Remember from the intro post, these are the primary requirements I have for a To Do app for my phone/computer/the cloud…

Among the requirements I have for a to do list are:

• Repeating Tasks… I write on 4 blogs and maintain a couple of dynamic websites that always need fresh content.  So, I need to remember where I need to write posts each day.  My repeating tasks include:
  • Same day each month (gathering statistics in my local MLS)
  • Same day each week (weekly posts like my 53 Cool Concept series each Sunday)
  • Every X number of days (for places I post every four or eight days, etc)
• Ability to tag or note which tasks are for which purpose
• Prioritization (so I don’t get caught up in stuff that doesn’t matter… missing things that are more important)

Ability to sync between my mobile device and other devices (laptop, cloud, etc.)

That seems pretty simple…

Second up is Astrid Tasks.

Repeating Tasks

This is the one that kicks out most of the To Do Lists for me.  There are several options, which may make this a great opportunity for some folks, but I felt a little limited.

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  Image via Wikipedia

  Daily – You can set tasks to repeat daily, as well as set them to repeat after a certain number of days… (every third day or 19th day, whatever).  There are some other options… they are under the “Weekly” tag.

• Weekly – Tasks can be set to repeat on a weekly basis, as well.  So, if you have a task that needs to be done every Tuesday, or one that needs to be dome every three weeks, this is the option you would use.  There is also the capability to set a task to be done on selected days of the week.
• Monthly – The next option would be a monthly task.  This can be set a specific day (November 20th for example) but not on a trigger (like the 3rd Saturday of the month).
• Yearly – This option allows longer range tasks (like birthdays) to be set up.  It can even be set up to remind about the task after a period of years.  To do this, it has to be set up to repeat in 12 months… or 24 months… or whatever.
• Hourly – This is a cool little addition.  I don’t have a need for it, but it does have the ability to set up a task to be repeated after a certain number of hours (like medicine that needs to be taken every 8 or 12 hours, for example).

Tags

Tags can be created to help search out tasks that need to be done or that have been completed.  There is also a place to enter notes about the task that can help get it done.  I don’t know if those notes are searchable.

Prioritization

We HAVE to be able to focus on the things that are most important.  Checkmark has four priority levels: low, medium, high and emergency (I named them that… they go from ! to !!!!).

Astrid CAN be set up to sync with a Google Calendar, and I would bet that with the Add-ons there are a lot more options.  One of the Add-ons that IS really interesting is Locale.  With this, the list will be location aware, so it will be able to give you reminders that are tied to a location (buy milk when it knows you are at the grocery store).  The drawback is that it will take time to set up the location, and tags would have to be regimented and applied.

The weakness I have with Google Calendar sync revolves around repeating tasks.  The tasks aren’t currently fully synchronized.

This is an interesting option, and holds some promise.  The monthly tasks not being available for the 1st Saturday (or whatever) is very limiting for me.

Related articles

• To Do Lists… Checkmark (lanebailey.info)
• What To Do… (lanebailey.info)
• Getting Things Done… (lanebailey.info)

I am a huge believer in To Do lists.  I have a lot of tasks, and building out lists is one of the best ways to make sure everything gets done on time.

The direction I have been moving in, especially since getting my Android phone, is moving those lists to my phone.  I have been looking at numerous apps to handle my calendaring and to do list duties.

Among the requirements I have for a to do list are:

• Repeating Tasks… I write on 4 blogs and maintain a couple of dynamic websites that always need fresh content.  So, I need to remember where I need to write posts each day.  My repeating tasks include:
  • Same day each month (gathering statistics in my local MLS)
  • Same day each week (weekly posts like my 53 Cool Concept series each Sunday)
  • Every X number of days (for places I post every four or eight days, etc)
• Ability to tag or note which tasks are for which purpose
• Prioritization (so I don’t get caught up in stuff that doesn’t matter… missing things that are more important)
• Ability to sync between my mobile device and other devices (laptop, cloud, etc.)

The tough one is repeating tasks… so far, the only thing I have found that really rocks repeating tasks is Microsoft Outlook.  And there isn’t a real good way to incorporate it with an Android phone.

Over the next few weeks I am going to test and review as many ToDo List applications as I can find.  I’ll be looking at them through the prism above… how they fit my needs.  I will try to update this post with the links to each of those reviews… but feel free to subscribe to get the posts as fast as I write them.

And don’t be shy about suggestions… I find most of my apps through AppBrain, but also try to keep an eye on the Android Marketplace and even Google searches.

