As I mentioned in my essay on David Allen, the main criticism I have of Allen is that he does not provide sufficient guidance on how to implement his Getting Things Done (“GTD”) methodology. That’s because everyone’s use case is different. What he could have said is “Here are 30 approaches, and choose from them 5 or 10 that work for you.” (In fact, he should have written a book describing in detail various approaches.) What I have done in this essay is to describe the systems I use, in the hope that you will find some of them to be useful, or at a minimum to spur your thinking in coming up with your own systems to implement GTD.
I read Allen’s first book in 2003. The mistake I made was to look for one system. None of the commercial systems I looked at (today there are several dozen SaaS systems that claim they are the perfect tool to implement GTD, that was not the case in 2003) provided a comprehensive solution. It took me a long time — like many things in life, in hindsight it is obvious — to realize that a dozen or more systems were necessary to achieve mind like water, and most of them are not commercial systems but rather systems you develop yourself.
So, here’s what I use. I’ve added quite a lot of other material as to various tools I use that aren’t related to GTD. Some of this list is anticipatory (e.g., see private jets in Section 68).
A. My Office & Office Furniture
1. My Office
My office is quite large and has three zones:
- Three desks configured in an U configuration (see Section 2)
- A table with four chairs, in case I want to collaborate with others
- Sofa, for more casual interactions
2. My Desks
I have three large flat desks to work on, each with drawers, and each desk 4 feet deep. One desk is for my computer and various monitors (see Section 31), and two have little on them. All have Cisco telephones (all programmed identically) so I don’t have to get up to answer the phone.
3. Steelcase Gesture Chairs
We use Steelcase Gesture Chairs, which I first read about in Wirecutter.
4. Storage Rooms
At work and at home, I have a room just for storage, including lots of shelves for books, boxes (see Section 23), and office supplies. Both are located right next to my office.
B. Filing
5. Pendaflex Hanging File Folders
We use Pendalfex colored hanging file folders. I find the quality of less expensive file folders to be poor — e.g., with Universal hanging file folders, the glue holding the steel rods is not applied properly, and the rods slip out. (This is true of every Universal product I’ve tried, their quality sucks.) I prefer 1/3 cut tabs over 1/5 cut tabs, as you have more space to write the description of the contents inside the folder.
6. Filing Cabinets
We use 6-drawer Herman Miller filing cabinets.
C. Calendars & Email
7. Microsoft Outlook
We use Outlook for email and calendars. As of 2024, Microsoft is introducing a new “streamlined” Outlook. Like many things Microsoft does, it is a huge step backward. The old Outlook — I’ll call it “Outlook Classic” — is nicely designed, using Office’s ribbon design. It has every feature that an email/calendar program could offer, all laid out nicely in various tabs. With the new Outlook, more advanced features are either hidden or even worse, eliminated. I’m fairly optimistic that there will be a way to keep using Outlook Classic. If not, I’ll put out a hit on the Program Manager for Outlook.
8. At-a-Glance Calendar
We use At-a-Glance calendars. I like the 5.5 x 8.5 inch size because I want more room to write on. In almost all cases, entries I make in my At-a-Glance calendar are also stored elsewhere. Recording it in this ensures I don’t miss whatever I’m trying to remember.
D. Processing and Follow-up Systems
9. Trays
On my desk, I have several paper trays:
- In Box
- In the Future — Allen says you should not procrastinate, you should decide what to do with each piece of paper when you pick it up. My In the Future tray is for I want to cheat and not decide now.
- Financial — Bills, monthly bank statements and the like are placed here, and once a week I give them to my bookkeeper.
- Executive Assistant — Anything for her I place in this tray
- To Read — Often I will print something out and place it in this tray, and take the printouts to dinner to read
10. Tickler Email Folders
In Outlook I have a folder with years, months and daily subfolders. If I send an email such as “Could you send me X,” I’ll then put a copy of the email in the folder for, say, ten days from now. When that time arrives, I will note if they have done it, and if not, I will ping them again.
