I will install and try out just about any new app because I am always on the lookout for better tools that will increase my productivity by integrating into my work-flow.

But, no matter the tool, they just don't work unless I use them, and tasks fall through the cracks if I'm not careful.

That's why a huge and vital part of the GTD method is what's called the "Weekly Review".

But, regardless of what system you use for task management (if you use one at all), I recommend figuring out something that works for you that helps you take a step back, and look at the big picture.

1. Calendar

I look at the week as a whole and I ask my self questions?
What needs to get done? When does it need to be done by? What would I like to do? Am I meeting with anyone? Do I have any flex time scheduled for emergencies? Does something unimportant need to be dropped to make sure enough time is given to what is actually important?

As I ask/answer these questions, I move around all of these pre-defined blocks of time into the space on the appropriate day.

Then... and this is important... I stick to it as much as humanly possible. I have to trust my careful planning more than I trust the in-the-moment pressures to do something that I already decided was not important enough to take my time this week.

To help me with that, I set an alarm at the beginning of each block of time to remind me that it's time to move on. When it's time to switch tasks, the following object appears on my screen...

2. Task Management

When I have my blocks of time scheduled, I move on to what tasks will fill those blocks of time. For this, as you remember from a previous post, I currently use OmniFocus.

Here is one of the key points to remember... If the task that needs to be done does not fit into the scheduled blocks of time (like writing this blog post), then I am easting away at my flex time, or stealing time from other, more important tasks.

From there... I only need to look at my calendar/task list to see what to do next...

How do you do weekly review?

(Audio | Podcast)

In the intro, I said that "in one month, my job at Basilica will be done." I explained that while there is still plenty to do, and while there are thousands of people right outside our door who have never heard the gospel, my work as a church planter is coming to a close.

The reason - We will be ordaining 3 men into pastoral ministry on August 19th.

Titus 1:5
This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town...

The idea, I believe, is that the work of planting churches is done when there are local, indigenous leaders put in place to govern the church. This is what Paul was referring to in Romans 15...

Romans 15:19 & 23
...from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ... [and now] I no longer have any room for work in these regions...

Why does this mean that the job is done?

The goal of church planting is in the name... to plant a church where there was not one. Part of the vision for Basilica has always been that men who came to faith through the ministry of the church would be trained to be leaders of the church. These men would be truly indigenous... they are not transplants from other churches... they are products of what God is doing in and through this new church.

On August 19, 2009, we will ordain Jimmy Parks into pastoral ministry... a man who became a Christian at Basilica... a man who was trained in pastoral leadership at Basilica... will become a pastor of Basilica.

We will also ordain Jody Willis, who became a Christian at another local church 15 years ago, but was trained to be a pastor at Basilica, and Scott Foster, who has been a Christian most of his life, and has planted his flag, as it were, in our community, and is committed to serving as a minister of the gospel to our city.

My work is done because of these men. A church is now planted. Local leadership is in place. I have multiplied myself in these men.

Scott has even taken on the role of training another man who came to faith at Basilica in theology and pastoral ministry.

This thing is going. It is no longer the work of one person, but the work of multiple, qualified and godly men, who understand their role in the church.

Ephesians 4:11-16
And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Switching gears:

Now comes the difficult part for me... switching gears. I know that I need to take a much smaller role in the miscellaneous duties that take place at Basilica, and empower others for that work. But, for a perfectionist like me, that is easier said than done.

But, this site is one of the ways I am preparing for exactly that. I will be handing off the webmaster work in a couple of weeks, and I wanted this one to play with. I hope to help others find/develop communication skills for writing announcements, taking care of the church calendar, managing podcasts, running set-up/tear down, talking to other churches about partnerships, etc...

Then, I can begin to focus my energies on being a pastor... one of four... who happens to be responsible for the bulk of teaching. Pray for me and Basilica during this transition. I believe that this is one of the most exciting, yet challenging, times in the life of our church thus far.

I have not been using Things to it's potential, and since it was my main system for tracking and taming my to-do list, this has caused some tasks to fall through the cracks, and some panic in my life as I frantically try to catch up.

The main problem... My iPhone doen't pick up my office WiFi, which makes syncing a real chore. That means I often have 2 separate lists going since during the week, my computer stays at the office.

The other problem... If I don't feel like using my GTD System on my iPhone (because, seriously, I can only look at it for so long), I had no options for planning and task management from home. I like to look at my tasks before I leave the house, but I had no real options, especially since I had no idea what was on the list at work.

I had just decided that I had to learn to live with these limitations, since I don't like any of the available web-based GTD offerings. None of the free ones had an interface I liked, and they lacked features I rely on, such as repeating to-do's, Quicksilver/AppleScript support, etc...

My only solution has been my Moleskine Planner that I carry almost everywhere. I use it for capture, and for important/next actions.

Enter OmniFocus.

OmniFocus has some obvious set-backs from the start... while Things could only be described as beautiful, OmniFocus, well, isn't. It's interface is a little boring, and the website/marketing both show that this is apparently unimportant to them.

It also costs twice as much as Things.
Things Mac - $40
Things iPhone - $9.99
OmniFocus Mac - $79.99
OmniFocus iPhone - $19.99

But, there is a feature that stands out as making this cost justified. WebDav Syncing.

I admit that it took a litle work to get WebDav to play nicely with my devices, but I discovered the free OFWD service, and suddenly, Mac-iPhone OTA Sync. So, I went home and installed OmniFocus on my iMac, and within minutes, Macbook-iPhone-iMac OTA Sync.

Already, I have used this universal access to my system to capture, organize, and most importantly, DO the tasks I am responsible for.

I created this site in less than 2 hours, and changing it it super easy.

When I have time, I'll make some custom images, but until then, this is great.