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calendars - remembering the almond milk and sea moss smoothies
Deozaan:
I've found Active Desktop Calendar to be quite useful, but I don't know if it integrates with blackberry.
It works with my phone because it can import iCAL info and I use Google Calendar for everything.
tomos:
Not sure what is the IQ reference.-Steven Avery (June 04, 2009, 02:53 AM)
--- End quote ---
IQ is most probably InfoQube - the app formerly known as SQLNotes -
I was going to write a spiel about it but see you mention it . .
tomos:
IQ is most probably InfoQube - the app formerly known as SQLNotes -
I was going to write a spiel about it but see you mention it . . -tomos (June 04, 2009, 07:17 AM)
--- End quote ---
actually I had it already written & then saw your mention of it; but I may as well post it anyways!
InfoQube / IQ was formerly known as SQLNotes -
large thread here at DC and home is here. I'm not sure why integration with something (outlook) should put you off - it's just a bonus for those who do want it.
It's still in beta (completely stable though - been using it over a year now and have never lost any info) - pros and cons - e.g. pro: you can influence the development, request features; e.g. con for you: calander not fully integrated with 'PIM' side yet.
Using the Calendar is safe, only thing to keep in mind is that appts must be entered / modified only in the Calendar and not in a grid. Apart from that, it is usable, including alarms and recurring events. No need to redo things when it gets updated.
--- End quote ---
http://www.sqlnotes.net/drupal5/index.php?q=node/595#comment-2123
It's got a learning curve (also because the UI tends to get updated after other changes) but very worthwhile IMO. I believe he has ambitous plans for the calendar but I dont use it at all myself so cant really comment on it.
CodeTRUCKER:
<rant>
Before I share my thoughts, I do not give a rip about a "my PIM is better than your PIM" dialog. I have had it up to here with those debates. Nothing I write below should be construed as such, even if I express my preference.
Consider this, it is human nature to accentuate the positive of what "fits" us well and negate that which is possessed by those candidates we reject, often to our own hurt in the end. So, if I sound like I am extolling one app over another it is because that is exactly what I am doing, but only in the context of my preferences, not yours. If I like "X" over your "Y" because it is weak in comparison, according to my perspective then that should not be viewed as a put-down. If you find my comments and or enthusiasm for "X" tasteless blathering, more power to you. I wish you and your "Y" many happy years together. That goes for whatever you choose. :)
Now the beautiful thing about what I have written above is you could read it back to me verbatim and it would be just as valid. Pretty snazzy, huh!
</rant>
Without further disclaimers adieu, let me share my perspective in order to present as clear a picture as I can on two candidates that have been mentioned, but be warned this is a very long post behind the buttons. :)
...
My Life Organized - (if calendar views and prints are sufficient)
Agenda At Once
-Steven Avery (June 04, 2009, 02:53 AM)
--- End quote ---
I have a lot more to say about MLO, so I will handle Agenda at Once first.
Agenda At Once
Let me set a stage here... When was the last time you had the treat, after complimenting the developer for his/her professionalism, customer courtesy and promptness at addressing your issue his her reply was, "The pleasure was all mine." My last experience was a couple of weeks ago with Vladimir Radmilovic, the developer of AAO. Please note that this was after being one of his beta team slashing and hacking his project (Agenda at Once) for over a year. Not once was I criticized or even grumbled at for criticizing any aspect of the project. I received nothing but gratitude and politeness since December 2006. My main point is should you choose to try AAO you should do so with great confidence in the quality of the author and the software ain't bad either. ;)
Agenda At OnceAAO has a...
* Calendar with many customizations to highlight any/many different appointments, etc. A good arsenal of views with one custom view that can let you see an overview of up to 90 days, but really more visually useful at 60 days or less. This "planner" view has the flexibility of stacking the appointments/scheduled tasks so every item can be seen, but it is more useful with a strategic use of colors to "see" them better.
* A tree-structured Task Manager with the option to assign many attributes to craft the data just so.
* A Contact List with different views.
* An auto time-stamped Notes feature for maintaining a diary or journal.