11. Tickler Files
I have hanging file folders for each day of the month the next two months, and monthly folders thereafter. For a piece of paper that needs to be followed up on, I place it in these folders.
12. Tickler Dates
This is an Excel file that has dates through 2040. If there is something that needs to be followed up, we will put that item in the correct day. At the beginning of each day, I check this file to see if there is anything I need to worry about that day.
E. Capture & To Do List Systems
13. Wrike
Perhaps the most important GTD tool is your master To Do List. Since we work as a group, we need a group system. There are now dozen of such systems, almost all of which claim to be the system to implement GTD. I chose Wrike because it is clearly the most powerful To Do list system available, and I like software systems I can never outgrow.
Nevertheless, if you don’t need Wrike’s extraordinary power, for most people I would not recommend Wrike:
- The interface is quite dated — they need to hire a UI / UX designer to redesign their system from scratch.
- Their UI is quite unobvious. Often I cannot get Wrike to display all of my folders. I click randomly and eventually they might appear. If that doesn’t work, I try the Windows version if I am using the Web app, or the Web app if I am using the Windows version, and usually that will work. What a pain.
- Their technical support is literally non-existent. When you call, you will never get a human, so you leave a voice mail, which would be OK if they returned your call, which they don’t. The only way I am able to get technical support is from a third party.
- It is expensive (other than the free version).
If you choose Wrike and need support, Wrike has a list of resellers and consulting partners, as does Upwork. You may want to try Black Badger, and I would avoid Eric Clark, as he is terrible at returning telephone calls.
For personal use, there is a free version. What they don’t tell you is that you are limited to about 200 tasks, which you can get around by using folders or projects rather than tasks. Once you start using it extensively and if you like it, then presumably you don’t mind upgrading to a paid version.
14. Google Keep
Allen talks about always carrying an ubiquitous note recorder, so you can capture random ideas as they pop up. I use Google Keep to capture ideas, and then I process these ideas, sometimes putting them into another system. For example, when I am at the movie theatre and I am watching the previews, I often see a preview for another movie I want to see. I’ll enter that movie in Keep and then later transfer it to my “Movies to See” grocery list.
Evernote is a popular list manager and is substantially more powerful than Keep. But I want Keep to be very simple, since it is just a temporary holding cell until I transfer those notes to a real system, such as Wrike. I used Evernote’s free version in the past, but I got tired of the constant requests to upgrade to a paid version. As far as I know, Google has no plans to ever charge for Keep. You will almost certainly need a “real” list manager (which Keep is not), and Evernote might be powerful enough to be your real system. My sense is that Evernote is financially successful enough that they won’t go out of business and they will continue to enhance the product.
Microsoft has To Do. My CTO is a total Microsoft bigot and almost reflexively likes everything Microsoft does (he even likes Teams) and even he says To Do sucks. On the other hand, Microsoft is not going to go out of business and the company has a decent track record in not discontinuing products. (Unlike, say, the old Lotus Development Corp., which developed four truly outstanding products — Manuscript, Improv, Agenda and Magellan — and when they didn’t initially sell spectacularly well, Lotus pulled the plug.)
My CTO likes Microsoft OneNote. It does look interesting and I hope to learn it when I am less busy. In 2017 I looked at Taskworld (they told me about Wrike) and it looked pretty good. Monday.com is also quite popular.
15. Scratch Pads
On each of my desks, I have three sets of scratch pads: 3 x 5 inches, 4 x 6 inches, and 5 x 8 inches. I use them to make quick notes, which I often then put into my In Box.
16. Grocery Lists
In Wrike, I have a project titled “Grocery Lists.” I have over 200 of such lists; here are a few of them:
- Books to Purchase
- Essays to Write
- Movies to See
- Music to Listen To
- Office Supplies to Order
- People to Meet
- Software Packages to Look at
- Supermarket
- Theatre — Plays to See
- To Read
- Travel — Los Angeles (things to do and people to see in my annual visit to LA)
17. People Lists
In Wrike, I have a project titled “People.” I have a subproject for each person I regularly interact with. Whenever I think of something — “the next time I talk with Dan, I want to ask him about X” — I create a task in the subproject. When I talk with Dan, I need only remember to check my Dan grocery list, and thus I will not forget to discuss with him everything I wanted to.
