To do list
To do list
(OP)
Does any one have any software or techniques for managing their To Do List.
Thanks
Peter
Thanks
Peter
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RE: To do list
TTFN
RE: To do list
corus
RE: To do list
I now use my Palm Pilot.
RE: To do list
So who needs computers anyway? Can you take you computer grocery shopping? Sorry, I forgot this is 2005.
RE: To do list
If you do, though, any system will work so the simplest tool will be sufficient.
I have an Access database of to do items and delete any item I completed. It's already close to being overcomplicated.
RE: To do list
It isn't perfect, but it was $20 and does what I think I want it to do. I would like an engineering consortium to come up with the "ultimate" to-do list software.
RE: To do list
My real to do list moves from my head (when there are only a few things and they are easy to keep track of) to a list in excel (for work), to my pocket diary (if its personal tasks I need to do on the move e.g. buy stamps, visit bank) or to a piece of paper taped to the fridge (for tasks at home).
Unfortunately a worrying number of tasks on the fridge are also overdue and they really did need doing!
RE: To do list
If there's a task I'm afraid will slip from my mind (or I've already caught slipping from my mind), I put it on the task list of my email program. At least then I have to look at it on a daily basis, since I have occasion to check my calendar at least once a day.
Hg
Eng-Tips guidelines: FAQ731-376
RE: To do list
Chris
Sr. Mechanical Designer, CAD
SolidWorks 05 SP3.1 / PDMWorks 05
ctopher's home site (updated 06-21-05)
FAQ559-1100
FAQ559-716
RE: To do list
Can I have a copy of the access program.
I am trying to write something myself in access or visualbasic.net.
Peter
RE: To do list
A piece of paper would do exactly the same for you, but I write like a pig, I hate wasting paper, having it lying around where everyone can see it, losing it... reasons enough to go digital.
RE: To do list
RE: To do list
I my self use outlook that syncs with my IPAQ that I carry on my hip.
Go Mechanical Engineering
Tobalcane
RE: To do list
Rhodia makes a variety of highly visible, spiral notepads. Lovely orange cover with black logo/cover art and 5mm x 5mm engineering grid paper inside. In my inspection bag I keep a 21cmx21cm pad for field drawings. Currently there are NO field drawings in it. There are 7 song 'maps' and a recipe for Armenian date cookies.
For to do lists I have a very small (72mm x 72mm) pad that fits in a bag or pants pocket. It contains everything from "load plaintiff case photos to server" to my grocery list (dates, powdered sugar).
I used to keep this stuff electronically until I lost my Blackberry. I found that there is something very satifying about scratching through an item on my TO DO list. And my cell phone has taken over the other tasks I used to assign to the Blackberry.
"If you are going to walk on thin ice, you might as well dance!"
RE: To do list
"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers."
Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943.
Have you read FAQ731-376 to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?
RE: To do list
Great (sick) minds think alike.
I also will pencil in the unplanned tasks so I can cross them off.
Actually, it does help with preparing things like timesheets and progress reports, so it's not THAT sick...
tg
RE: To do list
I use a combination of both.
'New School' - For the 'standard' things that occur in every project I have an excel spreadsheet that lists every project and the things to do in a project - then dates are added when a new project is added to the sheet.
'Old School’ - For the little jobs & things to do, I have a list in the back of my A4 ring bound note book. When something new comes up that has to be actioned I will add it to the back of the book, and when an item has been actioned a tick will be added next to it.
I have found this is perfectly adequate for most eventualities.
RE: To do list
RE: To do list
My real to-do is a couple sheets of paper folded up and tucked in next to the PDA.
I have news about Outlook. I tried the Archive function but stopped using it because finding and retrieving stuff from the archives is a pain. So I just let everything accumulate in the inbox, where it remained searchable and accessible, etc. There is just one small problem: Outlook keeps _everything_ that's not archived in one file. Okay, that's not the problem. The problem is that the file has a 2Gbyte limit. Okay, that's not the problem. The problem is that Outlook gives you no warning that you are approaching the limit, until it is too late. One day, Outlook says your file is too big, and you had better delete some things, but when you try to delete anything, you get a dialog box that your file is too big, etc. Microsoft allows you to download a tool that truncates the file, but that effectively empties the file, despite its new size of 1.8Gb. So, the end result is that one fine day, Outlook loses _everything_, and there's not a damn thing you can do about it. Well, there's one thing you can do; find the file and delete it and start over with an empty one. The file is hidden in some way so that Windows Explorer can't see it. ZtreeWin can see it.
