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Outlook + Blackberry + Project + GTD
Knigel | Apr 9 2006
Hey there everyone, this is my first post after a long while of lurking so this is also my formal hello. I'll start this off with a few selfish questions: I've been using the GTD system for about one year now. After tweaking it all over the place, I've got it somewhat workable. My foundation consists of a Blackberry 7250, Outlook 2003, pieces of hipster (which I wish I could get to be more practical over my blackberry), and my brain. The one thing that I have had the most trouble with and is a persisting problem, is maintaining a current @Project list. I've tried many things, but the blackberry seems very confining when used with outlooks. With Outlook I can make folders and subfolders for projects and tasks, but it does not allow me to see the same thing in my Blackberry. I've been stuck with a simple list of projects, but there is no convenient way to tie all of the loose tasks in with it. I would like a way to see a project with tasks and subtasks without having to place a project in the actual heading of each task. Every time I've tried to use the task heading to maintain a project tracker, the title gets too long, and the task jumps around too much making re-editing the project tag annoying. To sum it up, I am curious if there are any other people who use Outlook and Blackberry together, and if there are any suggestions people may be able to offer. I'm a student so buying new programs such as David's Outlook add-in (Which doesn't seem compatible with Blackberry) and new gadgets like Palm Pilots is unfortunately not a possibility at this time. I would like to go completely Hipster but my handwriting is horrendous (I also spend most of my gtd organisation on a bumpy bus ride) and although Outlook+Blackberry has a few quirks, I've found it more useful globally. Thank you to anyone who has advice for me, I appreciate it. 3 Comments
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 Setting up a Project List in OutlookSubmitted by Stew on April 10, 2006 - 5:11am.
Welcome, Knigel! I used to use Outlook when I was first starting out. The general instructions I followed for setting it up are here. Basically, the method involves setting up a separate contact-type folder to hold your "Projects", in this case, modified contact entries. One of the great benefits I found was being able to click on each item on the list and seeing the associated tasks nested therein. I haven't experimented with it, but does Outlook have a way to export contact lists (maybe to Excel) to view on the Blackberry? I eventually switched to an hPDA. My penmanship leaves much to be desired, but as long as I can read my own writing, it's never a problem and saves so much time. For those bumpy rides, you may want to try a hardback notebook to capture your ideas. I personally use a moleskine, but there are plenty of brands out there that provide a stable writing surface. There's nothing worse than having ideas and being unable to collect them with your toolset! Hope this helps. » POSTED IN:
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