"People complete tasks more quickly when they have concrete plans. However, they often fail to create such action plans."
This is from an interesting research paper from Stanford. They claim that people can have the benefit of a good action plan even if the plan is created by others (recycled action plans).

You can read more details at:

https://hci.stanford.edu/publications/2013/TaskGenies/TaskGenies-ToCHI2013.pdf

This is the intro:

"People complete tasks faster when they develop concrete implementation intentions[Allen 2002; Amabile and Kramer 2011; Gollwitzer 1996; Leventhal et al. 1965;Luszczynska 2006; Milkman et al. 2011]. Several controlled experiments have found that people assigned to make concrete plans follow through more often – from getting flu shots [Milkman et al. 2011] to exercising for heart attack recovery [Luszczynska2006] – than those only required to formulate a high-level theory. This benefit could arise from the availabilityof an action plan (regardless of source) and/or the process of contemplating a plan oneself. This work seeks to disambiguate these possibilities."

I read the suggested article. I have never heard of (or encountered) a crowd-sourced action plan. I wonder who has. It's probably an interesting concept -- though I would be curious who uses -- or wants -- a crowd-sourced action plan for "how to clean my kitchen", or "how to sell something on eBay".

Thanks for sharing.

"This work seeks to disambiguate these possibilities."

This statement reminds me of the old bumper sticker "Eschew Obfuscation"

For me, this was the niche for SheetPlanner. Simple ToDo lists don't rise to the level of action plans, but apps like OmniPlan are overkill for my needs. SheetPlanner allows me some order that task managers lack. Most importantly for me, many of the actions in the action plan require some sort of action by others, and I often find myself waiting for them to do their part. During these lulls in the action plan, I can knock off the items that I have control over, and the project doesn't stall so quickly. The drawback for me is that *my* having an action plan does little to increase the productivity of those players who don't use action plans, and academia is not so deadline driven.

I too like SheetPlanner. Because it is Mac only, I can't really fit it into my work. (If only I could talk my boss into switching to Mac).

Jeffery Smith wrote:

For me, this was the niche for SheetPlanner. Simple ToDo lists don't
rise to the level of action plans, but apps like OmniPlan are overkill
for my needs. SheetPlanner allows me some order that task managers lack.
Most importantly for me, many of the actions in the action plan require
some sort of action by others, and I often find myself waiting for them
to do their part. During these lulls in the action plan, I can knock off
the items that I have control over, and the project doesn't stall so
quickly. The drawback for me is that *my* having an action plan does
little to increase the productivity of those players who don't use
action plans, and academia is not so deadline driven.

Stephen Zeoli wrote:

I too like SheetPlanner. Because it is Mac only, I can't really fit it into my work. (If only I could talk my boss into switching to Mac).

Interesting... perhaps Peter (SheetPlanner) and Pierre (InfoQube) should discuss a possible collaboration / sync, Peter ?


Pierre Paul Landry
IQ Designer

Pierre Paul Landry wrote:

Interesting... perhaps Peter (SheetPlanner) and Pierre (InfoQube) should
discuss a possible collaboration / sync, Peter ?

Yes.
And you could think about a stripped-down version of InfoQube :-)

Franz Grieser wrote:

And you could think about a stripped-down version of InfoQube :-)

No problem, just list the stripped-down feature set and I'll do it ! ;-)

Pierre Paul Landry wrote:

>And you could think about a stripped-down version of InfoQube :-)

No problem, just list the stripped-down feature set and I'll do it !

I knew you were going to answer that ;-)
I'd buy a planning tool for Windows similar to Sheetplanner right away.
I'll look into IQ and list the features I think an entry version of IQ should have. And I am sure there are IQ users here that could offer more informed advice than me.

Couple of good books related to this topic, also from a Stanford psychologist:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1583335080/

and:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0312430000/

Good techniques in both.

ConceptDraw Project looks like SheetPlanner, and you can it on Mac as well as Windows:

https://www.conceptdraw.com/products/project-management-software

Franz Grieser wrote:

Pierre Paul Landry wrote:
>>And you could think about a stripped-down version of InfoQube :-)
>
>No problem, just list the stripped-down feature set and I'll do it !

I knew you were going to answer that ;-)
I'd buy a planning tool for Windows similar to Sheetplanner right away.
I'll look into IQ and list the features I think an entry version of IQ
should have. And I am sure there are IQ users here that could offer more
informed advice than me.

