We then switched to the Mac, taking advantage of the work of a Hong Kong GTD recruit, Ethan Schoonover, who developed a free set of Apple Scripts which simplified setting up projects, actions and contexts etc and synching them with a PDA. Then Ethan got distracted getting other things done.

For a while after that we used another Mac program called OmniOutliner, adapted to the GTD principles, but by then we were finding that rather than constantly learning new procedures to monitor getting things done, we wanted to spend more time getting other things done.

It wasn’t until we got our new iPhone that we found ourselves back in the world of Getting Things Done, largely by chance. One of our colleagues suggested we should download an app called OmniFocus. We were obviously particularly susceptible to suggestions at the time, because we paid $US19.99 for it without even checking it out.

We thought we were downloading a program which would allow us to keep track of projects at the various places we worked. In fact we discovered OmniFocus is the continuation of the work of Ethan Schoonover, who has since been employed by OmniGroup.

It allows you to keep track of actions by project, place, person or date, and to recall and add to tasks, shopping lists and agenda items, all of which would be familiar to GTD enthusiasts.

With the iPhone’s location capabilities, however, it can also create a custom list of actions to complete nearby, showing you the closest grocery store for instance, and creating an instant shopping list. You can take pictures or make voice recordings, and synchronise them with the Mac version, which at $US79.95 is somewhat more expensive.

We’re quite interested in the power of integrating the iPhone with the desktop version, but we’re not sure if we’re going to have the time, having also begun to play with a Web-based application called DeskAway.

DeskAway is an Indian-developed collaborative work tool from Synage Software Pty Ltd. It is similar to, but less expensive than BaseCamp (37signals.com). Depending on your professional situation, or your personal preferences, it could be a valuable support or even a replacement for time management tools like GTD clients.

The free, basic package allows you to work on three projects with up to five members and 25MB of storage space, and there are several plans ranging from $10 per month (10 projects, unlimited users, 25MB of files) to $99 per month (unlimited projects and users, 25GB storage).

You create the project, nominate the project leader and team members, create tasks, enter milestones and share files and documents. It keeps everyone updated with emails, and there’s even a blog that we found useful as a brainstorming and planning tool.

It’s a well-designed and reliable package, although we think the storage limits on the cheaper packages could be more generous.

Another alternative could be ActiveCollab which started life as a free clone of BaseCamp, which you can install on your own Web server.

Developed by a Serbian student, Ilija Studen, it’s since turned into a commercial, but relatively cheap product that’s available in a fully-featured corporate ($US399) or small business ($US199) version which lacks elements like calendars. The annual support and upgrade fee ($199/$99) make it much cheaper than its competitors, and there’s an active support community.

We’re toying with the idea of installing it on our Web server. If we can get through the other projects on our list of Things To Get Done.