Both these freebies require you to have a Java Runtime Environment (JRE) on your system, so if you don't like Java or refuse to install it, you can stop right here and maybe go read another one of the fine Front-Runner articles.

If you've been reading this column for a long time, you remember I wrote before about using Getting Things Done (GTD) to help collect your thoughts. I also went into a somewhat technical description of how to get a software system to help you manage projects and tasks on your own computer. It involved installing a programming language, database management software, and an application server. Although I enjoy that kind of stuff, I understood (and still understand) that some of you might not like it. Fortunately, there is almost certainly a piece of software that has the entire GTD methodology prebuilt for you, so all you need to do is slap it on top of some Java and get to work.

I say "almost certainly", because as I am writing this article, I see that the Web site for "Thinking Rock" (http://www.thinkingrock.com.au) is down. Hopefully it returns to life, because if you want to play around with a piece of software designed to work with the GTD methodology, then this is a really slick piece of software to do it with.

You start off with collecting your thoughts about what you have to do, create projects and add tasks when you collect and organize these thoughts of yours, and then track what you need to do in the software and mark it off as you do it. It really is a very polished piece of no-cost software that follows the GTD process very neatly and has a very smooth interface

The other piece of software is one I am still trying to understand completely, but I think it offers some nice features. It is called TRICHORD and is being developed by a Japanese software company. Let's see if their Web site is live as I write this...phew!

TRICHORD is built to mimic a kanban board. A kanban board is a big wall-mounted board where team members can see at a glance the status of various tasks and projects, and the daily moods of each team member as the coffee gets better or worse. You create projects in the software, then track them through iterations of time. Tasks are dragged into a "in progress" section as you work on them, then into a "completed" section when you are finished them. And the "neko-neko" calendar lets you track your daily moods: happy, average, or not happy at all. (Someone get the team doughnuts, quick!)

I like the way you can drag tasks around and have a visual representation of where they are. The iteration process is a bit tricky, but it is based on the idea that you are working on a project where you are making small deliveries to your clients as part of the project process, not saving everything up to be thrown at them one year after they signed the contract.

All in all, two nice pieces of free software to help you track your time, one based on GTD and one based on a Japanese style of work. (For those interested, the original article is on http://www.infoq.com/articles/agile-kanban-boards. I like InfoQ because it aligns with another of my interests, the Agile style of project management, which I've touched on before. If you found those articles interesting, then InfoQ might appeal to you as well.)