Life management software?

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops.pilot (More info?)

me@privacy.net wrote:
>
> Call me crazy but I need "tools" to better help me
> manage my life and achieve goals. I'm so dang busy
> anymore and its only gonna get worse when school
> (college) starts. I need to work "smarter" and not
> harder.
>
> I need help. I need something to "leverage" me. Maybe
> a clone of myself?
>
> Anyway....ever feel like that?
>
> If yes does there actually exist software or services I
> can buy to help!
>
> I need some kind of super duper even manager, contact
> list, relationship builder, blah, blah, blah.
>
> Serious.... anything like that out there?

What *are* you talking about?

Notan

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops.pilot (More info?)

Notan wrote:

> me@privacy.net wrote:
>>
>> Call me crazy but I need "tools" to better help me
>> manage my life and achieve goals. I'm so dang busy
>> anymore and its only gonna get worse when school
>> (college) starts. I need to work "smarter" and not
>> harder.
>>
>> I need help. I need something to "leverage" me. Maybe
>> a clone of myself?
>>
>> Anyway....ever feel like that?
>>
>> If yes does there actually exist software or services I
>> can buy to help!
>>
>> I need some kind of super duper even manager, contact
>> list, relationship builder, blah, blah, blah.
>>
>> Serious.... anything like that out there?
>
> What *are* you talking about?

Notan, the guy starts college soon so let's not be critical. *smile*

It is not difficult understand the message which the OP was trying to get
across, but the description was too -- shall we say -- 'fluffy'.

OP, have you looked into any PDA's yet? If not, I advise you to get a
demonstration at a local shop and get a feel for how it can help you. My
Palm definitely helped me enormously as a student. It was not a "clone of
myself" as you called it, though it was like a secretary in my pocket,
which allowed me to manage many things at once and keep my mind open and
focused on what really mattered.

There are no super-super event managers, but there are better and worse
ones. Get a feel by browsing/querying the Web for related topics or by
getting hands-on experience at a shop.


Hope it helps,

Roy

--
Roy S. Schestowitz
http://Schestowitz.com

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops.pilot (More info?)

Guy Bannis wrote:

> In article <dceup8$2dc7$1@godfrey.mcc.ac.uk>,
> Roy Schestowitz <newsgroups@schestowitz.com> wrote:
>
>> Notan wrote:
>>
>> > me@privacy.net wrote:
>> >>
>> >> Call me crazy but I need "tools" to better help me
>> >> manage my life and achieve goals. I'm so dang busy
>> >> anymore and its only gonna get worse when school
>> >> (college) starts. I need to work "smarter" and not
>> >> harder.
>> >>
>> >> I need help. I need something to "leverage" me. Maybe
>> >> a clone of myself?
>> >>
>> >> Anyway....ever feel like that?
>> >>
>> >> If yes does there actually exist software or services I
>> >> can buy to help!
>> >>
>> >> I need some kind of super duper even manager, contact
>> >> list, relationship builder, blah, blah, blah.
>> >>
>> >> Serious.... anything like that out there?
>> >
>> > What *are* you talking about?
>>
>> Notan, the guy starts college soon so let's not be critical. *smile*
>
> True. The best software for managing life is probably the stuff in ROM
> between our ears.

Technically speaking, it is more like RAM between our ears. It is very
volatile and random bits jump from one 'place' to another while we sleep.

I like computers because they compensate for our shortcomings. They register
data permanently, which is exactly what you need when scheduling, recording
and archiving. It is no substitude for thinking, i.e. expanding idea and
putting together pieces of the puzzle to make up a collage.

Roy

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops.pilot (More info?)

Roy Schestowitz wrote:
>
> Notan wrote:
>
> > me@privacy.net wrote:
> >>
> >> Call me crazy but I need "tools" to better help me
> >> manage my life and achieve goals. I'm so dang busy
> >> anymore and its only gonna get worse when school
> >> (college) starts. I need to work "smarter" and not
> >> harder.
> >>
> >> I need help. I need something to "leverage" me. Maybe
> >> a clone of myself?
> >>
> >> Anyway....ever feel like that?
> >>
> >> If yes does there actually exist software or services I
> >> can buy to help!
> >>
> >> I need some kind of super duper even manager, contact
> >> list, relationship builder, blah, blah, blah.
> >>
> >> Serious.... anything like that out there?
> >
> > What *are* you talking about?
>
> Notan, the guy starts college soon so let's not be critical. *smile*

Actually, I was laughing when I responded... Not only have I never read
so much, as you called it, "fluff," after going back, I *still* couldn't
make any sense of it.

No doubt, the OP's going into Political Science! <g>

Notan

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops.pilot (More info?)

me@privacy.net wrote:
> Call me crazy but I need "tools" to better help me
> manage my life and achieve goals. I'm so dang busy
> anymore and its only gonna get worse when school
> (college) starts. I need to work "smarter" and not
> harder.

