Sunday, November 21, 2004
METHOD: FRESH START TO-DO LIST WITH MORNING CUP OF COFFEE
I begin each day at home or at the office by sitting down at my computer with a cup of coffee. I check my email and study online news sources, then I click the program icon for The MasterList to get down to business.
My first chore is to manage my inventory of to-dos. To do that, I simply hit the My Day button. Let's say that 48 to-dos pop-up. This is more than I can handle in a day. So, my goal is to reduce it to a manageable list of about 20.
By the way, 48 to-dos is only a fraction of my total inventory. At work I have about 500 to-dos spread over 100 or so projects. At home, I have about 250 to-dos spread over about 40 projects.
As I study this list, the first thing I am looking for is timed events (translate to calendar entries) at the top of the list so I can plan around those for the rest of the day.
The next thing I do is hit the Main Menu button, where I have a list of all my projects. Next to my list of projects is a list of "categories" The use of categories is a way to batch projects and make them distinguishable from other batches of projects.
I find categories very useful for cleaning up My Day List because the My Day List button is sensitive to all or any categories you have highlighted. I have about 12 categories of projects at both home and work. My preference is to enjoy my coffee, while I do a little triaging and task re-sequencing on a category basis.
This to-do list "housecleaning" action before I launch into working on any particular task is very much like a game. And, it goes very fast. It involves triage and prioritization. Here's how I play.
Highlight the first category.
Strike the My Day button.
A subset of tasks related to that category appears.
Let's say there's 7.
I know I can't do more than 2 or 3.
I study them for priority value.
Text tells me a lot.
But, so does any color prioritization I previously added.
I highlight and blast tasks I can't do today to future dates.
I hit the lightning bolt button. Voila.
List cleared down to 2 to-dos.
Next category!
When, all done, I run the My Day List across all categories.
Does the List have less than 20 to-dos?
If not, blast a few more into tomorrow, or further.
OK! Game-over!
Total and absolute, prioritized control over my To Do List.
Time to start digging into the work.
It probably takes me no more than 5 to 10 minutes to do this every morning. The benefits of this technique are remarkable.
I start the day with a manageable list of to-dos.
I can see this list at a single screen.
This list represents updated priorities based on daily review.
What's not on the list is reviewed regularly.
There are no black holes in this system.
Anything that ought to be done is on the list.
Or, I can put it there.
Best of all, I can click any item on the list and go directly to the project which it is associated with and see all other tasks, notes, internet research, docs, spreadsheets, and email related to that task and that project, in context, at a glance.
If you have not found a wholly satisfactory way to hack clear-cut pathways through jungles of to-dos, than you have not yet tried The MasterList. The MasterList is the only practical system ever invented for getting things done on a systematic basis, with software, that is actually effective and easy to use.
I can't work without it. I will continue to throw The MasterList Challenge out on this blog: Show me another product that has swiped our idea and our system and converted it into a workable system for managing to-dos the way The MasterList does to help me organize my life, my knowledge base, and my obligation load and I will say Hallelujah!, adopt that product, and stop manufacturing ours. (No waiver of intellectual property rights or the right to enforce the exclusive intellectual property interest of Sumac Consulting Group, LLC with respect to the design of The MasterList "system" is intended by this Challenge.)
In the meantime, we need your support to make The MasterList better. And, we are looking for Venture Capital or major industry partners to streamline the system and take it to the next level.
I begin each day at home or at the office by sitting down at my computer with a cup of coffee. I check my email and study online news sources, then I click the program icon for The MasterList to get down to business.
My first chore is to manage my inventory of to-dos. To do that, I simply hit the My Day button. Let's say that 48 to-dos pop-up. This is more than I can handle in a day. So, my goal is to reduce it to a manageable list of about 20.
By the way, 48 to-dos is only a fraction of my total inventory. At work I have about 500 to-dos spread over 100 or so projects. At home, I have about 250 to-dos spread over about 40 projects.
As I study this list, the first thing I am looking for is timed events (translate to calendar entries) at the top of the list so I can plan around those for the rest of the day.
The next thing I do is hit the Main Menu button, where I have a list of all my projects. Next to my list of projects is a list of "categories" The use of categories is a way to batch projects and make them distinguishable from other batches of projects.
