Discussion Forum > Software to help with DIT?
DS:
The Tasks function in MS Outlook is sufficiently flexible to be used for DIT with a bit of thought. It's not really necessary to buy any other software for the purpose if you have Outlook.
Avoid using the Snooze function though!
The Tasks function in MS Outlook is sufficiently flexible to be used for DIT with a bit of thought. It's not really necessary to buy any other software for the purpose if you have Outlook.
Avoid using the Snooze function though!
February 25, 2008 |
Mark Forster
Mark Forster
You might want to look at Michael Linenberger's "Total Workday Control" book. This explains how to use Outlook for GTD, but in a funny way I think he's adapted GTD in a way that's closer to DIT with daily closed lists. The important thing is though, he shows the nuts and bolts techniques for adapting the Outlook setup, which is really helpful. No other software required.
Alternatively you could look at:
http://www.mylifeorganized.net/
Again this was originally designed for GTD, but it's basically an outliner list (master list) with a filterable To-Do list which can show you your tasks any which way you like basically.
Hope this helps.
Alternatively you could look at:
http://www.mylifeorganized.net/
Again this was originally designed for GTD, but it's basically an outliner list (master list) with a filterable To-Do list which can show you your tasks any which way you like basically.
Hope this helps.
March 10, 2008 |
Andrew Redman
Andrew Redman
Since the OP mentioned OmniFocus, he seems to use a Macintosh, not Windows, while the answers are about windows programs.
ds, in case you're still reading this thread:
There are a lot of task management programs for Mac OS X, most of the well-known new ones are GTD-oriented (iGTD, OmniFocus, Task Paper, Midnight Inbox et al.).
You might have a look at Things from culturedcode.com, which is not strictly a GTD app and quite flexible. It has received a lot of coverage on the web although it's still in beta.
There are a lot other to-do management programs, from simple free ones (Check Off, DoIt) to more feature-complete ones (EasyTask Manager, What To Do) or full-blown PIMs (Entourage, Daylite).
There is also Apple's own iCal. Here is an interesting article about what you can do with Mac OS 10.5's built-in apps Mail.app and iCal:
http://dennisbest.org/simple_leopard_gtd
(The article is about GTD, but one can easily adapt the setup for other work styles.)
For iCal, there are also small apps that display your tasks from the menu bar (MenuCalendarClock, iClock, HighPriority) or via Dashboard (DoBeDo) or speed up task creation (Zoodo).
Other people use outlining apps like Circus Ponies Notebook (which uses the metaphor of a spiral-bound notebook) or Mori for task management.
There are also online offerings like Toodledo, Remember The Milk or Backpack which are platform- and location-independent (given you have web access). Remember The Milk can be used offline via Google Gears, for Backpack there is an offline companion app called Packrat.
Given that DIT is meant to be simple, you should probably go for a simple solution here as well. If you have Leopard (I don't), Mail.app and iCal might be the best solution.
ds, in case you're still reading this thread:
There are a lot of task management programs for Mac OS X, most of the well-known new ones are GTD-oriented (iGTD, OmniFocus, Task Paper, Midnight Inbox et al.).
You might have a look at Things from culturedcode.com, which is not strictly a GTD app and quite flexible. It has received a lot of coverage on the web although it's still in beta.
There are a lot other to-do management programs, from simple free ones (Check Off, DoIt) to more feature-complete ones (EasyTask Manager, What To Do) or full-blown PIMs (Entourage, Daylite).
There is also Apple's own iCal. Here is an interesting article about what you can do with Mac OS 10.5's built-in apps Mail.app and iCal:
http://dennisbest.org/simple_leopard_gtd
(The article is about GTD, but one can easily adapt the setup for other work styles.)
For iCal, there are also small apps that display your tasks from the menu bar (MenuCalendarClock, iClock, HighPriority) or via Dashboard (DoBeDo) or speed up task creation (Zoodo).
Other people use outlining apps like Circus Ponies Notebook (which uses the metaphor of a spiral-bound notebook) or Mori for task management.
There are also online offerings like Toodledo, Remember The Milk or Backpack which are platform- and location-independent (given you have web access). Remember The Milk can be used offline via Google Gears, for Backpack there is an offline companion app called Packrat.
Given that DIT is meant to be simple, you should probably go for a simple solution here as well. If you have Leopard (I don't), Mail.app and iCal might be the best solution.
April 26, 2008 |
Alex W.
Alex W.
I might add that I use Outlook at work and Backpack for personal stuff, and have tried almost all of the programs I mentioned. But I'm not far enough into DIT yet to give a definitive recommedation.
It also depends on how far you can tolerate to be tied to your computer (which is the case with most specialized apps, they either have no sync capability at all or several problems with sync).
I cannot comment at all on the print capabilities of the programs, in case you want to print your list for portable use.
It also depends on how far you can tolerate to be tied to your computer (which is the case with most specialized apps, they either have no sync capability at all or several problems with sync).
I cannot comment at all on the print capabilities of the programs, in case you want to print your list for portable use.
April 26, 2008 |
Alex W.
Alex W.
Another update:
Although I mentioned Mori as an example, I do not recommend it at all. If you're interested in this kind of program, take a look at Journler instead.
See this thread (again, about GTD, but easily adaptable) for a possible implementation: http://journler.com/community/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3283
What's nice about this kind of programs is that you can keep a lot of supporting material (from standalone notes to entire websites) inside the same app. More flexible that pure task managers.
A downside, however is that they regularly lack a way of syncing to a portable device.
Although I mentioned Mori as an example, I do not recommend it at all. If you're interested in this kind of program, take a look at Journler instead.
See this thread (again, about GTD, but easily adaptable) for a possible implementation: http://journler.com/community/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3283
What's nice about this kind of programs is that you can keep a lot of supporting material (from standalone notes to entire websites) inside the same app. More flexible that pure task managers.
A downside, however is that they regularly lack a way of syncing to a portable device.
May 1, 2008 |
Alex W.
Alex W.
Any task manager would be sufficient. I apply DIT with Getting Things Done, so I use a great program called Tudumo. (www.tudumo.com) Essentially I have my action lists by context like in a standard GTD setup, however I use Tudumo to tag all my actions for the day. Then I can show only those actions, so essentially I am working off a closed list that has different contexts.
May 7, 2008 |
Tyler
Tyler
I'm a Mac user, and I started using Things (mentioned by Alex W. above) at the same time I adopted a DIT approach. (I was switching from Life Balance, and before that from Palm Desktop.) I like Things a lot, and found it very easy to use for implementing the principles of DIT. (Apparently the makers are working on iPhone syncing, though that hasn't happened yet.)
June 23, 2008 |
Martin
Martin
I find that I think better on the keyboard than on paper (for organizing). I've had a look at OmniFocus which seems very GTD oriented. Any thoughts or suggestions?
ds