Aside from that, Outlook is a halfway decent program...
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: To do list
There is a way to manage your outlook data in separate .pst files based on , for example, the year the messages were sent/received, etc.
It involves a MANUAL archiving method by selecting all messages from that year and exporting to another .pst file that could be named, say, Mike2005.
I have successfully done this, and if I can find my written procedure, I'll post it.
The key is to turn OFF Autoarchive within every folder and stick to manual archiving.
This is not possible with Outlook Express.
You will effectively set up a "current" Outlook data file, and you can have access to the previous data files.
Warning - be prepared to spend 3-4 hrs doing this, but I thought it was well worth it.
Each .pst file has a 2 GB limit, but there is (I think) no limit on the amount of .pst files you can use.
tg
RE: To do list
Or are all the folders stored in one big file?
Hg
Eng-Tips guidelines: FAQ731-376
RE: To do list
I look forwared to trainguy's technique.
In the meantime, it's been reported that MS has promised that in some unnamed future version of OL, the file size limit will be 33TB, or something like that. For current versions, you're still screwed if you get caught by this colossal programming gaffe.
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: To do list
So, I create a new folder under Personal Folders, and move all the stuff in the Inbox and Sent I want to keep into that.
Bear in mind that you'll need to back up the Personal Folders, in case of a hard drive crash.
Cheers
Greg Locock
Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.
RE: To do list
Another option I like very much is print and put in binder. 20 years later the mail is still there, no need for intermediate conversions to a different file type, migrations to a different computer...
Carving in marble would be even better, but nothing we write in this 21st century appears to be worth filing for another 2000 years.
RE: To do list
RE: To do list
Note - I'm using Outlook 2000 SP3
First, ensure that all your folders & subfolders have Autoarchive disabled (right click on sub-folder, properties - autoarchive - UNCHECK "clean out items older than..."
On folder list, highlight the root folder (use the main folder)
File/ archive
Select "archive this folder and all sub-folders"
Highlight the folder you want archived in the small window
Input a date before which you want to remove messages
Make sure to include a check on "include items with DO NOT ARCHIVE"
Browse to a location where you'll want to place your new archive file
Input a file name, e.g. Mike_2004_emails.pst
Hit OK, and the messages will be moved. You can actually see them being moved to a folder
(on the folder list) called archive file (the default name, which has nothing to do with the
pst file name on your drive. (On my machine, 100 Mb got extrached in approx. 15 minutes,
so be patient)
The next step:
File/open/personal folders file
Select the new file (Mike_2004_emails.pst)
It will now appear as another root folder on Outlook, but with the name (Archive file)
Right click on the root folder in folder list ("Archive file")
Properties / advanced
Enter name (overwrite "Archive file" text)
This must be done from the ADVANCED window, not the properties window.
OK
OK
A good idea now is to rename your current pst file to e.g. Mike - current,
so it appears different than your other "archive files"
Typically, you can close your "old data" file by right-clicking on it and select "close"
and you only access the older data files when you need them.
The next step is to be done at night, before leaving:
Highlight your current data file.
Rightclick - properties - advanced - Compact Now
THis could take 1-2 hrs, but this is required in order to shrink your current data
file size on the hard drive to its new expected (smaller) size, oddly this is required.
If you do not do this last step, the size on the hard drive won't change even
though you've extracted a ton of data.
The correct file size can be checked within Outlook using:
Right click on your folder
properties/folder size.
This should match the actual size on your hard drive.
Important note:
If you look at the "date modified" of one of your archive files on the hard drive, it will not read
(Dec 2004), it will read today's date, or the date at which you last opened that pst file in Outlook.
I think this is related to journal entries, but your email messages will only be from that period so don't worry about it
Another annoyance, you may have to reset your visible fields (sent / received / date etc)
when opening the "old data" file.
Got to get back to work...
tg