I find categories very useful for cleaning up My Day List because the My Day List button is sensitive to all or any categories you have highlighted. I have about 12 categories of projects at both home and work. My preference is to enjoy my coffee, while I do a little triaging and task re-sequencing on a category basis.
This to-do list "housecleaning" action before I launch into working on any particular task is very much like a game. And, it goes very fast. It involves triage and prioritization. Here's how I play.
Highlight the first category.
Strike the My Day button.
A subset of tasks related to that category appears.
Let's say there's 7.
I know I can't do more than 2 or 3.
I study them for priority value.
Text tells me a lot.
But, so does any color prioritization I previously added.
I highlight and blast tasks I can't do today to future dates.
I hit the lightning bolt button. Voila.
List cleared down to 2 to-dos.
Next category!
When, all done, I run the My Day List across all categories.
Does the List have less than 20 to-dos?
If not, blast a few more into tomorrow, or further.
OK! Game-over!
Total and absolute, prioritized control over my To Do List.
Time to start digging into the work.
It probably takes me no more than 5 to 10 minutes to do this every morning. The benefits of this technique are remarkable.
I start the day with a manageable list of to-dos.
I can see this list at a single screen.
This list represents updated priorities based on daily review.
What's not on the list is reviewed regularly.
There are no black holes in this system.
Anything that ought to be done is on the list.
Or, I can put it there.
Best of all, I can click any item on the list and go directly to the project which it is associated with and see all other tasks, notes, internet research, docs, spreadsheets, and email related to that task and that project, in context, at a glance.
If you have not found a wholly satisfactory way to hack clear-cut pathways through jungles of to-dos, than you have not yet tried The MasterList. The MasterList is the only practical system ever invented for getting things done on a systematic basis, with software, that is actually effective and easy to use.
I can't work without it. I will continue to throw The MasterList Challenge out on this blog: Show me another product that has swiped our idea and our system and converted it into a workable system for managing to-dos the way The MasterList does to help me organize my life, my knowledge base, and my obligation load and I will say Hallelujah!, adopt that product, and stop manufacturing ours. (No waiver of intellectual property rights or the right to enforce the exclusive intellectual property interest of Sumac Consulting Group, LLC with respect to the design of The MasterList "system" is intended by this Challenge.)
In the meantime, we need your support to make The MasterList better. And, we are looking for Venture Capital or major industry partners to streamline the system and take it to the next level.
Saturday, November 13, 2004
HOW THE MASTERLIST MANAGES CONTEXT.
The MasterList is a to-do list system for organizing context around clusters of to-dos called "projects".
Context means defining a situational environment that goes beyond merely defining the present actions being undertaken; or, some particular actions to be taken in future.
The MasterList does this by defining contextual space designed to connect anything to anything on the basis of relationality.
The primary spatial container for context in The MasterList is a bounded set of related to-dos connected to an array of satellite objects which comprise links to all docs, all emails, all notes (and thereby all ideas, goals, bullet lists, recipes, thoughts, journals), all spreadsheets, all power points, all scanned docs, all URL links (and thereby all related research, itself organized and connected in sub-sets called Logs), and even all shortcuts to any object, application or destination that can be found in your PC, on your LAN Server, or the internet and related into the project by linkage and labeling. That's context!
EXAMPLE: Here's the situation. You want to hire a bluegrass singer for your wife's birthday. With The MasterList, you get to define the context. Is this a bluegrass project, or a marital bliss project? Once you define what the project is, you make the first to-do entry. By the way, how would you find a bluegrass singer? No problem, whatever you decide you need to do, that's the entry. Where's the context? Well, are you going to make a list of blue grass singers? Are you going to link to their web-sites? Are you going to exchange email with them? Do you want to keep call logs? Do you need to keep track of invitations to the party? Catering? With The MasterList, the entire context of all that can be related to your goal of hiring a bluegrass singer for your wife's birthday can be created, organized, and managed from a single screen.
EXAMPLE: Here's the situation. You're selling your house and you need to remodel the kitchen. Where do you start? How about defining a context in terms of a MasterList project. Is this a subset of the project Selling The House, or is it its own project? What's the follow-up? That's one or more to-do entries. Are you using the internet to research designs? Link them into the project. See what I mean? Same principle as the Blue Grass Singer Project.
