The Official Productivity and Organization Thread

Background info: I am not particularly happy about having to post this here because I personally believe that a topic as important as 'Productivity and Organization' is important enough to warrant it's own sub-forum if not a top level forum. The main reason nobody is willing to take a chance on this is because they believe productivity and organization is not something the majority of notebook users want to discuss. With a large percentage of business people and professionals switching to laptops and smartphones to become more effective on-the-go, I believe this subject is more important than it may appear.

With that being said, this is not the place to discuss that. The place for that discussion is HERE



On to the actual discussion...

Although I have always been computer literate, I have never been a computer guy and our desktop was inconveniently tucked away in the upstairs office. Since purchasing my first laptop back in January 2007, I have gained numerous benefits in several aspects of my life. Simply having easy access to the internet with information an arms length away has been invaluable in so many ways. It has increased my communication effectives as I can respond instantly to emails and stay connected to Messenger 24/7. As a creative person, having a laptop by my side most of the time allows me to capture many of the random ideas I have throughout the day that would otherwise be lost in distraction. With regards to business (which is the whole reason I purchased my first laptop) it has allowed me to work whenever and wherever I want which is a vast improvement over the formality of the computer desk. Additionally, I can bring my laptop to meetings, both social and professional. The everyday conveniences facilitated by a notebook is worth every penny you can invest in one and I would recommend one for anybody with a beating heart.

One thing to note is that like any good tool, it is only useful if you know how to use it! I personally feel like there are so many features, methods, and programs which could be extremely beneficial to me if I only knew they existed. My purpose with this thread is to share ideas and help each other discover new ways to improve our lives using our notebooks.

So, to get things started, I would like to ask everyone three things:

1) Do you see your notebook as a productivity tool or do you simply use it for gaming and web etc?
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2) Are you interested in learning new techniques to increase your productivity and organization? Is there anything specific you would like to learn?
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3) Tell us something that you do with your notebook that has increased your productivity and/or organization.
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I will start:

1) This is probably pretty obvious, but yes, I do. I don't play any games on my notebook so the only time wasting I do is multimedia applications, the rest is work.

2) I am definitely interested in learning new techniques. One thing that I would like to learn is to organize my files and folders more effeciently. I'm getting better now because I've had so many computers get disorganized because of sloppy filing habbits but I still scratch my head sometimes when I'm looking for something.

3) Since reading 'Getting Things Done', I have implemented many of the ideas presented by David Allen. Most notably, I have begun to keep "Next Action" lists which I have organized by "context". In order to organize these lists, I have inputed them into outlook tasks and used the categories feature to separate the different contexts. I have it sync'd with my pda so that I can access the list anytime, anywhere. Before I figured this out, I struggled with these lists trying to organize them with paper or MS Word. The list you see in the picture is a little small because I just started transferring items into outlook a couple days ago.




---- Edits ----

1) Made 3 questions easier to cut and paste

2) Updated 3 questions to provide more valuable information

 

I just heard about this on tv. I don't know much yet because I'm busy and could only scan the site, but it looks quite useful. Here is a quote from their website:

Check out www.airset.com if you want to find out more

 

I would actually be very interested in something like this. Though I'm not too sure it's significant enough to warrant it's own sub-forum, I'm sure it's worth a shot. I'll be keeping up-to-date on this and the sub-forum if it ever gets created.

I voted. =)

..and I threw in some input in regards to the questions asked in the original post:

1) Do you see your notebook as a productivity tool?
Of course! Though I can probably find ways to be just as productive with a pen and some paper, my notebook has provided convenience, something that has been invaluable to me for quite some time!

2) Are you interested in learning new techniques to increase your productivity and organization?
I consider myself to be an optimist, so I think it would be worth the time learning new techniques to increase (or fine-tune) my own productivity and organization.

3) Tell us something that you do with your notebook that has increased your productivity and/or organization.
Well, Microsoft Outlook has been great in keeping all of my emails (from different email accounts) in one place. Not to mention it's a great place to jot down what I need to do and when to do it and that has enabled me to allocate and manage my time a lot more efficiently.

Excel has been something I've been using often as well. With Excel, I have been able to track and manage expenditures, set caps/limits, and pretty much feel more in control of my finances.

 

you just heard about that on tv huh..

this whole thread sounds like an ad to me...

 

Come on man... I want the forum, but I'm not going to compromise my integrity to get one. I thought it was pretty convenient myself, but I didn't think I'd be called a liar because of it. The standing decision is an official productivity thread. If you still need proof, look below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FBM9tuAwbQ&feature=related

 

Did you create your own spreadsheets or an existing Excel spreadsheet? I'm going to have to get my finances a little more organized than the "receipts in a box" method that I currently use.

