[chandler-users] User reports

[Mimi Yin]

Thanks Rick and Gregg for your reports! I'm sure I'll have more  
questions once I've had a chance to digest this. :) Mimi

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Rick Rawson <rer1 at cornell.edu>
> Date: March 14, 2008 1:44:01 PM PDT
> To: Chandler users <chandler-users at osafoundation.org>
> Subject: [chandler-users] how I use Chandler
> Reply-To: Chandler users <chandler-users at osafoundation.org>
>
> Mimi,
>
> Some notes about how I use Chandler. WARNING: this will be about as  
> interesting as describing how I make toast in the morning, unless  
> you're a Chandler principle who's keenly invested in such details.
>
> -- Review TODAY
>          ** any tasks/events not finished TODAY are moved to a  
> future date (usually tomorrow).
>
>          ** review TODAY's events/tasks and change their status to  
> DONE. (The psychological impact is not trivial.)
>
> -- Plan for TOMORROW
>          ** stamp all tasks that are relevant to TOMORROW as events  
> marked with tomorrow's date, but without associated times, so they  
> appear at the top of my calendar for TOMORROW'S date. Now,  
> everything I have to do TOMORROW appears ON the calendar. Then, I  
> figure out WHEN I'm going to accomplish all of the listed tasks,  
> blocking out time on my calendar as I work through my list of  
> tasks. This involves nothing more than inputting times in the  
> detail area of each "timeless" event. When individual tasks take  
> too little time to qualify as events, but are nevertheless  
> important, they will be lumped together into one event, with the  
> details area documenting the specific little tasks. The point is  
> that everything I have to do is identified with a block of time.  
> Being able to stamp items as both tasks and events facilitates this  
> process.
>
>          ** simultaneously, review TOMORROW'S events and tasks,  
> evaluate whether or not I can actually get done what I have  
> planned, potentially move some items to a different day, and then  
> change the status of remaining items to NOW. Everything else is  
> tagged as LATER or DONE. I now have my plan for tomorrow and I go  
> home.
>
> -- Plan for the NEXT WEEK (or weeks)
>          ** Periodically, look ahead in my calendar to discern  
> whether there are upcoming events for which I need to develop a  
> task list now, so I don't get caught unprepared. Chandler allows me  
> to quickly brainstorm a task list for those future events. "/t  
> newTask <enter>" is all it takes...one after the other. They all  
> end up in the NOW section. Then I can go to Task view where I'll  
> see a list of all those tasks and optionally set a tickler and/or a  
> calendar date. Very fast. And not just a to-do list. It's a list  
> with reminders and, potentially, time blocked off on my calendar.
>
> -- I use the detail area to retain information about what needs to  
> be done in reference to specific events and tasks. This nearly  
> makes a mini-project out of a task or event, where the event name  
> is the project name, and the detail area contains all the sub-tasks  
> that comprise that project. Often, I add entries into the detail  
> area while I'm doing something else and a detail about a particular  
> event pops into my head. Chandler gives me a place to put that  
> detail and then I can forget about it. (This email is a good  
> example. I've been creating it piecemeal over many days.) As I work  
> on the sub-tasks (details) for a project (event), I can check off  
> each of the sub-tasks in the detail area (by writing DONE after  
> each sub-task). This is not a subversion of the Triage list. See  
> P.S., below, for an example of a "mini-project."
>
> -- My colleague has her own collection, to which I subscribe. As  
> her supervisor, I keep track of what she has planned (in a rather  
> hands-off way). The number of details that we must manage  
> collaboratively is very large and it usually takes two of us to  
> remember every one of them. If a new task occurs to me, or if I  
> need to delegate a task to her, I create a new task in her  
> collection or, alternatively, update one of her tasks, stamp it as  
> an email, and click SEND. She is thereby notified that I've edited  
> a task/event. It took a little doing (practice), but we finally  
> figured out how useful UPDATE is.
>
> -- When I receive an email in Thunderbird that requires future  
> action on my part, I copy the email to my Chandler Mail folder in  
> TB, then SYNC Chandler. I find the email in Chandler, stamp it as a  
> task or event as appropriate, set a tickler, and then forget about  
> it (until later, of course). The task/event that I just created  
> contains the text of the email I received, information that is  
> usually germane to the task. Everything's in one place.
>
> -- Each screen (All, Mail, Tasks, Calendar) maintains its own  
> window configurations and, in my hands, each is different.  
> Calendar, for example uses a narrow details area, while Mail uses a  
> wide detail area. This is one of those features that is easy to  
> take for granted but is really important. Sort of like shoelaces.
>
> -- Personally, I prefer working with software that lets me work the  
> way I want to work. Such software provides me with tools that have  
> sufficient flexibility that I can construct my own environment.  
> IMO, Chandler does this better than, say Google Calendar. This is,  
> perhaps, a reflection of the limitations of the browser (web-based)  
> environment and the inherent flexibility of the desktop.
>
> -- Setting ticklers is essential and I set one for every event/ 
> task. Ticklers are preferable to having to constantly look at a  
> long list of items in the LATER section, every day, to be sure I've  
> not forgotten something important. For example, a tentative event  
> was put on my calendar one month in the future. The tickler was set  
> 15 days ahead of that date, to remind me to check with my  
> administrative assistant to see if the event had been confirmed.  
> When the tickler date arrived, Chandler set off an alarm AND moved  
> the event to NOW, even though the event would not occur for another  
> 15 days. Chandler did my remembering for me. All I have to do now  
> is remember to set the tickler! :)
>
>
> Rick
>
>
> P.S. -- example of a mini-project
>
> The event ("Edit curriculum documents") appears on my calendar for  
> Tuesday, 1:00-5:00pm. The details area contains two kinds of  
> information: (1) a list of items that I need to be sure to check in  
> every document and (2) a list of the document names so that I can  
> make a note when I have finished editing each document. This  
> ensures that every document gets a thorough treatment AND answers  
> the question, "How am I doing? Did I miss any documents?" In this  
> example, Raffy has not been addressed, yet.
>
> Project (event name): Edit curriculum documents
> Sub-Tasks (details area):
> 	For each document check the following:
> 		-- change date at top of case
> 		-- match "Other Activities" with current schedule
> 		-- check that all references are current
> 		-- check that the list of resource people is still relevant
> 		-- check last year's Guide and your copies of cases for possible  
> updates
> 		-- delete ! from abnormal data in all the documents
>
> 	Documents
> 		-- Max (DONE)
> 		-- Raffy
> 		-- Dream Street (DONE)
> 		-- Toby (DONE)
>
>
>
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> chandler-users at osafoundation.org
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Begin forwarded message:

