[llong]

While I do appreciate the high-tech gadgets, software, and techniques for personal/professional development, it seems to me that there's still a lot of benefit from the old, back-of-the-envelope, penciled-in, cross-out-when-done To Do List.

You need not turn on the computer, Palm Pilot, or PDA to create these. In fact, sitting on the subway, on the couch, or on the toilet, one can map out a highly effective day. (I recommend keeping a couple post-its and a shortened pencil in one's wallet and writing these up when commuting.)

The only short-coming I've found to these is that To Do Lists tend to emphasize the chores of life, rather than "higher-level" multi-stage projects. Thus we see these lists full of "do laundry", "pay bills", and "clean car", but relatively few "hire Bob", "analyze 401k investments", etc.