The above are full-window screens, but can be simultaneoulsy viewed on a combination (overview) screen. Navigation to the various screens is done via tabs at bottom. I recommend keeping the combination screen up and going to the specific ones as needed.
Tasks and appointments have the expected toolbox of recurrences, frequency options and the Contacts are handy. Yet as one that has used AAO in a couple of different arenas, I have to say that (for me) the strongest point is the ToDos can be scheduled and they will show up on the calendar, just like a meeting or appointment! Why this functionality was never included in Outlook is beyond me? It just makes so much sense to be able to schedule a ToDo that shows up on the calendar too! It reminds me of Quicken not having a Bills Due List that could be sorted by DUE DATE (yes, I did just yell that) for the first 10(+?) years! That's right, if you needed to sort your Bills Due List you could only do so either alphabetically or by amount, but (as I was told by their tech support) "...you can sort both either ascending or descending."
Ok, I will leave that alone lest I have to apply another set of "rant" tags to my post.
The point is that Vadimir and his development team at Dataland Software had the vision to incorporate tasks-visible-on-calendar as a foundational part of their project and we are all the better for it.
Another item of mention is since the Task Manager has a "tree-structured" task architecture, AAO can be a very strong project management tool. Again, expending some mental energy in learning this tool and making wise use of color, position and highlight will pay some tangible dividends.
If you are looking at an upgrade from Outlook, Agenda At Once is a strong contender for a non-MS poweruser.
My Life Organized
MLO does not have a calendar view nor does it print out a calendar, but it is most definitely "event-driven."
Oh, I do add a little spontaneous fiction (based on fact) at the bottom as an example. I hope you enjoy it!
My Life OrganizedAs I stated above in my previous post, MLO is designed for allowing one to...
* ...do a brain dump of all required/desired tasks, ideas, gripes or whatever. Just get everything down on "paper," so to speak.
The design goal of MLO is not for one to have to hold onto every shred of important/mundane item of information between your ears. Mainly because it gets so crowded in there that when one lays down at night there is no room left for the sheep to get a running start on the fence, which = no counting = no sleep. Also you have to get out of bed, go get your PIM and note down, "Clear sheep fence-jump runway," but make sure you record it in the "Focus Factory" quad or you will have to get back up later to do it. Yomps! What a way to live?!? Forget about "life is too short!" Life is too long to have to complicate things unnecessarily. Next...
* ...arrange, add incidental (but important) sub-tasks, etc. Just massage everything into a rough order that makes sense. Okay, here comes the good part...
* ...give attributes (date due, context, urgency, effort, dependencies, etc.) to each task and forget it! That is the best part! Once done it is no longer needed to keep it in your cranium. Your "secretary" will keep track of all you need to do and inform you when it is time to take action, but just like a real secretary, if you do not provide a clear and concise order your secretary will not return a clear and concise alert. GI-GO applies. For me, it really has been like having a good, competent and proactive secretary. That is the best way to describe My Life Organized, IMO.
If you are the bio-type that really needs a "visual" graphic (calendar) which will allow one to maintain an overview so one can macro/micro-manage one's life, then I strongly advise against My Life Organized for you. It will not be the tool for you and you will frustrate yourself to misery trying to force MLO to be something it is not. I know, because this is how I tried to use MLO when I first acquired a license.
It was not pretty.
On the other hand...
If you, like me, are fed up with every PIM that just sits lifeless like a bulimic mannequin, staring blankly at you stuffed with "appointments" of colored squares on calendar grids always saying, "feed me, feed me, feed me..." just so more colored squares can be filled in, but never "helping" you to make your life more manageable then MLO would be a breath of fresh air. In reality there is a curve that will have to be negotiated, but whether that hurdle is incidental or daunting is in direct proportion to how much one is willing to let go of the reins and let your teamster-secretary do the driving.:)
If every tool you have used before was/is a calendar, MLO will take some adjustment, just as if you were switching from Windows to Mac to Linux or from the standard 104 to Dvorak. The good news is *if* you make that investment you will receive an outstanding R.O.I.
