DonationCoder.com Software > The Getting Organized Experiment of 2006
GOE - GETTING ORGANIZED EXPERIMENT - DAY 1 ASSIGNMENT
app103:
I plan on adding a few more things to my ToDo List program today in preparation for this. Gave it some thought and I want to be able to load it in my system tray at startup with a specific list of what needs to be done, so I'll have to add a tray icon, ability to minimize to tray and some command line parameters for the shortcut in the startup folder....might add drag & drop to open a file too, if I can figure out how to do that. (that's some stuff on my ToDo List for today)
I already have my Instant Boss there...and my old 3M Post-It Software Notes Professional.
Current professional version of the Post-It software can be downloaded here (trial) or purchased here...older very basic free version can be downloaded here. The Professional version is fantastic and a great value for everything they included in it. If you can afford it, buy the professional version instead of using the free one.
I am one of those that needs more than 1 special place. My desk is fine, but it's shared, so I need an alternate for when that spot is occupied by my daughter, which I kind of have.
Being the creative type, and knowing that ideas often hit at inconvenient times/places, I try to maintain supplies needed for recording those spontaneous 'brain farts' in every room of the house...even my bathroom has a small hard cover spiral notebook with ribbon through the spirals that hangs on a hook on the wall, with a pen attached to another ribbon so it won't disappear. My 'personal space' is whatever space I am occupying at the moment.
One thought I was having about this experiment...cost. We shouldn't need to have a second job to pay for getting things done...it will give us less time to get things done.
I have an aversion to spending any money that I don't have to on anything, not that I really have any to spend, any way. I am pretty famous for being a very frugal tightwad packrat, and making due with what I have or what I can get for free. If I hit the lottery tomorrow that wouldn't change...it's part of who I am and who I have always been, and something I am very proud of...I waste nothing. It's almost a sort of 'religion' with me. Not many people can live a life of 'luxury' below the poverty level, like I can.
Keeping that in mind, I will try to offer alternatives to spending any money when I see that someone makes a good suggestion that may involve a purchase of some sort, just in case there are others here that are like me and either don't want to spend money or can't. It would be nice if when everyone makes suggestions that involve a purchase if you can take a few extra seconds and try to think of a free alternative...make my job of tightwadding and thinking up alternatives just a little easier.
Mouser's suggestion of index cards is a very good one that I agree with.
My free alternative to that: junk mail envelopes
Save them. Not only can you write on the blank side, but you can put things in them too. Like writing the grocery list on it and putting your coupons that go with it inside, as an example. Take a fat magic marker and cross out any address junk that may appear on the reverse side.
Most items of junk mail you receive will give you 2 envelopes to use for free...the business reply one inside, and the one the mail came in. Reusing them for something will save you money, is good for the environment, and good for you emotionally, too, since your attitude towards junk mail will change a little. You'll be much happier when you go to the mailbox with the attitude of "oh, goodie! free envelopes!" rather than 'oh, no! more useless junk to throw away".
Another thought...
I am in a unique position here. I don't really have anything that I have to do...only things I want to do. Part of getting things done involves prioritizing...and part of that is knowing what things don't really have to be done, at all. Sometimes you think you have to do something but the only person that will be affected negatively if you don't is yourself, and the effects are so minor that the stress of forcing yourself to do them outweighs the benefits and you'd be better off not doing them, at all. Or maybe it doesn't outweigh the benefits...but it's still not something you have to do. So make sure it goes on the right list...not have to, but want to.
Like my craft corner...it's a big mess. But I know where everything is. Cleaning it up would be very time consuming, likely to make me very cranky and hard to live with while doing it, and carries a strong risk of a serious back injury to my already injured back. It would take days...or maybe weeks, and the only person really affected by whether I do it or not is myself...and I can live with the negative reactions of guests that see it, I don't really care what people think (the only opinions about me that really count are my own), and my family is used to it and doesn't care either. So that isn't something I have to do. And honestly speaking, it's not something I want to do either...so I don't.
jgpaiva:
I was now thinking i need something that can make my schedule for me. But not something that will make me a full day schedule (since i tend to procastinate, i would leave the stuff that were meant to do during the morning, to the end of the afternoon). I need something where i can put the tasks i need to do, their priority and the time they take, and then, on the moment i am at home, i input it how much time i have before i have to leave (or go dinner or something), and it gives me a list of what to do.
