ForumsSearch
Search results for "Posted by Qrystal"
| Author | Message |
|---|---|
|
Qrystal |
Discipline is definitely not my strong suit, which is why I have so many issues with task management. Weekly review? EW! :P But I know it would help.
The Autofocus way of reviewing is that it is a part of scanning through to decide what tasks to do. If you go through the whole Closed List without doing any of them, and it's the first pass through it in that session, then all the items are marked for review. As far as rewriting goes, it does help to keep things fresh, but I'm not so sure the benefit is found within the actual rewriting. It may be more about the fact that stuff is crossed off of the old, stale part of the list, and readded (and even perhaps reformulated) in the new, alive part of the list. If an automated list is sorting itself by whether a task has had activity on it (which Toodledo can do), one wouldn't need to rewrite it at all, and would still be able to reap the benefits of 'refreshing' the list by taking small bites of big tasks, and doing it often, changing the context of the task by putting it next to other tasks that have recently had progress. The dividing line between the "Closed List" and the "Open List" is what I'm not sure how to emulate with Toodledo. Still thinking on that part. Also still struggling to get the system into my head, and my tasks off my list, so my head is free to get creative about this idea. Really appreciate the discussion on it, and am keen on seeing whether anyone else has more to add! |
|
Qrystal |
I've been having serious Task Management issues, despite the fact that Toodledo is such a wonderful tool and I'm proud to be a Pro user. My problem is that no matter how nice the interface or how nicely organized my tasks are, I always get to a point where I can't bear to look at my list at all. All my efforts to emphasize my tasks' importance backfire and make me not want to do ANYTHING.
So I've been reading about yet another way to manage my tasks and time, hoping that I can somehow get over the fear and overwhelm. This one is by Mark Forster (author of "Do It Tomorrow") and is called Autofocus, which alludes to the way the system seeks out what the mind is ready to focus on instead of forcing the mind to do things that drain all energy and enjoyment out of the tasks. The system has been in beta for several months and with several revisions, the latest of which is here: http://www.markforster.net/blog/2009/9/5/preliminary-instructions-for-autofocus-v-4.html One major difference between the latest version and the previous versions (none of which I was actually ready to try, despite my intrigue in how it worked) is that the latest looks like it will actually work digitally -- which means, perhaps I can use it to save my Toodledo list from my inability to face it! I just haven't quite figured out how, yet. I'll be working on it, but first I feel I need to start with paper, just to get used to how it works. So far, one of the major benefits of the system is that it keeps refreshing itself: ANY activity on a task allows you to check it off and add it again onto the end of the list, changing the mind's perception of the task by putting it adjacent to other things newly added to the list. In Toodledo, this can be modeled by simply sorting by last modification date and replacing the idea of "end of the list" (a limitation of paper) with "top of the list" (which may actually turn out to be more inspiring, and less likely to let new-but-urgent tasks fall to the wayside). I'm not sure what else will be involved in making Autofocus work in Toodledo, which is why I'm playing with it on paper first. I will report back after a few days or so! I just wanted to put the word out that there may be another way to deal with our neverending lists. Maybe together, we can come up with a way to marry Toodledo with Autofocus in a way that best makes use of Toodledo's strengths! (On that note, I bet it will be an advantage to be able to review items on the list in terms of their folders, etc., something that I'm afraid I'll find lacking in the paper version!) -Qrystal |
|
Qrystal |
Posted Sep 17, 2009 in: How do Toodledo developers use Toodledo?
Score: -1
Posted by Anders:
I keep planning to change my account login to my gmail address... maybe I'll do it eventually. Better put it on your To Do list! I know this really great online one called Toodledo.... ;) |
|
Qrystal |
There is only one reason I wish there were avatars here: to quickly scan through a list of posts to see when I replied last, or to note when a conversation is bouncing back between two people.
The former I can handle easily enough with a browser search for my own name, which highlights all instances. The latter I can usually tell from context. So it's not a big deal, but in case you ever reconsider, here's an additional thought to tack onto the idea: If avatars themselves tend to be too risqué, perhaps Gravatars would be a better choice: from what I've seen, these tend to be more mature and professional, because they are used in a variety of places. I think that you could also restrict displaying avatars if they are not rated for a general audience (I forget if they call it "PG" or "Everyone"). |
|
Qrystal |
Posted Jun 25, 2009 in: Use fields to do it your way - not TD's definition 4 field
Score: 0
This is a really interesting tip! I wish I could give you more than just one thumbs-up on it. :)
|
|
Qrystal |
Heya, it's been awhile since I've been here, but since I heard news of a forum update I decided it was about time I stop in for a visit. (And wow, I'm so pleased with how much has been improved since I was here last!) Cool thread; I'll play too.