18. To Do Slips
Once a week I do my weekly review and prepare tasks for myself and others. Usually I write each task on a To Do Slip and my assistant enters these in Wrike for each person.
F. Personal Organization & Systems
19. Daily Work Package
This is a list my Assistant prints out every day, since it is extensively edited each day.
20. White Notebooks
We use Avery heavy duty white notebooks to organize almost everything. Avery’s products are more expensive than competitive brands, but I find the quality to be worth the cost. (This is also true of Avery labels.)
21. Checklists
I have several dozen checklists. Two examples would be a Supermarket checklist and an Office Supplies checklist. For the latter, for example, every couple of weeks I will print out the list and go to the Office Supply room and see what we need. I write the number needed on the list and then order on the Staples or Amazon Business website. (Actually, my Office Manager does all of this, but I supervise.)
I also have grocery lists (see Section 16) for (i) Supermarket and (ii) Office Supplies. What’s the difference? The checklists are in Excel and printed out on 11 x 17 inch paper. They’re meant to be “permanent” in that as long as I am alive, I will be ordering food and office supplies and thus I will always have these lists (updated regularly, of course). The grocery list is for a particular item I want to be certain not to forget to order the next time I go to the supermarket or office supplies are ordered. In theory the checklist should be so complete and we are so careful to check the Supermarket Checklist that a grocery list is not needed, but in reality we are not perfect, so the grocery list is sometimes needed.
22. Templates
Many times when I am creating a new Word document, there’s a certain format I follow. In that case, I use a template I’ve developed, so I don’t have to reinvent the wheel. This template is based on McKinsey’s visual format standards and Barbara Minto’s The Pyramid Principle. I’ve also developed an Excel template, as well as memo titled “The Perfect Excel Workbook.” If you want copies of any of these, email me at james.mitchell.10112@gmail.com.
23. Bankers Boxes
I use heavy duty Bankers Boxes.
G. Carryalls & Luggage
24. Black Bags
I use Eurotote black bags to carry my stuff, rather than putting them in my pockets. Here are some of the items I carry in them:
- Wallet
- Keys
- iPhone
- Mophie Juice Pack for my iPhone
- Black and red pens and yellow highlighters
- Index cards to make notes on
- Business card case
- Phillips mobile dictation system
I think of my black bag as a man purse. Some of friends regularly kid me about this — it’s clear I need a better class of friends.
25. Yellow Bag
I often carry a yellow bag, which contains newspapers and magazines I have yet to read.
26. Rolling Briefcase
I use a Stebco rolling catalog case to carry my laptop and accessories.
27. Travel List
I have a Travel List that I consult before each trip. I check the items I want packed, and my Personal Assistant packs those items. Items that I always take with me on a trip stay in my luggage so they don’t need to be packed each time.
28. Tumi Luggage
I like Tumi luggage.
H. Personal Computers
29. Lenovo ThinkStation Desktop Computer
I use a Lenovo ThinkStation P7 desktop computer with 64GB memory. Lenovo designed it in conjunction with Aston Martin, the sports car that James Bond drives, so it looks cool. As for Dell computers, my CTO calls them “junk.” “Dell computers are what you purchase when you want to save money and you don’t care if your computers are crap.”
30. Uninterruptable Power Supplies
Every one of our desktops is powered by a CyberPower uninterruptable power supply (“UPS”), in case the power goes out. Wirecutter recommends the CP900AVR and CP1350AVRLCD3 models. I do not like UPSs made by APC, which I have found to be unreliable.
31. Dell Monitors
We do like Dell monitors, however, specifically Dell UltraSharp monitors. My main monitor is a 40 inch monitor, supplemented by four 27 inch Dell monitors. When a friend saw my setup, he commented, “This looks like the NASA command centerNASA command center.”
