gmail Calendar programmable ?

G

gtdstudente

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Fellow GTDers

Does anyone know how to flip the gmail calendar dates, i.e., "upside-down . . . left to right" to be 'cleaner' / 'less stimulating' ?

Meaning . . . when the first day of the month falls on Friday, and as such, the last day [31] would fall on Sunday . . . would look like so:

Su Sat Fr Th We Tu Mo
31 30 29 28 27 26 25

24 23 22 21 20 19 18

17 16 15 14 13 12 11

10 09 08 07 06 05 04

03 02 01
 
I have to ask, what possible usefulness would that serve? Time does not go backwards. Seeing the end of the month first make absolutely no sense to me at all. Why do you think it would be helpful to you?
 
Oogiem said:
I have to ask, what possible usefulness would that serve? Time does not go backwards. Seeing the end of the month first make absolutely no sense to me at all. Why do you think it would be helpful to you?
Click to expand...
@Oogiem

Thank you for your good reply including

"Time does not go backwards."

While an objective and and subjective ordering would have been preferred, the following sample is alphabetically for your convenience:

Again, "Time does not go backwards."

Except for the following few that some might have personally experienced ?

Agriculture ?

Books ?

Cycles ?

Discarded list(s) ?

Getting Things Done, 1st Edition ?

Getting Things Done, 2nd Edition ?

Husbandry ?

Internet ?

Seasons ?

Soil depleted ?

History ?

Inbox empty ?

Inbox full ?

List(s) ?

Markets ?

Memory ?

Moon Phases ?

Reflect ?

Someday/Maybe ?

Strategic Thinking ?

Trashed ?

Trauma

Understanding ?

Weekly Review ?


If you agree GTD is much based on Chronos and Kairos, then does Chronos serve Kairos and Kairos serve Chronos ?

If so, how ?

Where does time 'go' ?

In advance, thank you for your help

As you see GTD fit. . . .
 
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You might be able to write a greasemonkey script to change the way the google calendar behaves in your browser:
addons.mozilla.org

Greasemonkey – Get this Extension for Firefox (en-GB)

Download Greasemonkey for Firefox. Customize the way a web page displays or behaves, by using small bits of JavaScript.
addons.mozilla.org addons.mozilla.org

You could use the API to write your own frontend:
developers.google.com

Google Calendar API overview | Google for Developers

developers.google.com developers.google.com

Some languages are read right to left, so you could try switching to one of those languages and see if that changes the orientation of the calendar.

The time "going" is a figure of speech to refer to the progression of time into the past.

I would also be interested to hear why you want the calendar backwards.
 
cfoley said:
You might be able to write a greasemonkey script to change the way the google calendar behaves in your browser:
addons.mozilla.org

Greasemonkey – Get this Extension for Firefox (en-GB)

Download Greasemonkey for Firefox. Customize the way a web page displays or behaves, by using small bits of JavaScript.
addons.mozilla.org addons.mozilla.org

You could use the API to write your own frontend:
developers.google.com

Google Calendar API overview | Google for Developers

developers.google.com developers.google.com

Some languages are read right to left, so you could try switching to one of those languages and see if that changes the orientation of the calendar.

The time "going" is a figure of speech to refer to the progression of time into the past.

I would also be interested to hear why you want the calendar backwards.
Click to expand...
@cfoley

'calendar backwards'

Thank you for your good reply

Perhaps displaying an inverse 'calendar display' is less jarring ?

Sunday vs. Monday as the first day of the week is what was needed with the following calendar rendition ?

The week on 'Calendar convention' in the U.S. begins the week with Sunday to commemorate the Resurrection as the new beginning ?

However, practically speaking, Monday functions as the first day of the week and the "weekend" in some ways begins with Friday and ends with Sunday which can also be deemed as the day of rest in imitation of the Creator ?

Perhaps following lay-out has more self-evident makes the merits ?

After some understandable 'adjustment', the following, might be more accurately expressing one's personal as well as social reality ?

Past days could be 'clipped, clipped, clipped' to focus easier on the up coming dates/days . . . would be cumbersome to do with current conventional calendar layouts ?

As such, on this end, the following would make the calendar all the more attractive ?

Mo Tu We Th Fr Sat Sun
25 26 27 28 29 30 31

17 18 19 20 22 23 24

10 11 12 13 14 15 16

03 04 05 06 07 08 09

01 02


This lay-out would seemingly be 'easier' to program than the prior "Experiment" since the day sequence retains at least the current European convention ?


Meanwhile, while "Day light savings time" is an annual debate; intentions to move the 'Calendar-Industrial complex' to change its conventions are on the Maybe/Someday list

Thank you sir
 
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OK, so there are three things:
  1. Order of the days (columns)
  2. Order of the weeks (rows)
  3. Daylight saving time
Daylight saving time seems out of scope so let's not discuss it for now. That leaves us with order of the days (columns) and order of the weeks (rows).

