Okay, I think we get average recording this is the blooper reel three technologists can't figure out
Hello everyone, welcome back to another video it is Francesco here
Welcome to Keep Productive of youtube channel, if you're brand new and if your regular welcome back, so today we are joined my two
Awesome guests good friends of mine Carl Pullein who is joining us from Korea
I believe it is. It is Carl runs an
Infamous YouTube channel that discusses a range of tools including todoist Evernote and many more in lots and lots of detail
So it's great to be joined by you Carl
and Scott Friesen from Simpletivity who chats some real awesome stuff including Trello chrome and
many more resources
And Scott is joining us from Vancouver. So it's a
very
Continental cool, right. I
Think so
It's required it is it is so good to finally organize this one
So what we're doing is we're going to be talking about three
sort of segments we talked about in the past what past productivity tools we used what tools were using at the moment and
What future tools?
Sort of that discussion about what's coming next for us
So we're going to break this into three parts first part will be today
Our second part will be on Karl's channel and the third part will be on Scott's channel and we'll have them all linked below
So Carl, let's turn off with you. Let's dive into your history
Productivity software. Oh my history. Well, he still it goes. Well, I see if I go back to my high school I was
pen and paper guy
But I actually used to use
A ruler and a pencil and draw out my own
Study timetable particularly when I was in high school
But when I am for my 18th birthday my mother and father bought me a Filofax
I'm just ghost you guys remember? Do you know Filofax? Have you heard of it? I've heard but I don't think I'm familiar with it
No, I think it was it was an 80s phenomenon. It was like because of the
forgotten what we used to call them, but the
when we had the economic boom and
everyone was buying these leather a
I think was smaller than a 5
Yeah, I organized the best ways
Organizer. I remember them that is really bad because what because my parents had them but
I
Did start off with a Filofax and I absolutely loved it
And I think even at my parents home back home in England. I think it's still there my original Filofax
Actually, I I do
I have then I moved on when I moved into the professional world
I moved on to Franklin Planet and I did bring it. I still have my original
Franklin planner from
whoa way back in the 1990's and
I I
I can't throw it. Hey, it's got so much history in there
and
Finally I think 2009 I actually moved into the digital world. I started with things one
Wow, I was looking back at what I started with things one for about 18 months two years and eventually I moved over to OmniFocus
probably around about 2011 and then
I'm guessing
2014-15 I moved over to to do it and that's where I am happy to be today
And one thing that really I'm really quite excited about is in next month
Next month, yes, Nick. I am gonna be nine years with Evernote. I've never switched. Oh my god Wow
Nine years September
2009 was when I first got on board with Evernote
Have you ever been did by like Trello or something else like that?
Just how I've toyed with those and I usually play around with them to see what all the fuss is about
but I always tend to navigate back to
one of the three that I was using things because it was so beautiful and was very much like
OmniFocus because I felt I was becoming a
Productivity ninja and I had to be on the Omni focus wagon
And then eventually, I think we all progressed I think over time we all progressed in the same way
We think hang on a minute. I can do this better
And then you start looking around and I came across to do it and I thought yeah, this fits me much better than OmniFocus does
That's where I came from Filofax. Oh, I feel so old
What about Youth Cup
you know, I was thinking about this and probably one of the first
applications or pieces of software that wowed me
Was a spreadsheet and and for me it was probably the early
Nineties. I was just literally or twelve years of age and we had Quattro Pro and I don't know if you're familiar with
that spreadsheet it was a competitor right to a
Legitimate competitor to excel in those days and I remember father teaching me how to use a simple
Function right just how to sum up some numbers or how to create an average and that just blew my mind
like like I could do something in this cell and that could
Automatically make other things change in a different cell and I think that was maybe the the starting point for me with my passion for
productivity tools right that there could be some form of of
Automation and I could do just a little bit of work and all this other work it could happen on the on the other side
In terms of a productivity tool though. I probably have to go with something like like a Palm Pilot, right?
I remember that is my first mobile actual mobile device
Long before I even had a cell phone and that was maybe the first time I saw a task list
In a digital format, right Palm Pilot had its own proprietary software
You could check things off you could you could add things at a simple calendar?
I loved that I could take it with me on the go. But I also loved that there's
software you could download it install it on your
PC or your desktop computer and I know this is gonna sound ancient but I mean, I actually bought two
sink cables
I
Had one from my office at work, and then I had another one at home because of course I couldn't do it via Wi-Fi
I couldn't do it any other way. I'd actually sink that Palm Pilot before I went to work
The first thing I did when I sat down on my desk of the office was resync that Palm Pilot
So everything was fresh on my desktop and you know
That was the first time that I sort of managed my tasks beyond pen and paper right beyond a planner
Beyond something that was just on a scratch pad off the side of my desk. So you know that Palm Pilot
I I think I went through about two different versions of
Palm before I eventually got to a real smart smart device
But when it comes to when it comes to tools and we've all you know
We've all been used there's a certain tools whether it's Evernote or todoist and that type of thing my first I guess real
you know legitimate productivity app would be
Remember The Milk and that was the first app that I thought, you know
This is I like the simplicity of it, right?
