Get Everything Done

Hi All

As a "digital person" to coin someone else's phrase, I always feel the need to "convert" any system and find OneNote an invaluable tool. I have started using the system with paper (which I agree with Mark is an initially intuitive medium) and I think will continue to start my lists on paper. However OneNote is so far proving to do all I need it to to manage everything thrown at it so far. Having read some of the other digital posts, a lot of systems can be quite complex and what I love so far about Autofocus is it's almost ridiculous simplicity. For those familiar with OneNote I have detailed below how I have (so far) set up "the system".

I have set up a Notebook called (originally) Autofocus. At this point it has 4 sections.

Section 1 is just called Beta Testing. It contains 2 pages, the first being Mark's email with the instructions, the second being notes that I am making about my initial thoughts in testing the system.

Section 2 is called Pages. Each new "page" of items is written on a separate page. As my pages are 34 lines that easily fits onto one screen page so every item can be clearly seen. As I complete an item i highlight in yellow using the standard highlight tool. That makes it easy to scan the page for remaining items. (When I get to the point of items being rejected, I will just use a different colour to highlight them.

Section 3 I have at present just called Lists. At the moment this just contains one page [Shopping List] but I may (not sure yet) use this section to record items awaiting response if (and only if) they do not work for me by retaining in the pages as Mark suggests.

Section 4 is called schedules. It contains one page, a calendar for January 2009, on which I am adding scheduled items and appointments. One task on my list is to "check schedule" which will be automatically relisted on a daily basis or as necessary. OneNote of course enables this schedule to be kept in the same place as my "pages".

I had projects set up within OneNote (in a DIT notebook). At this stage I am not sure whether to move them to my Autofocus Notebook but suspect that the system will itself determine whether that is the best approach (for me).

Initially I am writing my lists on paper (A4 with 34 lines to a page). These lists can then easily be brought into OneNote. I am finding it is easiest to wait until a list is complete before entering it but that is personal preference.

Hope that may be of help or interest to otheres using OneNote .......

Hi Christine,

Interesting feedback from you! I posted something earlier as I have also set up AFTM in OneNote 2007, to be used with Outlook 2007 as necessary (and using Outlook configured as Michael Linenberger recommends in Total Workday Control.

However, I have been wondering about when to stop a page in OneNote and start a new one. It seems that the a4/Letter size is the "magic" size. I am using the date at the top of the list I started today, and intend starting a new Page or Sub-Page in OneNote under tomorrow's date, but then what happens to all the unfinished/undismissed items on the previous page? Copy across?

I think I'm missing something.

R

Hi Roger

What I have done is to use a new page for each "page", so Page 1 is my first page of 32 items. As I complete items I highlight them. I can then see immediately which items are still to be done. I have called the pages Page 1, Page 2 and so on but have also added Active where the page is still active (i.e. Page 1 - Active) Each page is a closed list so should not be carried across. I think Mark was referring to adding the date at the beginning of the day to identify when items were added rather than to signify a "new" list. I am currently on Page 4, each page being a closed list. Consequently item one on Page 1 is dated 5 Jan but the first item dated 6 Jan will be somewhere in the middle of Page 4 or Page 5 rather than on a new page.

It is my intention to remove the "Active" from the page name when I complete a page, and by completion I mean either all items being completed or any undone items being rejected. My list of pages would then look something like

Page 1 - Active
Page 2
Page 3 - Active
Page 4 - Active
etc

No doubt at some point I will want to archive completed pages to a separate section group but it is early days as yet. It is also my intention to set up a page for rejected items which I can then review on a regular basis if I wish. As that hasn't happened yet that is just how I assume I will manage it when the time comes :-)

Hope that helps?

Mmmm... this is very interesting. Like a number of folk I love the paper-and-pen-scribble-away method and think it fits well with a system designed to tap into our intuitiveness. However I also like to see how technology can help me be (or at least appear - not sure there should be a difference!) uber effecient!

I've not heard of OneNote - can anyone give me a basic idea of what it is? Is it expensive? Trial versions available? Forgive my ignorance, I haven't even discovered the calender function on Outlook yet! Apparently I'm missing something!

Hi Shelley

OneNote is a Microsoft product and is part of the latest Office suite. The cheapest way to obtain it is as part of the Home & Student package but if you are using it for business you should go for one of their other (more expensive!) suites.

http://www.microsoft.com/office/2007-rlt/en-GB/Default.aspx?s=whatsnew&id=onenote&WT.mc_id=ad&WT.srch=1

The above link takes you to the info page and to the Trial download. (NB You do need to use the 2007 version - their earlier offering in Office 2003 was not good!)

The package works on the premise of a notebook or organiser but is extremely flexible in that you can print to it, embed files in it and set up unlimited numbers of notebooks, sections etc. Have a look at the MS site and it should give you a good overview.

Ho ho Mark!

Very funny! Yes I am using Outlook Express at home, but work uses the other one. See, I can't even remember what it's called! It's the one that does 'out of office assistant' (I've mastered that one!).

People who have mastered it send me meeting dates to agree to that automatically change your calender and send you a confirmation, or something like that. Other people talk about 'keeping their online calender up-to-date' so their secretaries can keep track of them. Fortunately I don't have a secretary who wants to keep track of me, it's just me that wants to keep track of me.

Next time I'm on my computer at work I'm going to check out the calender and task function. In fact, I'm going to put it on my 'to do' list right now!


Christine

Thanks so much for the link. I will check this out - you are very helpful and knowledgeable about these things!

You're very welcome Shelley. As you've probably guessed, I think OneNote is a fantastic tool; it has certainly helped me to become more efficient and I don't use it to anywhere near it's capacity. Outlook is also a great program but you have to work so hard to get it to do what you want - I like simple!! Reminds me of a quote I saw in a restaurant recently - "Life is too short to stuff a mushroom!" :-)