Order of the days (columns)

Google calendar out of the box has the option to start the week on Saturday, Sunday or Monday. This will let you do your European column layout.

Order of the weeks (rows)

There are a bunch of alternative calendars available in the settings. Perhaps one of those will suit you better.

I still don't understand why you want to do this. I am afraid I just don't understand the analogies you are giving.
 
cfoley said:
OK, so there are three things:
  1. Order of the days (columns)
  2. Order of the weeks (rows)
  3. Daylight saving time
Daylight saving time seems out of scope so let's not discuss it for now. That leaves us with order of the days (columns) and order of the weeks (rows).

Order of the days (columns)

Google calendar out of the box has the option to start the week on Saturday, Sunday or Monday. This will let you do your European column layout.

Order of the weeks (rows)

There are a bunch of alternative calendars available in the settings. Perhaps one of those will suit you better.

I still don't understand why you want to do this. I am afraid I just don't understand the analogies you are giving.
Click to expand...
@cfoley

Thank you very much

Appreciate your reducing the calendar to rows and columns

"Analogies" was expressing as to what some calendar conventions seemed to be based on . . .

Only if interested, for instance the the new year for the Hebrew calendar is in September like the academic year

Some fiscal years use: July to June, September to October in addition to January to December, etc.

The Roman calendar's first month of the year was March . . . September, October, November, December . . . seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth month from March

Another tidbit(s), August has 31 day . . . day removed from February --- month of purification preparation to be in good stead with the gods for the afterlife if one were to perish in battle beginning with the Spring military campaign of March --- so Caesar Augustus would not have a shorter month than Julius Caesar

In Roman manner, the British Isles were the last to nicely use March 25 as the first day of the year

Other calendar considerations also include Lunar, Seasonal (Spring Equinox, Summer Solstice, Autumn Equinox, Winter Solstice), etc.
All good . . . no worries . . . there are also other embedded calendar inefficiencies that need to be addressed for mankind . . . so much to do . . . so little 'time' . . . all good

The calendar is a fascinating instrument / tool ?

Thank you very much sir . . . your the best !

Ps. In pursuit of improved efficient "Calendar preparation systems" . . . it could/would be worthwhile to have an only "Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday Calendar(s)" and all commitments/events that fall on those particular days to leverage each of those days own particular rhythm ?
 
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Ah. I think I see the disconnect. All that stuff is historically interesting. Thanks for sharing it. However, none of it sheds light on why you want to change your calendar.
 
cfoley said:
Ah. I think I see the disconnect. All that stuff is historically interesting. Thanks for sharing it. However, none of it sheds light on why you want to change your calendar.
Click to expand...
@cfoley

Super

Changing the "calendar's layout" for ease vs. changing the calendar

All good . . . can only humbly chalk up the dimness to communication ineptitude . . . my bad

Thank you very much sir
 
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A lot of people in this forum seem to spend a lot of time trying to build a better mousetrap at the expense of actually catching mice. I did that myself for a lot of years. That's why I can say with confidence that unless your job is "GTD theorist" or "GTD app/tool evaluator," you'll catch a lot more mice if you just buy some traps and deploy them.
 
The evidence is clear ?

All agree?: Talk does not cook rice --- Chinese proverb

Sadly, many fewer agree?: I must create a System or be enslv' d by another Man's. --- William Blake

Chop, chop ?

As you see GTD fit. . . .
 
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gtdstudente said:
Sadly, many fewer agree?: I must create a System or be enslv' d by another Man's. --- William Blake
Click to expand...
I think most people who use this forum agree with that, actually. Otherwise, why would they buy into GTD? The question isn't whether one needs a system or not; but instead how much work should go into creating and maintaining it. I eventually had to ask myself whether all of the effort I was putting constantly looking for some kind of hack for my GTD system was worth it. My answer was "no."

Your answer may be different, and that's OK. But if I may be so bold, have you considered the number of things you could have gotten done in the time it's taken you to search for ways to use barcode scanners for capture or a way to see your calendar in reverse order? Or conversely the amount of time you could have spent just enjoying a cup of coffee, being present with a loved one, or reading a good book?

David Allen laid out the methodology really well in his books. I'm comfortable that what David Allen believes to be the best practices are the best practices, and the behaviors he suggests in the book are good enough to achieve a mind like water.
 
bcmyers2112 said:
I think most people who use this forum agree with that, actually. Otherwise, why would they buy into GTD? The question isn't whether one needs a system or not; but instead how much work should go into creating and maintaining it. I eventually had to ask myself whether all of the effort I was putting constantly looking for some kind of hack for my GTD system was worth it. My answer was "no."