Anyone knows any similar software?
nudone:
good suggestions about reusing stuff, app. i've been collecting scraps of paper that would otherwise be thrown away - they just get used again for notes and stuff so it seems crazy to keep buying brand new pads. you can, of course, reuse card boxes for file/folder containers - if the box it too big then just cut it down. if such things aren't the right pastel shade of whatever it's meant to be this month then you'll just have to pop down to Ikea and buy something instead.
your position isn't so unique app. i really, really don't have to do any of the tasks (or should i say projects) i've set myself - that's why they haven't been done. year after year goes by and it always seems that NEXT year will be the year i get things done.
so, what is the difference about this time around? probably that i've been made aware that most things don't get done because other impulse distractions take precedence. does it matter if i do or do not get these 'projects' done? not one jot - the universe won't notice either way. so why bother? i'll let you fill in your own raison d'être.
patteo:
I'm using todoList (TDL) http://www.codeproject.com/tools/ToDoList2.asp and I'm completely in awe with all the things it can do. The timing of tasks is great.
-urlwolf (September 04, 2006, 04:42 AM)
--- End quote ---
I have read your great mini-review and was intrique that you were an ex-MLO evangelist.
I currently use MLO and one of things you mentioned that was a disadvantage in ToDoList is the lack of a PPC version. This lack of PPC support may be a deal-breaker for me
Have you then found a way to at least read an exported file ToDoList and also found a way to enter or change tasks on the go on the PPC and then perhaps through an alternative mechanism synchronized it with the ToDoList on the desktop/laptop.
Do you know if there is there any intention to develop a PPC version for ToDoList ?
Update:
I did a search on the codeproject and there appears to be something for the PPC to view and edit the xml file although there appears to not be an update.
http://www.codeproject.com/netcf/TodoListPPC.asp?df=100&forumid=161540&select=1512642#xx1512642xx
Oops, I guess I should have posted this reply in the other thread at
https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=5057.msg35213#msg35213
thomthowolf:
OK, I am done here. I have cleared off my desk at work and at home, and I have finally selected my set of tools. :D
I will be going the software route, though I also plan to print out useful items and carry them with me. In an earlier life I was an actor, and any professional actor will tell you that you must NEVER be more than an arms reach from your resume and head shot. As I transition to writing, I have adapted that to NEVER be more than an arm's length from paper and pen. I have finally accomplished that by printing a calendar or todo list on the back of something I have already printed on, and I fold that into thirds (like a letter about to be put into an envelope) and stick it into my pocket.
After having tried just about every existing to do list manager (no, really, I think I got to them all) I have finally decided to use Evernote.
Here's how I set it up:
1. Produce keyword category "@ context"
2. Make subcategories (@ call, @ work, @ computer, @ home, etc.)
3. Right-mouse click on each category and activate keyword filter using name of category. For example, "@ work" category is set to automatically assign any note with the phrase "@ work" to the @work auto category.
(To assign "@ call", I entered the words "@ call,@ phone,@ telephone" so that I can use any of those terms to assign the @ call category.)
How to use it
Collect all your to do items ( I use the single to do template rather than lists)
as you review the list, add keywords to indicate what project they belong to, and where they must (or can) be done. Just type the keywords anywhere in the note
If you like, you can also add words indicating priority, or urgency, or even energy required. (I also have a category for "@easy" and for "@hard". )
The auto keyword category system will automatically categorize the note into "@ computer and @ work". Need items to complete while "at the computer"? Click on the @ computer category line, and all notes with the @ computer text will appear. Obviously, it's easy to select >1 category if required.
What really makes this work for me is the intersection panel. During the collection phase I develope a practical list of all my "next actions" and I can quickly limit it to where I am and even to how much energy I think it will take, which gives me a menu to select how I will spend the next 15 or 20 minutes of my available time.
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