Navigating the Digital To-Do List

The last post talked about the digital calendar, the extent to which I am seeing them used among the people attending this summer's workshops, and recommendations for how to move to better productivity with them. This post looks at a second pivotal part of the organizational system—the digital to-do list.

While audiences are approaching a 50/50 split between those who keep paper calendars versus those who keep digital ones, far fewer are keeping to-do lists digitally. In an average group, less than 20 percent raise their hands when asked who keeps the to-do list digitally. I believe several factors contribute to this relatively low number.

We have always been better with calendars
Our ability to use a calendar effectively has always been superior to our ability to construct a to-do list, regardless of the form in which it is kept. The average person can pull out of a pocket or purse a calendar, navigate quickly to a date, and read to you any appointments on that date. When adding a new date, the average person can flip to the correct date and quickly jot the new commitment.

When it comes to the to-do list, ask someone what tasks are scheduled for next Thursday, and you likely receive a blank stare. To-dos are jotted on scraps of paper. Many claim they can simply remember their to-dos. Is it any wonder when our ability to organize a to-do is weak using paper, it will also be weak with its digital counterpart?

The literature on time management reveals conflicting strategies on how to construct the to-do list. Some authors recommend ABC priority codes. Others recommend scheduling tasks for specific times on the calendar. Still others recommend listing to-dos according to the contexts or locations where they will be performed. We have none of this conflict with the calendar.

Digital to-do lists can be confusing
The methodology for using a digital to-do list has been lacking. The flexibility offered by the software adds complexity. When entering a new task, we can select a start date, a due date, and even set a time. We can set a reminder, a context, and a repeating pattern. We can add tags, indicate the task's status, specify a location, and add an expected length. We can add contacts to that task, as well as related notes. Sometimes, we feel it would take less time to do the task than to enter it in the first place.

Which fields do we really need to complete? How can we get in and out of the list as quickly as possible? Until we can answer these questions for ourselves, we are likely to resist the digital list.

Syncronization is more complex
The ability to synchronize our phones with our computers presents a second challenge. Synchronizing calendars and contacts has been something the makers of smartphones have made easy. The task list has been a different story. Those who use the Outlook task list have always been able to sync with a Palm, and later, the BlackBerry. Syncing with the Outlook tasks list with the iPhone was a challenge until iCloud, and syncing with Android devices requires third-party software as a go-between.

Many people have been on their own to figure out a solution. The Catch-22 situation is to make a good choice on software, one needs to have some experience with digital to-do lists. But how do you get experience without using the software? Rather than wade through a research project on available options and the nuts & bolts of making synchronization happen, it's simply easier for most people to stick with paper.

Finding direction
I made the transition from paper calendar and paper to-do list to digital calendar and digital to-do list almost 11 years ago. The software then was good and had all of the components I would look for today: start and due dates, the ability to handle repeating tasks, a note section to record details about the task, and the ability to search the list for a particular word or phrase.

The thing that made the digital system work was the ability to synchronize data from the computer to the mobile device. I could type on the computer with all of my fingers and make small additions with two thumbs on the mobile device. When I got up from my computer, I was taking all of my organizational information with me on my mobile device. As smartphones have become more the norm, more people have the ability to do what I was doing way back then.

In the next post, I will share suggestions for those getting started with a digital list. In the mean time, I would welcome your comments. How to my observations stack up with your own? What parts of your system are digital and what parts are paper?

Navigating the Digital Calendar

This summer, I enjoyed presenting at the Forum for Innovative Leadership in Memphis, the Alabama Educational Technology Conference, the Fort Bend Leadership Institute, workshops for the Lewisville Independent School District, the Huntsville Center for Technology, and Fort Bend's Ridgemont Elementary School. Working with that many people from such a variety of locations keeps in touch with the trends in tools people are using to stay organized and manage their time. It also lets me know where the holes exist in peoples' systems.