Your answer may be different, and that's OK. But if I may be so bold, have you considered the number of things you could have gotten done in the time it's taken you to search for ways to use barcode scanners for capture or a way to see your calendar in reverse order? Or conversely the amount of time you could have spent just enjoying a cup of coffee, being present with a loved one, or reading a good book?

David Allen laid out the methodology really well in his books. I'm comfortable that what David Allen believes to be the best practices are the best practices, and the behaviors he suggests in the book are good enough to achieve a mind like water.
Click to expand...
@bcmyers2112

Thank you very much for your reply . . . you are clearly doing GTD great . . . congratulations . . . very good GTD job

"Or conversely the amount of time you could have spent just enjoying a cup of coffee, being present with a loved one, or reading a good book?

Good GTD news:

Barcode . . . more current/readily ready technology "QR code" capturing on the Someday/Maybe list under it's Area-of-Focus

Daily Four Season's home cooked food(s) from scratch . . . like the daily home brew, etc. is superior to any restaurant/barista on the planet

Present with loved one's everyday while always respecting their 'space'

Books so far this year . . . at least one hundred and fifty

Your advice is well headed. . . .

Meanwhile, car oil self-changed for the coming winter, fire-hazard leaves raked, most suitable 2025 calendars in place . . . garbage is empty, kitchen floor, like bathroom, exercised cleaned corner-to-corner 'spotless' everyday, etc.

Weekly Review done

Family member coming over in two days . . . checklist done

With all due respect, other activities are proprietary

As such, thank you for taking me under your GTD wing . . . all of your GTD future advice/encouragement is eagerly awaited

Thank you very much sir

Thanking the good Lord while reflecting:

I must create a System or be enslv' d by another Man's. --- William Blake

Be kind to everyone, you never know what they are going through --- Gloria Vanderbilt [stenciled above her serious mansion's walk-in fireplace]

As you see GTD fit. . . .
 
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gtdstudente said:
@Oogiem

Thank you for your good reply including

"Time does not go backwards."

While an objective and and subjective ordering would have been preferred, the following sample is alphabetically for your convenience:

Again, "Time does not go backwards."

Except for the following few that some might have personally experienced ?

Agriculture ?

Books ?

Cycles ?

Discarded list(s) ?

Getting Things Done, 1st Edition ?

Getting Things Done, 2nd Edition ?

Husbandry ?

Internet ?

Seasons ?

Soil depleted ?

History ?

Inbox empty ?

Inbox full ?

List(s) ?

Markets ?

Memory ?

Moon Phases ?

Reflect ?

Someday/Maybe ?

Strategic Thinking ?

Trashed ?

Trauma

Understanding ?

Weekly Review ?


If you agree GTD is much based on Chronos and Kairos, then does Chronos serve Kairos and Kairos serve Chronos ?

If so, how ?

Where does time 'go' ?

In advance, thank you for your help

As you see GTD fit. . . .
Click to expand...
None of the items you mentioned go backwards.

Agricultur is always forwarad looking. I'm planing slaughter dates now for sheep that have not been conceived yet. I am planning matings 3-4 generations in advance of those parents based on the genetics of what I want to see in my flock in 6-12 years time.

Books are written and always there are older books and newer books. Books don't go from reading to manuscript but from manuscraipt to editing to publishing to reading. Cycles are not linear so fall outside this discussion. A Discarded list is trashed. As in gone not going back to an empty page. The 2 book references mak no sense to me. they were written one after another so are linear. Internet si also not meaningful IMO to the discussionl The internet is tool, neither forward nor backward. But in practice it only moves forward, wayback machine not withstanding. The next 5 things are all cycles not backwards but moving round and round. Lists have no ordering other than sequential . They do not go from completed toto not started. Markets on average only go up. Another one way direction. Memory for normal humans is prinarily sequential storage with random access. Moon phases are another cycle not linear so no concept of forward or backward. I could go on but I think you see my point.

Until there is a true time machine time only flows one way, forward in this universe. I reserve the right to learn about other alternate universes where time goes backwrds, there have be SF stories/books abou that but I do not think that they represent reality.
 
bcmyers2112 said:
A lot of people in this forum seem to spend a lot of time trying to build a better mousetrap at the expense of actually catching mice. I did that myself for a lot of years. That's why I can say with confidence that unless your job is "GTD theorist" or "GTD app/tool evaluator," you'll catch a lot more mice if you just buy some traps and deploy them.
Click to expand...

My free time is really limited now – but it’s actually giving me a great perspective, showing me that tweaking my GTD system doesn’t really lead to results. In fact, if I spent time on it right now, I'd probably struggle to reach my goals.
 
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