Ultimately, I think the answer may be that there is no one answer.
In his book on software development, "The Mythical Man-Month",
Fred Brooks has an entire chapter called "No Silver Bullet".
The idea is that, although we are often looking for a single
technique that will increase efficiency (in software development),
in reality there are a variety of techniques that each increase
efficiency somewhat and there is no one technique that does it all.

Personally, I think there is a lot of wisdom in that idea, and
I think it applies to more than just software development. For
instance, it probably applies to finding ways to be more efficient
with your time, and it probably also applies to being a good
student.

The upshot of all this is some free advice: software for a PDA
may be helpful for making yourself more efficient, but it probably
is just one piece of the puzzle. Most likely, the best results
will come from looking at the problem from all angles and putting
into place several different things that will each make a
contribution, with the end result of better efficiency overall.

> I need help. I need something to "leverage" me. Maybe
> a clone of myself?

Well, you probably can't clone yourself, but you can do "time
doubling", like reading a textbook while you're on the treadmill
or like doing dishes while you're on the phone.

> Anyway....ever feel like that?

Yes, all the time. It's part of modern life, and I suspect it
was probably part of pre-modern life as well...

- Logan

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops.pilot (More info?)

I use mindmanager on my PC where it is very well thought out and useful;
however, the palm version is very poor and not much use.
A good outliner program for the palm which does many of the same things is
Shadowplan www.codejedi.com I recommend it for the palm. Other similar
programs include Lifebalance and
Bonsai. I have no experience of these latter programs.
Penster
<me@privacy.net> wrote in message
news:t24ne1po1psl9kdlhfdj3t9jtu6vkdb7eq@4ax.com...
> >You most likely want to look into "mind mapping". Explicitly,
> >Mindmanager by Mindjet . The 2002 Version (not the current version x5)
> >comes with a Mind Manager mobile for Palm devices.
>
> Actually that is one app I was going to look into....
> Mind Manager! Do you use it? If yes.... how is it?
>
> Another idea I had was to install wiki software on a
> home server. use it for collaboration and info
> management on a personal level. Good idea? Bad?

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops.pilot (More info?)

Guy Bannis wrote:

> In article <dcf9am$ku0$1@godfrey.mcc.ac.uk>,
> Roy Schestowitz <newsgroups@schestowitz.com> wrote:
>
>> Guy Bannis wrote:
>> > True. The best software for managing life is probably the stuff in ROM
>> > between our ears.
>>
>> Technically speaking, it is more like RAM between our ears. It is very
>> volatile and random bits jump from one 'place' to another while we sleep.
>>
>> I like computers because they compensate for our shortcomings. They
>> register data permanently, which is exactly what you need when
>> scheduling, recording and archiving. It is no substitude for thinking,
>> i.e. expanding idea and putting together pieces of the puzzle to make up
>> a collage.
>
> You had to get all nerdy on us ...
>
> BTW, computers may register data permanently, but you've still got to
> choose what data to enter, enter it, and then remember to look at it at
> the right time.

That's where machine learning kicks in. It's a relatively new strand which I
work on as my primary research field (context of images though).

Here is an interesting read:

http://www.businessweek.com/magazi [...] =rss_magzn

[snip] "Soon after that, around 2050, we should be able to reverse-engineer
a human brain and upload it into a robot." [/snip]

Roy

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops.pilot (More info?)

Try www.centraldesktop.com it can be used for business or personal use
and is accessible anywhere.

It combines wiki technology with tasks and other neat stuff.

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops.pilot (More info?)

me@privacy.net wrote:

>Call me crazy but I need "tools" to better help me
>manage my life and achieve goals.
Check out Life Balance at http://www.llamagraphics.com/

Not for everyone, but I really like it.
--
Alex -- Replace "nospam" with "mail" to reply by email. Checked infrequently.

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops.pilot (More info?)

Roy Schestowitz <newsgroups@schestowitz.com> wrote:

>Now it's just becoming confusing.

Philosophy is a fascinating subject. That robot theory applies to humans too.
*I* am the only person I *know* is conscious. All the rest of you might very
well have no consciousness at all but simply be organic robots functioning as
evolution intended. If you act human, how would I tell the difference...

>think it's wishful thinking from an aging man.

Understandable, most of us would like to be immortal.

>I even expressed that skepticism

Why. The analogy of a computer/program and a brain/mind seems logical enough.
First we'll have to make multi-billion circuit computers like the brain. More
likely we'll have to grow them as exponential cell division is the quickest way
to those kind of numbers. Then who knows, maybe consciousness will appear, or
can be transferred. Or maybe there are some mysteries we will always be
incapable of understanding. Hal, please don't turn off my computer...Hal,
please...............poof.

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops.pilot (More info?)