> From: "Gregg Zupcsics" <zupcsics at earthlink.net>
> Date: March 12, 2008 7:01:13 PM PDT
> To: "'Mimi Yin'" <mimi at osafoundation.org>, "'Chandler users'"  
> <chandler-users at osafoundation.org>
> Subject: RE: [chandler-users] Chandler - one user's usage scenario
>
>
> hi,
>
> Thanks for your reply, and the info.
>
> +May I ask how many collections you have and what you've defined them
> + around? People? Projects? Areas of Life like Home and Work?
> + Organizations?
>
> Sure, I hope it helps. For what it's worth, here's my usage  
> scenario...
>
> In my case, there are multiple main areas of work, and several  
> areas of
> personal life.  A recent sample:
>
> - <Technology company> (lead engineer):  3 main projects, with several
> significant sub projects and/or collections of other info under each
> - <Side business #1> (Consulting): a variable number of clients/ 
> projects -
> typically in the range of 1 - 5.
> - <Side business #2>: typically 2 - 10 projects/clients at any  
> given time,
> with sub projects/collections under each
> - <Volunteer organization #1>: 1 - 3 projects / collections at any  
> given
> time
> - House & home projects: 3 - 10 projects or other collections at  
> any given
> time.
> - Personal goals & events: Annual, Quarterly, monthly, this week, etc.
> (again with start and end dates, and reminders)
> - Hobbies & recreation: 3 main areas, in some cases with sub projects
> - Relationship related: Shared vacations, shared projects, etc. ...
>
> (Sometimes I collect all of the personal categories/collections  
> within a
> "Personal" heading)
>
> Note that in many cases, this results in items within a collection,  
> which is
> logically within another collection.
>
> Within each collection, I have tasks (with start and end dates and
> reminders, notes, contacts, and other documents (spreadsheets, maps,
> drawings, receipts, etc.. Rich content storage is not the most  
> important for
> me though, as I can store these in the file system if needed.)
>
> I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have questions or  
> would like
> more info.
>
> best regards,
> Gregg
>

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