Where do you live? Windsor, Ontario, Canada What do you do? I am currently finishing my grad degree in physics (my thesis is a mathematical exploration of quantum entanglement with relativistic boosts), intent on starting a business soon afterwards in which I tutor, write, and photograph, all as ways to inspire more people to appreciate physics. Where can I find you on the web? My kinda-rarely updated blog: Qrystal.name My often-updated twitter feed The haiku excerpts from my twitter feed ...and my facebook I use only for people I actually know. I would certainly become a fan of a Toodledo page if there was one, though! I've been here for quite a long time... since Oct 2007 maybe? Pro since March 25, 2008. I mostly use Toodledo for keeping track of the things I *want* to do (or will do Someday/Maybe). It's the place I do my GTD mind dump, and even where I process the tasks, but it's not where I keep my Active tasks. When I'm ready to move my tasks to Active status, I take them out of Toodledo and put them into LiquidPlanner (<-- referral link that tracks my recommendations) so I can judge whether I have time for them, or see when they'll be complete, or break them down into a series of steps and substeps. LiquidPlanner has two powerful ways to view tasks: one shows everything in priority sequence (with drag and drop reordering), and the other is organized into folders and subfolders and sub-sub-ad-infinitum. These aspects make LiquidPlanner great for project planning, and great for planning my day and my week too, but I still prefer Toodledo as the trusted system to enter ALL my ideas, thoughts, potential projects, and tasks that don't need to be scheduled quite yet. (However, now that Toodledo has more flexible alerts, this may change!) I wonder if the two systems I love could ever link up and work together... Last tidbit about me: I think I have a tendency to ramble, certainly when I get to writing on web forums anyways. Oops! :P This message was edited Jun 25, 2009. |
|
Qrystal |
I normally use Multi-Line format, but now that there's a quick switch button I'm considering the value of the Grid format.
One thing I was trying to do with it, though, is make a column really narrow so it only shows a little bit of the data. For example, I've made the Date Due column narrower than its contents, only showing the month and day and not the year. However, I can't do the same trick with the Priority column. I really only need to see 2 to know it's High priority, but I can't resize it to be narrower than the column title. Is this important enough to anyone else to request something to get around this? It's really just a little thing, in a view I seldom use. Anyways, just putting it out there as an oddity. If the Toodledo folks are tweaking anything else in the Grid view, this might be something else to look at. |
|
Qrystal |
Posted Dec 10, 2008 in: Change font size for editing notes?
Score: 0
I had that problem too in Chrome, but I think my workaround was just to ensure that the fixed-width font settings had a size of the same as the others. Go to the Wrench menu, select Options, click the Minor Tweaks tab, and go to the Font and Language settings to see if the sizes all make sense.
I have all of mine set to 16point, even though I'm pretty sure my entire browsing experience is actually about 12point. Not quite sure what that means, but everything looks absolutely fine, including the note field for tasks in Toodledo. |
|
Qrystal |
Beauty! Love 'em!
|
|
Qrystal |
Posted Dec 10, 2008 in: Toodledo better create Gmail gadget or else
Score: 0
The link to the iGoogle gadget:
http://www.toodledo.com/widget/google.php The Labs option is called "Add Any Gadget by URL". Enable it, then go to Settings -> Gadgets and paste the above link into place. |
|
Qrystal |
Posted Dec 10, 2008 in: Gmail has its own task manager
Score: 0
There is another Labs option called "Add Any Gadget by URL", and the iGoogle gadget link works:
http://www.toodledo.com/widget/google.php It doesn't really look very nice though, because the slim version has such a large font that it doesn't fit in the Gmail sidebar very well. If the font size was able to be adjusted though... this could be promising. Interaction the way the Gmail task list works would also be awesome, though the Firefox add-on fills in that gap nicely. |
|
Qrystal |
Or just cancel the repeating on the last iteration.
|
|
Qrystal |
If you're up for trying another tool for this, instead of hoping Toodledo will exceed its specifications, I found a beauty of a timeline-type tracker that has really been inspiring me to keep my priorities straight. It's called BubbleTimer: http://bubbletimer.com
It's only free for 14 days, and $20/year after that, but I haven't seen anything else comparable to it (unless you count the paper version of David Seah's Emergent Task Planner, that the BubbleTimer is based on). I love having an array of tools at my disposal, and each with its own unique purpose, but that's just me. I figure if something did it all, it wouldn't do everything as well as some dedicated tools. |
|
Qrystal |
I found a beauty of a project planner online, and free for individuals (maybe for small groups too, I forget): it's called LiquidPlanner.
There isn't a way to sync up stuff with Toodledo, but if you really need a solid yet flexible project planner, it is absolutely beautiful for that. I just keep my non-project tasks in Toodledo and I have scheduled time that I work on my major projects without thinking about any non-project tasks. |
|
Qrystal |
Posted Sep 10, 2008 in: Wish: skip one iteration of a repeat
Score: 0
Yeah, I do that too... put things off ad infinitum. I blame Remember the Milk for having a Postpone option! Heh. :P
|
|
Qrystal |
This is a known issue, as I remember seeing discussion about it elsewhere on the forums (sorry, I don't remember where).
At least you found the known workaround! |
|
Qrystal |
Posted by Josh:
Posted by Qrystal: Starring does increase the Importance ranking of any task by one point, and that could sometimes cause the task to go onto the Hotlist... I couldn't figure out how to do this. Can you give me a specific example? I was wrong. For some reason I was thinking that the Hotlist tasks are listed when Importance gets high enough, but that's not it at all. The Hotlist tasks are listed when the Account Settings option says they should be listed. I suppose that means, in the future, the star could be included in those options, and we can decide whether or not the star means it should be in the hotlist, or no. Hmm! I bet that the Hotlist will someday be able to be as configurable as a Saved Search.... ;) |
|
Qrystal |
AWESOME! That's the best news I've heard all day!
|
|
Qrystal |
Posted Aug 28, 2008 in: New message notification please
Score: 0
I do it the long way: I make sure I read every thread with unread posts, about every week or so. It takes awhile, but at least I don't miss anything...
|
|
Qrystal |
I wrote up a response to someone else asking about how to start out using Toodledo. The thread is here:
http://www.toodledo.com/forums/3/251/-1107/noob-needs.html Cheers! -Qrystal |