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TheGriff_2 |
What do you mean "big rock"? I think you're trying to bring Covey into GTD. ;-)
If something must be done today it should have a date to make it so...otherwise all the rocks are the same when it comes to GTD. |
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TheGriff_2 |
Posted by Proximo:
Toodledo is powerful and still my application of choice, but it's not designed for GTD. You can make it work, but many of us get frustrated when core GTD activities are either too complicated with Toodledo or just can't be done. ... Toodledo is great and powerful. It can be used to accomplish many areas of your GTD system in a Digital environment, but it's simply not designed to do everything you would expect and hope for and we should not expect it too. If I had a Mac, I would have more choices for a total GTD Application solution. Most Toodledo users who want to use it for GTD simply wish they had the setup that other GTD Applications offer. ... Griff makes some very good points that I think everyone needs to hear and although I do my share of wishing Toodledo would do things I expect of a GTD System, the bottom line is this. Toodledo can work in many ways for GTD but it's NOT a Digital GTD System and therefore we can't expect everything to work as it should. Thank you for the kind words Proximo. I know my biggest frustration with Toodledo is that my saved searches don't work on the iPhone. I also know that is in the top 2 of requests on Jake's request list. My second frustration is that sort/filters don't sort by "view", also on his todo list. I know you have mentioned in various posts some of the limitations that bother you. Would you be willing to list your top ten frustrations with Toodledo's use as a GTD system here? Perhaps we can help you find a way to do what it is you wish Toodledo did or change your thinking on some of those frustrations. |
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TheGriff_2 |
I prefer the way sorting is now which appears to be in order of most used. Makes picking the two most used tags quite simple. I guess I'm saying if you put alphabetic sort in, please make it an option.
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TheGriff_2 |
This is an opinion post more than a post about how Toodledo can or cannot be used to implement a GTD system.
It always amazes me how many in these forums complain that Toodledo is not a GTD system and that one has to 'hack' things together to make it work for use with GTD. The fact of the matter is there is really no GTD system; one has to develop their own. Short of the few products endorsed by David Allen there is nothing out there that is a quick, fits for everybody system. The fact that we each have to create our own system is taught right in the book by David himself. He also cautions people to not get too bogged down in the details of their systems, yet day after day I see people here doing just that. Toodledo is an excellent program (website and iPhone) for each of us to implement our own systems that makes no pretense of being a one size fits all system for everyone. The fact is each of us has to design a system that works for us while being careful not to over design. One must keep in mind that in David's eyes a GTD system could be as simple as a stack of index cards. All any GTD system has to do is keep track of next actions by context, projects and some reference lists such as Waiting and Someday/Maybe. Consider that in David's world a project could be tracked on an index card that lists the desired outcome and a list of actions necessary to complete the project and you can't help but realize that functionality is completely native to Toodledo. Whether you choose to implement projects as subtasks, my preferred method or folders, you will find it works very well to track exactly what David describes. So where's the disconnect? It's in the assertion that the system should some how automagically tell you what to work on or automatically promote the next task in your project to Next Action status. The idea that a GTD system has to keep track of task dependencies and display tasks in a GANTT chart is completely ludicrous and definitely not supported by the GTD book. It is important to separate the functions a personal time management system must include from those a system for corporate project tracking must have. In the index card system described above you would have to manually re-write the next action from your project card to your next action card for the appropriate context once you complete a task. Is it really that hard to change a few flags within Toodledo to promote next actions given what's needed in a paper system? David believes each and every one of us should make a determination of what to do in the moment based on context (what's available), time and energy. The task "call Mom about Christmas" is just as relevant in the system as "call Microsoft about spooler crashes" when I'm sitting at my phone at work. Why? Because I have to make a decision between those two tasks based on my time and energy. Let's say it's 4:50p and quitting time is in 10 minutes. The call to Microsoft will take a good hour and the call to Mom will take 5 minutes. Anything else I can do with the tools available will take more than the ten minutes I have or more concentration than I feel I can muster. The choice is simple...I call Mom. The point is that a GTD system is not meant to think for you, it's meant to store information so you can free your brain for decisions and creativity. Toodledo more than fills that role. I urge you to really think about this post before complaining that Toodledo can't do this or that and that lacking somehow invalidates its use as a GTD system. Step back to consider how complex a system you're trying to build and I'm pretty sure you'll find yourself at odds with what is taught in the book. I apologize for the harshness of this post. I've tired of seeing daily posts about how there is no perfect GTD system and how people are just making due with Toodledo. How much time are you spending trying to find "the perfect GTD system" that could be better spent doing the tasks already stored in Toodledo? There is no GTD system, you must make it yourself. Background: I've been kicking around the time management arena for the past 17 years after attending my first Franklin time management course. I'd been searching for "the perfect system" from the time I switched from paper to the original Palm Pilot until I discovered Toodledo. Toodledo is both simple enough and so highly customizeable that I've finally stopped missing paper. A large part of my successful implementation owes to trying to keep the system as simple as possible. There are certainly improvements that I'd like to see made but nothing so changing that I feel I've hacked Toodledo to work for me. I'm happy to answer both questions about how I use Toodledo and criticisms of this post. -Griff |
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TheGriff_2 |
Awesome! Thank you so much.
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TheGriff_2 |
Posted Jan 18, 2010 in: WOW your losing ALOT of customers (fix the user interface)
Score: 0
Wow...I stand corrected...I can't believe there's not a help article about how to add tasks. That said, I'm still annoyed with the attitude of the original poster...just no need for that sort of sarcasm when complaining about a FREE service.
