Post Category → Productivity

Stacks, MacSparky Style

I was watching Apple’s demonstration of the “Stacks” that will be released in Leopard and realized, “Hey, I’m already doing that!” I’m sure this is nothing new for many of you but using a series of smart (and not so smart) folders I already have my desktop set up in a way that drops downloads and other files into my desktop “inbox” for later sorting and action. Below is my desktop.

ishot-1.jpg


On the right side of my desktop there is an inbox, which contains a “download”, “media” and a few other subfolders that I find handy along with an “Outbox” which is where I put things that need to be sent off into the yonder. The “files” icon actually represents an encrypted sparse-image drive that I keep confidential work files in (I have a separate one not shown for personal confidential items) and the “Cabinet” is just a shortcut to my parsed set of document folders. I boosted this idea largely from an excellent series of screencasts by Ethan Schoonover on the Kinkless Desktop. Still and all, doesn’t that make me smart for adopting it?

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New Links

I’ve added a few new links to the margin and thought I’d mention them in a post.
MacWingNut.com
My friend Darren Rolfe is just like me, a semi-contributor to Surfbits (and about to be a little more involved there) and running a new Mac Blog. I really enjoy reading what is going on in Darren’s world and hope you will too.

zen habits

ZenHabits.net
I discovered this blog about 2 weeks ago and it has quickly risen to the top of My RSS feed. If there is time to just read one web site a day, it is this one. Leo writes on productivity, parenthood, and good living everyday. His site really strikes a chord with me and I hope some you enjoy it as well.

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MacSparky Goes Lo-Tech

moleskine 2

About three weeks ago I gave up on my windows based task system and switched over entirely to iGTD. I keep my laptop with me just about everywhere and this seems to work out. One issue, however, is the inability to keep my task list on my Treo 650. I must sync the smart phone with my office windows lawyer-type program (TimeMatters) and I’ve found out (the hard way) that syncing a Treo to two different computers can be a very bad thing for data integrity.
Anyway, quite often during the course of my day someone will call, email or walk in my office and tell me of something that will require further action or processing by me at a later time. Stopping what I’m doing and making an iGTD entry is very counterproductive and I needed a better solution. I played around with a few options. I’ve tried typing tasks into my Treo’s task list item but it takes several button presses and the thumbpad doesn’t lend itself to spontaneous entry. The best solution I found is to simply scratch a note when I’m away from the Mac and update iGTD next time I’m working in it. So I’ve been finding myself with this daily pocket full of business cards, sticky pads, napkins, receipts and other flotsam and jetsam that I’ve written a reminder on. (Did anyone know that you can actually write on a corn chip with a felt tip pen?) When I have time I then empty out my pockets and either take care of the action right their or process it into iGTD.
I was in the book store doing a bit of shopping I saw a display of pretty Moleskine notebooks and had one of those “Aha!” moments. $9.95 later I’m the proud owner of a pocket size Moleskine that has now replaced the scraps of paper and chips in my pocket. So far I’m just making a daily list and scratching things off when they find themselves into iGTD. I did, however, leave the first 10 pages blank in case I decide to go crazy and use one of the many interesting Molekine hacks all over the net like here, here, and here. I’ve only been using it a few days but so far it is working out nicely. In the pocket I’m keeping a $20 bill, a few cards, and a shrunken printout of the iGTD database. I do need to get a pen that will fit in my pocket though. Maybe I’ll find one that attaches to my keyring.
Any other Moleskine users out there? Drop me a note and tell me how you are using yours. As a side note, I also bought the pocket music transcription book. I’m writing a bit of music again and thought it would be handy.