Best of all, since you live and operate all the time in multiple contexts, projects, universes, or whatever you choose to call the multiplicity of your life, The MasterList has easy to use tools that allow you to see all your contexts by way of overview and comparative priority.
You probably have dozens of such projects, and maybe hundreds at a professional level. Why not put them all in context? Do you know how many projects you have? Do you know how many of a certain kind of to-do you have across all your projects? Do you know where the documents, links, and notes are that provide the context for any particular to-do, event, or project that you are involved with? Does all that come up instantly at a single screen in context with every other aspect of the project?
If you have already have The MasterList, then everything you do that brings you to the computer keyboard is always in context; and, the answer to all the above questions is YES! If you don't have The MasterList, why not try it, buy it, or email me to dialogue about how to use it to put all the potential in your life and profession into context and convert it into real, high-priority action.
The MasterList is a to-do list system for organizing context around clusters of to-dos called "projects".
Context means defining a situational environment that goes beyond merely defining the present actions being undertaken; or, some particular actions to be taken in future.
The MasterList does this by defining contextual space designed to connect anything to anything on the basis of relationality.
The primary spatial container for context in The MasterList is a bounded set of related to-dos connected to an array of satellite objects which comprise links to all docs, all emails, all notes (and thereby all ideas, goals, bullet lists, recipes, thoughts, journals), all spreadsheets, all power points, all scanned docs, all URL links (and thereby all related research, itself organized and connected in sub-sets called Logs), and even all shortcuts to any object, application or destination that can be found in your PC, on your LAN Server, or the internet and related into the project by linkage and labeling. That's context!
EXAMPLE: Here's the situation. You want to hire a bluegrass singer for your wife's birthday. With The MasterList, you get to define the context. Is this a bluegrass project, or a marital bliss project? Once you define what the project is, you make the first to-do entry. By the way, how would you find a bluegrass singer? No problem, whatever you decide you need to do, that's the entry. Where's the context? Well, are you going to make a list of blue grass singers? Are you going to link to their web-sites? Are you going to exchange email with them? Do you want to keep call logs? Do you need to keep track of invitations to the party? Catering? With The MasterList, the entire context of all that can be related to your goal of hiring a bluegrass singer for your wife's birthday can be created, organized, and managed from a single screen.
EXAMPLE: Here's the situation. You're selling your house and you need to remodel the kitchen. Where do you start? How about defining a context in terms of a MasterList project. Is this a subset of the project Selling The House, or is it its own project? What's the follow-up? That's one or more to-do entries. Are you using the internet to research designs? Link them into the project. See what I mean? Same principle as the Blue Grass Singer Project.
Best of all, since you live and operate all the time in multiple contexts, projects, universes, or whatever you choose to call the multiplicity of your life, The MasterList has easy to use tools that allow you to see all your contexts by way of overview and comparative priority.
You probably have dozens of such projects, and maybe hundreds at a professional level. Why not put them all in context? Do you know how many projects you have? Do you know how many of a certain kind of to-do you have across all your projects? Do you know where the documents, links, and notes are that provide the context for any particular to-do, event, or project that you are involved with? Does all that come up instantly at a single screen in context with every other aspect of the project?
If you have already have The MasterList, then everything you do that brings you to the computer keyboard is always in context; and, the answer to all the above questions is YES! If you don't have The MasterList, why not try it, buy it, or email me to dialogue about how to use it to put all the potential in your life and profession into context and convert it into real, high-priority action.
Wednesday, November 10, 2004
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
Somebody pointed out to us the other day that The MasterList is not as cosmetically appealing as several other "more beautiful" programs. We know The MasterList could look better on the cosmetic side. And, when we have the Venture Capital for VIDA our web-based virtual integrative desktop application, we will invest a good chunk in a cosmetic make-over.
