How do you manage projects using PocketInformant?

[Phillip Dyson]

I'm have a tough time deciding how to manage projects within PI.

I've wittled it down to two options.

Option 1:
Create a category called Project.
Create one highlevel task for each project and assign the above category.
Then use links to associate other sub-tasks, appointments, contacts, and files.
Example here (http://www.dkeener.com/keenstuff/tasks.html).

This one is good because it provides me with a central point for each project. And since there is no way to see all PIM objects in a single view, The links view give access to those and files. (Unfortunately no PhatNotes. :( )

Option 2:
Create a category for every project. Then every associated task, appointment, and contact gets assigned the appropriate category.
Example here (http://www.stanford.edu/~aylin/blog/2005/05/how-i-use-pocket-informant-to.html).

This one is good because you can filter by a single project at a time. Again though you can't see all object types in a single view.



So what do you do or what do find works best for you?

[Phillip Dyson]

Anybody?

[Jon Westfall]

Multiple categories might work best for this approach, since categories are free for the using. Example below:

Categories: ProjectA, ProjectB, Call, E-mail, Meeting

Meeting w/ Client for ProjectA: ProjectA, Meeting categories
Email w/ Client for ProjectA: ProjectA, E-Mail, Categories

Meeting w/ Client for ProjectB: ProjectB, Meeting categories.

Now filter by meetings and you get the two meetings above, filter by ProjectA and you get all ProjectA related activities.

[chefz]

I've been reading some very interesting posts on time management and Pocket PC's in this forum (http://www.davidco.com/forum/search.php?searchid=17684&pp=25&page=3) based off of the book "Getting Things Done" - which I also highly recommend! But even just browsing the forum was very informative. :)

[Kowalski]

i dont use PI to manage my projects, i prefer ADBidealibrary.
this program has a treeview structure, simple and powerfull UI. it has ability to create a task from selection and link outlook tasks.

using multiple categories is no good for me, because i have to make a category for each project, and this makes task view realy crowded. i like to have simple and fewer categories.

[Phillip Dyson]

Thanks for the link chefz. I'll probably spend several hours sifting through that one.

I'm also reading GTD. Its a great book. Eventhough I'm only on page 35 it feels less theoretical then Covey's 7 habits. Which I'm sure is great in its own way.

I think Outlook at work answered my own question. I was trying to organize all my tasks and categories just sort of fell out.

[buzzard]

I've been reading some very interesting posts on time management and Pocket PC's in this forum (http://www.davidco.com/forum/search.php?searchid=17684&pp=25&page=3) based off of the book "Getting Things Done" - which I also highly recommend! But even just browsing the forum was very informative. :)
chefz, thanks for the link. I regularly read GTD websites and didn't know that there was a forum available.

[Phillip Dyson]

i dont use PI to manage my projects, i prefer ADBidealibrary.
this program has a treeview structure, simple and powerfull UI. it has ability to create a task from selection and link outlook tasks.

using multiple categories is no good for me, because i have to make a category for each project, and this makes task view realy crowded. i like to have simple and fewer categories.

I was thinking that myself at first. But to me the best solution is something that can follow me from PDA to desktop. The other day when I was trying to organize all of my tasks at work, I just started to create categories without even thinking.

Links are great in PI but the fact that I either lose them on sync or have to redo them in Outlook (and vice versa) seems to defeat the whole ease of use that David is writing about.

To be honest my tasks are all in chaos right now while I'm trying to figure out the best way. Perhaps when I reach the end of GTD, I'll have it all figured out.