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TheGriff_2 |
Posted Jan 18, 2010 in: Forum: Mark All Read Takes You Back To Areas
Score: 0
Would be great if when you click 'Mark All Read' it'd take you back to the list of discussion areas.
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TheGriff_2 |
Posted Jan 18, 2010 in: WOW your losing ALOT of customers (fix the user interface)
Score: 1
Just curious...how exactly is it you have managed to run an IT shop and not think to click 'Help' in the side bar? Obviously you completely missed 'Add Task' in the upper right of the screen and you of course didn't bother to read about what keyboard shortcuts are available.
Sure, the UI can use some work but how about you back off the sarcasm and be a bit more positive in your critique. I might also suggest that if your not smart enough to determine how something works you RTFM. This message was edited Jan 18, 2010. |
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TheGriff_2 |
Posted Jan 18, 2010 in: Please vote on this feature (Multiple Contexts per Task)
Score: 0
Well to be honest we're acting like our votes actually count. ;-)
I'll state again though that it DOES impact me if it's worked on before something that I would personally use. You have every right to vote against the enhanced iPhone functionality I desire. The hope is that Toodledo basis the development on our votes, but that may not be true. |
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TheGriff_2 |
I don't really use the Next Action status. I do use Planning, Hold and Active for Projects (_Projects context). I could see using Postponed if a project was delayed but honestly I'd just use Hold.
I use Waiting and Someday all the time for their obvious purposes. Instead of deleting tasks I set them as Cancelled and then check them off. Reference is an odd one. I have been using it for quick notes about individual clients. Notes might contain VPN info, server names, etc. I've long wanted the task list to better integrate with Notes and my hope is that one day these "Reference" tasks will wind up in the notes area. |
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TheGriff_2 |
Posted Jan 16, 2010 in: suggestions for email reports
Score: 0
Pardon my ignorance...what are e-mail reports? I know I must be missing something here...
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TheGriff_2 |
Posted Jan 16, 2010 in: iPhone doesn't sort folders the same as the website
Score: 0
Just noticed the iPhone is not sorting folders in the same way as I'm seeing on-line.
I've added an underscore to the folders that I use in my Notes section. On the website when I do an alphabetical sort those folders fall to the bottom (as I want). On the iPhone those folders are sorted to the top. Hoping Toodledo can "fix" this or suggest a non alphanumeric character I can use that will sort the same way on both platforms. Thanks! |
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TheGriff_2 |
Posted Jan 16, 2010 in: Please vote on this feature (Multiple Contexts per Task)
Score: 1
I respectfully disagree with Proximo. Multiple contexts are NOT part of GTD, each task should have only one context. Contexts are meant to be an indicator of resources required, not areas of focus.
DA suggests a GTD system can be as simple as several sheets of paper, using different sheets for different contexts. Would you actually put one task on multiple sheets in a paper system? Think of the nightmare that would be a weekly review. You'd have the same task checked off on one sheet and not others. The key, IMO, is saved searches that help you to filter down to what you have available at the time. When I was in the corporate world I had an @Work context that covered my desk and the computer sitting there. I also had an @ServerRoom context for things I could only do there. Now perhaps you might want a context of @WorkPC to clearly define that space. I used filters in the program I used at the time to show me @Work, @Phone, @Web and @Anywhere while I was at my desk. Sure I have to decide that "Call(ing) Mom about Christmas" might not be the best use of my time at 2pm but that is exactly what DA promotes in GTD. The lists are NOT supposed to be your brain and your brain is NOT supposed to store the information on your lists. Obviously adding this feature would not impact me negatively other than if it were worked on prior to a feature I feel is more important. My purpose in writing this post is to get people to step back and think about the complexity of their systems. I suffered for a long time with making my systems WAY too complex and unusable. I assert that Toodledo on the web is actually the perfect system for GTD and close to it on the iPhone (just needs saved searches). Toodledo (GTD) is not meant to make decisions for you. With that I cast my -1 vote. No offense intended to anyone in this thread...I just see some falling into the same traps I have. |
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TheGriff_2 |
Bryant...I think you can do something similar in toodledo today.
I use folders for my different clients...you could do the same for the different Companies. Then use Tags to represent the store number. Finally you use a task to represent a job description and subtasks to show tasks within that job. |
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TheGriff_2 |
Posted Jan 16, 2010 in: Please vote on this feature (Saved Views Update)
Score: 0
+1 from me but not before saved searches are implemented on the iPhone. I like the idea of calling them "lists"...was just thinking that after reading something about switching from RTM.
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TheGriff_2 |
Posted Jan 16, 2010 in: iPhone app updated with context/tag filters
Score: 0
I have to agree having these filters is better than not however I'd like to know how I can get saved searches higher up on the list of one thousand. ;-)
This new functionality really has me craving the ability to save these filter choices as searches on the iPhone. So if I'm out I may just show @Errands, Anywhere and @Phone. |
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TheGriff_2 |
Posted Dec 21, 2009 in: Automatic Next Action/Complete Tasks in Order
Score: 0
Can't be done at current but I believe it is on the request list.
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TheGriff_2 |
When setting the repeat switch to Advanced Options and type in Every 2 weeks. In fact my "Change sheets" is set with exactly that repeat.
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TheGriff_2 |
I don't believe Toodledo has ANYTHING to do with the Notebook app on the iPhone. I purchased mine from a company called Appigo. You would have to take that issue up with them.
I'd also appreciate it if you'd consider your tone when posting your next message. As an occasional developer myself I can assure you when I see any post with "I would like to see this problem immediately corrected" it drops to the bottom of my Toodledo list. |
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TheGriff_2 |
Posted Dec 16, 2009 in: Google checkout not working?
Score: 0
Rebate? What rebate?
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