Cal / Task Integration

S

solent123

0
I've learned a lot reading through this forum as I try to find the right GTD setup for me.

One thing I really want, is to have my schedule (calender) and task items for that day visible in one place. So, lets say I have meetings on a specific date, but also have to deposit a check in the bank on that date...I want these to be visible in one place.

So far I've tried Toodledo + iCal, and brought them together in Pocket Informant. Its not bad, but integrating Pocket Informant and Toodledo is slightly rough, especially with projects. I'm still playing with this combo trying to fine tune it for me.

I've also tried iCal and Apple Reminders which I bring together in the notifications window. It works well for contexts, but projects again, are not handled the way I would like. Also, there is no date limit in iOS 6. It looks like they are planning that for iOS 7, but that's months off at this point, and Reminders still looks like its going to be a bit simple for my needs.

Toodledo also has an iCal feed, but I have not tried it b/c it says it updates once / day. That's just not going to work for me. Ideally, I'd like to open iCal, and see my calendar entries along with my tasks due that day.

Also, I know there is OmniPro, but the cost to try it out with iOS access was steep, so I'm holding off on that for the moment.

I was wondering if anyone had any other suggestions for ways to merge this data.

Dave
 
A few comments, with questions

- Please say what you really want. You say you want integration of tasks and calendar, but you also mention handling of projects without saying what you are looking for. Also, what platforms do you use? I would guess iPhone and Mac, but I can't be sure.

- Integration of calendar and task list is increasingly rare. Busycal does a good job with Calendar and Reminders on a Mac, but is not going to give you any project linking or hierarchy. I don't care for Pocket Informant, but it does give you a unified view of calendar and next actions on an iOS device. You might like PlanBe better, but it uses data from Calendar and Reminders.

- If you want a robust hierarchical list manager on OS X and iOS with a view that shows your calendar, then you have one choice: OmniFocus. It's a big, relatively expensive, sophisticated piece of software. You may or may not be happy with it.

- I don't know what you mean by a "date limit."

- I think the easiest, best thing for someone starting out with GTD is to do exactly what David Allen tells you to do, in his book and in the various set-up guides. In particular, I would give up on Calendar/Next Action integration. It's not worth that much. If you need to do an errand like going to the bank on a specific date, you can put it on your calendar.
 
mcogilvie;108142 said:
- Please say what you really want. You say you want integration of tasks and calendar, but you also mention handling of projects without saying what you are looking for. Also, what platforms do you use? I would guess iPhone and Mac, but I can't be sure.

- Integration of calendar and task list is increasingly rare. Busycal does a good job with Calendar and Reminders on a Mac, but is not going to give you any project linking or hierarchy. I don't care for Pocket Informant, but it does give you a unified view of calendar and next actions on an iOS device. You might like PlanBe better, but it uses data from Calendar and Reminders.

- If you want a robust hierarchical list manager on OS X and iOS with a view that shows your calendar, then you have one choice: OmniFocus. It's a big, relatively expensive, sophisticated piece of software. You may or may not be happy with it.

- I don't know what you mean by a "date limit."

- I think the easiest, best thing for someone starting out with GTD is to do exactly what David Allen tells you to do, in his book and in the various set-up guides. In particular, I would give up on Calendar/Next Action integration. It's not worth that much. If you need to do an errand like going to the bank on a specific date, you can put it on your calendar.
Click to expand...

mcogilvie,

yup, Apple & iPhone

for integration, I mean that my cal events and tasks due on a single day can be seen on one screen, or a single place. Its struck me as very non GTD to have to look at two storage sources to see whats going on in my day, and I'm surprised this is not more common. Maybe I'm missing something.

For date limit, I mean to just see the events / tasks of a single day. Right now, Apple's notifications will show up to your next 20 Reminders and iCal events, even if these spill into the next day. On Apple's promo pages for iOS 7, they clearly show a way to limit the notification window to just "Today".

Thanks for PlanBe suggestion...looks like that might work. Seems to have toodledo integration too.
 
OmniFocus

I really like how the Forecast mode in OmniFocus for iOS ties to (Apple) Calendar.

OF for the iPad is my primary GTD tool so this integration is very helpful. On the desktop (OS X) this feature isn't there yet but I can go back and forth between OF and Calendar so fast that I don't miss it.

Omni Group is planning to add that feature in OmniFocus 2 for the OS X desktop.
 
Thanks Mark. Appreciate the info on the cal integration. vs 2 is looking even more on target for me. Looks like I'm going to give Omni a shot since the other options are just not working for me when it comes to projects.
 
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