While the three bullets above may sound complicated, they are not. I have only re-committed myself to giving MLO a fair shake in the last couple of days and in just a few minutes (5-7) last night I was able to enter, arrange and attribute a good 8-10 tasks with a number of sub-tasks. The big one was rebuilding my red-haired daughter's bunny hutch. I just started typing out the needed acquisition of materials, and sub-assemblies. Next, appropriate indenting, out-denting (branching) and vertical arranging netted a viable plan. The application of "contexts" streamlined the process (more on this below).
Yes, it really does become that intuitive that quick and as a bonus I did not expect, I have noticed that my mind is even beginning to work differently during the day without all those bits and pieces mucking up the joint. One other thing is although MLO does not have a Contact List of its own, it does reportedly integrate with "KeySuite" and "Beyond Contacts."
As sort of a final word on My Life Organized in this thread (unless one has a specific question), I have to tell you some more about "Contexts." Even if you never download MLO, this one piece of information is worth the price of admission (if you have never heard it before :P). Now, I am not a Franklin Covey graduate, or a GTD aficionado so I do not know if this concept is new or not. I do not care.
In the mired world of attempting to bring order out of chaos, we need to remember that every task must exist and/or be performed within a "context," or "place." If one will take the time to assign a "context" in every task one could find themselves performing then it becomes a simple matter of filtering the task list for the "context" you find yourself at present! Get it?
Let us look at the task list below without "contexts" first...
TaskGet nails for hutch..... Get paint for lake cabin...Get latches and hinges... Send ticket request confirmations back to TicketMaster...Call Fred concerning golf course arrangement...Pickup cookies and ice cream for B-Day party...Pay water bill...Plan next Elks agenda with key members...
Hmmm.... a bunch to do and a little foggy too.
Since a "context" is a place where we are "at," let's use the "@" symbol like this as a shortcut. Ok, let me create some "contexts" like this....
* @Errands
* @The Paint Depot
* @Lawyer
* @Email
* @Mestros Hardware
* @Online
* @Phone
* @Wal-Wart
* @Fran's Grocery
* @Home
Now let us apply these attributes to our list. Keep in mind any task can have multiple "contexts."
TaskContextGet nails for hutch..... @Errands, @Mestros Hardware, @Wal-WartGet paint for lake cabin...@Errands, @The Paint Depot, @Wal-WartGet latches and hinges... @Errands, @Mestros Hardware, @Wal-WartSend ticket request confirmations back to TicketMaster...@Online, @HomeCall Fred concerning golf course arrangement...@Phone, @HomePickup cookies and ice cream for B-Day party...@Errands, @Wal-Wart, @Fran's GroceryPay water bill...@Errands, @Wal-Wart, @Fran's GroceryPlan next Elks agenda with key members...@Email, @Online, @Home
Now, the fog begins to clear!
On any errand, for someone besides our self, we might find our self significantly distracted by being a little grumbly by being inconvenienced to "... run get some gullywumps at Wal-Wart." Eh, it's human nature, but if we have developed a good routine at viewing our filtered PIM/Task Manager on the flat-screen or glancing at the printed "ToDos" we are jarred back to a pleasant reality!
Our being inconvenienced by picking up those blasted gullywumps now turns into a peaceful feeling of convenience because while we are at Wal-Wart we can also grab some nails, cookies, ice cream, and pay the water bill we were originally intending to pay at Fran's Grocery on a separate trip, but Wal-Wart Customer Service takes the bill, so here we are!
Hmmm... you realize you do not have to get the latches, hinges and paint here, since you were going to Mestros Hardware and The Paint Depot this Saturday anyway, but you think you will go check it out and see what might be available? Well, no latches or hinges to suit you, but as you saunter through the paint aisles, you discover a whole pallet of Premium Satin Latex with a sign prominently posted...
75% Off - Today Only!
Wow! Now you are able to get the paint here, you save enough on paint to pay for the boat rental while at the cabin and you no longer have to go to Fran's Grocery, The Paint Depot and the Water Office! The time savings you cached means you can leave for the cabin an hour-and-a-half earlier on Saturday! Oh Happy Days!
