By pure luck, I happened upon an article at lifehacker, one of my favorite sites as I was searching for resources for Getting Things Done (GTD), the organizational philosophy by David Allen. His book, Getting Things Done, is a popular resource for anyone trying to gain control and improve productivity in thier life. What I found in this article has, in two short days, made a HUGE difference in my own organizational structure. If you are already a fan of Evernote, this will increase your productivity with the cloud-based system. If you aren’t yet using Evernote, after this, you may want to.
The article, The Secret Weapon Combines GTD and Evernote into One Synchronized Productivity System by Melanie Pinola, blew me away. I couldn’t wait to get to the site of The Secret Weapon. I clicked on a link in the article and it was a broken link. I quickly Googled “The Secret Weapon” and found it!
When you arrive at The Secret Weapon site, you’ll find several short videos that walk you through The Secret Weapon theory. THERE IS NO CHARGE! The videos are free and well-made. And, they are transformative. If it seems like I’m gushing, it is because I am! You know those moments when you find something you know will change how you do things dramatically and for the better? I had one with Symbaloo and MentorMob! Well, I’ve had another with The Secret Weapon.
For teachers, this can really help you get a handle on your work life and your personal life. For administrators, this whole system can revolutionize how you approach your work and personal life. I want to urge all of you to run, not walk, to The Secret Weapon website and view the videos. I watched them all in one evening…so you can do that or watch a few at a time.
I’d love your thoughts on the process and, if you implement it, how it impacts your work and home routines! I’d especially love to hear from educators and learn how the process impacted your work day!
Carol Mortensen has nearly twenty-three years of educational experience. She began as a substitute teacher as she worked toward her degree. Upon graduation, Carol began teaching middle school Math and Algebra I and served as the technology liaison for her campus. She served as a teacher for 16 years and was lucky to have taught at Hillcrest Middle School, a 1:1 campus where every student was issued a laptop computer. She also worked as an Instructional Technology Trainer for her district providing training and technology integration support for campus and district staff, faculty and administrators. Currently, Carol enjoys her position as the Campus Technology Integration Specialist for Deer Park High School – South Campus. Before taking this position this year, she served for three years as the Campus Technology Integration Specialist at Fairmont Junior High in Deer Park Independent School District. In this position, Carol provides integration support and training to the students, staff, faculty, and administrators at the campus and district level. In addition, Carol is an online Math instructor for Aventa Learning and K12. The Texas Computer Education Association (TCEA) named Carol the Classroom Teacher of the Year for her innovative and creative use of technology to create a 24/7 virtual classroom using her classroom website. Carol has presented at school districts throughout Texas as well as state and local conferences on a variety of technology integration topics. Her article on the use of websites as an instructional tool was recently published in the TechEdge Magazine. In February 2011, her article, Lessons Learning In a 1:1 Classroom, was published by TechEdge. The article was republished in ISTE’s Learning and Leading magazine in August 2011. She was named Fairmont Junior High’s Teacher of the Year for the 2011-2012 school year. Carol is passionate about the positive impact that technology has on student achievement. Her presentations are packed with real-life solutions, quality resources, and humor. She has an ability to connect with her audience and motivate them to take technology integration to a higher quality level.
For implementing GTD you can use this application:
http://www.Gtdagenda.com
You can use it to manage your goals, projects and tasks, set next actions and contexts, use checklists, and a calendar.
Syncs with Evernote and Google Calendar, and also comes with mobile version, and Android and iPhone apps.
Definitely will give this a look! Thank you!
Do you have an educator’s discount for this?
Carol,
I LUV Evernote and this was a great tutorial to help me Up the Ante, so to speak.
Thanks,
Carey
I’m so glad it will help!
I thought it was great stuff, too! 
Wow! This is great. Like you, I watched all the videos straight through. I can see elements of other programs – the elements that worked for me.
My challenge will be that I’ve been using Evernote for years so it is already full of other stuff. We use Gmail at work. I am thinking that all of this can be done in Gmail. I need to poke at it for a while.
Thanks for getting me inspired.