Big To-Do About Lists

Sharon’s mention of a to do list reminded me of my recent effort to use Outlook tasks.  That’s handy because they synchronize onto the Blackberry and can be viewed, modified or marked complete there, even generate reminders there, wherever I am, then synchronize back to the computer.  In the brief time I gave it a chance, I found it helped.

What occurred to me today is that I could use cascading tasks.  That is, be able to create a series of master items, each with multiple sub-items if needed, and even layered beyond that if needed.  Make it viewable flat, as if all tasks were equal, or as a hierarchy, and be able to list only what is under a given top level task at once if desired.  The top level task might not be a “task” at all, but a client or project.

No doubt I’ve described a whole slew of applications that already exist in the world and are not Outlook.  Heck, elements of it remind me of both elements of the IT task management software we created for the long defunct Marine Optical, and the document/case management software we partially created for both the big client and as a product to market to other law firms (and even outside of that field).

Anyway, I plugged the Blackberry in and synchronized it today to review my list, some of which went obsolete while I was sick and slacking, and some of which is even more urgent.  I need to add to it some tasks that have nothing to do with the client, the complexity of which is what made me think of the hierarchical format.

Update:

Duh.  I should have known Outlook would have something like categories available for further organizing tasks, providing something close to what I envision.  I wonder if categories carry over to the Blackberry, though.  When synchronizing the Outlook Express address book, it only takes contacts in the main book, not ones that have been categorized, causing me a great deal of annoyance.

Posted by on 01/31 at 12:21 PM

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