You are now back at home (think:"context")...
Opps! It took a little longer to get the gullywumps (you did pick them up, didn't you?), but when you produce the gullywumps from the sack (whew!) and tell of how your mastermind planning (milk it, baby, milk it!) was the very paragon of organization! She rolls her eyes and walks away, munching gullywumps. Later you relate making your "killing" on the paint, it was serendipitous, to be sure, but her response is only an impish,
"Uh huh, sounds to me like you just got lucky," thrown over her shoulder, one eye hidden by her shoulder-length honey brown hair.
You think to yourself,
"Perhaps, it would be advisable to not "milk it" so boldly next time, Eh, Professor Einstein?"
The wood floor creaks familiarly as you make your way to your computer...
"Oh well, what's next?"
Next is... a quick view of the flat-screen monitor and re-filter the "contexts" for @Home since you are "at home." Some mouse clicks and you pick up the phone to call Fred. Right, that's done. Another mouse click. You consider what is left...
TaskContextGet latches and hinges... @Errands, @Mestros Hardware, @Wal-WartSend ticket request confirmations back to TicketMaster...@Online, @HomePlan next Elks agenda with key members...@Email, @Online,@Home
Great! The time has come to log into TicketMaster to confirm the deal for those first-balcony tickets to the "Chicago: Let's Do it Again Tour" concert next Friday! Yeah! Love that Chicago sound! (click) Done! Next!
TaskContextGet latches and hinges... @Errands, @Mestros Hardware, @Wal-WartPlan next Elks agenda with key members...@Email, @Online,@Home
A little early for the group, but you log onto the "Official Elks Chatroom" site anyway and see that BernieB and Chilton are logged in too! You say to yourself,
"Just the guys I need to talk to! Bummer! Yep, those two are at it again! Always harassing each other about drag boats."
You don't even have to read the previous lines since you know that BernieB ALWAYS howls about how the methane-powered "flat-bottoms" are so much more fun cause they last longer and Chilton has undoubtedly broached his forte of alcohol-fueled hydros being such a "rush" when they roar by the stands!
"Enough of this!" comes out of your mouth before you have time to stop! More sedateley, you command,
"Time to break in and make a decision about where we want to have our next BBQ chicken cook-off?
Some well-chosen phrases about the discounts for Elks Members and Dean's Rentals gets the bid! Now, you make some remark about how the paddle-boat races are your fav and the conflagration ensues, but you sign-off just as the words sizzle in bold-face type from BernieB,
"... Oh yeah! My grandmother paddling her canoe could...."
Nope, you are not going to listen to this, besides Chilton is sure to say something about the "flat-boats" being passed by BernieB's "grandmother!" They'll never miss you. Click and done!
Ahhh! You lean back in your chair, your fingers interlocked behind your head. Smiling, you look at the screen...
TaskContextGet latches and hinges... @Errands, @Mestros Hardware, @Wal-Wart
Everything but this last ToDo to do on Saturday and it is only 7:43pm! You think to yourself... My Life Organized! What a feeling! <snicker, snicker!>
For the intrepid who read the whole thing, I hope you can see how applying the "context" attribute to any system/product of task management will have a significant impact on the time consumed by working your plan. I never even thought of the concept until I discovered it in December of '06 when I won MLO in a DC drawing. I only used the whole software for about two weeks when I became so frustrated and angry at MLO for trying to "take over" that I disdained it for its lack of intuitiveness (I was conditioned for calendars) and deleted it from my drive. Banished until a few days ago when I began to rethink my organization (rather, lack thereof), but the nugget of wisdom for me was adopting "contexts" into my MLO, GTD, AAO, etc. The truth is that I was the one who was trying to "take over" from MLO and once I have learned to do it, MLO has served me well, at least the last three days. ;) Time will tell.
