ForumsQuestionsToo much work for too little value
Too much work for too little value
| Author | Message |
|---|---|
|
SteveUrich |
It is very frustrating to use, there is no user manual to help with the basic features. I would be willing to pay to have someone see if could meet my needs but right now it is just too much work for too little reward.
It would really help if you could have a select box that you could select a bunch of items and then multi edit all of the tasks that are selected vs having to do a search which means that you have to have something to search on. Do I need to do anything to make sure that my account is not automatically renewed. I would just like it to expire. I want to get things done, not mess with the tool all day long. I have 430 tasks and right now it seems that I would have to spend 2 days editing them to get value out of this tool. The tool gets in the way of getting thing done. Considering just going back to paper. Any other suggestions on a tool. I was once told that you can have a tool that is Fast, Powerful and easy to use but that you could only chose two of those. Toodl just seems powerful, working with it is tedious and it is certainly not easy to use. Steve |
|
SRhyse |
If you're really considering paper as a superior tool for your needs over Toodledo and all it's features, why not just enter all 430 tasks into Toodledo and turn off all the features? Now you've got digital paper with search.
If you wanna add or edit multiple tags at once, use the search feature and multi edit/add. |
|
Technocrap |
Posted by SRhyse:
If you're really considering paper as a superior tool for your needs over Toodledo and all it's features, why not just enter all 430 tasks into Toodledo and turn off all the features? Now you've got digital paper with search. ??? I'd use notepad.exe instead. If you wanna add or edit multiple tags at once, use the search feature and multi edit/add. ??? Your's suggesting him what he's complaining about. And he never said a word about tags... @Steve, Send me a mail at gegusgegus,hotmail.com and I'd be more than happy to suggest you alternatives. This message was edited Aug 21, 2010. |
|
Claudio |
Posted by SteveUrich:
I have 430 tasks and right now it seems that I would have to spend 2 days editing them to get value out of this tool. Where are your 430 tasks now and how are they organized? Are you aware of the Add Multiple Tasks function? What do you need to edit on your 430 tasks that requires a "select and edit" function? It's possible that Toodledo can still be useful for you, and you're just missing a few of the pieces. There are many people who use Toodledo to get things done. But, if not, I think that you can get a refund. Also, you can arrange to have your account deleted if you want. This message was edited Aug 21, 2010. |
|
Salgud |
Posted by SteveUrich:
It is very frustrating to use, there is no user manual to help with the basic features. I would be willing to pay to have someone see if could meet my needs but right now it is just too much work for too little reward. It would really help if you could have a select box that you could select a bunch of items and then multi edit all of the tasks that are selected vs having to do a search which means that you have to have something to search on. Do I need to do anything to make sure that my account is not automatically renewed. I would just like it to expire. I want to get things done, not mess with the tool all day long. I have 430 tasks and right now it seems that I would have to spend 2 days editing them to get value out of this tool. The tool gets in the way of getting thing done. Considering just going back to paper. Any other suggestions on a tool. I was once told that you can have a tool that is Fast, Powerful and easy to use but that you could only chose two of those. Toodl just seems powerful, working with it is tedious and it is certainly not easy to use. Steve I agree with you in part, I don't consider TD an "easy to use" task manager, compared to many others. But none of the "others" do all that TD does. I also don't consider TD a beginner level task manager. Not that a sharp beginner couldn't start out using TD in a rather basic way and gradually move up as s/he learned. That being said, I don't think TD is difficult to use. There's just a lot there, and like any other advanced level app, it takes some time and effort to get it down. You've been around just about a year, which should be enough time. Of course, being a member of the forums for a year doesn't mean you've been actively using TD that long. My entry date is over a year ago, but I've only been using TD seriously for 5 weeks. Still, I've got TD almost nailed down in that time. I'm still making minor adjustments, but I think I've pretty much got what I want. By using the Help screens and asking a lot of questions in the forums, I've about got it. The support here is great, especially compared to some other task management forums I've frequented. I certainly haven't seen better. I suspect there's more going on here than just your frustration over working with TD. Might I suggest that blaming the hammer when the nails aren't going in straight won't help? You mention above that you have 430 tasks. If they're all yours, not delegated, you're simply in way over your head and no task manager is going to help with that. Even GTD won't help with that. From what I understand, it just gives you a method to figure out what needs to be done today from however a long list of tasks you might have. It doesn't deal with those who simply have an impossible number of tasks in the first place. I don't know if this will suit your needs, but I've been using a new (to me) methodology called "Zen to Done". Don't worry, you don't have to be a Buddhist to use it. It's just about simplifying your life and getting down to those things that are most important to you. You don't have to meditate or hang prayer flags. If interested, its at: http://zenhabits.net/zen-to-done-ztd-the-ultimate-simple-productivity-system/ Just a suggestion. If it doesn't suit, I leave you with this thought: "Beware the barrenness of a busy life." -- George Verwer Best of luck. This message was edited Aug 23, 2010. |
|
SteveUrich |
Thank you all very much for your comments!
