Treo 650 palm GTD setup applications

[evbart]

I just switched from an Axim X3i with Windows Mobile 2003 and informant. I was syncing with Outlook on my laptop and my home desktop.

My old GTD implementation basically involved 12ish context tags (@home, @computer, etc) and the public/private checkbox to keep my work/personal tasks separate.

Basically I am trying to get a similar setup on my Treo, but I am a bit overwhelmed by all the new software. What apps should I use? I want to sync with outlook, so i ruled out the apps that require a desktop application to sync with.

Requirements:

- I need to setup task views, so I can view in one view my personal tasks (private checkbox checked) and in the other my work tasks (private checkbox unchecked). I also need to be able to assign those views to filter out some of the categories. I have one or two categories that i use predominantly for work.

-Rather than viewing just a list of tasks in a certain category, I'd like to view all my tasks grouped (with expand and minimiz plus sign) by category.

other than that the conversion seems to be going well. its a big step up, but im real nervous with no way to view my tasks till i get this last part in place.

 

[Cikub]

The basic Palm apps (calendar, tasks, contacts, etc.) all sync to Outlook, but they provide a different category function (there are only 15 possible categories and you can only see one at a time). If you want more of an Outlook "experience" on the Treo, your best bet would probably be Chapura's KeySuite, which has it's own set of basic apps that are specifically designed to be like Outlook (lots of categories, multiple category selection, etc.). I don't know if it will will you look a single list of grouped categories, though.

www.chapura.com

C.

 

[mcogilvie]

My old GTD implementation basically involved 12ish context tags (@home, @computer, etc) and the public/private checkbox to keep my work/personal tasks separate.

Requirements:

- I need to setup task views, so I can view in one view my personal tasks (private checkbox checked) and in the other my work tasks (private checkbox unchecked). I also need to be able to assign those views to filter out some of the categories. I have one or two categories that i use predominantly for work.

-Rather than viewing just a list of tasks in a certain category, I'd like to view all my tasks grouped (with expand and minimiz plus sign) by category.

other than that the conversion seems to be going well. its a big step up, but im real nervous with no way to view my tasks till i get this last part in place.

First things first: you can view your tasks just fine using the standards palm applications, or programs which use the same databases, or programs that sync separately with Outlook (Keysuite is good). You will probably have to acquire different habits when you view things on your palm.

Your practice of using private records for personal as opposed to business tasks is probably a bad habit, and you should reconsider it. This function was never intended to be used as you use it. Moreover, I know of no palm application that easily lets you view only private records, or marks them in an easily visible way.

There are two dominant programs that use the standard palm databases, but add much functionality: Agendus and Datebk 5 (Datebk 6 is now in beta). Datebk 5 is very solid code, but I find it has an idiosyncratic structure which is probably attributable to it being the product of one talented person. Agendus is slicker, and appears more designed for business. I have found it somewhat buggier, but not fatally so. Agendus has a collapsing-category task view, but Datebk 5 (and especially 6) has very powerful task viewing categories. Both of these applications are big, sophisticated programs: they can make your life easier, and they can suck your time away like nobody's business. Keysuite is more like Outlook Junior. Its viewing capabilities are much like the standard Palm apps, but it supports multiple categories for items and multiple folders.

I urge you to keep things simple, go slowly, and stay with the standard palm applications for a while. Remember, you want the application to become transparent to you, not you to become dependent on the application.