In closing, I will say that the way MLO implements "Contexts" works for me very well (so far). Maybe it will work for you too, but do not even think of trying MLO unless you are willing to ride shotgun and let your "secretary" do the driving. :Thmbsup:
DisclaimerAlthough I am quoting Steven Avery on his thread, I have written not just to Steven, since I can only address a modicum of his wish-list, but to anyone/everyone who can benefit from my wrestling match with My Life Organized and my courtship with Agenda At Once, but I do not think he will be offended by my hitch-hiking. :)
Thank you, Mr. Avery!
Steven Avery:
Hi Folks,
Tomos, I don't mind integration with another program (e.g. Sunbird) .. I simply do not want to have to get involved with Outlook and .pst files without a compelling reason. Overall I would really like to consider InfoQube as a tool, however if the calender and scheduling integration requires Outlook for functionality that is a difficulty for that app.
Great info Codetrucker. I am playing with Agenda At Once and it seems to be well-designed for what I am looking for. The filter system allows multi-filters of categories and assigned by and can be saved, and that is great for overlay calendar printout ! (The basic issue is to to take the groupings structures from ToDo and bring them over to calendar overlays without too much effort.)
The calendar aspect of printouts are a bit blah, the straight linear list, seems to be a problem for most ToDo programs to give you a nice calendar-stylee week or monthly printout (I will check the Agenda forums for possible enhancements or exports) however the linear printout options can be sufficient. Back in 2008 I had gotten frustrated by a rudimentary bug "cannot modify a read-only dataset". However he is an attentive developer and time to get back into more use. I have yet to see another program that builds in that degree of "To-Do to Scheduling" sophistication and attentiveness.
As for MLO, I enjoy my life disorganized, so that is a dissonance of sorts. All I want to know is .. oh, yes there is a conference or concert or meeting tonite.. or all three .. oh yes, I also have a couple of other things to get done quickly. Good enuf .. I have moved away from any type of GTD mentality.
Thanks for the heads-up, I will try to give more reports on Agenda At Once. In the old days I liked all-purpose PIMs for their strong contact management, now that I use Linkman as my general PIM that is far less an issue, although I may try the AAO contact stuff, strange the default way that it views contacts, does it switch to rows when you have more data ?
Deozaan, nice alt suggestion with Active Desktop Calendar. Clearly it has the view/printout thing very nice, the main lack in many of the above. The data layers are comparable in some ways to categories in Agenda At Once, I like the multiple selection screen shot (can you keep that as a saved filter ?). I am not sure if it has something comparable to the assignees of AAO, a great feature if you are defacto keeping calendars for more than one person in one database. This event is for these three people's calendar, this one is for me only. Share away. This is like the old Calendar Creator but with much more PIM feature, modernization and heft in structure. I would not be surprised if ADC is one of the leaders where the metaphor centers more on the calendar, yet the ToDo is fine. However I doubt that you have sub-tasks, a bit of a lack if you are doing heavy-duty ToDo stuff, but not a dealbreaker for what I am looking for now. (If I get into project style ToDo, like software development stuff, I would probably offload that to ToDoList anyway, since for me it is not calendar stuff anyway.)
If you are looking for calendar metaphor as the center, Rainlendar and Calendarscope and Sunbird look like real worthy programs .. however ADC seems to be stronger in that ToDo category and grouping area that I am considering as vital to flexible use.
=================
On the Lifehacker article and comments most of the comments are in the clouds. Rainlender is one of the leaders.
Five Best Calendar Applications
http://lifehacker.com/5048189/five-best-calendar-applications#viewcomments
However a couple of the folks mention Essential PIM and Exstora and CalendarScope and Sunbird and Active Desktop Calendar and Outlook. Interesting.
A lot of sync stuff with e.g Rainlendar with GCal. Note, I have not checked the distinction between Sunbird and Lighting (which goes with Thunderbird).
Note though that while there is a bit about overlays (sharing calendars) there is very little that relates to my request to combine strong ToDo categories and groups with calendar overlay flexible printouts.
Right now I have Agenda At Once as the main contender (limited calendar printing notwithstanding) with real consideration for Active Desktop Calendar.
======================
Shalom,
Steven Avery
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