Emacs is a multiplatform and advanced text editor been around for decades. It is famous for its complexity and its hundreds of keyboard shortcuts, which in the modern world of Windows and Mac OS seems like a Stone Age tool.
But things are not quite like that. Emacs is not just a text editor and many people keep doing that mistake. Due to the fact that it contains a programming language and users can install many custom scripts, it is almost an operating system; a cult and a religion for many of its die-hard users. And there are a lot of them.
Org mode is such a script/extension for Emacs. It applies organizing and GTD principles in the Emacs text editor. And it is such an awesome and popular script that nowadays Emacs comes with Org mode preinstalled.
But what exactly is Org Mode, except a well-kept secret behind a geeky text editor? Org mode gives the Emacs editor the ability to use Outlines, implementing every known aspect of a GTD system.
Users already using text files for organizing their lives will be in heaven. I have never seen a text file transformed in a full fledged GTD database before.
Setting up Emacs to use Org mode is quite simple. You just define the right extension (usually .org) of your outline files by adding a couple of lines to the Emacs configuration file, create a file and you are set with a simple outliner which can add tags, due dates and statuses to your tasks along with your notes.
You can create as many org files as you wish, outlining and tagging your entries at will. A calendar mode will put all of the information together from any file you wish and present you with a readable list of your due dates, your task list etc.
Everything in Emacs is fully customizable, so after a while you’ll find yourself tweaking settings to fit your personal workflow and taste.
So, everything is great and you will really manage to fit your whole life into text files. Using Emacs you will be able to keep a journal, your personal calendar, maybe your finances and of course run shell commands, read your email, encrypt sensitive data, fetch RSS feeds etc.
To be able to do all that, you need to learn the system. If you installed Emacs before finishing this article you will be faced with a surprise: There’s nothing special about it. Just a blank window, a strange toolbar and some menu items which in most cases (I promise) you won’t know what they do.
And here comes the truth: You need one week.
One week to learn all the keyboard shortcuts you need (you can get rid of your mouse for this) and how to tweak the system.
So if you are serious about text files, this is a worthy time investment, but actually when you will start to get the hang of it you will love it.
If you learn the basics of Emacs, you can use it in any major OS, even on a terminal and you will never go back. Just don’t get carried away with all those add-on scripts. You will find yourself tuning more your system, than doing actual work.
What Emacs/Org mode supports for GTD:
Tasks, custom statuses (TODO, WAITING etc), tags, due dates, deadlines, recurring tasks, projects (using outline or a custom status), completion of tasks in order, logging, time tracking, habits, custom templates, calendar, custom diary, RSS feeds import, exporting into a large number of formats.
There are also mobile apps for iOS and Android for Org mode.
You can get everything you will need to start outlining for free:
http://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/
http://orgmode.org/
Links to get started: