Getting Things Done add-in for Outlook 2003
NetCentrics has at last released a version of the Getting Things Done add-in for Outlook that is compatible with Outlook 2003. This add-in provides a toolbar, custom views, and other enhancements to facilitate using David Allen's Getting Things Done productivity system in Outlook.
It's been a long wait but I can report much better behavior with this latest release. Gone are the incessant error messages and glitches that the previous version created when trying to use the add-in with the latest version of Outlook.
I have come to rely on this tool to, well, get things done. It has made processing my daily load of legitimate e-mail much easier and allows me to tag every message with a project and action/context designation. See my earlier posts about GTD for a quick primer on the use of context in deciding "next actions".
In Calendar and Task views, the add-in allows me to sort appointments and to do items based on these two criteria so looking at all next actions @Computer for the web project I'm working on is a one-click exercise.
I adopted Outlook originally because of this add-in and I'm delighted to have full functionality back at last. I've listed the enhancements to the add-in below. You can try the add-in for 30 days to see how it will assist you. If you're not familiar with GTD, there's probably not a lot of value to be gotten out of an evaluation but if you've been trying to make Outlook into a proper GTD environment after having read the book, listened to the CDs, or attended one of David Allen's seminar, I think you'll be sold.
The combination of this add-in and the Lookout search tool I posted about last week has made Outlook a truly efficient engine for tracking what I've got going on, keeping me up-to-date in my correspondence, and enabling me to make the best decisions about what the next thing I should be getting done is. For a productivity freak, this is a heavenly state.
Getting Things Done Outlook Add-In Support Site
Compatible with Microsoft Outlook 2003. The latest version of the Getting Things Done Outlook Add-In adds Outlook 2003 to its list of compatible Outlook versions. Outlook 2003 is only supported by Microsoft on "Microsoft Windows® 2000 with Service Pack 3 (SP3) or later; or Windows XP or later". Our new version will support the following versions:
Windows 98/NT/ME/2000/XP
Outlook 2000/2002/2003
Support Request now easily accessible through the application. Requests can be activated from Tools | Options | Getting Things Done | About and clicking on the Getting Things Done icon. Here the user will be asked to enter the description of the problem, and detailed information regarding what the user was doing when he/she desired request. The user is able to reference an open support ticket if the request is related to another open request. When the user clicks send report, a message containing very detailed information is sent to the Getting Things Done Outlook Add-In support team for further review.
Hide Send and Delegate checkbox now available. Users can choose to hide the Send and Delegate button available to those who do not use Word as their editor in Microsoft Outlook. This functionality may be accessed through Tools | Options | Getting Things Done | Other Settings.
30 day trial available on a version basis. The trial version will be available on a version by version basis. If a user tried version 2.0.45 with Outlook 2003 and realized the incompatibility was too much, he or she can install the trial version for V20 SP1 and restart the 30 day trial version.
Application enabled per profile. Each time a profile is logged into the first time, after Getting Things Done Outlook Add-In has been installed, the user is asked if he/she wants to enable the application. If the user says no, the folders will not be installed, the views will not be installed, the toolbar will not be available in this profile.