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Review – OmniPlan

OmniPlan

I recorded the below review and you can listen to it on Surfbits #110.
I have been intrigued with the idea of using project management software in my law practice for several years now. As a litigation and transactional attorney at any one time I have about 30 different cases and I am responsible for along with delegating work to several staff members and paralegals. Having the ability to organize these projects in a way to allow for strategic thinking and keep me honest as the weeks and months tick by would be invaluable. I explored this in my old PC days with Microsoft Project but it felt to me something like trying to hammer a thumbtack with a sledgehammer. Likewise I tried to use a custom template in Microsoft Excel but that also didn’t work for me. Enter OmniPlan [http://www.omnigroup.com/applications/omniplan/].
I must admit I am a big fan of the OmniGroup. Having been pulled in by OmniOutliner and OmniGraffle, I became curious to see if OmniPlan, Omni’s project management software, could give me that planning edge I’ve been searching for. Put simply, it does.
OmniPlan is a project management application for the rest of us. It allows you to manage project elements, staff, and resources through the use Gantt charts. Like all of the Omni Group programs, the user interface is very well thought out with intelligent use of inspectors. This allows you to keep your project as simple, or complex, as your needs require. This also allows you to begin working with it in just a few hours.
The workflow for setting up a plan is really simple. You type in to the outline all of steps for a particular project along with the time required for each task and then set them out to the planned dates. During this process you can also set up dependencies where one task does not begin until another task ends. There is a lot of customization with these dependencies allowing you to set prioritization or even relating them to material supplies. You can also create these dependencies with your mouse by just dragging an arrow from one task to another. As you go through this process, OmniPlan builds an elegant Gantt chart graphically showing each task. Once you get your plan in place, you can then track your actual time and costs and compare them as you move through a project.
In addition to managing the critical path and milestones, OmniPlan also tracks the costs and resources attached to a project staff member, material, equipment, and groups. Using the built in calendar you can then apportion the availability of these resources or move areas of responsibility. You can even associate an hourly cost to these resources to keep track of your costs.
The program also checks to make sure you don’t goof anything up. For instance if I schedule someone to make lemonade on Monday but don’t schedule anyone to purchase lemons until Tuesday, OmniPlan will let me know ahead of time.
OmniPlan offers a variety of options to share this data. It imports Microsoft Project files as well as a few other formats. Likewise, it exports to Microsoft Project, iCal, HTML, OmniOutliner, OmniGraffle, pdf, and a few other image formats. You won’t have any trouble sharing your plan with others. I use my MacBook Pro in a windows office and export my OmniPlans to pdf for the various staff members that need access.
OmniPlan is the first project planning program I’ve tried that I can actually use productively. Its friendly interface and simplicity of use make it perfect for my needs. I spent about 2 hours going through the manual and I have already got that time back in better project management. I am admittedly using this in a small office environment but I do not see why this program cannot scale up for more resource intensive projects. There are other project planning programs for the Mac out there and some of them have been around longer and are, presumably, more feature rich. However, OmniPlan was so easy and quick for me to adopt into my bag of tricks that I don’t intent to stop using it any time in the near future.
This application could be of help to you whether you are constructing a building or a pine wood derby car and just about everything in between. If you are considering adding project planning software to your arsenal, I encourage you to visit the Omni Group website and watch the online video demonstrations or even download the demo for yourself. At $150 for a license it is a significant investment but well worth it in my mind.

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Palm Folio and the Radio Shack WP-2.. A New (old) Idea

Radio Shack WP-2


I was looking at the new Palm Folio  and it reminded me of my old beloved Radio Shack WP-2 that got me through lawschool.  In many ways it was the best laptop I ever used.  I didn’t need to plug it in.  It ran about 20 hours on a pair of AA batteries.  I beat the hell out of it and it just chugged right along for 3 years.  I could fill it with a text file of notes and then go back to my apartment and dump it into my Atari ST Computer and I was good to go.  Granted I love my MacBook Pro but it would be really nice to have an updated WP-2.  Perhaps something with a simple screen and a decent keyboard that does raw text files and has an SD card slot in it for <$150.  Something you could pull out on a train or plane or anywhere else with no fear whatsoever.  I actually still have my WP-2.  I’ve been letting my kids play with it for several years as a toy.  They’ve beat it up more than I ever did and it still looks fine.  Maybe I’ll put some batteries in it this weekend and see what happens.

