Redcatco » ThinkingRock http://redcatco.com Connecting People With Technology Sat, 21 Apr 2012 10:56:37 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 ThinkingRock is 2 good! http://redcatco.com/blog/productivity/gtd/thinkingrock-is-2-good/ http://redcatco.com/blog/productivity/gtd/thinkingrock-is-2-good/#comments Sat, 14 Apr 2007 10:55:18 +0000 Benjamin http://redcatco.com/blog/uncategorized/thinkingrock-is-2-good/ I’m absolutely buzzing today; I’ve started using ThinkingRock Version 2 on my mac. Having an effective tool to track what needs doing is critical to living successfully; ThinkingRock is that tool for me – see: a good tool is hard to find and get laddered with ThinkingRock.

For those new to ThinkingRock, you might want to wait a little bit, until the full release, so that you have the help files and full functionality. Windows users will also have to wait a little bit longer for the 2.0 release; I do love the fact that ThinkingRock works on both Mac and PC, I use it on my mac at home and PC for work.

Version 2 is at the ‘gamma’ stage right now, which the ThinkingRock folks describe as still having some bugs and some functionality to be polished, but otherwise stable and safe to use. Version 2 is a quantum leap forwards, now you can:

  • Attach files to items
    • I use this to add scanned documents or diagrams – enabling me to be much more paperless and location independent in my working.
  • Create recurrent tasks
    • This was a bit of a hole in the Getting Things Done system for me; This new functionality completely closes that hole for me. I’ll have no excuse for forgetting to put the rubbish out, or book that haircut!
  • Sort by ‘created’ time
    • For me, taking into account the age of a task is a key part of monitoring productivity and ensuring that items and projects don’t hang around forever (see: dealing with the do its that just don’t get done). While I would have liked something based on last modified time, being able to sort by creation date works just as well, if you spawn a new task whenever you refactor something.
  • Add more detailed task attributes
    • For the hardcore to do list geeks, this is a great one: you can now record the energy and time required for a task, as well as setting a priority. If you are feeling bright, you can quickly find a high energy task to do; If you are feeling a bit low you can jump to an easy win. Very neat and unique piece of functionality.
  • Speed up actions review with a radically improved actions review screen
    • I had been hoping for some improvements here, but not expected any. I’m blown away by this one, it will save me a great deal of time during my weekly reviews. You can now effectively create custom review screens, so that you can pull up the relevant set of tasks in a single click. Settings are now remembered when the application next runs.

There are also some good work flow improvements, both for processing thoughts and for the automatic sequencing of task lists in projects and subprojects. Also some new house keeping, including a decent archiving facility – just in time, as my file was getting huge.

It has been well worth the wait for Version 2 – solid job Avente!!!

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]]> http://redcatco.com/blog/productivity/gtd/thinkingrock-is-2-good/feed/ 5 Get Laddered with ThinkingRock http://redcatco.com/blog/productivity/gtd/get-laddered-with-thinkingrock/ http://redcatco.com/blog/productivity/gtd/get-laddered-with-thinkingrock/#comments Thu, 15 Feb 2007 23:14:48 +0000 Benjamin http://redcatco.com/blog/uncategorized/get-laddered-with-thinkingrock/ In a previous post (Chasing mice and eating elephants) I mentioned that ThinkingRock is great for running up and down the ladder from tasks to goals and mission. I thought it was time that I showed how, especially for those who haven’t used the program yet (I did mention that it is free at the moment, didn’t I? – you can get it right here).

ThinkingRock lets you create projects and tasks, a la Getting Things Done. These can then be grouped into folders or have sub-folders underneath them. This makes it great for keeping track of objectives and building goals or projects underneath, that work towards them. If you are an emergent planner, like me, you can easily drag projects around and combine goals or regroup projects as the plan crystalizes in your mind. Perhaps a screenshot is worth 100 words:

ThinkingRock

It has a familiar tree structure, like a filesystem, but underneath it is tracking tasks and can create to do lists. Another great thing about ThinkingRock (just about visible here on the right) is that it has the ability to capture a statement of purpose and vision for each project, as well as noting related ideas (brainstorming) and adding other organizational notes. If only the top level projects folder had a space to write in your personal vision mission!

The same could be achieved on paper, but where’s the technology in that? Actually, ThinkingRock does have some great printing capabilities. However, I find that shuffling things around and combining or splitting goals as they become clearer is more easily achieved electronically. That said, I have printed everything out, then scribbled and then entered the changes into ThinkingRock, when I have been doing ‘off-line’ thinking. Task lists can also be printed in PocketMod format, which means everything is then to hand on paper, no batteries required. With the printing capabilities, you have the power to print out your goals and put them somewhere you can see (and connected with) them everyday. For some inspiration and insight into how powerful that can be, read the stories of people who put their goals up on the mirror and then read them everyday.

As you can tell, I very much appreciate ThinkingRock. I now use it both at home and at work and it has given me a big productivity boost and keeps me on mission. Highly recommended.

See Also: ThinkingRock is 2 Good, a Good Tool is Hard to Find

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]]> http://redcatco.com/blog/productivity/gtd/get-laddered-with-thinkingrock/feed/ 0 A good tool is hard to find! http://redcatco.com/blog/productivity/gtd/a-good-tool-is-hard-to-find/ http://redcatco.com/blog/productivity/gtd/a-good-tool-is-hard-to-find/#comments Thu, 18 Jan 2007 23:05:41 +0000 Benjamin http://redcatco.com/blog/uncategorized/a-good-tool-is-hard-to-find/ I am a great fan of David Allen’s Getting Things Done methodology. Even though I don’t really strictly use it myself I highly recommend it. One of the challenges of being a creative thinker (or a classic procrastinator!) is that you can end up with a huge to do list that becomes very hard to keep track of. The best method is simply not to put things on the to do list that you aren’t going to get to, or to delete off the low-priority, low-impact items straight away.

Failing that, you will need a good tool to take care of all those ‘to do’ things and projects you have collected. Thinking Rock is just such a tool: ThinkingRock. It is java based, so it works on a number of platforms (although I really WISH it was available for PocketPC / Windows Mobile). It has great export options that let you print and import to other programs. The structured workflow it forces enables you to capture everything, then work through the process of fleshing things out. Fantastic! It even lets you prioritise projects and tasks if you get a little creative with it. Highly recommended and I am sure I will write more about it.

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