I guess my challenges that I would like to add it multiple tasks in the time very similar To the Way, Quicken allows you to do a search and then edit all of the fields for those items that have been selected. I set up a tag called today and I ended up putting many tasks in that and soon realized that I had overscheduled my day. I now want to select 15 items that are tagged today and tag them this week. I do not know how to easily do a multiple select as there are not any common things to search on which is the only way that I've seen to do multiple edits. I would like to see is a checkbox that I could use to manually select multiple items and then apply changes to all those items at once. When I'm saying it is difficult to use I primarily was referring to how manual it is to edit the individual fields. after editing about 30 items. I was just fatigued and frustrated. In the morning, I go for a walk and I use Jott to dictate the to-do items that I have for today and others that come to mind. This is like eight GTD brain dump or mind sweep. By the time I come home all the tasks are into Toodledo and that I want to process them so they're putting the right bucket. This is the part that is extremely frustrating. I find that I am most effective when I can create a prioritized daily to do list. I like the franklincovey added into Microsoft Outlook but they could just not get it working reliably. With 430 tasks I often find the important items getting lost in the weeds of items that I am trying to get accomplished. One of the main reasons that I am considering going to paper is that technology seems to require a great deal of maintenance. It seems that at least once or twice a month Appigo Todo app is unable to sync and I have to spend three or four hours determining what's wrong. When everything is working I have for a few brief moments experienced a mind like water but unfortunately the time and effort to put everything is right bucket utilizing Toodledo seems overwhelming. I wonder if Toodledo would be willing to consider producing a users guide and recommended best practices or better yet giving users one free year subscription for Weber can produce the best video on how to best utilize Toodledo. I've been in the software business for a long time and recognize that producing something that is powerful and easy-to-use may seem like an oxymoron but the best example I have of this is something like Quicken which seems to put a real focus on ease-of-use. ITIL has best practices for implementing IT services. Rather than forcing all users to come up with their own best practice would sure seem appropriate to allow us to build on the shoulders of those who already figured it out. |
|
Captain_Obvious |
This is one of the best post I read, Someone in the software business considering going back to paper.
Yes, Indeed it does not take much to be fatigued and frustrated while working with Toodledo. There is no documented way of using it. Those using it seriously know it's only possible with many workarounds (greasemonkey). IMO It is very unfortunate to see there is no communication with the dev and it's customer. We do get canned reply that our post have been read but other than that there is no hint as to where the project is headed. It's a shady, one man project (even though he always refer to himself as "we"). He could be on vacation for 2 month and we couldn't notice. I suggest you use this for multi-edit : http://www.toodledo.com/forums/3/7525/0/greasemonkey-script-to-edit-multiple-tasks.html This message was edited Sep 16, 2010. |
|
SteveUrich |
Is anyone consider running a contest in terms of providing a for prize to the best video that shows how to use Toodledo for its maximum effectiveness.
My goal has always been to come up with a prioritize daily to do list that would allow me to execute effectively during the day. So far I've been unable to determine how to do that using Toodledo. |
|
alexandremrj_2 |
Hi,
I've been using Toodledo for some time now, and it took that time to refine the system. The one thing I noted was that I had to start my TD session as entering GTD for the first time, that means, processing everything in my Inbox as new, not as part of a system that I had. So, disable all the fields that you don't need and also fields that you think will come in handy some day (when that day comes then you will add them). Now that the system is in full swing i stopped seeing beyond the first priority and that is what i recomend you. |
|
PeterW |
Posted by SteveUrich:
Is anyone consider running a contest in terms of providing a for prize to the best video that shows how to use Toodledo for its maximum effectiveness. My goal has always been to come up with a prioritize daily to do list that would allow me to execute effectively during the day. So far I've been unable to determine how to do that using Toodledo. Look at Proximo's GTD setup thread in the GTD section. It contains videos. |
You cannot reply yet
U Back to topic home
R Post a reply
To participate in these forums, you must be signed in.