But, stop to think about that for a minute. Suppose that The MasterList, in terms of functional design, has found the holy grail of a sub-set of user specs that helps get things done like nothing ever. Is that beautiful functionality? Or, is it ugly functionality? Assuming the functionality is unique, one of a kind, flows, and is effective, isn't a holy grail a holy grail? With The MasterList, we invested our lives and our fortune in the holy grail of functionality. We let form follow function as a matter of budgeting. In a world of 4-section PIMs, we built an integrative geodesic design that reaches out and connects all your universes at single screens.
Amazingly, there is no other product that delivers these key 5 functionalities in one package:
1. Organizes to-do lists as projects.
2. Provides relational space at each project screen to create "context" that includes links to any and all objects in your computer environment including Outlook email, docs, folders, Outlook contact cards, calendar entries, notes (ideas), and URL's (web research).
3. Has multiple date-"pushing" tools to re-sequence tasks and keep the current inventory of to-dos manageable, based on a flexible system for arranging them according to WHEN the user believes they are most likely to come due.
4. Utilizes a "pull" system, The My Day List, to filter the entire inventory of to-dos to just 1 viewable screen that is practical, prioritized, and displays the distillation of innumerable tasks you have created in countless projects to show you just what you believe can or needs to be done in the span of 1 very important day - today.
5. Uses task codes to allow you to run reports across all projects to see what you having going by category and type of task.
There's a crying need for this kind of functionality. I know I can't live or work without it. That's why I developed the program, not just for myself, but for others who have the same need. Right now, as far as I know, for 4 years running, The MasterList remains the only software system on the planet that delivers this precise set of functionality in one package that really works.
It's really all about the functionality. If you need this set of functions, then you need The MasterList. It's a great system and we hope to make it better.
So, although some consider it butt-ugly, if you are seeking a product that "flows" across the core function set I have described above, then The MasterList is for you. Indeed, flowing along the path of usage and watching your world turn from chaos to control, as you take a run through this or that personal or professional universe with The MasterList, is one really exhilarating, beautiful experience.
Somebody pointed out to us the other day that The MasterList is not as cosmetically appealing as several other "more beautiful" programs. We know The MasterList could look better on the cosmetic side. And, when we have the Venture Capital for VIDA our web-based virtual integrative desktop application, we will invest a good chunk in a cosmetic make-over.
But, stop to think about that for a minute. Suppose that The MasterList, in terms of functional design, has found the holy grail of a sub-set of user specs that helps get things done like nothing ever. Is that beautiful functionality? Or, is it ugly functionality? Assuming the functionality is unique, one of a kind, flows, and is effective, isn't a holy grail a holy grail? With The MasterList, we invested our lives and our fortune in the holy grail of functionality. We let form follow function as a matter of budgeting. In a world of 4-section PIMs, we built an integrative geodesic design that reaches out and connects all your universes at single screens.
Amazingly, there is no other product that delivers these key 5 functionalities in one package:
1. Organizes to-do lists as projects.
2. Provides relational space at each project screen to create "context" that includes links to any and all objects in your computer environment including Outlook email, docs, folders, Outlook contact cards, calendar entries, notes (ideas), and URL's (web research).
3. Has multiple date-"pushing" tools to re-sequence tasks and keep the current inventory of to-dos manageable, based on a flexible system for arranging them according to WHEN the user believes they are most likely to come due.
4. Utilizes a "pull" system, The My Day List, to filter the entire inventory of to-dos to just 1 viewable screen that is practical, prioritized, and displays the distillation of innumerable tasks you have created in countless projects to show you just what you believe can or needs to be done in the span of 1 very important day - today.
5. Uses task codes to allow you to run reports across all projects to see what you having going by category and type of task.
There's a crying need for this kind of functionality. I know I can't live or work without it. That's why I developed the program, not just for myself, but for others who have the same need. Right now, as far as I know, for 4 years running, The MasterList remains the only software system on the planet that delivers this precise set of functionality in one package that really works.
It's really all about the functionality. If you need this set of functions, then you need The MasterList. It's a great system and we hope to make it better.
So, although some consider it butt-ugly, if you are seeking a product that "flows" across the core function set I have described above, then The MasterList is for you. Indeed, flowing along the path of usage and watching your world turn from chaos to control, as you take a run through this or that personal or professional universe with The MasterList, is one really exhilarating, beautiful experience.
