Use Your Cameraphone as a Visual To Do List

OK, since you clearly like these hackery posts (e.g. the one I wrote last night), here's one more on the topic. Then it's back to the normal fare here.

I am on a quest to figure out how I can use web services to run my entire life at home and work. I have two key requirements: 1) that I can easily get data in and out of the online service and b) that I can access my information quickly using my cell phone or download it to the device or my computer. Usually this means the web service has to have email in and out capability.

When it comes to remembering things, I am really bad at it. I subscribe to the Getting Things Done productivity program and The David's philosophy of getting things out of your head. My iPhone is my ubiquitous capture device. However, when I can I create to do lists that consist not of text but photos! It's faster. Plus, like Mark Cuban, I have terrible handwriting so digital is the way to go for me. So far I am using this mostly for personal errands but I am dreaming up new schemes to create all my GTD lists by taking pictures of people that I need to do something for, etc.

Here's an example. When I run out of cleaning supplies, I don't make a shopping list. I snap a photo of the empty container with my iPhone (however any old cameraphone will do). Then I email it into Flickr, which is free. I mark all the photos as private. In addition, I tag them "todo". Oh and the emails get backed up into the Gmail nerve center since I use their SMTP server. I could probably add a filter and a label here too.

Here's what my todo page looks like. It's reminding me of two things - to pick up cleaning supplies and to buy a nice present like flowers for my Mom. (Oh and to my consumer package good client friends out there - you know who you are - my cleaning woman picks the supplies not me!)

Then, when I am ready to head to the store, I call up Flickr Mobile from my phone. You can use any other photo service here that supports email - Flickr, Apple's .Mac, etc. Sometimes I will use .Mac Web Gallery but I like Flickr's simplicity. Of course, you don't need email. You can simply keep the images on your phone. But I would rather back up my images.

This is just the beginning, however. I am thinking about giving out the special Flickr email address for the page to a small group of others (hmm, my boss?). That way they can put things for me on my visual list and I will get updates via RSS. I may even make a game out of it - give me the best mnemonic possible so that I really remember to do something!

Anyway, even if I don't take this further, I love having a visual to do list. And it's fun!