" I'd like to respond with a list of organizations. I'm not asking for contact names. If you are aware of organizations in the Boston that are presently using Lotus Notes, please post a comment on the Notes on Productivity Blog.

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