“Web App Review: Doit.im Brings a Cross-Platform GTD Experience To The Masses” plus 1 more

Web App Review: Doit.im Brings a Cross-Platform GTD Experience To The Masses

Posted: 09 May 2011 06:02 AM PDT

I try very hard to not stray down the path of GTD web apps as it usually leads to me thinking that some other app is better for some other reason and I change my whole entire system over to find that it really has nothing to do with the system in the first place. But, there has been one GTD application that has caught my eye for at least the past year because of its ubiquity and general adherence to GTD principles.

Doit.im is available on the web, on iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows, and with a Mac client coming soon and is a full-featured GTD task management app.

I’m not all about making a system into a GTD system; I’d rather have a system that was built with GTD in mind and that is why we will be taking a look at doit.im and how it stands as a full project and action management solution.

First Impressions

Like I said before, I have been watching doit.im for about a year or so now and have seen new features and tweaks added to the app as the time has past. The app definitely tries to take the idea of GTD and automate it. You will find the normal “Inbox”, “Someday/Maybe”, and “Waiting For” categories as well as the use of the “Context” and “Project” terminologies. The app’s layout is clean and there are two different versions. The older version takes a “wired notebook” type of look, that in my opinion is annoying. The newer beta version has a sleeker and more clean look and is the one that I have used more. I will say that neither are completely appealing to me.

One thing that I noticed right off the bat was that the app seemed very slow when accessing online. I tried Safari, Firefox, and Chrome with none of them being noticeably faster. It looks like the developers need to work on the speed of the web app. I found that the beta version was much slower than the “older” version of the app.

Where Doit.im lacks in speed and looks the app makes up for it in organization and work flow. Actions and projects are easily added to your lists and applying context and projects to tasks is easy as well. Scheduling tasks for a specific due date works well and adding repeats and reminders is just a click away.

The one thing that I can’t wrap my head around is how the inbox is handled. My idea was once you added a context or a project to a task that the task should be removed from the inbox and be considered “processed”. This isn’t the case. It appears that you have to either schedule or move the task to Someday or Waiting for to get it out of the inbox. Not necessarily the most intuitive thing, but once you get the workflow down, it shouldn’t be that big of a problem.

Features

Doit.im is absolutely full featured and I would consider it to have almost everything that a GTD practitioner would want in a system including:

Cross platform goodness (available on the web, Windows (Mac coming soon), iOS, and Android
Creating tasks with context, due date, repeats, reminders, and project criteria
Allows for totally separate projects to sort by
A nice calendar view to see when stuff is due
Ability to create custom tags and contexts
Full sync with web, Windows, Android and iOS clients

The only real feature that Doit.im is missing for this GTD geek is the start date field. I have confessed my love for start dates before, and without them my system starts to feel weak. For some this may not matter at all though.

Mobile Apps

The mobile interface for Doit.im has vastly improved for both iOS and Android since the last time I have looked at it. The design is clean and unique and gives the user access to the most use features of any GTD app; the inbox, context lists, projects, due and scheduled items, waiting for, etc. The app also has a cool new way to add tasks with the “Quick-add” feature which gives the user a task entry bar with the task attributes in button form below the entry box. It’s a super fast way to add new actions to your trusted system.

The app syncs very quickly and gives the user the option to sync after a certain amount of time or even a “Real-time Data Uploading” feature. This pushes the updates directly to the server as you make them on the device. The developers of Doit.im have made a compelling UI and experience for the mobile apps. In fact, I prefer the mobile apps over the web app.

Wrap-up

Like a said before, searching for better GTD apps can turn into an unhealthy obsession. Us GTD geeks like to look for new shiny tools more than we like to use them. I have drawn my line in the ground with OmniFocus, mostly because if I could I would change my tool every week. But, if you are a GTD practitioner or a new GTD wannabe and are in need of a cross platform, full featured, task and project management app, Doit.im is extremely compelling. Plus the app is free online and in the respective app stores. Try it out and see for yourself. While you are at it, let us know what you think in the comments section.

Hack Your Muscles: Comparing the Best Post-Workout Beverages

Posted: 09 May 2011 06:00 AM PDT

It's May, and for most people that means its time to get serious about getting your body into better shape. Prime beach weather is closer than you think, and you're probably starting to get serious about hitting the gym regularly. But overdoing your workout can do more harm than good. In fact, your athletic performance starts to suffer once you lose about 2 percent of your body weight due to profuse sweating…and that takes less effort than you might think.