 

Used my own.

I also do the "receipts in a box" method as well but I occasionally take them out once a week to input them all into Excel. That way, I can use this to check against my own statement and/or manage a budget.

 

1) Do you see your notebook as a productivity tool?
- Hell yeah!!! how could i not live without my laptop, im still in college and theres papers and presentations abound. its a total needed tool for school

2) Are you interested in learning new techniques to increase your productivity and organization?
- there is life after ms office? i mean i use kickass plugins and stuff such as adobe presenter and crystal powerplugs for powerpoint but thats pretty much it, oh and custom fonts, haha thats how productive i am

3) Tell us something that you do with your notebook that has increased your productivity and/or organization.
- i know how to make awesome powerpoint presentations do photoshop and other stuff, because of my laptop my group and i have been consistently getting A's and 4.0 xD

 

1) Do you see your notebook as a productivity tool or do you simply use it for gaming and web etc?

In my case, I use my notebook for both. It depends on the time of the day. When I am tired and wornout, the laptop becomes a gaming (very low level) center. I can spend hours playing. On the other hand, when working, it is my lifesaver!

2) Are you interested in learning new techniques to increase your productivity and organization?

Yes, of course! But - and this qualification is important - I don't want to burden myself with picking up newer apps everyday. This does not mean that I am not on the look out for apps that make my life easier, but I am not obsessive about it. My motto is - Keep it simple and that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line!

) Tell us something that you do with your notebook that has increased your productivity and/or organization.

Being, among other things, a researcher and writer, I have used MS Notes profitably. The Office Suite (2007 version) is excellent for my use. I am on the lookout for a free personal accounting program. I also regularly synch my Palm mobile phone with my laptop and often use the connection between the two to use the Web as when internet connections are hard to come by. I am also working on developing my own peculiar way of integrating my work on the laoptop with 'cloud' options - such as Zoho and Google Docs (and their equivalents).

Cheers!

 

I do have an expenses app that came with the Palm OS software. I don't use it and if I did, I don't think I could sync it with excel. I'm trying not to get too attached to my pda because I want to upgrade to a smartphone soon (The HTC Touch Pro looks perfect for what I want). I'm not even sure where to start in order to organize my finances. Could you post a screen cap of your spreadsheet set up (block the sensitive data of course).

I believe you are describing Productivity Pr0n

Are you referring to MS OneNote? I tried that application and saw all sorts of potential for it, but haven't been able to really use it effectively. I'm sure that it is a great program is used properly, but anything I tried using it for just became useless. If anyone could explain the best way to use OneNote, I would be very interested.

Did you check out airset.com. It sounds really similar to zoho. I did a couple searches and airset, zoho, and 37signals are all competitors. Before today, I have only heard about cloud applications once before in reference to google docs. I'm definitely excited about the possibilities they can provide because I am trying to start a labour contracting business. I'm sure there are a number of ways I could take advantage of them. Before anything, I need to learn more about them.

 

I love MS OneNote! I would say OneNote would be best used for jotting down notes (obviously). If you can type faster than you can hand-write like I do, you'll find OneNote to be great. You just need to figure out how you are going to organize your notes (I personally use the Cornell Note-taking strategy since it had been deeply instilled in me during my middle-school and high-school years.) Here's a screenshot of what I'm talking about. (Mind you, this is all in Microsoft OneNote)



Take notes on the right column and then afterward write down questions you would most likely ask yourself on the left column for when you review these notes later. When you come back to reviewing these notes, see if you can answer the questions you've set yourself on the left column and if you aren't able to, you can look over the notes you've taken on the right column. The left column could also be used for little memos about the notes on the right column-- as demonstrated by the example above.

..and sure, I'll be sending you a screenshot of how my spreadsheets are set up. There's nothing sensitive about it-- but I'll be PMing it to you anyway just to be sure.

 

I believe you are describing Productivity Pr0n

About Productivity P0rn...all I can do is to helplessly quote Hannibal Lecter..."a census taker once tried to quantify me...I...."


Are you referring to MS OneNote? I tried that application and saw all sorts of potential for it, but haven't been able to really use it effectively. I'm sure that it is a great program is used properly, but anything I tried using it for just became useless. If anyone could explain the best way to use OneNote, I would be very interested.

Did you check out airset.com. It sounds really similar to zoho. I did a couple searches and airset, zoho, and 37signals are all competitors. Before today, I have only heard about cloud applications once before in reference to google docs. I'm definitely excited about the possibilities they can provide because I am trying to start a labour contracting business. I'm sure there are a number of ways I could take advantage of them. Before anything, I need to learn more about them....



