Funky Way of Life

This blog has been quiet for a while, but a lot of work has been going on and much has been accomplished.  An early version of the completely re-written Funky ToDo application is almost complete and in a couple of weeks, I’ll start posting some screen shots and perhaps some videos of the new interface and how it works.

Some of the new features you might be interested in:

1. Drag and drop to change action types
2. Inline editing of actions and projects, rather than the dialog heavy approach in the current version.
3. A section for the capture of contacts which will integrate into the delegated actions.  If you delegate to someone in your contacts, you’ll be able to select them from you contacts instead of entering their information each time.  Also, if the contact you’re delegating to is a FunkyTools user, the item will show up on their todo list.
4. Today and tomorrow buckets for access to your most pressing scheduled items.
5. Ability to attach items you have in Evernote to actions and inbox items.

The first roll out of the application will not include the feed reader or mind mapper.  However, the feed reader should show up only a short time after the roll out.

A call for help

I’d like to hear from some of you more hard core GTD’ers about features you’d like to see.  Most all of us have our own take on how to best implement the GTD methods and a primary goal I have is to make FunkyTools flexible enough to allow for your spin.  Some of you have already shared some of your insight and I sincerely thank you for your input.

I’ve just updated the Funky ToDo application.  Below are the changes that were made.

1. Made font size on inbox larger.
2. Changed templates for items in the ToDO list and Project lists to look better and allow better use of space.  The template now contains an expander so you can look at the detail of any item by expanding.
3. Modified how the links were done in the pages for mobile devices to work better with mobile browsers that don’t support or have limited support for scripting.

Enjoy!

Be sure to keep an eye on on the FunkyTools.com Facebook page for lots resources on GTD and task management in general.

“The Globe and Mail” interviewed David Allen.  Read the interview here

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I realize that making use of a GTD application is difficult if you don’t know anything about GTD to start with.  To get more familiar with the concepts, I recommend that you first make use of the resources made available by David Allen, the inventor of the GTD system.  There are books (both in print and audio) as well as recordings of seminars available. 

In addition, I’d like to offer the following additional resources:

• Free articles from http://www.davidco.com 
• GTD Podcast from http://www.davidco.com
• GTD Times Blog
• David Allen’s GTD Newsletter
• http://www.43folders.com
• Seth Godin’s Blog

Plenty of food for thought and practical instruction, here.  I’ll post more as I become aware of them.

First of all, thanks to all of you who are using FunkyTools.  The response to the Funky ToDo application has been great!

Updates to be released

Being a FunkyTools user, myself, I have noticed several things about the application that don’t work well or are not visually appealing.  I’ve been making changes to the application to correct some of these issues and I’m happy to say that you can expect a new version of the application to be released in a few days.  Most of the changes have been cosmetic, but these will also be some bug fixes and a few minor feature enhancements.

Application Rewrite

There is also work being done on a total rewrite of the application.  My original idea was to offer the suite of applications as separate entities, but believe now that all the functionality could be better utilized from a single interface.  Accomplishing that requires that the ToDo application be redesigned.  Expect the new version in the first few months of next year.

Contact Manager

After the rewrite of ToDo is complete, I’ll be creating a contact manager and adding it to the suite.  The contact manager will integrate into ToDo so that when doing things such as choosing to delegate a task, your contacts will be available to choose from.  There are other possibilities as well.

After completion of the contact manager, I’ll move forward with a Mind Mapper and possibly an RSS reader.  Both would integrate into the ToDo application and each other.

Your help in refining these tools is appreciated.  If you’re a user of the tool and would like to influence how it evolves, contact me through this blog or by using the Suggestions link, above.

I’ve made some changes to Funky ToDo that I hope will make it even easier to use.

1. Upgraded application to Silverlight 3 – With the recent release of Silverlight version 3 it was necessary to upgrade the application to support this version. Please note that you may get a message indicating that you need to install the most recent version of the Silverlight plug-in the next time you access the application.
2. Added a drag zone to inbox items -   To prevent any confusion around the process or dragging an inbox item to be processed, I’ve added a zone to the right-hand edge of the items to indicate an area which can safely be grabbed for dragging.
3. Safari Support – There have been some problems with rendering the application in the Safari browser.  These should now be rectified.

Please feel free to contact me at any time with either through the suggestions page or through the Contact link on this blog.

Several enhancements have been added to Funky ToDo.

Filter by Action Type

In the ToDo list, we have added an additional filter on Action Type.  When you first open the window, the default choice will be to display only the Action Items, but you can easily change the filter to view any and all types.

Lists Instead of Grids

In both the ToDo and Project windows, the grids ahve been replaced by nicer-looking lists.  This was done to accommodate more information at lower resolutions, facilitate he use of color and to allow a better at-a-glance experience.

Color Coding of Items

So you can more readily tell the types of actions when reviewing or scanning the lists, color has been utilized to make things easier to find.  Action Items are green, scheduled items are yellow,  Someday/maybe are blue, reference items are white, delegated items are purple and next actions (see below) are red.  You’ll find coloring to be consistent between ToDo, Projects and Schedule views.

Next Action Support

In the project view, you can now mark an item as the next action to be completed.  Doing so will change the item from its previous color to red.  Mark items as next actions by clicking the “Next Action” check box.  Note that only one item can be marked as the next action for any project.

Email Reminders

In the setup section of the application, there is now an area for Notification settings that allows you to opt in to receiving and email each morning listing your scheduled and tickled items for the day and also all your open actions.  Notifications will start going out on July 8th and will be sent to the email address you used when creating your account.

Enjoy!  More on the way.