Smartphones are the rule. Whereas the tipping point on cell phones happened some years ago, we are ow seeing the vast majority of people having a phone hich also sends and receives email, and has the capability of the serving as the owner's calendar and to-do list, along with performing many other functions. While Android devices account for over half of all Smarthones in the United States, iPhones seem predominant among the audience of educators. The number of BlackBerry users is considerably less than a year ago, a trend we are seeing nationwide.

The percentage of people using Smartphones to keep their calendars is growing. The audiences are generally split 50/50 with half keeping paper calendars and half keeping digital ones. While many have a good system for syncing the phone with the computer and other devices, many have calendars only on the phone, and are doing all entry with two thumbs.

I am interested in how adept people are at navigating on their digital calendars. One of the activities we do during my flagship workshop is to ask give people a date in the future and ask them to navigate to it as quickly as they can using their calendars, regardless of whether it is paper or digital. When they have found the requested date and time and can tell me whether or not they are free, I have them stand. The time between the first to stand and even the point at which 50% are standing is remarkably large. I know from experience that if using a tool is difficult, we don't use the tool, whether we admit it or not. Human nature dictates we do what is easy. We have got to make using our digital calendars easy.

Paper-based people flip a few pages and are looking at the requested date. Some of the digital folks are able to access the calendar with a single stroke, are instantly on the monthly view or can get there with one more tap, and can fly month-to-month with one tap per month. They arrive at the requested date as quickly as their paper counterparts.

Far too many people, however, spend far too much time trying to figure how to get to that future date. Without a doubt, in their day-to-day lives, they are finding themselves telling people, "I will get back with you," because finding the information is too cumbersome. Or, they wind up keeping both a paper calendar and one on the phone, doing double entry, so they can see the "big picture."

The most surprising—and disturbing—are the ones who stand almost immediately, and when asked how they found the date so quickly, reply they know the date is free because they simply never schedule anything that far out. Imagine the glass ceiling they have imposed upon themselves and the opportunities which invariably be missed. I could not image operating that way. My calendar includes those dates which are firm, dates that my wife has commitments on a second color-coded calendar, and FYI dates and a calendar of a third color, all displayed together on my digital calendar and available to me on my computer, tablet, phone, or on any computer anywhere which has Internet access. My calendar traps those dates—the ones which are firm as well as the potential opportunities. My brain is free to handle more creative ideas.

My calendar has been in digital form for over 10 years. I offer three suggestions to help make functioning with a digital calendar satisfying:

Practice navigating
Spend the few minutes it would take to learn the quickest way to navigate to a future date. In short, it will involve opening the calendar with the fewest strokes, getting to the monthly view, and moving from month to month to the date in question. This procedure parallels what we have always done with paper calendars.

Practice searching
Learn to search the calendar. The area were the digital calendar shines is its ability to find that appointment without the person having to visually scan the screen looking for it. For example, if someone is looking for the next hair appointment, a search will turn up every hair appointment as far into the future as they have been scheduled, and do so quicker than someone attempting the same with a paper calendar.

Get the phone "in sync"
Sync the calendar with the computer. If I had to do all of my entry with two thumbs, I would go back to paper. But, if I can do the entry on the computer and then sync it to my phone, that is easy enough I will do it.

Back in the days when the Palm was the only game in town, the company recognized entry on the computer and then syncing the data to the handheld was the way to go. Performing a "hot-sync" was a key element, and they even provided the desktop software to do it. They also realized Outlook to be a giant in electronic organization and included the ability to sync with it. RIM realized the importance of entry on the computer, and to this day includes software which will sync Outlook to the BlackBerry.

Other Smartphone manufacturers have not emphasized synchronization to the same extent, and have left that job to third-party manufacturers. With many phones and many software programs available, the job of figuring out how to get the phone syncing fall more on the owner.