Related articles

• Task List Guru Is Complete Desktop To-Do List Software (addictivetips.com)
• Top 20 Best Android Apps You Need To Get (That Aren’t Games) (makeuseof.com)
• Making It All Work – Getting Control: Organizing (thesimpledollar.com)
• Taskos Is a Voice-Powered Mobile To-Do List for Android [Downloads] (lifehacker.com)
• GTD Blog (eyesofcalvin.wordpress.com)

I hear a lot about Social Media Strategy or Technology Tactics… but there is something that seems to be missing from many of these conversations.  Rather than framing the discussion in terms of the end result, it gets formed around how to use a tool.

First we need a GOAL…

The goal is the missing ingredient.  In fact, not only is it the missing ingredient, but it is the most important part.  Since I am a car guy, let me illustrate it like this…

• The goal is to win races.  We decide that we want to win a drag race…  GOAL
• In order to win the drag race, we will need a very high power to weight ratio…  STRATEGY
• To accomplish this, we have two paths we may need to take…
  • Path One is to increase the power…  TACTIC A
  • Path Two is to decrease weight… TACTIC B
• Of course now there are a lot of steps involved in accomplishing our tactical goals.

As you can see, in this example, you could deploy the tactics without having a goal, but it might be difficult to know exactly which tactics would be best for achieving the goal.  You might even be able to use the strategy, but that strategy is similar for almost any kind of racing… so again, without the goal, the details would be hard to work out.

Another example would be baking a cake.  The goal is to have a cake to eat when you are done.  The strategy is to combine the right ingredients to make a cake… in the right order to make a cake.  The tactics are how you employ the tools of cake making and how you utilize the ingredients.

Social media and technology aren’t much different.  Within a few minutes I could come up with 100 of social  media sites and maybe thousands of technologies.  And we deal with vendors all of the time that want us to use their latest and greatest.  I know that my inbox overflows with offers to use free this or paid that…

But too many of us don’t have the FIRST step completed.  We don’t know where we want to go.  And one of the most common examples of that would be…  “My goal is to make money.”  Really?  Sorry, but that isn’t a goal.  A goal might be to have 50% of the transactions in your niche, or maybe to be the dominant agent in a particular area.

The strategies to achieve that may involve direct mail, newsletters, websites or a myriad of other encompassing options.

The tactics could be to create a hyper-local community blog platform or employing mobile marketing to build open house attendance.

From there, you can decide which specific platforms and/or technologies would best serve the larger needs.

The point is, before you can decide how to get somewhere, you need to know where you want to arrive.

Not kinda… but fully on.

1 October, 2010

The venue is set to be the Gwinnett Braves Stadium… but that could change.  It will run from about 9:00am until around 5:00pm… a full day of real estate technology and social media training, learning and sharing.  Check the website.

If you’ve never been to a rebarcamp…

They are really cool events.  They are billed as ‘the unconference’ because so much runs counter to the standard conference experience.  At a normal conference, there are a bunch of break-out sessions where we all get to listen to someone tell us about a cool new product or service… usually that they offer… and how it can help our business.  Don’t get me wrong… I love going to conferences and find them very valuable.

During a rebarcamp, the break-outs are geared more towards group discussion.  I’ve found that almost every CAN have something to add to the conversation.  We all seem to have parts of the puzzle… but few have the whole box.  Some participants have incredible experiences and can answer some of the questions.  Others have their experiences in different areas.  But, one of the most valuable things to have is a question… they drive the whole agenda.

Did I mention that it is FREE?

Of course, there is still a price for free…  For attendees, that price is participation.  Dive in, meet people, share, make friends… participate.  It is amazingly rewarding.

The other cost is the cost borne by the sponsors… many of whom we are still searching.  We have a few of our sponsors signed up, but we will need a lot more before all is said and done.  Check out the site for more info on sponsoring…  We have a level of sponsorship for almost anyone!  From $100 up to $2000… you can make this a reality.

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• reBarCamp – Atlanta? (lanebailey.info)
• rebarcamp Atlanta… A Date and A Venue… (gwinnettgarageguy.com)

I am proud to say that I attended the very first REbarcamp, which was a real estate industry specific technology “unconference”.  Basically, the idea behind barcamp is that the conferees get together and create an agenda and then host the sessions.  It is an amazing peer-to-peer discussion.

continue reading "Small Business BarCamp Atlanta"

Right now there is a small core group looking at the feasibility of a real estate bar camp in the Atlanta area.  If we can put it together, the event will be held this fall… September or October is the likely time frame.

Here are a couple of posts on Active Rain with more info about #rebcATL (that is the ‘official’ Twitter hashtag for the event).

Should Atlanta have a reBarCamp?

A little more about an Atlanta rebarcamp

continue reading "reBarCamp – Atlanta?"