About MS Notes - Yes, I meant MS OneNote.

No, I have not checked out the link you mention, but I will. However, I am quite preoccupied testing out Zoho and Google Docs - you see, my browser of choice is Opera and I need a 'cloud app' that will work with Opera.

Edit: Well I did check out that site and it seems that they do not support Opera at the moment! So that rules it out for me!

Now if only I could get a 'free' financial software that would work both on my mobile handset and the laptop and that would allow me to sync the two!

Cheers!

 

I like the note taking style. I was never taught that in school and it seems a lot more efficient than the disorganized scribbles I write down. I have to admit, I have never used OneNote for notetaking purposeswhich I could see it being very practical. I was trying to use it to develop ideas and creative content which I would not suggest anyone else attempt to try.

My biggest problem was trying to create a system for using the notebooks, tabs, pages, and sub pages. There are too many possibilities for a guy that has organizational problems.

Oceanus has set his expenses up in excel which actual looks quite functional. Although Excel isn't free, most people have it, otherwise OpenOffice is always availabe and there should be a free program for reading spreadsheets on your smartphone. Although if you made changes to the file on both your computer and smartphone in between syncs, it might now work.

Thanks! I like your set up. I will probably do something very similar for myself. I like how you incorporated the budget as well. It probably wouldn't be too difficult to create different sheets in the same file for different types of expenses(ie clothing, entertainment, bills etc.). Each sheet could have a different weekly or monthly budget.

 

I have one for that too actually, though I haven't really utilized it as much as I have with the other one I showed you (I'm not generating any money right now so there's really no point in using it as I'm running off subsidized student loans anyway.) But hey, it's there. When I start making money, I'll be allocating my money as follows.



As for OneNote, organizing what goes where can get a bit overwhelming sometimes. I normally have it set up this way.



The "notebooks" (shown on the left bars) are to basically separate different types of work. As you can see, I have Notebook Review Forums and Cal Poly Pomona / [1Y] - Fall Quarter Notes. Basically, all of the notes I've taken this quarter are compiled into one notebook. Winter quarter is coming up, so I'll be making a new notebook once it starts.

The tabs inside the notebook, on the other hand, are color coded depending on the class. Blue is for my Advocacy and Argument class, and Yellow is for my Biology class. Every tab of that color represents notes taken on that day-- and every sub page under that represents different topics (covered during that day).

This is pretty much how I've set it up. It was overwhelming to start at first, but it passed quickly. =)

 

Oceanus...

Thanks for the examples! I use OneNote in quite a similar manner as you do...after a point in time it becomes rather addictive, which in its own way is quite worrying...I seem to be losing the ability to make note in freehand! But that is for another topic!

About Excel...well, as far as I am concerned, Excel is OK for budgeting and for forecasting purposes. But to use it as a dedicated Financial accounting program is, well...among other things, an overkill...at least I think so. Moreover, since it is a 'heavy' application, using it all the time becomes a drag - even keeping it open all the time is a problem - of course this pertains only to me.

Thus, the search for a free financial program goes on! The program I am looking for should ideally be lightweight. It should sync over to my Palm running Win Mob 6.x. What I want to use it for is (1) to record expenses, especially when I am traveling (2) to make end of week and end of month financial summaries and to maintain a banking transcation overview.

I believe there are some paid-for programs that work on Garnet (PalmOS), and I am sure there are some for Windows too...but I just cant find the enthusiasm to pay for it. In the meantime, my spending soars and I get electric jolts at the end of the month!

Cheers!

 

Haha. Well! It's something that has made me feel like I'm in control of my life, so it's really no problem for me. I'm a lot more crazier when it comes to budgeting (I've already sent Mike a screenshot of my expenditures spreadsheet) and believe me, you ain't seen nothing yet!

 

Oceanus...

Well maybe I should see some of those images you sent Mike!!! Believe me, in these times of recession, I direly need some sort of financial checks and balances - albeit self-imposed!

Cheers!

 

Just wanted to share my favorite online alarm clock. It's not the prettiest one out there, but it seems to work better than the others.

http://www.nakedalarmclock.com/

I've used this to wake me up in the morning, remind me of appointments and even cook food

 

Does anybody use Internet Explorer 7 Pro?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TECAJKyQUdo

The spell checker is great for forums and I have the "back" function set up as "Right click + Left click" which has now become second nature for surfing the net.

 

Nope. I normally use Firefox 3 or Minefield. They both of those functionalities built into them already.