Do not let that situation be a deterrent. The Internet is full of videos and sets of instruction for getting your Smartphone syncing with whatever calendar you are using. The bottom line is to make getting that sync happening a goal, and don't stop until it's happening. The flexibility you gain from being able to enter information here and see it there is worth any research you have to do.

In the next post, we look at keeping to-dos digitally.

Tryphone Makes Selecting a Cell Phone Easier

The number of cell phone selections can be overwhelming. A site called TryPhone is designed to make the process easier. You will be able to choose from a selection of featured phones. You then see an interactive video demo of your selection. You may select from a number of tasks and have the the site walk you through the steps. The site also allows you to select any two phones and see a comparison of features.

Going to this site is certainly no substitute for holding the phone in your hands. It may, however, be a good prerequisite to a trip to the retailer.

ToodleDo: An Option for Maintaining an iPhone Task List

While iPhone users can sync their can sync their calendars with Outlook or Google Calendar. Maintaining a task list on the iPhone presents a challenge in that there is no native task application on the device. ToodleDo offers a third-party alternative. From the reviews I have read, the program works well.

Here is a short video demonstrating this software:



The program is available in three versions: Free, Pro, and Pro Plus.

We all need a comprehensive system for staying on top of all of the commitments we have made to ourselves and others. For the iPhone user, this program may be a very good answer.

Did you Know 4.0.? Social Networking and the Computer in Your Pocket

This version of "Did You Know?" focuses on the changes in communication brought about by technology, and in particular changes brought about by the cell phones we carry in our pockets.

Where Have We Been? Where Are We Going?

You must read the previous three posts for this one to make any sense, so if you have missed the last several installments of this blog, please take a moment to read those posts and then return to this one.

In Saturday's post, I spoke of three questions related to the use of technology that I asked of 614 Alabama principals in 1997. Those questions and the results are as follows:

Do you personally use:

1. Voice mail? 15% Yes 85% No
   
2. E-mail? 29% Yes 71% No
   
3. Word processing program? 75% Yes 25% No

Today, the use of all three is practically universal, and the changes have occurred within 12 years. My question is, "What changes in the use of smart phones are we likely to see in the next decade?"

My next question is, "As the use of smart phones as productivity tools rises among teachers and administrators, are we likely to see a different attitude towards student use of smart phones?"

We have a choice:

1. Hang on to the policies of the past.
2. Look into the future and shape policies that will help our students meet the demands of a changing world.

As a starting point, I would strongly suggest reading the accounts of a teacher who understands the potential. The blog post by Vicki Davis can be found here.

P.S. Thanks to Dr. Henry Clark for causing me to ask the questions 12 years ago which seemed so insignificant at the time. The contrast between then and now gives us some idea of the change we can expect over the next decade.

More Kids Than Teachers Own Smart Phones

The August issue of T.H.E. Journal contains statistics on smart phone ownership. Their findings include:

• Teachers report less ownership of smart phones than both high school and middle school students. (High school was 28%, middle school 24%, and teachers 20%.)
• Smart phone ownership among students in kindergarten through second grade is nearly equal to that of teachers.
• Principals lead the pack with 30% ownership. But, if 30% have a smart phone, that means 70% do not.

To read the article in its entirety, click here.

Is there a relationship between these figures and the debate discussed in the last two posts? If the percentage of teachers and principals who own smart phones was higher, would we be taking a different attitude and a different approach towards student use of these handheld devices?

In 1997, I completed my dissertation, A Study of Time Management Practices of Alabama Principals. I sent surveys to 614 Alabama principals concerning their use of some 50 different time management practices. The return rate was over 70%!

At the suggestion of my mentor, Dr. Henry Clark (who I was fortunate enough to have as a member of my dissertation committee), three questions related to the use of technology were added to the survey:

Do you personally use:

1. Voice mail?
2. E-mail?
3. Word processing program?

In this coming Monday's post, I will share the results for those three questions and the implications I feel they hold as we look a decade into the future.