links for 2006-06-28 June 28, 2006
Posted by Gary Slinger in : Uncategorized , add a comment-
Improvise. Adapt. Overcome.
Addicted to “@” prefixes? June 26, 2006
Posted by Gary Slinger in : Uncategorized , 2commentsMark Hall wrote a comment to my post Implementing Getting Things Done, while using a Blackberry – Part Five that I think warrants bringing out for further exposure and discussion. Here’s what he wrote:
- Mark Hall – June 24, 2006
- E-Mail Processing on the BlackBerry:Just about every post I read on using GTD with a BlackBerry talks about the inability to correctly sort “@ symbol as if it is something sacred. To separate “At” context categories from Project categories I simply use an “A-” or a “P-” prefix. This sorts correctly within the BB Task application and also works on Outlook.I also have “R-Read / Review,” “S-Someday / Maybe” and “W-Waiting For” categories.
Here are some category examples (also Outlook Mailbox Folders):
A-Computer
A-Office
A-Calls
A-Home
A-Boss
P-Remodel Kitchen
P-Launch Software
P-San Diego Trade Show
R-Read / Review
S-Someday / Maybe
W-Waiting For
ReferenceTo facilitate processing “IN to empty” on the BB, I have set up Folders on the Outlook Mailbox that parallel my categories. This way if I read an e-mail on the BB I can process it (Do, Delegate, Defer) and then handle the email correctly (see below). To File an email: 1) click the Scroll Wheel; 2) Scroll to and select “File” 3) Scroll to the desired Folder and click the Scroll Wheel; 4) click File – the mail is moved to that folder and out of “IN.”
DO: If I decide to take the action right away and there is no pending response AND I do not need the mail for future reference I delete it (of course there is still a copy in my “Sent” folder). If I think I will really need it, I File it in my “Reference” folder (for later processing at the desktop).
DELEGATE: If I reply or forward the email and there is a response pending, I File it in the “W-Waiting For” Folder.
DEFER: If there is an action needed that will take longer than 2 minutes, I File it in the appropriate context Folder (which parallel my categories). This moves it out of my IN and into the context folder. If it is something with no action and I simply want to read later (i.e. an e-newsletter), I move it to “R-Read / Review.”
When I’m back at my desktop, I perform my daily/weekly review of all these folders along with my calendar, tasks and notes. I also move things out of “Reference” into my Outlook “Personal Folders/Reference.” There are differing views on if this should be a flat structure or a hierarchical structure. In either case, things can be searched for with the Outlook Tools/Find/Advanced Find.
I am using Outlook 2003 with the 7290 and BB OS v4.1.0.292.
Any questions / feedback: mark.hall@yahoo.com.
I don’t know that I’d consider the “@” prefix to be sacred, but it’s a valid point that it’s the default, and that perhaps situationally it makes sense to change it. People come to it naturally enough – it’s the prefix that David Allen uses in his process, and writes about in his book. It’s also, for instance, the default in the NetCentrics GTD Add-In. I don’t know if that’s a changeable default either, although I seem to recall it is. I don’t have that application installed any more, or I’d head on over and check.
For myself, the reason I don’t have that add-in installed anymore is that I’ve moved over to using Beta 2 of Microsoft Outlook 2007, which has its own GTD-like integrated method of handling tasks, deadlines, and so forth. I haven’t fully integrated that into my Blackberry usage routine yet, and in fact changing around some of my “internal systems” is one of the reasons that posting has been light here recently. The revised integration will no doubt make its way here as a separate post one day in the future. In the meantime, I think Mark’s post makes a lot of sense, and should definately be considered alongside the rest of the process that I initially wrote about.
One last tip for the Blackberry that may be of use – Mark refers to the Filing method, and shows the menu approach to it. From either a message list, or after you’ve opened a message, you can also hit the “I” key (that’s “eye” not “one”), and you’ll be taken straight to the filing dialog.
links for 2006-06-21 June 21, 2006
Posted by Gary Slinger in : Uncategorized , add a commentITIL: Service Support & Service Delivery – the whole thing June 1, 2006
Posted by Gary Slinger in : Uncategorized , 13comments
I’ve been posting sections of my notes as I’ve worked my way through various ITIL materials over the last few months, and those can be found here. I got caught up with various bits and pieces, as the distinct lack of posting around here may have indicated, but I did keep that work up. Rather than posting a series of hard to read JPG’s, and a series of posts, I thought I’d just go ahead and post the whole thing here, and let you have at it if you’re interested. The overview image on the right links directly to the MindManager MindMap – there’s too much detail in the map itself to make an image of it here viable. If you don’t have MindManager itself, there’s a viewer available for download.
If you want to talk more “ITIL Stuff”, feel free to contact me, either directly or in the comments here. The map I’m making available here isn’t the “final version” that I use myself – that has substantially more low-level information in the notes field of the various map entries, as well as commentary and such from my own experiences, as well as links out to appropriate parts of other methodologies. For the time being, partly for commercial advantage reasons, and partly to make sure that I don’t violate anyone else’s copyright, I won’t be making that version of the map directly available, but if I end up working with you on an ITIL matter, well, we’ll see.
As always, comments and questions on ITIL are welcomed, and if you take a copy of the map, and are so inclined, let me know what you think and how it works for you.
