Hearkening back to my post last week about how to best integrate an iPhone with an existing, primarily Microsoft-based work process – I think I may finally have it. And I say ‘finally’ because I’ve been hammering away at this like one of the Seven Dwarves ever since. This whole mess really deserves a graphic of some sort, but part of the new flow is that I start work promptly at 9am – so that will have to wait.
I get up at 7:30, shower, feed the dogs then 8-9 is for blogging, RSS feed reading and personal email. At 9am the whistle blows and currently I’ve got only 9 minutes to finish this post. If that sounds rigid it’s because it is – and I need it to be that way.
Email: I’ve abandoned Outlook for Thunderbird – a free, open source and lightning-fast email client with many of the same features and none of the ridiculous loading or lag time. I’ll write more on all these new cogs in my workflow wheel later.
Calendar: Google Calendar was the hands-down winner due to the fact it’s compatible, or has a plugin, for just about every productivity application out there. It plays well with others.
Contacts: Still working this one through. I’d love it to be Thunderbird, but it’ll likely end up being Plaxo as I already have a well-worn account there and the import/export and networking features are slick. Ideally I’d like something that can sync comfortably back-and-forth with my iPhone.
Tasks: This is the discovery I’m really excited about, as I am a GTD disciple and list-making maniac. You name it and I’ve tried it – Remember the Milk, the native Outlook task list, SimpleGTD, etc. After my own painstaking research and reading about 100 blog posts on the subject there is a very clear winner: Toodledo. Thank goodness I found this wonderful site, its iPhone application, Google Calendar and FireFox plugins and iGoogle gadget. My task list nerdery will now know no bounds.
I’ll revisit this post throughout the day (but only during scheduled breaks for personal time, mind you!) and update you on how the new workflow is working out. Wish me luck, and if you feel a need to remark “Gee, Dave. I remember my first beer,” I’ll understand.