32. Logitech Ergonomic Keyboard
We use wireless Logitech K350 ergonomic keyboards.
33. Logitech Mouse
We use wireless Logitech MX Master 3X mice.
34. Polycom Headsets
We use Polycom wireless headsets. One problem with competitive headsets is that most of them wear out so quickly.
35. Spectrum Internet Service
For both work and home, I’ve had good luck with Spectrum internet service.
I. Copiers & Printers
36. Copiers & Desktop Printers
Nowadays it almost always makes sense to purchase a multifunction device, one that can print, scan and photocopy, and thus the primary difference between a copier and a desktop printer is the monthly duty cycle and finishing features. A desktop printer is typically used by one or a few people, while a copier is almost always used by dozens (or more) people, on a more centralized basis.
37. Canon imageRunner Advanced Copiers
I am a big fan of Canon imageRunner Advance DX copiers. For a copier, what I most care about is paper jams, specifically the lack of them:
- How rarely does the copier jam? This can be empirically tested: run a million copies through various copiers, which one jams the least?
- If it does jam, how easy it is to fix the jam? With Canon, they have a screen that walks you through how to do so.
- How rarely do you have to call a technician to fix a jam that you cannot fix yourself?
For the manufacturing of a copier, you want a major company that is spending hundreds of millions a year on R&D. For sales and service, my preference is not to deal with the manufacturer itself, since almost every major company is bureaucratic and difficult to deal with. Instead, find a local, independently owned dealer, and avoid a dealer that has been acquired by an out-of-state parent company. The sales reps I have liked have been middle aged men, with no college degree, who have been selling copiers for 20+ years and know everything there is to know about them.
The dealer will try to sell you a service contract where you pay, say, one cent per B&W copy and 6 cents per color copy. In return, you receive toner and service. Many dealers call this “metered service.” Given the number of copies I make (a lot), the service contract would cost twice (or more) the monthly lease payment. I’ve been buying Canon copiers for over 20 years, and my experience is that in the first three years, it is exceptionally rare to need a service call. So, what I do is lease for 3 years, turn the copier in after 3 years and lease a new one, and skip the service contract.
In a copier, the finisher is the device that processes the copies after they are printed. If your copier can staple the copies, then you have a finisher. I am a big fan of booklets, which are the cornerstone of civilization.
With Canon Financial Services, if you want a copier with color and duplex printing, four paper trays, 11 x 17 inch printing, and a booklet finisher, you’ll pay about $400 a month on a 3-year lease. Your additional costs will be paper, toner and a service call if you ever need one. At home, I have a c3930i, and at the office I have a c6780i.
For desktop printers, Canon has the imageClass family, which I know nothing about, and imagePress printers, which are used by commercial printers and in-house print shops. When I asked my dealer how much a certain imagePress model cost, he said, “You don’t want to know.”
Among purchasing agents (there’s actually a trade association for them), the two A brands are Canon and Xerox, and every other manufacturer is B or lower. In my opinion, in terms of product quality, Canon is A+ while Xerox is at best A-. Xerox is perhaps the most bureaucratic and customer unfriendly organization I’ve encountered, so I wouldn’t use a Xerox copier if you gave it to me.
38. Brother Desktop Printers
Since I am so lazy, I have a desktop printer on my desk. I am partial to the Brother 8395 cdw. For that, I do use Managed Print Services, which means I pay per copy. If they can’t fix your problem on the phone, Brother will ship a replacement overnight.
J. Notebook Computers
39. Asus Notebook Computer
At work and at home, I work on my Lenovo (see Section 29). At night and on weekends, I like to work at a restaurant or hotel, and that’s when I bring a notebook. I like the Asus 18 inch notebook primarily because it has an 18 inch screen, which is the largest screen I’ve been able to find on a notebook. Since I find every notebook’s built-in keyboard and pointing device to be difficult to use, I usually bring along a Logitech ergonomic keyboard and MX mouse.
