iPhone Apps for Task Management

With the release of two new iPhones on Sept 19, it is time to review which task apps I recommend you use on the iPhone for the MYN and 1MTD task systems.

I recommend three apps, and which you use really depends on which tasks server platform you are using—i.e., how you are storing your tasks in the cloud.

Exchange? Use the iPhone app called TaskTask
If you are using Microsoft Exchange with desktop Outlook tasks, then you should be using TaskTask to manage tasks on your iPhone. This excellent app synchronizes well with your Outlook tasks, and even syncs flagged mail tasks, which is hard to find in an app.

Toodledo? Use the iPhone app called Toodledo
If you cannot use Exchange, or cannot use Windows Outlook, I recommend using the Toodledo website as your tasks server. That company has an iPhone app called Toodledo that syncs well with your tasks stored on its website.

Outlook.com? Use the iPhone app called Pocket Informant
There is a third tasks server that I’ve started talking about recently, and that’s Outlook.com. It’s not perfect for MYN and 1MTD, but, if you are already using an Outlook.com email address, it can be a good choice. The best part is it allows you to use desktop Outlook tasks and store them in the cloud, without the cost or complications of Exchange. One of its imperfections is that it does not have a great iPhone app that supports MYN, but you can get close with Pocket Informant iOS. Read my article about Outlook.com and tasks here.

Setting Deadlines in MYN-Outlook

How do you set deadlines in the MYN-Outlook task system?

If you are an MYN Outlook user you probably know that we don’t use the Due Date field in Outlook, since it has some design issues. In this article, I review the best way to set deadlines in MYN Outlook.

Read how to set Deadlines in MYN-Outlook

$119 Seven-Inch Windows 8.1 Tablet

You know I am a fan of Windows tablets, so this caught my eye: an up-to-date Windows 8.1 tablet by Toshiba, new, for a price of $119.

A price of $119 is getting into inexpensive Android tablet price territory. The specs are not impressive: it’s light on RAM (1-gig) and light on storage (16-gig), has no pen, and its resolution is low. But it has an SD slot so storage can be increased. And it uses an up-to-date Atom Bay Trail processor, so performance could be up to par with other very light-weight Windows tablets.

Read more here.

Processor for Next-Year’s Windows Tablets and Laptops

During the past 12 months I’ve recommended two Intel processors for Windows machines, each for a different class of device:

• Haswell processor for laptops (any size or weight) and for mid-weight (1.7 to 2 lb) tablet/hybrids (like Surface 3).
• Bay Trail Atom processor for light-weight (1.3 lbs or less) tablets like the ASUS T100 or Lenovo ThinkPad 10.

The Haswell chip is very powerful–-it has full computing capability and usually a very long battery life (for a laptop). The Bay Trail Atom is “good enough” for most light processing and very good for tablet use–-a good tradeoff for very light weight and long battery life.

Well, it was inevitable that Intel would march ahead with new technology, and so Intel is releasing a new processor that may better merge these laptop and tablet platforms. It’s called the Core M.

Read more here.

Limiting the High Priority Section to 5 or Fewer Items

As I work one-on-one with MYN and 1MTD users, probably the biggest issue I see repeatedly is allowing the Critical Now section (the High priority tasks section) to get larger than 5 items. Doing that will lead to failures of just about any task system. Here are some links to articles where I remind you how to get that back under control. The first is directed toward the Critical Now section, and the second link give tips for getting the whole system cleaned up.

http://www.michaellinenberger.com/blog/use-the-going-home-test-to-keep-your-priorities-under-control/

http://www.michaellinenberger.com/blog/getting-caught-up-with-1mtdmyn-tasks/

Get your task list down to size now, and keep it there, doing that will really help your workday.

Windows Phone Tasks App 2Day Adds Start Date Syncing

The Windows Phone app called 2Day was recently updated to include start date syncing with Exchange. That was the missing feature to make it work with MYN, so it’s good to hear it’s now in there.
Read More.