Tools, Part II: Licorize

One of my major productivity tools is Licorize (link website, link to my public folders). As a (sometimes fanatic) user of the GTD method by David Allan, I’m always looking for cool tools, to make me more productive. I checked RTM, iPad Apps, Outlook, etc. Then, Licorize was recommended to me by a colleague with the same vice.

Licorize started out as a bookmarking tool like delicious or mr. wong, but a “bookmark” is only one type of “strip” it stores for you and transition between different types is so easy it makes me smile every time I use it. Because RTM came first, I had my to-dos still there for a long time but recently I switched over completely (mainly to get the points :). More on that, see below).

To give you an example of this, let’s assume I found something interesting in an rss feed, but don’t have the time now, to read it, decide it, etc. Then I use the “remind my later in licorize” bookmarklet on my iPad, brower@home, browser@work, whatever. Licorize will add a strip of type “reminder” which waits for me the next time I start licorize. Using the hyperlink in the strip a call up the article and read it. Maybe I found some cool grunge fonts I want to use in one of my future pictures or a sample of jfk stating that you should not ask what your country can do for you. Pity is, I’m not at home but it’s lunch break at work. So I just change to strip from “reminder” to “todo” or (knowing that I already have to much of these dreaded todo’s already) change the strip to “idea” stored away for future use. Two weeks later (during weekly review) I decide to switch the “idea” to “todo” to really to it. After being done I checked it as “done” (points, points, points). Then I decide if I delete/archive it or use it for future reference by changing the strip to “bookmark“, “note“, …. All that, by just a few simple clicks. Cool or what?

Available strip types are to-do, idea, bookmark, note, image, video, goal, milestone, worklog, effort, status update, read, remind me later, draft, place, meeting, cost, budget, person, company, message, Evernote, Dropbox, cost report, and lots more. BTW you can organize your strips in projects, too and you can share them with other licorize users just as simple as you can change the type of the strips. Collaboration on shared tasks or ideas is just as easy.

You dont have to use all the strip types (and I don’t) but you could. For example by logging your effort on every todo/goal and charging your clients accordingly (–> cost report) or include that in your review or or or.

Sounds good? It is, because you choose what you use and how.  Integration into other tools, is there as well: Instapaper, Evernote, Dropbox, Skype, RSS, etc.

 Second highlight for me is the playful approach and the competition with the user licorize users. As hinted above you get points for actions, like adding a strip, checking a todo as done, doing a weekly review. There’s a public Top-10 users list, stating the current points and “Rising star” list. If you’re alone on licorize and all the other users are strangers to you, it may not matter… but this will change if a colleague, friend or partner joins you. It’s great fun to see who’s number 1 and where are all the others. Simple, but effective.

Another thing are the badges: Your receive them for specific achievements and it’s not publicly known what you have to do. There are badges like “Keep focused”, “Jailbreaker” , “Taxonomist”, “Constantly in control”, “Hyperactive”, “Manic work logger”, “Autobiographer”. This are the seven badges I was able to collect and no, I don’t know for all the badges, what you have to do, so don’t ask :). There are six badges still left and I don’t have a hint, what I have to do for them, either.

So, for me it’s a very useful tools. Keeping track of the to-dos, the inspiration, the ideas, the notes is pretty easy. Regardless if it’s for music, blogging, fonts, grafics, collaboration, … For me it’s THE tool.

After 7 days of trial the usage costs you 19.99 $ for a live time licence. Sounds like a good investment in productivity and fun for me. It would be nice to have 30 days of trial, but hey, good tool, good money.

Let me know in the comments, if you’re a licorize user already or planning to be. That would be interesting. More competition in the top 10 list 😉

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