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-   -   calendar, todos and projects (http://forums.omnigroup.com/showthread.php?t=24901)

PhiDelt 2012-07-15 11:27 AM

calendar, todos and projects
 
My question is how do you guys know when to use the following when dealing with managing a gtd workload ?

PhiDelt 2012-07-15 11:28 AM

When to use a calander a todo list in omnifocus or a omniplan project ?

nick101 2012-07-15 07:04 PM

Calendar - fixed time event, like a meeting
Omnifocus - task list, or set of tasks (project), overview of my workload
Omniplan - specific formal project plans only, multiple linked tasks and dependencies, multiple resources

My job is project management. I use Omnifocus for the "outside" tasks - reports, meetings, project setup, admin, planning etc and Omniplan for the project plan itself (well, MS Project in reality, because my clients are universally Windows-based, but Omniplan for out of office updates).

I do use the Calendar for time-critical tasks (.e. block out Monday afternoon for planning) which is non-GTD, but I have to organise my time, not just my work. OF on IOS has workable calendar integration

PhiDelt 2012-07-15 10:31 PM

[QUOTE=nick101;112650]Calendar - fixed time event, like a meeting
Omnifocus - task list, or set of tasks (project), overview of my workload
Omniplan - specific formal project plans only, multiple linked tasks and dependencies, multiple resources

My job is project management. I use Omnifocus for the "outside" tasks - reports, meetings, project setup, admin, planning etc and Omniplan for the project plan itself (well, MS Project in reality, because my clients are universally Windows-based, but Omniplan for out of office updates).

I do use the Calendar for time-critical tasks (.e. block out Monday afternoon for planning) which is non-GTD, but I have to organise my time, not just my work. OF on IOS has workable calendar integration[/QUOTE]


Awesome thanks for the advice, my only problem is that I like to have my omnifocus task set with a due date that way I get a reminder of when I can and should do a certain task.

on a unrelated note I'm actually going to be pursing a certification in project management while I pursue my undergrad. I'm new to PM career is there any websites or other resources that helped you in your career?

nick101 2012-07-17 12:57 PM

[QUOTE=PhiDelt;112659]Awesome thanks for the advice, my only problem is that I like to have my omnifocus task set with a due date that way I get a reminder of when I can and should do a certain task. [/QUOTE]

So do I, for some tasks. My model is - there are some tasks that I need to do at a specific time (weekly report by 12:00 Wednesday), so I use a due date, make it repeating and use the iOS Calendar links to get it into my calendar (iCloud calendars don't work with OF on Mac, and I don't have any local calendars on my mac any more).

There are some tasks where I want to schedule some time to do them (2 hours on Tuesday afternoon to work on issues and risks): for those, I schedule an "appointment" in the calendar - has the added benefit of showing my time as busy, stopping anyone else scheduling a meeting for me. Sometimes, I'll fake a meeting ("Issues and Risks workshop") to make it clear as crustal that that time is taken. The calendar entry isn't connected to OF; OF has the task (review the R & I log) and a due date, but that's it.

[QUOTE=PhiDelt;112659]on a unrelated note I'm actually going to be pursing a certification in project management while I pursue my undergrad. I'm new to PM career is there any websites or other resources that helped you in your career?[/QUOTE]

Well, I got most of my experience on the job, so I'm not the best person to ask. I learned a few things early:

1. Focus on the outcome (what's the project for) not the methodology
2. No plan survives contact with the enemy; if you can't flex your plan, you're screwed
3. Things change, people change their minds, the world moves on. Get used to it and never never never use any of those as an excuse for not delivering
4. You *never* have enough data to make reliable plans and estimates - you're *always* trying to stretch what you have to make something that looks feasible.
5. Corollary of 4 - your first plan is always rickety; if you forget that and put too much weight on it, it'll collapse, taking you with it.
6. People make projects - how well you manage the team and your sponsors determines how successful you are. If people like the job, it's a success
7. Whether or not the job is a success depends on whether people thinks it's a success
8. But you can't spin a total failure into a success
9. Most of the time, this is *not* life and death (medics and aero engineers get to be an exception). If you do what I do (business change and systems), you have no right to push people beyond their limits - it's only work, not life. I took a project where my predecessor as PM had put a guy in a mental hospital through stress - for a ********* accounting module.
10. Project management is essentially practical - never fall in love with the theory.

Here endeth the sermon :)

nick101 2012-07-18 12:46 AM

I forgot this one (courtesy of Fred Brooks):

11. When a project is running late, adding resources just makes it later


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