If you want an 18 inch monitor, there are three notebooks I know of: the Asus, the Razor Blade 18, and the MSI Titan 18. Gamestop is a good place to look at all three notebooks to decide which one you want.
In 2017, Acer introduced the Predator 21 X, a notebook with a 21 inch screen (!), but unfortunately it has been discontinued. Actually, it was more like a portable desktop computer, it was so big and heavy. If Acer made one today, I might buy it, since I am so partial to large screens.
40. Portable Batteries
I use Mophie Power Stations for additional power.
41. Additional Monitors
I use Bosii screen extenders so I can use three monitors when I am working at a restaurant or a hotel.
42. Inseego MiFi Internet Modem
In case the place I am at does not have WiFi, I carry a Inseego MiFi portable internet modem.
K. Servers & Server Software
43. File Server
We store no documents locally on our computers, but rather on a cloud file server, specifically Microsoft SharePoint, which runs on Microsoft Azure.
44. Relational Databases
Since we are a Microsoft shop, most of our relational databases are stored in Microsoft SQL Server. We use Microsoft SQL Server as a Service.
45. Discourse
The most common approach to have group discussions about a given topic is for someone to send an email to five people. Someone responds, choosing Reply to All. Over a month of discussion, a hundred email threads appear in six people’s In Boxes, along with thousands of other emails on unrelated topics. This makes no sense. Just as email is not the best solution for keeping track of group To Do lists, email is not the best solution to manage group discussions. What makes sense is using forum software, which allows users to create and manage online discussion boards. The system we use is Discourse, founded by software genius Jeff Atwood (cofounder of Stack Exchange). Being open source, you can download the software and run it yourself, but what makes much more sense (to us at least) is to pay them in exchange for them to host the software for you. As of August 2024, the Basic version costs $50 per month and allows 100 members.
L. Websites
46. GoDaddy
If you want a website, you’ll need a domain name, which you purchase using a domain name registrar (“DNR”). I use GoDaddy, whose primary fault is that they are constantly trying to rip you off by proposing what are in most cases completely useless upgrades. However, their customer/technical support is outstanding:
- It’s available 24 x 7 x 365. I often work on websites at 3 am in the morning, so I appreciate this.
- To reach a live agent, you rarely wait more than a few minutes.
- You’ll reach a U.S.-based agent who speaks perfect English.
- The agents know their stuff. Very rarely have I needed to be escalated to Level 2 support.
- If one of your domain names is about to expire, they will telephone you to notify you of this and ask if you wish to renew. (Needless to say, if you want to keep a certain domain name active for several years, you should set it to auto renew, with a credit card that you are certain will be good for several years.)
In addition to constantly badgering you to upgrade to useless upgrades, GoDaddy (and some other domain name registrars) engage in a completely despicable practice. If you use GoDaddy to see if various domain names are available but you do not purchase them that day, GoDaddy will sometimes purchase the domain name for itself. Then a week later, when you try to purchase that domain name, you’ll find it has recently been purchased and GoDaddy will be happy to sell it to you at a premium price. If this does not warrant the death penalty, I don’t know what does.
Two solutions: First, when you check the availability of a name, if you like the name, purchase it on the spot. Second, I’ve been told there are ethical DNRs that do not do this. According to Copilot, these include Name Cheap, Domain.com, and IONOS. (I make no guarantee that Copilot is correct.)
If you’re a hard-core feminist, you might not appreciate GoDaddy history of sexual ads; my favorite is Danica Patrick testifying at a Senate hearing. Once GoDaddy achieved dominant market share, they cleaned up their advertising.
47. WordPress Content Management System
If you’re launching a website, in most cases you’ll want to use a content management system (“CMS”). WordPress (“WP”) is the 800-pound gorilla among CMSs, and most of the time it makes little sense to consider any other CMS. Note that there are two WordPress websites: wordpress.org and wordpress.com. The former is where you can download the WordPress software package (which rarely makes any sense, you’re better off using a managed WP hosting company; see Section 48), which will install WP for you. The latter is a WP hosting company that I do not recommend.