If you plan to work out for over 60 minutes, you need to drink something more substantial than water afterwards. Lose too much water from exercising, and you can start to experience cramps, dizziness, and headaches as your body has to go into overdrive to keep your core temperature stable and your heart functioning normally as your blood begins to thicken to dehydration. And if you don’t rehydrate properly, you might find that your muscles are weak the next day, impairing your ability to lift weights.

If you're trying to sculpt a beach body, it's important to drink the right post-workout beverage to rehydrate, replenish lost nutrients, and consume adequate protein to promote muscle growth. Plain water is good, but some other product might be better. But the diet aisle of your local supermarket has got dozens of post-workout hydration beverages to choose from. So which one is right for you?

NOTE: The assessments below are based on my own opinions, personal experiences, and research. None of the products/companies mentioned below provided samples for review or have otherwise influenced the content of this article.

Milk

Okay, so maybe suggesting milk after a workout makes you think of Will Ferrell in "Anchorman," moaning "Milk was a bad choice!"

And while the idea of chugging milk after a hard workout on a hot day might sound miserable, it has been argued that milk is a great beverage to quaff after hitting the gym. In a lot of ways, milk has it all: carbohydrates, electrolytes, calcium and vitamin D…and the all-important protein.

According to Emma Cockburn, a lecturer at Northumbria University in northeast England, “The damage caused by exercise leads to a breakdown of the protein structures in your muscles, but that doesn’t happen until 24 to 48 hours later.” If you drink milk right after training, it will be digested and absorbed by the time your body needs it to repair muscle damage. It’s worth remembering that Michael Phelps famously chugged milk between events at the Beijing Olympics.

Sports Drinks

There are as many types of fruity flavored sports drinks as there are brands of soda, and sadly, they both often have similar amounts of sugar. While they can replenish vital electrolytes, vitamins, and fluids, all that sugar post-workout can leave you feeling more jittery. Whenever possible, opt for a reduced calorie sports drink over the regular kind, as this will have less sugar, and therefore fewer calories.

Cheribundi

Cheribundi's "Whey Cherry" tart cherry juice contains phytonutrients, anthocyanins, phenolic acids…in other words, compounds that refuel a tired body, reduce inflammation from over-exertion, and aids in muscle recovery. Whey protein is added for an extra muscle building benefits, and the cherry juice gives you 100% of your daily needs for a number of B vitamins. An 8 oz. serving has 160 calories. The taste takes some getting used to, as it is very tart, but the health benefits are worth it.

SmartWater

If you want electrolytes after a workout but are trying to reduce your caloric intake, consider zero calorie SmartWater, which consists only of vapor distilled water and electrolytes (Calcium Chloride, Magnesium Chloride, and Potassium Bicarbonate, to be specific.)

It doesn't contain any protein, as in some other sports recovery beverages, but for exercise that is less about building muscle and more about maintaining tone or losing excess pounds, it can still be a good choice for rehydration, and is still superior to plain tap water.

Beer

According to a study at Granada University in Spain, a pint of beer is better at rehydrating the body after a workout than the same amount of water. Researchers argue that the carbon dioxide in beer helps quench thirst faster than water, the carbs in the beer replace calories (generally between 90-150 calories per serving in beer) burned during exercise, and trace salts and sugars in the beer replace lost nutrients.

On the other hand, alcohol can have diuretic properties, so don't rely on beer alone. If you want to experiment with beer as a post-workout beverage, perhaps try a beer after having a small amount of water, and follow the beer directly by an equal amount of water.

Conclusion

To stay well hydrated for exercise, the American College of Sports Medicine recommends that you:

Drink roughly 2 to 3 cups (0.5 to 0.7 liters) of water during the two to three hours before your workout.
Drink about 1/2 to 1 cup (0.12 to 0.23 liters) of water every 15 to 20 minutes during your workout. You may need more the larger your body is or the warmer the weather is.
Drink roughly 2 to 3 cups (0.5 to 0.7 liters) of water after your workout for every pound (0.5 kilogram) of weight you lose during the workout.

How you choose to hydrate is completely up to you. Whether you need low-cal refreshment, or a heavy dash of protein to aid in muscle recovery, the good news is that there are plenty of post-workout recovery beverages for you to sample.

What do you drink after a hard workout? Tell us in the comments below!