I could enter a notes quickly but on the other hand
I loved that it had sort of an advanced search wizard right you could use
Operators to create custom searches so it looks very clean on the outside. It was it was easy to manage
Actually, it wasn't even a smartphone. I had one of the first versions of the iPod Touch
Which I remember using remember the milk even before I had a smartphone
But just that that capability of updating my my to do's and my tasks in any
Location and I think that mix that mix of a very simple interface
But with some advanced features on the other end
I mean that's continued to the tools and the and the products that I I used today. I don't use remember the milk anymore
It's been many years since I've used remember the milk, but they were probably one of the first that really sparked that passion. I
love it, whenever when you mentioned Quattro, I was just thinking of like a July advert metallo's thinking like I've no heard of
These are you know, I believe that was one of their competitive advantages is that they had more rows
And more columns than Excel like they didn't have that limitation. So maybe just like the blades, right?
We could have more of in the other ghat notes they felt like they should he use that for their marketing
I
mean my mind story is I
Think not so similar to you guys
But obviously a couple of years ahead I used
I remember the first time
The palm I saw a Palm Pilot and my dad had one he was getting rid of it
And I was like I want to try it out. So I played around with it and I was like this is wicked
The majority of my college years or high school years. We're using like a three chance to plan everything
And then I discovered the wonderful Evernote and I sort of fell in love with the tool very much like Cole
Joined fairly early on but not as early as not selling we celebrating my ninth year yet
And then and then I really moved to todoist
And I use Google keep quite casually. So yeah, I mean, I think it's I think I kept mine
Relatively simple like you guys and you sort of grow with the tools don't you? Definitely we're growing with the tools
Yeah, that's it. But as I think as I mentioned
it's one of those weird things is that when you get into that into the productivity space you start off with a
specific tool but I've not found anyone who ever stuck with the original tool I Evernote is a different case because it's not actually a
To-do list manager. It's just a note-taking app with quite a few
Yeah, good productivity features if you want to use them, but what I noticed with the to-do list managers
Nobody ever generally stays with that first one. They they say peared they they start with one because it's being recommended at the moment
It's the fashionable one if you like
But eventually they they drift to their own style and the one that fits their own
kind of productivity system or method of
productivity and I
That's one of the reasons why I'm pretty sure I will be celebrating 10 years with todoist in
Probably I can't pause it when I'm probably about four or five years time before years. I'll be celebrating 10 years
Rotational because it just fits my a whole kind of way of thinking if you like, yeah, definitely, um,
Guys are doing with with design with their design features
You know, I think you know Francesca Alex and I think he's Anna
Who were very much in the part of the design team over there and they're out there on Twitter
So I'm following them and I see what they're doing and they cook these little screenshots the oh, yes, please. Yes, please
Like particularly Alex does that he's teasing us all the time
It's good
I have a question for YouTube
But for those listening too long definitely in the comments below share what your first tools were because it'd be great here
We'll jump in the comments
And sort of have a look at what you guys use could be great to hear a question for you both
Sort of when you're going about choosing your first resources
The only advice for people because I some people have literally just discovered the software and they might come across
One of our videos and be like, what is this? Do you have any advice for those brand new newbies?
Well for me
No
Thanks, I think one of the first things that I recommend is that if it doesn't feel right in a short amount of time like
In the first few minutes for the first time that you're interacting with it
Don't force yourself in it
Even if you know your best friend is recommending it even if everyone is talking about it if it doesn't feel right to you
Perhaps you should move on to something else. I mean the three of us know better than the most people there is no shortage of
Productivity tools and apps available out there and sometimes you can be tempted to jump ship, right?
You can be tempted to go to something else or the latest and greatest
They've got this and I don't got bad and and that type of thing
But I think you know if it's not feeling right or if it's not feeling comfortable if it's not fairly
intuitive in the first five to ten minutes
That's giving you a sign right that's giving you a signal and maybe you should look at at something else
Of course watch a video get some get some tutorial help if you feel it
But don't force yourself into that into that uncomfortable situation. I
think for me I've I've usually recommended is that people should
Start with the built-in apps on your phone or on your computer. I know that Microsoft obviously
Have I forgot what they call their new to-do list manager, but I know Google's got it. Apple's got it
And those are the three big ones they've got that they've got the three things. They've got the calendar
They've got the Notes app and they've got some forms to do this merger
I usually recommend if you're starting out from scratch. That's where you start. You're not investing any money
It's there all those products are free build your system and then start looking around
Because then you'll find what you're looking for in a much better way
But by all means play around if I could go back to the start of my digital journey I oh I
I would have so much joy
Yeah, it's to play with that's it be great starting now, wouldn't it?
Be honest, I think anyone knew really should be
just playing around with the free built-in apps get a system going and then
Look at what's available on the third-party market?
definitely I echo you both there and I would also say is there it's like just build the foundations before you build the
Big tool building that you're gonna work in
Guys be great chatting with you about the sort of past stuff
Let's pass over now to Karl to take over and to talk to us and sort of dive into the current apps
We're all using in a moment. So we're gonna be hosting that over on Kyle's channel. And so feel free to go over to his
And we'll be diving into that topic. So thanks guys, and we'll see you over there in a few moments Cheers