48. WP Engine
If you’re using WP, this is the handware/software stack you will be running:
- Physical server, presumably using an Intel or AMD microprocessor
- Virtualization software such as VMWare
- Linux operating system
- Apache web server
- MySQL database management system
- PHP and JavaScript runtime environments
- WordPress
- Theme
- Plugins and widgets
- Your content
The less I have to think about each of these layers, the happier I am — Do I really want to worry about which Linux distro to use, or whether my Apache web server has the latest security patches? So, this is why God invented Managed WordPress Hosting Companies (“WPHC”), which manage layers 1 through 7 for you. Actually, they lock those layers down, so you cannot touch them. This offers two advantages. First, let’s take WP Engine (“WPE”), which as of August 2024 hosts over 1.5 million websites. Assume there is a critical patch that has to be applied to MySQL. WPE can thoroughly test the patch and if it passes testing, write a script to apply the patch to all 1.5 million instances of MySQL. Think of the man hours saved. Second, because the bottom seven layers are locked down, they will take responsibility for them. If someone hacks into your website, they will fix it at no additional cost.
My favorite MWPHC is WP Engine. They don’t overload their servers, and thus your web pages will have very fast load times. Second, all of the good things I said about GoDaddy’s customer/technical support apply to WPE. Several times at 3 in the morning, I have called them and asked fairly technical questions, which were expertly answered by them. (Because that’s all they do, their employees develop significant WP expertise.)
A MWPHC will cost more per month than a “bare bones” hosting company. If your idea of fun is writing Linux shell scripts, then you may not want to use a MWPHC.
49. StudioPress Genesis Pro Premium Theme
“Premium theme” means the theme is not free, you have to pay for it. I am partial to Genesis Pro (“GP”), which is published by Studio Press (“SP”). GP uses a parent / child structure. Think of the parent theme as the engine of a car and the child theme as the paint on the car. You should not touch/modify the parent theme, because WP is rapidly evolving and SP commits to keep the parent theme up to date as WP evolves. As for the child theme, you can modify it as much as you want. The child theme is what determines how your website looks. WP Engine has purchased Studio Press. If you use WPE’s hosting service, you can use Genesis for free, but Genesis Pro costs extra.
50. Yoast Premium Plugins
I like Yoast premium plugins. WP Engine has a list of favorite plugins, and you should definitely consider using them.
51. Google Analytics
Web metrics software packages track certain data about your website. Unless your website has enormous traffic, I recommend Google Analaytics (“GA”), which is free up to 5 million page views per month. (If your website has more than 5 million views, that’s a nice problem to have.) When you launch a website, you should install GA immediately. This is so GA can track compiling data on who is visiting your website, which search term was used, how long they stayed, etc. Let’s assume that for the first 12 months you don’t care about such data, and then in the 13th month, you start to care. If you had installed GA as soon as you launched, GA will have one years’ worth of data you can analyze.
52. Choosing a Web Designer
First, any web designer you would consider should have his own website. If he doesn’t, cross him off the list. Second, if you’re going to use WP, your designer’s site should be using WP. Third, look at the Portfolio section of his website. How well designed is it? Are the links current? How quickly do the web pages load? It’s amazing how many designers you will cross off using these basic criteria. Finally, at least one-half of the websites he has launched in the past five years should be WP sites.
53. Don’t Trust Your Web Designer
Don’t ever trust your web designer — 99 percent of the web designers who are flaky and irresponsible give the other 1 percent a bad name. Thus, you should create your own DNR account and you purchase your domain names. You should also create your own MWPHC accounts, and then give your designer access to that account. If your designer turns out to be flaky (assume he will), you’re not dependent on him. You close his account, hire a new designer, and you haven’t been hurt.
I know people who did not follow these rules and then their designer ghosted on them. They needed to make a change to their website and there was nothing they could do, since the designer controlled their website, not them.