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Review – OmniGraffle

OmniGraffle

 

As usual, this review was recorded and written for my friend Tim at www.surfbits.com and released with Surfbits episode 108

 

I have a confession. I diagram everything. I think it has something to do with the way my brain is wired but I am always pulling out a sketch pad whether I’m trying to understand some complex client problem or simply explain to my kids the difference between a phillips and a slotted screwdriver. An offshoot to this diagram fixation is that I like to include them with just about anything I write or present. As a trial lawyer, I have personal experience that a few good diagrams can help the jurrors and judges understand exactly what it is I am trying to explain.

 

It is needless to say that when switching over to Apple one concern I had was “how am I going to continue making brilliant diagrams?” I knew with the OS X interface there had to be a program to meet my needs and indeed I have found it in OmniGraffle by the Omni Group.

 

OmniGraffle is a diagramming application used to create simple diagrams, flow charts, and illustrations. What I really like about this program is the way it combines powerful diagramming tools with a simple interface. It has a streamlined set of inspectors that, after spending some time learning, make it very easy to alter just about every parameter of my diagrams. It also has a unique set of “Palettes” which are pre-defined objects you can simply drag and drop right onto your diagram. Out of the box, OmniGraffle has multiple sets of Palettes but there are even more on the Omni Group website. These include such things as logic flow, idea mapping, website planning, GUI planning, architecture, and a host of other subjects. There are also several websites with many professional looking user created sets of palettes. I found www.graffletopia.com particularly good and it is now on my RSS feed. In addition to the palettes, there is also a robust set of drawing tools. One nice feature is the ability to double-click on a tool in OmniGraffle Pro’s tool palette and it stays active for multiple creations.

 

When creating complex diagrams you can create them in multiple layers which is really helpful to me when explaining complex concepts. Related to layers, are canvases, which are somewhat akin to separate pages for related diagrams. With OmniGraffle Pro you get an unlimited number of these which allows you to go crazy with related diagrams.

 

OmniGraffle takes full advantage of Mac OS X’s Quartz graphics layer. This allows for antialiasing, smooth scaling, transparent drop shadowing, and other features. It also allows for Bézier shapes although the Bézier tool is not particularly easy to control with any degree of accuracy, but it is fine for the diagram work I do.

 

Often I make adjustments or additions to my charts as I get closer to presenting them or exporting them to Keynote. With my old software this was always a pain because then you would have to re-align all of the arrows and lines attaching everything. This is not the case with OmniGraffle. The program “magnetizes” the lines and arrows to stick to the object you attach them too. I can drag boxes and objects around the screen and everything stays attached unless, of course, I tell them to unstick. It also has tools to allow me to adjust precisely where on the object these lines and arrows stick.

 

An interesting feature is the ability to create hotlinks on the diagrams themselves. This allows me to click an object on a diagram that brings up a separate object. I use this to link pictures and pdf’s that relate to my work files but it also could link websites, video, music and just about anything else on your Mac. If this isn’t enough it works with OmniOutliner allowing me to import an outline as a framework for a diagram.

 

Once your masterpiece is completed, OmniGraffle can output to PDF, TIFF, PNG, JPEG, EPS, HTML image map, SVG, PICT vector, Photoshop and BMP bitmap documents. With OmniGraffle Pro, there is better support to import and export to Microsoft Visio. The Pro version also gives you the ability to merge objects and other advanced tools.

 

I spent several weeks using this program and strongly recommend taking advantage of OmniGroup’s support tutorial and sample documents as well as some of the great user created webcasts to help you learn to take full advantage of this powerful program. Realistically it took me about 3 hours to really get my arms around it. Time well spent in my case.