Sunday, November 07, 2004
THE MASTERLIST "007": SECRET WEAPON IN THE GAME OF LIFE
What I like most about The MasterList is that it's my very own relational database. I can track anything and relate it to anything else in any way I want.
What other program can do that for me?
If I didn't have The MasterList, I could try, for instance, to make a project to-do list in word processing or in a spreadsheet. But, can a word document or a spreadsheet create links related to the project, or even to specific to-dos? Can a word document or spreadsheet create flexible due dates that automatically re-organize themselves and can be sorted in a cross-cut report for all actions set for a certain date across all projects? A word document or spreadsheet is not a relational database.
Is Outlook a relational database? I think not. Take my project to-do list. Does Outlook even have such a thing? Nope. It only provides one to-do list on which I have to squeeze all the to-dos in all my projects with no real good way to organize them, categorize, or sort them. Same for the calendar. Let's suppose in Outlook that I have a project that has 4 calendar entries and 12 to-dos. That this is mingled among to-dos and calendar entries for 48 other projects. How can I see all my to-dos and calendar entries for a single project at a single screen? I can't.
That's why I like The MasterList. Not only can I see all the calendar entries and to-dos for a single project at a single screen. But, I can also see the email for that project at the same screen, separate from all the other email. That's because The MasterList has a sweet sync to Outlook so I can relate Outlook email (contact cards too!)precisely into the project where it belongs with all my other "stuff" for that project. At the project screen, I can not only see the to-dos, the calendar entries, contacts, and the email for that project, I can also see all the documents, spreadsheets, power-points, scan-docs, and internet links for just that project. Outlook just doesn't do that.
So, that's what I like most about The MasterList. I am a person who lives in many universes. There's my home universe, my office universe (in fact, the office alone consists of dozens of universes), my family universe, my garden universe, my financial universe, my spiritual universe, and lots of very specialized universes in which I find I have a "calling", a call to action if you will. In all aspects of my life and work, I need to be organized, on the ball, and ready to go in any direction at the drop of a hat.
It just so happens that I like "relational" organization because pulling it all together, in that way, seems to keep me perpetually prepared for anything. I always know where I've been. And, where I'm going. What I already covered and where I can find it again. What I need to cover and what I know about it already. What my plan is and what I have already done.
Relational organization allows me to connect anything to anything. That includes physical objects (by "reference"), computer objects, internet objects, and "metaphysical" objects. A goal is a metaphysical object. So is an idea. So is a to-do. Managing the mix of physical, computer, internet, and metaphysical objects at a single point of reference is what The MasterList is all about. The fact that I can fuel my to-do list with all this relationally-connected information allows me to make better, faster decisions about which actions to take, when, and how. It's like running on high octane fuel vs. sand and peanut butter.
To me, it's always been like possessing a secret weapon in the Game of Life. The secret's out. Try it!
What I like most about The MasterList is that it's my very own relational database. I can track anything and relate it to anything else in any way I want.
What other program can do that for me?
If I didn't have The MasterList, I could try, for instance, to make a project to-do list in word processing or in a spreadsheet. But, can a word document or a spreadsheet create links related to the project, or even to specific to-dos? Can a word document or spreadsheet create flexible due dates that automatically re-organize themselves and can be sorted in a cross-cut report for all actions set for a certain date across all projects? A word document or spreadsheet is not a relational database.
Is Outlook a relational database? I think not. Take my project to-do list. Does Outlook even have such a thing? Nope. It only provides one to-do list on which I have to squeeze all the to-dos in all my projects with no real good way to organize them, categorize, or sort them. Same for the calendar. Let's suppose in Outlook that I have a project that has 4 calendar entries and 12 to-dos. That this is mingled among to-dos and calendar entries for 48 other projects. How can I see all my to-dos and calendar entries for a single project at a single screen? I can't.
That's why I like The MasterList. Not only can I see all the calendar entries and to-dos for a single project at a single screen. But, I can also see the email for that project at the same screen, separate from all the other email. That's because The MasterList has a sweet sync to Outlook so I can relate Outlook email (contact cards too!)precisely into the project where it belongs with all my other "stuff" for that project. At the project screen, I can not only see the to-dos, the calendar entries, contacts, and the email for that project, I can also see all the documents, spreadsheets, power-points, scan-docs, and internet links for just that project. Outlook just doesn't do that.