Adrian wrote:

ConceptDraw Project looks like SheetPlanner, and you can it on Mac as
well as Windows:

Thanks.
You are aware of the fact that CC Project costs $299 and Sheetplanner about $50 or 60? And that Sheetplanner does not appear to be as complex as CC Project. I do not need a full-blown project management tool that handles thousands of subtasks and a large number of coworkers.

I would like to invite you to test my software then.
I'm currently recruiting beta testers for the 2019 version.
Top beta tester will get a free license for life. Just drop me a note at:

http://www.goalenforcer.com/techsupportform.html

Franz Grieser wrote:

Adrian wrote:
>ConceptDraw Project looks like SheetPlanner, and you can it on Mac as
>well as Windows:

Thanks.
You are aware of the fact that CC Project costs $299 and Sheetplanner
about $50 or 60? And that Sheetplanner does not appear to be as complex
as CC Project. I do not need a full-blown project management tool that
handles thousands of subtasks and a large number of coworkers.

I thought I was the only one to use Concept Draw. I found their project manager to be a bit better (for me) compared to OmniPlan. I never warmed up to their mindmapping app, probably because most of the templates looked awful to me.

Same here. You are not alone!
:-)

Jeffery Smith wrote:

I thought I was the only one to use Concept Draw. I found their project
manager to be a bit better (for me) compared to OmniPlan. I never warmed
up to their mindmapping app, probably because most of the templates
looked awful to me.

Adrian wrote:

I would like to invite you to test my software then.
I'm currently recruiting beta testers for the 2019 version.
Top beta tester will get a free license for life. Just drop me a note
at:

http://www.goalenforcer.com/techsupportform.html

Adrian, I have a licence for GoalEnforcer both for Windows and Mac. And I find it a bit too "lite" for my simple project management needs. SheetPlanner would fit the bill - if I wouldn't need a Windows version because most of my billable work is done on Windows.

Pierre Paul Landry wrote:

>Franz Grieser wrote:
>And you could think about a stripped-down version of InfoQube :-)

No problem, just list the stripped-down feature set and I'll do it !
;-)

OK, Pierre. A lite version of IQ (for me) would consist of
- Inbox
- Calendar
- Projects
- plus the Welcome and IQDoc grids

What I would disable: the Tags pane, the Tags and Link columns (what is the Link column for, anyways), and the Item Properties window(s). And throw out the Pivot commands, the Visual Basic Editor, Google Connect and other stuff most users will never need.
But please, make the Documents pane sticky (maybe with an option to hide it but not close-able). I closed that pane accidentally and cursed you because I couldn't find a way to re-open it. I searched up and down the View and Grid menus, till - in my despair - I discovered the "View - Documents - New Document Pane" command.

That would make a much cleaner interface. Right now, I find the interface overwhelming and too noisy.

And, Pierre. Thanks for asking.

Stephen,

iOS native or via marzipan eventually but probably no Windows.

Switch to Mac!

Cheers
Peter

Stephen Zeoli wrote:

I too like SheetPlanner. Because it is Mac only, I can't really fit it
into my work. (If only I could talk my boss into switching to Mac).

Jeffery Smith wrote:
For me, this was the niche for SheetPlanner. Simple ToDo lists don't
>rise to the level of action plans, but apps like OmniPlan are overkill
>for my needs. SheetPlanner allows me some order that task managers
lack.
>Most importantly for me, many of the actions in the action plan require
>some sort of action by others, and I often find myself waiting for them
>to do their part. During these lulls in the action plan, I can knock
off
>the items that I have control over, and the project doesn't stall so
>quickly. The drawback for me is that *my* having an action plan does
>little to increase the productivity of those players who don't use
>action plans, and academia is not so deadline driven.

Pierre,

That might be a bit tough but I would love to chat.

Can you shoot me an email with your contact details to support@sheetplanner.com

Thanks
Peter

Pierre Paul Landry wrote:

Stephen Zeoli wrote:
> I too like SheetPlanner. Because it is Mac only, I can't really fit it
into my work. (If only I could talk my boss into switching to Mac).

Interesting... perhaps Peter (SheetPlanner) and Pierre (InfoQube) should
discuss a possible collaboration / sync, Peter ?


Pierre Paul Landry
IQ Designer

SheetPlanner wrote:

Pierre,
Can you shoot me an email with your contact details to support@sheetplanner.com

Done !