Using Bonsai

F

furashgf

0
I've just started using Bonsai, and would appreciate hearing from other users how they've set it up. I'm trying to keep it as simple as possible.
1. I've got 2 projects, Active and Someday.
2. Level 1 of all of those projects are Projects (a category). Projects have, within their own outlines, Deliverables (a category), Someday or Deferred actions (With dates), or any of the "@" context items. Those next actions I can't do yet have no category.
3. I have filters for all of the categories, due today, etc. That's why I have everything in one big project.
 
I started using Bonsai recently as well. I basically moved all of my projects out of the Palm Todo list into a single project file that has work vs personal and someday/maybe.

I'm finding it a bit unwieldy, though. I have lots of projects and when I need to think a project through, I add on and on to the outline.

C
 
I've used Bonsai for years now, and love the new 3.0 features. My projects list has projects as the main branch with NAs underneath. Category=context. I aalso have outlines for each level of focus, and use keywords on the project list to corespond to the items on the different levels.
 
"I aalso have outlines for each level of focus,and use keywords on the project list to corespond to the items on the different levels."

can you expand on this, Veg?
 
I've just reviewed Bonsai for PDA 24-7

My review of Bonsai 3.03 has just been posted to PDA 24-7. As you'll see, I'm quite taken with the new version which has replaced my old outliner and now enjoys a spot on both my Clie UX50 and my laptop. I love these apps!

With the new keywords and links to contacts and calendar items (in addition to the To Do list which Bonsai already handled nicely), this is a great addition to the GTD tool kit. I'm especially taken with the vast improvement in the desktop application (Windows only) which puts this app head and shoulders above Shadow Plan and Thought Manager (both of which I own and have tried to use in my GTD flow in the past).

http://www.clieuk.co.uk/bon1.shtml

bonsai_dt_ui.jpg
 
"I aalso have outlines for each level of focus,and use keywords on the project list to corespond to the items on the different levels."

can you expand on this, Veg?
Click to expand...

Sure-- Instead of using altitude numbers (50,000 ft, etc) like DA does, I call mine, Next Actions, Projects, Goals, and Ideals. Goals corespond to the 3-5 year plans DA talks about, and Ideals are lifetime.

I have two outlines, Ideals and Projects. Subitems under Ideals are Goals. Subitems under Projects are next actions.

During my weekly reviews, I want to make sure each project has a next action, and each ideal has a goal. This is easy to do, if something does not have a subitem, it is missing a goal or a next action. But, I also want to make sure each goal has a project, and that is where I use keywords. For each project, put a keyword to show what goal it coresponds to.

Hope this makes sense, ask if you have any questions.
 
Looks like that is what you have from your first post. You may want to try incorporating Goals into this framework, they have made my weekly reviews, and subsequent prioritizing decisions much easier.
 
Re: I've just reviewed Bonsai for PDA 24-7

mochant said:
My review of Bonsai 3.03 has just been posted to PDA 24-7.

Mochant,

I'm interested in reading your review.

I could not read it online. An error occurs while trying to access the review.

Could you pls post it here?

Thanks
Click to expand...
 
It's up now

I triedd to read it yesterday, too, but I kept getting a script error. However, I just tried it again, and it seems to be working. Excellent review!
 
Thanks guys!

I'm glad you enjoyed the review. I'm very pleased with Bonsai, both on the Palm and the desktop. I still tend to use Bonsai on a different basis than most of the posters here. I do my primary GTD management in KeySuite which is problematic for linking tasks to Bonsai because it uses a proprietary dB.

So I build a separate Bonsai file for each project (of longer durations/complexity) and link them all to a Master Projects outline where I mark overall process. It's a great way to get a 20-30K view of my overall commitment level and progress that scanning a task list can't provide.
 
Similar Philosophy with TreePad

I'm using a program called TreePad in a similar way. I set up a separate "node" for each major contact (e.g., my direct reports, customers, media, etc.) and for each major project. It works really well.

Previously, I was using OneNote. I couldn't quite get it to do what I wanted, so I switched to TreePad. However, with the recent release of SP1 and the added features, I may go back. I'm evaluating it now.
 
Level proliferation

I recently installed Bonsai. Having read vegheadjones' post, I decided on the following hierarchy of categories:

Life - Ideals - Goals - Projects - Actions(multiple categories).

I am using categories for contexts - that seemed like an obvious choice. I also have context filters that include several categories, and a "Projects and Actions" filter that lets me quickly check whether all projects have Next Actions. Someday/Maybe is a category for me, and can apply to items almost anywehere in the tree. Also, I allow children of the same type as the parent, for example, a goal within a goal.

However, this is getting a bit out of hand now. The levels are so deep that it's hard to read the items without usingBonsai's Zoom feature. The Zoom is a great idea, but if you forget that it's active, you can end up doing a Find and wondering why it returns nothing. Find is my major gripe with Bonsai, actually. I think it should have an option to "Find regardless of location". Not only does it not look outside the current Zoom level, it also ignores collapsed nodes! I find this perplexing. I collapse my nodes for readability, not because I'm not interested in what's inside them.

The other major practical drawback is this. When I need to add an item quickly, it's frustrating that it takes longer to locate the correct place for it than it does to enter the item!

Any suggestions as to how I might reduce the complexity of this a bit? I am currently finding that "the tool is getting in the way of the work" :)
 
What version of Bonsai do you have? I have 3.1.1 installed on my T3 and the Bonsai find function will find any text regardless of where I am zoomed in at. It will NOT work if you have a filter in place and the item is not found inside the filter. Do you have a filter in place that may be blocking your search?

Gretchen
 
Oh, that's strange. I can't imagine how I got so confused about this. I've just tried it again, and I was wrong - filter IS the only thing that stops it working...

Actually, I still haven't registered and I'm on 3.0.3, so I think an upgrade is in order!

Anyway, the "Big Problem" for me is still the entry of new items. I'd like to see a feature whereby you hit a toolbar button, enter the new item, and are are taken to a special view of your outline with only the top level item(s) showing. You can then expand the successive ancestors of where your item should go, and finally place it by tapping a button.

At the moment I am having trouble because I have to search for the right place, during which time I am losing focus on the important thing - the item itself. Perhaps I need an 'inbox' for new items, which I then periodically move to the right location? I used to use this approach when I was using Life Balance.
 
Do you think ShadowPlan is more complicated to use than Bonsai?
 
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