FV and FVP Forum > urgent waiting-fors
I do #2 - and if the person is in the same building I am, I'll also go over to their in person. Leaving a note on their desk (usually under the mouse or on the computer screen) gets me a call back pretty quick. The only time I leave 'call Joe' on my list is if it doesn't really matter when I call Joe, as long as it's sometime in the next few days.
April 28, 2012 at 18:47 |
Lillian
Lillian
I do #2 too, and I set a reminder to nag me, at which time the task gets it's deserved dot.
As for its implementation, I switched back to my old favourite MLO, after having tried Evernote for a while, precisely because of the need to move in and out of the list when I needed a reminder. I can easily add an alarm to any task in MLO to nag me, at which time it gets dotted and added to the chain.
I know you use OneNote Seraphim, which quite closely linked to Outlook, as you might already know. You could create a reminder right within Onenote which gets carried over to Outlook quite seamlessly without the the kind of back and forth that you describe, could you not?
As for its implementation, I switched back to my old favourite MLO, after having tried Evernote for a while, precisely because of the need to move in and out of the list when I needed a reminder. I can easily add an alarm to any task in MLO to nag me, at which time it gets dotted and added to the chain.
I know you use OneNote Seraphim, which quite closely linked to Outlook, as you might already know. You could create a reminder right within Onenote which gets carried over to Outlook quite seamlessly without the the kind of back and forth that you describe, could you not?
April 28, 2012 at 20:07 |
JD
JD
Lillian - Thanks for the feedback. Yes, if they are in the same building, that works well. But quite often they aren't. :-(
JD - Thanks, glad to see there is a consensus forming here. :-)
Yes, I do link my OneNote items to Outlook Tasks sometimes. For some reason the first time I do that on any given day takes about 2 minutes for Outlook to process, and meanwhile both OneNote and Outlook are frozen. If I try to make an Outlook Task from OneNote after that on the same day, it happens instantly, no delay, no freeze. That initial delay is probably the only reason I don't use this feature 100% of the time.
JD - Thanks, glad to see there is a consensus forming here. :-)
Yes, I do link my OneNote items to Outlook Tasks sometimes. For some reason the first time I do that on any given day takes about 2 minutes for Outlook to process, and meanwhile both OneNote and Outlook are frozen. If I try to make an Outlook Task from OneNote after that on the same day, it happens instantly, no delay, no freeze. That initial delay is probably the only reason I don't use this feature 100% of the time.
April 29, 2012 at 1:44 |
Seraphim
Seraphim
Seraphim:
Twenty years or more ago I was taught the answer to this, and I've used it ever since.
When you need to keep trying to reach someone, post a yellow sticky note on the edge of your computer screen, and every time you notice it call the number again.
Note that this only works if your screen is normally clear of sticky notes!
Twenty years or more ago I was taught the answer to this, and I've used it ever since.
When you need to keep trying to reach someone, post a yellow sticky note on the edge of your computer screen, and every time you notice it call the number again.
Note that this only works if your screen is normally clear of sticky notes!
April 29, 2012 at 9:43 |
Mark Forster
Mark Forster
I'll give the sticky note idea a try! Thanks Mark.
April 29, 2012 at 18:12 |
Seraphim
Seraphim
So, I enter the task on FV, and dot it. I check to see if that person is available. He is not. I know I need to check again soon -- but obviously not immediately.
Here are a couple ways I've dealt with this issue:
(1) Leave the item dotted, and move on to the next item in the chain. When I've finished working on that next item, I scan my chain again from the bottom to find the dotted tasks. I see the follow-up item that still has the dot, and am reminded to check if that person is available yet. Positives: I can stay in my list and not use external helps like Outlook reminders. Negatives: I have to remember to rescan from the bottom of the list all the time. When I am moving quickly through tasks I don't normally do this. It feels unnatural. And it's not really in keeping with the rules.
(2) Create an Outlook reminder that pops up every 30 minutes. Or tag the person in Microsoft Lync. Or put an appt on my calendar in 30 minutes to call the person. Or all three. Positives: I find this is more reliable than (1), above. Also, I am not tweaking the rules -- I hate tweaking rules because it adds complexity and leads to resisting the system overall. Negatives: If I have several such items, I tend to spend more time in Outlook managing them, than in working my FV list. I hate getting pulled away from my FV list. It's lots of fun to work on my FV list. I really like seeing meaningful results on things that matter. :-)
Any thoughts, suggestions, alternatives?