 

OmniGraffle costs $79.95 and OmniGraffle Pro costs $149.95. These programs aren’t cheap but if you have a need of a diagraming application, they are well worth the investment. You can download a free trial at the company’s website and try them for yourself. I am so pleased with this program. It is well designed and easy to use, once you get over the moderate learning curve. Best of all, my diagrams have never looked better or more convincing.

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Review – iGTD

iGTD Logo

 

As usual – this review originally appeared on the Surfbits review cast here. You can also hear my dulcet tones on the Reviewcast Podcast #106.

 

While I pride myself on being organized, I’ve never really been much for the latest organizational fads. Go into any bookstore and you will be tripping over books about how to be more productive. So it was with this mindset that I began reading about David Allen’s “Getting Things Done.” It seems to be a bit of a Mac phenomenon with many Mac users and bloggers extolling the virtues of this system. I wasn’t so sure about GTD but I knew I needed a better way of tracking my to-do list items than what I was getting out of iCal so I began playing with some of the software.

 

I first tried the Kinkless Scripts for OmniOutliner Pro. http://kinkless.com/. While this is an impressive bit of work, it didn’t really grab me and I wasn’t all that excited about running my task lists through OmniOutliner. I decided to fire up version tracker and stumbled into iGTD. http://bargiel.home.pl/iGTD/ This application hooked me as soon as I started it up. iGTD is a task manager on steroids developed as “Donationware” by Bartek Bargiel, a 26 year old programmer in Poland who’s name I probably just butchered. What Bartek has done here is one of the reasons I love my Mac. It doesn’t require a multimillion-dollar budget or a hip marketing campaign to make great software on the Mac. With OS X, a guy on the other side of the planet working out of his apartment can make an outstanding application that makes my life easier. I’ve spent many years trying to get organized on the PC and programs like iGTD simply don’t happen there.

iGTD Pic 1

Anyway, on its most basic level iGTD allows you to attach a project to each task such as finances, classes, work projects, or even “obtain world peace.” This is all fine and dandy but not particularly new. However, iGTD also allows you to categorize each task by context. For instance I have contexts for email, telephone, sitting at my Mac, shopping, and a variety of other places. Now having placed my task lists into iGTD with these two criteria I can easily sort and conquer. For instance, I’m at the phone talking to an insurance agent to handle a financial task but I have a few more minutes. I can click iGTD to give me a list of all phone tasks. Hey look at that! I’m supposed to make an appointment with the Dalai Lama to figure out that world peace thing. I’ll call him right now. I don’t profess to be a GTD guru, but sorting your tasks by project and context can really help.

 

What really makes iGTD stand above the other Mac GTD applications is Bartek’s commitment to it. It seems like the program updates every few days. I’m wondering if this guy is getting any sleep. He has built in tags, address book links, .Mac synchronization (in beta), iCal synchronization and my two personal favorites, Quicksilver and MailTags 2.0 support. The Quicksilver support is fantastic allowing you to encode the entry along with project, context, priority, due date, and even a note. This allows me to drive a task into iGTD as fast as I can think of it. Enough to make my geeky head explode. If Quicksilver is not your thing, he has also programmed a menubar icon that allows you to drop a task in lickity split. The amazing thing is the feature set seems to grow on a daily basis.

iGTD Pic 2

 

iGTD is donationware. If you get hooked on this program, I strongly you send a few dollars Bartek’s way. I really want this guy to keep developing for the Mac. Another developer that I really like is The Omni Group. I’ve heard they are also working on a GTD application for the Mac and I will be interested to see that. However, iGTD sets the bar high, and its free. If your are even just curious about GTD or want to get your task list better organized I can confidently recommend iGTD.

