Thanks for the thought. I have used Groove, but I don’t know if it’s really right for this purpose. It does work well as a colaboration platform, but doesn’t really have any built in scheduling/time managmeent software to it.

Cheers,
Danny

Sorry to hear you have to be taking on two jobs. I hope you can find someone that will pass your multifactoral job interview process (although I am making fun, I do admire your process greatly).

I really like Dick Kusleika’s method, actually. I may just adapt that for myself. Thanks Dick Kusleika!

For me, I usually have sticky notes on my keyboard which typically start to “come up” off of the keyboard and it bothers my hands as I’m typing which CONSTANTLY reminds me of what I need to get done. That’s the best for me, something to be in my face or pestering me to remind me it’s there. I know I don’t have as much as you do, so I wouldn’t advise the “stickies” method (plus like you said, you can’t view them at home…but why would you work at home? [that's rhetorical, btw]). But just something to be “in your face”. And just have it organized like Dick Kusleika.

And if you’re using outlook, do you have it sync’d with your phone? That could help too…

And sometimes there are too many factors that can go into a single task. For example, when I need to speak with the Engineering Manager at my job, I KNOW I have to bother her in the morning, before all of her day is filled over the brim. So certain tasks that I need to get done that I need to get with her about, I have to reserve for the morning. So, it can get pretty tough to prioritize everything correctly. Or maybe you can find some way to create an algorithm to determine a given task’s priority rating. That could be an interesting project for you…oh damn! I just gave you another task with high priority =) sorry Ken!

Seriously though… I’m not sure. That is my biggest issue. I’m trying to figure out how to do this. If I knew, I’d already be building something.

Too bad about Project. I was thinking that when reading your first post. I really enjoy my Outlook mobile for tasks. Very simple, but effective.

I’ve tried whiteboards and paper lists. These can work until the list gets overwhelming, or until you start realizing that the tasks that are on there need to be broken down and broken down again. They can also be a pain because you have to keep re-writing them when you’ve started crossing things off or making big holes. The other thing that kind of hurts is that you can’t access them from home when they are on your wall. I’m not against either, and have used them for many years, but I think I’ve outgrown them for where I’m at.

I still use paper for my monthly working papers. Each account is listed, and I highlight each one as it comes in. It works quite well for the pre-defined system.

Like you, Dennis, I’ve tried working with MS Project to set up my month end project. (I was really hoping to get a Pert Chart out of it to show where my bottlenecks are.) It became so complicated, so quickly, that I couldn’t even read it any more. I gave up on that software as overkill.

I’ve recently moved to Outlook for tracking tasks. The biggest issue I face there is that I have over a full screen of tasks, many that still need to be broken down. Some are quick ones, some major projects, but with so many on the list, trying to figure out where to start is a real challenge. Setting deadlines for them at this point is a joke, as they all seem to be urgent.

It’s a real quandry, that’s for sure.

I did a test to switch to MS Project but it didn’t work out well as I couldn’t find my way around it…

BTW, I hope You get two salaries as well

Take care and all the best from,
Dennis

It’s propped up right next to me on my desk where I can’t help but see it. It’s got a list of all the tasks I have to do, with a space for a check mark once they’ve been completed.

It doesn’t schedule my time, but it does make me very aware of everything that I have to do.