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Timeto PIM
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Posted by JG
Sep 25, 2007 at 01:42 AM
Has anyone tested the TimeTo PIM? It features dynamic scheduling and looks interesting on first blush. I found it on http://www.davidberman.com/software/timeto.php.
Posted by Thomas
Sep 25, 2007 at 11:36 AM
JG wrote:
>Has anyone tested the TimeTo PIM?
I did, and use it occasionally. It’s parent/sibling is Above&Beyond from 1soft.com.
It’s not a full featured PIM, most of it’s functionality is around calendar/scheduling.
Great concept.
Posted by Hugh Pile
Sep 25, 2007 at 10:16 PM
Yes, I did, a while ago.
It may be useful to you if you buy into its philosophy.
Which means:
- allowing the software to timetable the “soft-landscaped” parts of your working day i.e. those that don’t involve diary appointments
- having a schedule mostly composed of brief or medium-sized tasks, up to 90 minutes say, rather than day, week or month-long commitments (such as writing a book)
If you accept this way of working, I imagine it would provide and interesting alternative to other prioritising systems, such as GTD.
Beyond this: pluses: useful alarm systems, a record of what you’ve done and what it’s cost, a comprehensive formwork for recording the attributes of each task, a forecast of workloads in days ahead. Minuses: rudimentary project outlining, an old-fashioned and occasionally confusing user interface, perhaps an obsessively fussy approach?
Posted by Graham Rhind
Sep 26, 2007 at 06:49 AM
I have found that TimeTo is another of those programs which hides its power well and requires some work to winkle it out.
Many task managers pile up lists of tasks, even if each would only take 5 minutes to complete, so that one is faced with a worryingly long list at the start of each day. TimeTo shows (relatively graphically) the relative amount of time a task will take and also the amount of free time between tasks (provided one doesn’t have a preponderance of long, non-dated tasks, as Hugh says), giving a much better picture of one’s day and providing a more realistic picture of workload. They also seem to have good support (i.e. they respond to users!), and when they iron out the Outlook synchronisation issues I could imagine myself using it.
The interface, though, can hardly be described as slick, which is surprising as its developer is a graphic artist.
Graham
Posted by Thomas
Sep 26, 2007 at 03:10 PM
The interface is most probably due to it being an old old old software. I remember I have probably tested Above&Beyond first time with Windows 3.1. Looooooong time ago.
It’s still the same GUI and code, new code was being added all the time, but little interface changes.
TimeTo developers certainly tried to fix a thing or two, but they are most probably limited by the old code of Above & Beyond (on which TimeTo is based), so most changes were in terms of new icons, and the GUI controls are still the same.