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Review – MailTags and Act-On

MailTag 1

One of joys of being a switcher is getting to know Apple’s remarkable suite of built in software. After spending 20 years of scraping bloatware off PC computers it is quite a paradigm shift to find that not only am I keeping the built in Apple applications, I’m actually using them.
This of course includes Apple Mail. Like everyone else, I have too many email accounts. Apple Mail handles these accounts like a champ. I’m not, however, one of those guys that use my Email inbox as a “to-do” list. I like to keep it empty and my mail nicely filed. Unfortunately, between taking care of clients, volunteering in the community, helping my wife with her business, my new-found friends in the Mac community and several other commitments, it quickly became obvious to me that I needed to get better organized with the daily piles of email.
Enter MailTags
MailTags 2.0 is developed by Indev and can be found at http://www.indev.ca/MailTags.html. It is an add-on application for Apple Mail that shows up under the preferences window of Apple Mail.
Picture – MailTag Preference.png
The official release is version 1.2. This review is of Release Candidate 1 of version 2.0 which includes a great deal more functionality. The key to MailTags is, well, Tags. Like so many enlightened Mac applications this allows you to give an item multiple searchable labels. For example, I’m getting ready to spend a few afternoons in my daughter’s 5th grade class explaining how the judicial system works and helping them in their own mock trial (Did Humpty Dumpty fall because of an accident? Or was it Murder?) So with this project I’ve got a series of emails from the bar association, a friendly attorney, and my daughter’s teacher. I’m tagging these emails as “Humpty Dumpty”. But I’m also tagging some of them as “School”, “Bar”, “Legal”, and “Samantha” depending on source and context. Using MailTags (or spotlight) I can easily search out this collection or any portion of it. Put simply MailTags brings order out of the chaos that is my email archives.
Version 2.0 adds IMAP functionality with a special header or in clear text format so that any IMAP client can read and interpret the tags. Not only does this allow you to keep your tags for your various IMAP clients, it also allows you to search with Spotlight and send the tags with your outgoing mail. The program even detects when you change your tags and automatically updates it among your several clients. So with this update MailTags jumps off your local computer and into all of your IMAP mail applications.
In addition to the IMAP upgrade, version 2.0 makes several “workflow” improvements. Emails can be a launching pad for projects and you can create task list items and iCal events. For instance, when I received the email from my daughter’s teacher confirming the date of the Humpty Dumpty trial, I was able to create an iCal to-do item to write a keynote presentation and create an iCal calendar event for the presentation straight from the MailTags pane. This really ramps up the productivity and assures I won’t forget to do it later. As somebody who is constantly setting appointments and task list items from my email, this feature is worth the price of admission alone.
Speaking of the price of admission MailTags will cost $29.95 once version 2.0 is formally released which, from reading the web site, seems to be just about any day. In the meantime, while it remains in public beta, you can purchase a registration code for $25. Whether its $25 or $30, it is a good value in my opinion and I already bought my license.
Speed Things Up with Mail Act-On
Indev has a companion plug-in called “Act-On” . Indev accurately calls this program “inbox triage”. Act-On allows you to trigger Apple Mail rules with keystrokes. This allows me to quickly work through my in-box moving email to its appropriate archive. Act-On is open source but donations are requested.
I am also using this product. I have created several archive mailboxes in Apple Mail. They include subjects such as Business, Friends, Family, Legal and Mac related. I also have folders for mail that requires a more detailed response. That is it. With MailTags I don’t need complicated nested subfolders. With Act-On I’ve made a series of shortcuts that allow me, with 2 keystrokes, to file each email in its proper archive. The Act-On shortcuts are ridiculously easy to program, even for a non-programming arts major such as myself. I even put in a pleasant little “ding” when it completes each action which gives me a very satisfactory, yet somewhat irrational, smile.
Using these two programs I have a new, streamlined, way of taming my inbox. I read it, tag it, make to-do’s or calendar entries, and mark it for further reply or archive it with just a few keystrokes. Just like that. “Ding”. MailTags and Act-On supercharges Apple Mail. If you are having a daily battle with your inbox and can’t find anything a month later, I definitely recommend giving these programs a spin.
One last plug I’d like to put in for Apple Mail power users is an excellent website, Hawkwings. This is a site devoted solely to getting the most out of Apple Mail and really well done. If you are interested in more mail power tips, you should definitely take a look.

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