M. Communication
54. Cisco VOIP System
Cisco makes the highest quality telephone instruments and VOIP software. In 2015, if you wanted to use a Cisco VOIP system, you would need to spend $100,000 for an on-premise hardware system. Cisco eventually realized that SaaS was the future, first introducing Spark and then Hosted Collaboration Solutions; neither one worked very well. In 2018, it purchased BroadSoft, which they have rebranded as Cisco Webex. Webex allows us to deploy a new system, or expand an existing system, in less than a day. We are not big fans of soft phones and instead we use Cisco 8865 IP phones with sidecars.
55. Cisco Jabber
During business hours, my companies have humans answer the phones. If I’m on the phone and a second person calls me, the call does not go voice mail, but rather is answered by my Executive Assistant. She then notifies me via Cisco Jabber who is calling and I tell her what to say to the second caller, all while I am on the first call.
56. Videoconference Systems
I like Google Meet a little better than Zoom. My CTO loves Microsoft Teams, which I find to be incredibly unobvious. (Teams does have quite a lot of features, however.) As for Slack, it seems even less obvious than Teams. Around 2017 or so I used Slack to communicate with co-workers while I was on the phone (this is before Slack redid its design to make it the ugliest SaaS package in history).
N. Mobile Devices
57. Apple iPhone
I use an Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max. With its stores and awesome phone support, Apple’s entire customer experience is outstanding.
58. Mophie Juice Pack
Whenever I see someone with a mobile phone that is running out of juice, I wonder why they don’t use a Mophie Juice Pack.
59. Apple iPad
I love my Apple iPad, particularly the OLED display. There’s all this talk about the demise of the tablet, which makes no sense to me (at least for my use case). There’s a huge difference between 6.6 inches (the largest iPhone) and 13 inches (the largest iPad).
60. Apple Watch
I don’t use much use for an Apple Watch because the form factor is so small. So, all I use it for is tracking my heartbeat when I exercise. (This shows how much of an Apple bigot I am. Since all I use a watch for is tracking my heartbeat, it would be economically rational to just use a Google Fitbit, which is less expensive, but I really like Apple mobile devices.)
61. Apple AirTags
Apple AirTags are great and I have them on more than 20 of my items. It’s liberating to no longer have to worry about losing my keys or wallet.
O. Software
62. Salesforce CRM System
Who you know is as important as what you know. I have dozens of friends who have thousands or even tens of thousands of valuable contacts, which they have not systemized or put into a CRM system. If they got their act together, they could make several millions dollars a year putting deals together. We have standardized on Salesforce’s Sales Cloud SaaS software package. What interests us more than Sales Cloud (“SC”) are Salesforce’s software development tools (which they use to develop SC). Using these tools, we can extensively modify SC to make it more useful for us.
63. Directory Opus
It’s difficult to get excited about a file manager – at least until you start using Directory Opus (“DO”). It’s a file manager with nuclear weapons – the paper edition of the manual is 1200+ pages and you could easily spend several months learning all of its features. Out of the 500 features it offers, for us the most useful feature is that you can open two windows and copy and move files from and to the source window and the destination window. Every now and then we have a technical need to use Windows File Explorer and we almost get ill at having to use it – it’s like driving a Ferrari all of your life and then you have to drive a Yugo. You can purchase DO for $89 AUD (Australian), which as of March 2024 is $59 US. Yes, we know it seems totally ridiculous to spend that amount of money for just a file manager, when you can purchase an entire operating system for less than that, but after using it for a day, you’ll say to yourself, “Directory Opus, where have you been all of my life?” They have a 30-day free trial, and you don’t have to provide a credit card when you download the free trial.
64. Generative AI
Generative AI refers to a class of artificial intelligence models that can generate new content rather than simply recognizing patterns or making predictions. These models learn from existing data and generate novel outputs, such as text, images, music, or even software code. They operate by understanding patterns and structures in the data and then producing new instances that adhere to those patterns.
