keeping orgainized diary etc...

aueddonline

What do you guys use to keep organized? I’ve started thinking I need to get in a good habit when keeping a diary. Something mobile that I can easy sync with my laptop and PC that run Vista, do blackberries do this?

networker050184

Yes you can use a Blackberry or other smart phone/PDA.

I used a Black Jack II for a while and it served me well for organization, but I didn't keep a diary/journal on there so not sure how well it would work for that.

dynamik

http://lifehacker.com/software/text/geek-to-live-list-your-life-in-txt-166299.php

astorrs

I use a combination of:

Outlook 2007
OneNote 2007
MindManager Pro 7

The integration between the 3 is excellent these days.

And track all my time with TimeTTracker MX2 (but then again I only get paid for what I do - consultant)

dynamik

How do you like MindManager? It's a bit steep for me at $350, it seems slick. I looked at it awhile ago, and version 7 looks even better.

astorrs

It's awesome.

I use it every time I do collaborative meetings (project planning sessions, brainstorming, etc) and usually half the people in the room go out and buy it after. Seriously. So I guess that's a good recommendation.

They have a lite version for about $100 that doesn't have all the features but meets the needs of lots of people. Like I said though I do a lot of planning with it and rely on the export features (it can output to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Project, OneNote, etc).

darkerosxx

Time Management for System Administrators:

http://www.amazon.com/Management-System-Administrators-Thomas-Limoncelli/dp/0596007833/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1218567715&sr=8-1

darkerosxx

Hey what can mindmanager do that onenote can't? Just watched the video and they look very similar.

astorrs

Totally different tools. I'll try to find a better video of MindManager for you.

I use OneNote for organizing, well everything in one place. Think of OneNote as a binder (or a shelf full of binders - sorry we're using the high school analogy here) with each binder being on a subject at "school" with tab dividers and the pages of notes - or anything even embedded documents, handwirting, URLs, etc - in between the dividers ("sections" in OneNote).

MindManager is a tool for creating mindmaps. Again going back to the school analogy - maybe elementary school now though . A mindmap is a great tool for brainstorming (my teachers used to call them "webs" - think spiders - how the hell do I remember this stuff, oh man ) consisting of a bunch of ideas (or whatever) branching out in trees from a central idea.

darkerosxx

Yeah, brainstorming. But, from what I saw, all the things in that video could be done in onenote 2007. I'd love a better tool, so I'll check out your video.

astorrs

darkerosxx wrote:

Yeah, brainstorming. But, from what I saw, all the things in that video could be done in onenote 2007.

Not really the video (I assume you mean this one) doesn't do it justice. You could in theory make a mind map in Visio, but its cumbersome, you can't really link the things in OneNote either (you could draw lines) but the goal when brainstorming is speed. MindManager is fast (insert, type, enter, type, insert, type, enter type, etc). Also the ability to plan a project lets say, change the order around in the map, drag and drop items around and then export to MS Project with all the embedded details, relationships/dependencies, resources etc all maintained is unmatched. You can't do anything like that with OneNote.

darkerosxx

Ahh, it's making more sense now. Sounds cool...

RussS

post it notes

undomiel

I mostly just keep everything in my head. I can't read my own hand writing half the time so sticky notes are out. I keep notes of some things in Opera's handy note sidebar. But it is mostly just keeping things in my head. It's just easier that way for me.