I’m going back to read Getting Things Done by David Allen. It’s good stuff.

It’s clearer to me now that I need a good “list manager”. I have a lot of lists in various places, and I have a lot of input that I want to capture and put into a system, but it has to be a system that I trust, or else my brain will continue to remind me of things.

My requirements:
Easy to use
Fast to use
100% reliable
Ability to place items into folders (like To do, Shopping, At work, At home, Waiting for someone)
Capture items wherever I am, easily add them to the system later

Would be nice:
Available from a handheld device
Works the same from multiple computers
Available from locations where I have access to a computer, but not MY computer
Ability to “tag” items with multiple tags (like Shopping, Costco, Home Improvements)
Integrate with my calendar, so to-do items can be on a date, with a time or just on the day, or not be on a calendar
Easy to add items from email to To-do
Attach notes, files, whatever to each to-do item

Operations needed to support:
Collection (input)
Organizing
Reference/viewing
Marking completion
Adding or changing dates

Option 1: Old School
Gather items on paper, keep blank paper and pen in a pocket
Keep a calendar and do-list, small enough to fit in a fanny pack

Option 2: Hybrid old school/electronic
Gather items on paper, keep blank paper and pen in a pocket
Keep a printout of recent calendar and do-list, mark up as needed
Regularly take edits back to computer (e.g. Outlook) calendar and to-do

Option 3: Electronic calendar/to-do (e.g. Outlook or similar)
Handheld device must be able to sync with desktop, to replace paper