All I can say about PersonalBrain 4 Pro is this: OMG it's the best piece of mindmapping/strategic planning/thought capture application in the known universe! If it were human, I'd be so enamoured with it that I'd want to lend it money at low, low interest rates!
*ahem*
Okay, I'm better now. Thank you for indulging me. I'll go back and add more Thoughts to my Brain now...
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Nobody move! I've dropped me Brain*
WARNING: long rambling posting about outliners and mind-mappers below. If you liked my former entry titled Notebook buying hoops then you'll like this one. Otherwise, you may wish to consider skipping this entry.
I blew up yet another outliner a couple of days ago. The good bit is that I've done a lot of research into outliners, mind-mappers and task managers in the last few days. The bad news is that I blew up my entire list of tasks after I decided to stick with my existing outliner app.
Before you ask, yes, of course I have backups. Unfortunately, the latest backup is over 6 months old. Bad Kate! Do backups regularly!
I had three choices: switch over to a pen/paper daytimer, rebuild my tasklist using the old backup and what's in the old noggin or get a new app that's got proven scalability.
I have already been trying to use a pen/paper solution for some time now. It doesn't work for me because daytimers can only hold up a year's worth of calendar entries and my detailed planning horizon has always been 3-5 years. It may not seem like much but for me, it's a deal-breaker.
I tried rebuilding my old tasklist but while I was reviewing the items in the backup file, I was unprepared for what a dear friend of mine calls "cognitive dissonance". Simply put, when I started the very first version of that list many years ago, I was a very different person - literally! I took a look at my life goals last night and realized that they just don't fit who I've become anymore. I carried this primary goal around for two decades: I want to be definitively, unarguably successful. The thing that's changed is subtle: I still want to be definitively, unarguably successful...in taking care of my family. That doesn't involve making megabucks - it involves raising the kids right (but I will be the first to admit that money helps). I'm not interested in seeing how high up the corporate ladder I can go anymore; I do want to help and support my sis to be the best she can be. In that light, most of my goals and tasks carried over from the backup file rang hollow. So I binned the lot.
I started over with a fresh OmniOutliner file but then quickly realized that what I needed was a goal-centric planner, not a tasklist manager. So I reinstalled PersonalBrain Pro 4.0 and started building a thought map of who I am and what was important to me. It just took off from there: free from the tyranny of due dates and task hierarchies, I rebuilt my life goal from scratch.
That was last night. In less than 24 hours, I have well over a hundred thoughts and goals mapped out, all with flexible links that not only let me quickly adapt to changes in my daily life but more importantly, keep my goals in sight and in mind.
So I bit the bullet and purchased PersonalBrain. Fortunately, they have an educational discount and by flushing my entire discretionary budget for the next few months, I could just barely afford it. I did some quick math a few minutes ago: in less than a day and I'm down to just less than 25 cents per use of each thought. Not a very stringent metric but it indicates one trend: the intense usage pattern fits a critical daily app rather than an occasional app, so I will definitely get at least my money's worth.
For those of you who knew me in my previous life, this will be poignant: remember when I used to barbeque using a stopwatch? I *needed* precision and control in my life then and my tasklist reflected that - everything has a due date and is sorted into one of a horrifically complicated ordering system of Now, Today, Tomorrow, This Week, Next Week, This Month, Next Month, Next Quarter, Next Year, Next 3 Years and Next 5 Years. Today, I have exactly four categories in my PersonalBrain: Expedite, Soon, Later and Done!
It's too early to tell for certain but I know this: I'm far less stressed or afraid of my To Do list now. The simple change of not being confronted from the get-go by a solid wall of due dates has seriously helped my stress level. Yes, I know I'm insane for spending so much time and effort into this and at the first glance, you're absolutely right. Then I hear the kids softly snoring upstairs - if this lets me plot a safe path for the family through an uncertain future by identifying what needs to be done at the right time for the right person and for the right reasons, then yes, it'll all be worth it.
*A quote by Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World's End.
I blew up yet another outliner a couple of days ago. The good bit is that I've done a lot of research into outliners, mind-mappers and task managers in the last few days. The bad news is that I blew up my entire list of tasks after I decided to stick with my existing outliner app.
Before you ask, yes, of course I have backups. Unfortunately, the latest backup is over 6 months old. Bad Kate! Do backups regularly!
I had three choices: switch over to a pen/paper daytimer, rebuild my tasklist using the old backup and what's in the old noggin or get a new app that's got proven scalability.
I have already been trying to use a pen/paper solution for some time now. It doesn't work for me because daytimers can only hold up a year's worth of calendar entries and my detailed planning horizon has always been 3-5 years. It may not seem like much but for me, it's a deal-breaker.
I tried rebuilding my old tasklist but while I was reviewing the items in the backup file, I was unprepared for what a dear friend of mine calls "cognitive dissonance". Simply put, when I started the very first version of that list many years ago, I was a very different person - literally! I took a look at my life goals last night and realized that they just don't fit who I've become anymore. I carried this primary goal around for two decades: I want to be definitively, unarguably successful. The thing that's changed is subtle: I still want to be definitively, unarguably successful...in taking care of my family. That doesn't involve making megabucks - it involves raising the kids right (but I will be the first to admit that money helps). I'm not interested in seeing how high up the corporate ladder I can go anymore; I do want to help and support my sis to be the best she can be. In that light, most of my goals and tasks carried over from the backup file rang hollow. So I binned the lot.