The best-known example is OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which was released to the public in November 2022. Microsoft has licensed this technology and after adding several enhancements, released this technology as Copilot, which as of May 2024 is better than ChatGPT, particularly if you use Microsoft 365. We primarily use Copilot as a better search engine than Google, and sometimes we use it to generate content. As for writing software code, not yet, the code it generates is worse than code written by a mediocre developer. I expect this to change reasonably soon.
P. Transportation
65. Mercedes Sprinter Van
I have always thought limousines were overrated, since they are not big enough and are difficult to get in and out of. Instead, I have a Mercedes Sprinter van; I choose the extra high option (so I can stand up in the van) along with the extra long option. I purchased a van that has been converted into a rolling living room.
66. Starlink Internet Service
In my Sprinter van, I have a full computer setup, with Starlink internet service.
67. Other Automobiles
I also have a Tesla X (primarily because Tesla’s self-driving technology is so advanced) and a Corvette convertible (because it so much fun to drive). I’ve never understood why someone would pay $250,000 for a Ferrari when a Corvette costs only about $90,000, is just as fast, has just as good handling, and is a lot more reliable.
68. Private Jets
This one is for the future. I can’t stand waiting in line, and TSA and the airlines are doing a great job making flying commercial less pleasant ever year. So, when I can afford it, I will use some private jet service. (I’m never going to buy a jet.) It’s interesting how many different private jet services available — are there really that many people who fly private jets?
Q. Miscellaneous
69. Music Streaming Services
For popular music, I love Spotify, and for classical music, I’m partial to Apple Music Classical. As for movie streaming, there are so many services that it’s difficult to determine which 2, 3 or 4 services to subscribe to.
70. Robot Vacuum Cleaners
I prefer Roborock vacuum cleaners to those manufactured by iRobot.
R. Human Resources
71. Office Manager
We have a great Office Manager, whose job is simply to run the office. What are the primary differences in the responsibilities between an Office Manager and my Executive Assistant? The former is responsible for managing some of our people and her focus is on the entire office/company, while my EA’s job is solely to worry about me.
72. Executive Assistant
Since the 1980s or so, corporate America has been slowing eliminating secretarial positions. Like a lot of what corporate America does, much of this does not make sense, to have $750,000 Executive Vice Presidents making their own travel arrangements.
I have a full-time Executive Assistant (“EA”), as well as a full-time Personal Assistant. Since it drives me nuts to have people I am paying good money to sit around twiddling their thumbs, I do keep them busy. Together, they save me a lot of time.
One thing that I think is foolish is not being able to do most of what your assistant yourself. My father was an attorney, and he was completely dependant on his secretary. He didn’t even know how to work the copy machine or how to send a fax. Thus, when she was out sick, or on weekends, he was screwed. The first secretary did not exploit this, but the second one (Tina) did. Tina somehow managed to convert her annual salary reviews to semiannual reviews, and the increases in salary were impressive. My father complained, “Tina has me by the balls, I have to pay her what she is asking.” Within a decade, she was one of the highest paid legal secretaries in Los Angeles.
I do not suffer from my father’s handicap. Everything my Assistant can do, and sometimes better, but the law of comparative advantage says she should do what she does.
73. Bookkeeper
We have a great bookkeeper who comes in once a week and takes care of paying bills as well as other financial and accounting matters.
74. Personal Assistant
My Personal Assistant (“PA”) focuses on personal tasks, such as light housekeeping (I have a cleaning service come in once a week for the really thorough cleaning), running errands, cooking meals, and chauffeuring me. There is some overlap between what my PA and EA do — e.g., my PA does word processing when she has nothing else to do, and my EA sometimes does personal tasks. They make a fabulous team.
75. Software Developers
We have two full-time software developers, one who uses Microsoft’s tools (.Net, C# and Access) and one who uses Salesforce’s software development tools.
76. Windows System Administrator
Computers are such a pain that we keep a talented Windows system administrator on standby at all hours. Many of these things I could do myself if I had to, but it’s a much better use of my time to have him do it. (I do not enjoy system administration.)