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!

Comments

[Rubin Sfadj]

One little question: how do you mark an item as "done"? Just plain deleting the photo from Flickr is a little bit radical, but on the other hand, only tagging it with "done", or removing the "todo" tag, doesn't seem quite conspicuous...

[Steve Rubel]

What is this strange word "done" you speak of? Just kidding. I basically delete the photo.

[engtech]

Looks like I'm not alone.

My favorite for photographing is games/movies/books I want to research later to see if their worth buying/renting.

I like the idea of using it to remind yourself you need to buy a product.

[Adam]

I do this with songs I hear on my XM. I'll take a picture of the screen and then send it to my flickr.

-A

[Bunk]

I love inventive little things like this! I never had thought of doing this before and odds are if I start, Ill be hooked. Thanks for the info there Steve.

[Andy]

Uh, earth to Steve..... how much time do you spend photographing, uploading, reviewing, doing and deleting one chore? Holy smokes! Sounds like a government program from the department of redundancy department. How about going to a good stationery store, finding a sweet Nava notebook holder that includes a tiny, but very usable and elegant pen, and jot things down? This baby fits easily into a jacket pocket. What's really good about it? When you really want to think, go for a walk, leave your phone at home, sit on a park bench and write notes and To Do items for yourself. Cross em off when you're done.

[Dean]

I find your method too much for me. Besides some things I would have trouble getting the right photo mnemonics for. Consequently I'd have to use other tools too, thus violating one of GtD's cardinal rules: one inbox!

For me what's worked best is www.jott.com which transcribes whatever I tell it and emails it to www.rememberthemilk.com, automatically creating my todo list for me.

[Benjamin]

Truly ingenious! How are the PDA functions of the iPhone - the calendar, task lists and the like. I use my iPod with a MicroMemo as my capture device, but would love to ahve editable task lists and the ability to capture things visual like this. I have used my camera phone in the past, but because it doesn't like to web-based services, it was a bit of a dead end. Any way, you inspired a post - thank you!

[WebConsultingDC]

It sounds a like a good idea, but my Moto Q's photo capture is painfully slow. I don't even know why they bothered putting on on this phone if it takes a 3 or so seconds to load up.

That by far has got to be one of my greatest pet peeves about new gadgets. 9 times out of 10 they end up slowing down or just being slightly slower than usable.

I hope the day of fast, twitchy apps comes...soon. I think my new rule of thumb is if it takes more than a whole second to activate, it should be bothered with (at least as far as my cell phone is concerned).

I haven't had the luxury of playing with the iPhone extensively, but if it's fast it, using it as a visual GTD does sound compelling.

I'll trade you this tip for the one I wrote on my blog about Jott.
The great thing about this service is that it goes into your "one inbox" as Dean mentions. In other words, I can't do the visual tasks, but I can certainly do the voice-to-text thing.

[Isabelle]

Hey! I'm happy to read this! I do the same, but the difference is that my digital camera is always with me, so I look at the pics directly on the camera.

I use it too for objets, advertisements, people that give me marketing ideas... then, when a client comes to see me to solve a marketing or a communication problem, I browse my "ideas pics". What's interesting, is that you can proove with the pictures that your ideas con be done or that the tendency you say does exist! :)

[Wayan]

If you are really cool, and have a N95, you can scan the barcode on the product you want using the camera and then find local outlets selling it.

Wait, make that "really geeky" as I still haven't figured out how to do that though the phone manual says its possible.

[lkribs]

Piggy backing of Alex's XM post, I used to text message myself songs in a bar-Now I scurry over to the jukebox take a photo... i feel like this is like the confesssions of being technologically ocd.

[Biotechnologist2020]

I will try it out....anyway thanks Steve

[Roger Stahl]

I think that is overkill. There´s not an easier way to capture but handwriting. I have a neat little moleskine in my pocket always and a little capturing card size like a businesscard always with me.
Stick to the concept, it´s easy to make to much of a deal about processing tools. Otherwise I am a gadgeteer, using all kind of electronics. I think the best way is a mix - iphonephoto, handwriting, your answering machine (underestimated power) pda etc. Keep up the good posts though!