I started over with a fresh OmniOutliner file but then quickly realized that what I needed was a goal-centric planner, not a tasklist manager. So I reinstalled PersonalBrain Pro 4.0 and started building a thought map of who I am and what was important to me. It just took off from there: free from the tyranny of due dates and task hierarchies, I rebuilt my life goal from scratch.
That was last night. In less than 24 hours, I have well over a hundred thoughts and goals mapped out, all with flexible links that not only let me quickly adapt to changes in my daily life but more importantly, keep my goals in sight and in mind.
So I bit the bullet and purchased PersonalBrain. Fortunately, they have an educational discount and by flushing my entire discretionary budget for the next few months, I could just barely afford it. I did some quick math a few minutes ago: in less than a day and I'm down to just less than 25 cents per use of each thought. Not a very stringent metric but it indicates one trend: the intense usage pattern fits a critical daily app rather than an occasional app, so I will definitely get at least my money's worth.
For those of you who knew me in my previous life, this will be poignant: remember when I used to barbeque using a stopwatch? I *needed* precision and control in my life then and my tasklist reflected that - everything has a due date and is sorted into one of a horrifically complicated ordering system of Now, Today, Tomorrow, This Week, Next Week, This Month, Next Month, Next Quarter, Next Year, Next 3 Years and Next 5 Years. Today, I have exactly four categories in my PersonalBrain: Expedite, Soon, Later and Done!
It's too early to tell for certain but I know this: I'm far less stressed or afraid of my To Do list now. The simple change of not being confronted from the get-go by a solid wall of due dates has seriously helped my stress level. Yes, I know I'm insane for spending so much time and effort into this and at the first glance, you're absolutely right. Then I hear the kids softly snoring upstairs - if this lets me plot a safe path for the family through an uncertain future by identifying what needs to be done at the right time for the right person and for the right reasons, then yes, it'll all be worth it.
*A quote by Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World's End.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Chalk outlines
At least once a year, I get hyper-stressed and two things start happening: I start playing chess and I start looking for outliner applications.
Yes, I know I can get better results by sleeping more and eating better. Hush.
The chess part refocuses my mind and I start being able to see my way through the morass that is my To-Do list. The outliner apps help me organize my tasks.
Over the years, I've gone through quite a few. Right now, I'm using OmniOutliner. It's quite powerful but not really what I want. In all the years, I've only found 2 that fit my style: Bonsai and PersonalBrain. I no longer own a Palm, so Bonsai's out. PersonalBrain takes a little while to get used to, but it's really powerful.
Then I realize it'll cost me $249.
Suddenly, OmniOutliner doesn't look too bad.
*** Update ***
Looking at all the outliner/mindmappers made me realize I haven't taken a close look at my current To Do list. So having decided to stay with OmniOutliner, I opened my file up and started updating it. A few hours later, I finish adding some large number of items (800-1000), save it and went to bed.
The blasted file won't open the next morning. No, seriously, I couldn't open it - it kept telling me that the document wouldn't open.
Great, I've broken yet another outliner. *sigh* I guess I shouldn't be surprised, I break my outliner/task managers on a regular basis due to sheer volume of tasks entered.
Now, I'm back to square one. Do I stick with OmniOutliner or do I spring for something new? My thought processes have changed significantly since I first bought OO and I'd have to update my AppleScripts to do it the way I want. Hmm. Mayhaps further investigation is in order.
Yes, I know I can get better results by sleeping more and eating better. Hush.
The chess part refocuses my mind and I start being able to see my way through the morass that is my To-Do list. The outliner apps help me organize my tasks.
Over the years, I've gone through quite a few. Right now, I'm using OmniOutliner. It's quite powerful but not really what I want. In all the years, I've only found 2 that fit my style: Bonsai and PersonalBrain. I no longer own a Palm, so Bonsai's out. PersonalBrain takes a little while to get used to, but it's really powerful.
Then I realize it'll cost me $249.
Suddenly, OmniOutliner doesn't look too bad.
*** Update ***
Looking at all the outliner/mindmappers made me realize I haven't taken a close look at my current To Do list. So having decided to stay with OmniOutliner, I opened my file up and started updating it. A few hours later, I finish adding some large number of items (800-1000), save it and went to bed.
The blasted file won't open the next morning. No, seriously, I couldn't open it - it kept telling me that the document wouldn't open.
Great, I've broken yet another outliner. *sigh* I guess I shouldn't be surprised, I break my outliner/task managers on a regular basis due to sheer volume of tasks entered.
Now, I'm back to square one. Do I stick with OmniOutliner or do I spring for something new? My thought processes have changed significantly since I first bought OO and I'd have to update my AppleScripts to do it the way I want. Hmm. Mayhaps further investigation is in order.
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