Comments on: ⇥ Old school task management

By: PiotrN

PiotrN — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 11:13:52 +0000

Task manager can help a developer to actually get the job done. Each complicated project needs to be divided into smaller chunks, tasks. A good way to manage and organise those smaller parts of project can help a developer (helps me) to stay focused and deal with the next small issue on the project. By keeping your focus and helping to grasp the whole project, a good tool can cut the delivery time and improve the quality.

I use FreeMind, free java mind mapping application, to do this.

By: boxoft

boxoft — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 01:27:02 +0000

I’m a coder (not a successful business man yet) and I’m managing my tasks in the following way:

1. I manage my projects with Acunote.com, which has a great tool to estimate and track projects. http://www.acunote.com/tour/burndown

2. I use Gmail a lot. My Gmail inbox contains my emails related to the unfinished projects. I’ll archive the emails when finishing the relevant project. I think GTD is too complex.

3. I manage my daily tasks with Google tasks, which can be accessed from Gmail or Google Calendar.

4. I like tracking time with RescueTime. It tracks time and assess my efficiency automatically. I’ll use it to track my employees’ efficiency when building the outsourcing company.

By: LornaJane

LornaJane — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 13:22:47 +0000

Yes I work off a list as well for day-to-day tasks, especially where I have a lot to do in one day! For bigger chunks of time, say where I need a free evening, I use my diary (also paper) to block it out. For longer-running or do-this-on-a-rainy-day tasks, I use a bug tracker. This works well for me but you have to remember to look at the bug tracker to actually get things done

By: Brian Holub

Brian Holub — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 21:18:34 +0000

I’ve fallen back to RememberTheMilk.com (i had been on/off with them for years) — now with a gmail gadget (which is always open), and an android app (including a widget on my main home screen)… it’s tough for it to get lost behind other windows those 2 “services” have made a pro account worth it for me.

By: Cormac

Cormac — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 18:00:35 +0000

The only trouble with doing the unpalatable stuff first is you may never get to do the stuff you like to do …

By: Simon Michael

Simon Michael — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 15:13:58 +0000

Thanks, a nice description. My process is similar. http://www.pomodorotechnique.com/ adds a few more pieces like timeboxing and estimation and I think you might like it.

By: Richard Harrison

Richard Harrison — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 14:51:29 +0000

You’ll probably enjoy David Seah’s work, he’s designed a load of paper-based forms for task/time management. http://davidseah.com/blog/the-printable-ceo-series/.