"Harold" <harold@wolfeden.demon.co.uk> wrote:

>
>"AaronJ" <noemail@noemail.com> wrote in message
>news:ev8oe15mj17ks5us9jpsmjm5umrufbg9js@4ax.com...
>> Logan Shaw <lshaw-usenet@austin.rr.com> wrote:
>>
>>> I ended up taking a class in college where we basically spent
>>> 75% of a semester discussing whether uploading your
>>> consciousness into a robot can happen or not.
>>>
>>>My conclusion was that we won't know for sure until we try,
>>
>> Even if you are successful no one but *you* will know for sure. Another
>> possibility could be that your consciousness was killed and the robot is
>> imitating you so well that everyone thinks it's you...

>Even *you* won't know for sure. How could you?

Because *you* are the one trying the experiment.

>What possible proof could the robot give?

If you find yourself looking out of the robot's eyeballs would that be enough
proof for you...

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops.pilot (More info?)

>Ultimately, I think the answer may be that there is no one answer.
>In his book on software development, "The Mythical Man-Month",
>Fred Brooks has an entire chapter called "No Silver Bullet".
>The idea is that, although we are often looking for a single
>technique that will increase efficiency (in software development),
>in reality there are a variety of techniques that each increase
>efficiency somewhat and there is no one technique that does it all.

Funny you bring that up Logan cause that has been my
gut feeling for some time Now. I've read many books
and investigated many thing and never can find "it".
<G>

I suppose the author is correct that the one and only
"it" does not exist!

Still tho I keep looking and trying. The wiki idea
sounds viable. What little I've looked into it

Also MindManager sounds viable as well.

At any rate... doing something is better than nothing
cause relying on my memory and using paper is not
working either! Ha!

>The upshot of all this is some free advice: software for a PDA
>may be helpful for making yourself more efficient, but it probably
>is just one piece of the puzzle. Most likely, the best results
>will come from looking at the problem from all angles and putting
>into place several different things that will each make a
>contribution, with the end result of better efficiency overall.

Good point!! Thanks

>Well, you probably can't clone yourself, but you can do "time
>doubling", like reading a textbook while you're on the treadmill
>or like doing dishes while you're on the phone.

Agree

I know this sounds crazy but your life is really a big
"project" no. So project management seems like a
viable idea to me

Yep, as a noob my first post is to drag this thread out of its grave. Groans all 'round.



"Executive function" includes the very RAM function Roy describes. When injury to or congenital underdevelopment in relevant areas of the brain has disabled this basic functioning that people like Notan take for granted,

> ToDo list that has a voice recording of their mom saying
>"Clean your room" and "Kraft Dinner tonight hun?"

is anything but a joke. For those of us severely affected, "clean your room" would need to be broken down into a list of questions & suggestions for addressing single aspects of the task.

Even eating is a PITA. I have the grocery lists and shopping rhythm and food choice down to a science. I follow the electronic reminders religiously, but I still have to actually eat the food, which makes no sense to me. I already did that! Don't get me wrong, I love food and cook well when I set my mind to it, but the daily mundane repeated eating thing is beyond my comprehension. More often than not I look at the food it's taken so much external organisation to get that far, and the food looks back at me, and I turn back to whatever I was doing, angry and confused that the increasing hunger won't go away.

There are times I call an acquaintance to "bookend" eating, and often when I call back to close the bookend, I have to report I only managed half of the plate. I'm about to step up my running and re-introduce swimming (stopped a few years ago following a neck injury) and knowing that the hunger issue will quadruple is truly terrifying for me. Rationally, I "merely" have to plan in more groceries, more frequent shopping, and more time for food prep and eating. The reality is that I have to add supportive structural elements such as shared meals.

Facebook has turned out to be a wonderful social contact management / relationship building platform, and in my case that in turn means it's easier to arrange "babysitting" to facilitate eating large amounts of food at a healthy pace in a pleasant context. I've just Facebook-messaged an acquaintance about running late tomorrow afternoon, and if he agrees to that I'll trick him into a spaghetti dinner afterward. That's a huge amount to get right, and even if it works, that'll only be one meal and I'll still wake up hungry on Monday.

For people like Notan who have normal brain function in this area, the obvious answer is "grow UP! stop WHINGING!" Fortunately, the aspect of executive function involving impulse inhibition/restraint isn't an issue for me, so I don't voice the counter-criticisms that come to mind when I hear these accusations from people I know.


It's a bitter irony that choosing a device and finding appropriate software demands a decent level of executive function. Then as Roy said, there's choice of data to enter, entry of that data, and remembering to use the device. I'm in the market for a smartphone with music & radio functions, as I've discovered that the music makes the phone feel less like a ball & chain.

Thanks for all of the suggestions and tips - it seems software choice should be made before settling on a device, so I'll check out the options listed.

Am wondering what solutions the OP found and how that's worked out for him over the past few years.