So, that's what I like most about The MasterList. I am a person who lives in many universes. There's my home universe, my office universe (in fact, the office alone consists of dozens of universes), my family universe, my garden universe, my financial universe, my spiritual universe, and lots of very specialized universes in which I find I have a "calling", a call to action if you will. In all aspects of my life and work, I need to be organized, on the ball, and ready to go in any direction at the drop of a hat.
It just so happens that I like "relational" organization because pulling it all together, in that way, seems to keep me perpetually prepared for anything. I always know where I've been. And, where I'm going. What I already covered and where I can find it again. What I need to cover and what I know about it already. What my plan is and what I have already done.
Relational organization allows me to connect anything to anything. That includes physical objects (by "reference"), computer objects, internet objects, and "metaphysical" objects. A goal is a metaphysical object. So is an idea. So is a to-do. Managing the mix of physical, computer, internet, and metaphysical objects at a single point of reference is what The MasterList is all about. The fact that I can fuel my to-do list with all this relationally-connected information allows me to make better, faster decisions about which actions to take, when, and how. It's like running on high octane fuel vs. sand and peanut butter.
To me, it's always been like possessing a secret weapon in the Game of Life. The secret's out. Try it!
Tuesday, November 02, 2004
TWELVE PRINCIPLES FOR KILLER APPLICATION DESIGN FOR THE YEAR 2010
1. BE A RELATIONAL DATABASE.
2. HOST THE DATA-BASE AND CLIENT-SERVER APP ON A WEB-SERVER FARM.
3. BE UBIQUITOUS.
4. BE INTELLIGENT.
5. BE SHAREABLE.
6. BE THE FIRST THING ANY USER SEES WHEN THEY TURN ON THEIR PC.
7. BE ACCESSIBLE FROM ANY DEVICE.
8. INCLUDE A PIM AND EMAIL (AND SYNC TO MAJOR COMPETITORS' EMAIL).
9. BE MORE THAN A PIM.
10. BE INTEGRATIVE.
11. BE FLEXIBLE. (As well as Cool, and Simple.)
12. INCORPORATE INTELLIGENT SEARCH.
These are essentially the goals of VIDA (Virtual Integrative Desktop Application) premised on The MasterList System design paradigm.
Analyze the contenders. You know who they are. What will it take to be the dominant application in personal and professional computing by the year 2010?
To learn more about The MasterList, in our current PC-based manifestation, and why we think The MasterList design paradigm, re-tooled as VIDA, is destined to be the dominant web-based model try us, buy us, or email me to dialogue about what it will take to get there!
**************************************************
This post and all VIDA design ideas in this blog are copyrighted and are the intellectual property of Sumac Consulting Group, LLC and The MasterList.
**************************************************
1. BE A RELATIONAL DATABASE.
2. HOST THE DATA-BASE AND CLIENT-SERVER APP ON A WEB-SERVER FARM.
3. BE UBIQUITOUS.
4. BE INTELLIGENT.
5. BE SHAREABLE.
6. BE THE FIRST THING ANY USER SEES WHEN THEY TURN ON THEIR PC.
7. BE ACCESSIBLE FROM ANY DEVICE.
8. INCLUDE A PIM AND EMAIL (AND SYNC TO MAJOR COMPETITORS' EMAIL).
9. BE MORE THAN A PIM.
10. BE INTEGRATIVE.
11. BE FLEXIBLE. (As well as Cool, and Simple.)
12. INCORPORATE INTELLIGENT SEARCH.
These are essentially the goals of VIDA (Virtual Integrative Desktop Application) premised on The MasterList System design paradigm.
Analyze the contenders. You know who they are. What will it take to be the dominant application in personal and professional computing by the year 2010?
To learn more about The MasterList, in our current PC-based manifestation, and why we think The MasterList design paradigm, re-tooled as VIDA, is destined to be the dominant web-based model try us, buy us, or email me to dialogue about what it will take to get there!
**************************************************
This post and all VIDA design ideas in this blog are copyrighted and are the intellectual property of Sumac Consulting Group, LLC and The MasterList.
**************************************************
