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		<title>10 tips for respectful &#8212; and effective &#8212; shared calendaring</title>
		<link>http://gigaom.com/collaboration/10-tips-for-respectful-and-effective-shared-calendaring/</link>
		<comments>http://gigaom.com/collaboration/10-tips-for-respectful-and-effective-shared-calendaring/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 22 Aug 2011 16:00:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Terri Griffith</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[calendar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[meeting scheduling]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[meetings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[plan meetings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[scheduling]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[scheduling app]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[scheduling tip]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[shared calendars]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://gigaom.com/?p=390639</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[More than email and even shared documents, shared calendars can feel a bit intrusive. These 10 tips will help you make sure your coworkers respect your time when they schedule you for meetings, and they may even make those meetings more efficient.<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&#038;blog=14960843&#038;post=390639&#038;subd=gigaom2&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Shared calendars, like <a href="http://gigaom.com/collaboration/5-steps-for-effective-real-time-document-collaboration/">shared documents</a>, push our boundaries in the workplace. Shared calendars let other people see and touch our time in ways that have limited equivalents. Having a staff member, usually an assistant, manage your calendar used to be a status signal and implied that your time was important. But shared calendars instead open your time to the world &#8212; a huge benefit for our evermore collaborative work. Unless they are effectively managed, however, they can be a major drain on our time.</p>
<p>My 10 tips cover three important dimensions: Technology settings and strategies, our developing calendaring etiquette and norms, and broader organizational practices.</p>
<p><a href="http://gigaom2.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/tunglemescreen.jpg"><img src="http://gigaom2.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/tunglemescreen.jpg?w=604&h=347" alt="My Tungle.me screen" title="Tunglemescreen" width="604" height="347"  class="alignright size-full wp-image-390887" /></a></p>
<h2>Technology settings and strategies</h2>
<p>1. <strong>Set up appointment slots.</strong> Many systems (I’m most familar with <a href="http://www.tungle.me">Tungle.me</a> and <a href="http://calendar.google.com">Google Calendar</a>) let you choose the times others can book you.<br />
2. <strong>Make your wishes known.</strong> Many systems let you add comments on the page where people would schedule you, so use those comments to share your preferences for scheduling meetings. On my scheduling page I ask that people request at least three options, across multiple days.<br />
3. <strong>Set your default meeting time to a smaller increment.</strong> <a href="http://distractedenterprise.com/index.php/4-facts-about-shared-calendars-that-will-change-the-way-you-schedule-appointments/">This great tip</a> comes from <a href="http://www.thursdaybram.com/">Thursday Bram</a>. I just changed my default meeting time to 15 minutes. She also challenges us to:<br />
4. <strong>Schedule your own time so you can get some work done.</strong> My own technique is to schedule my required events (with prep, travel, and assimilation time added on), block time for work, and then negotiate the shared aspect of my calendar. You may not have that kind of control, but as you’ll see in the the organizational practices category of tips, you won’t have this kind of control unless you ask.<br />
5. <strong>Check the other person&#8217;s schedule first.</strong> Before asking someone if you can book some time (see next tip below), search the system for times that might work. You’ll get an better idea of the how busy the person is and be ready to book using their technology of choice.</p>
<h2>Etiquette and norms</h2>
<p>6. <strong>Get an OK <em>before</em> you set the meeting.</strong> Don’t book someone else without prior correspondence, unless it is standard operating practice, or the person’s scheduling page says you can.<br />
7. <strong>Offer multiple options.</strong> If your calendar system allows it, suggest a few different meeting times, spread across multiple days &#8212; you never know where the person will be and whether or not they’ll have access to a computer, good wifi, or whatever else the event might need.<br />
8. <strong>Don’t schedule back-to-back events.</strong> The person will be more likely to be on time and have your agenda in mind if you give them some breathing room. Try and schedule for an “odd” time so others are less likely to schedule immediately before or after your meeting.</p>
<h2>Organizational practices</h2>
<p>9. <strong>Talk about calendering and meeting ideals.</strong> Come to agreement around norms for booking each other, how personal time can be blocked, and assumptions about meetings. Agree on when it’s <a href="http://www.managementexchange.com/hack/meeting-consensus">ok to say no to a meeting</a>.<br />
10. <strong>Enlist IT&#8217;s help.</strong> See if your information technology gurus can adjust the calendaring system to defaults of 15, 25, or 55 minutes, to help shorten meetings (or at least allow 5 minutes&#8217; breathing room between them). If this isn’t a standard setting, see if IT can ask the vendor to implement it as a new feature.</p>
<p>Certainly, we’ve had shared calendars inside organizations for years. That doesn’t mean we’ve done calendaring well or that we’re prepared for public calendar sharing.</p>
<p><em>Would be great to know how these tips have worked out for you. Please share other tips you’ve found to be valuable.</em></p>
<p><strong>Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:</strong><br />Subscriber content. <a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=390639+10-tips-for-respectful-and-effective-shared-calendaring&utm_content=terrilgriffith">Sign up for a free trial</a>.</p><ul><li><a href="?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=390639+10-tips-for-respectful-and-effective-shared-calendaring&utm_content=terrilgriffith"></a></li><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/08/flash-analysis-collaborative-consumption-a-first-look-at-the-new-web-sharing-economy/?utm_source=collaboration&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=waterfall?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=390639+10-tips-for-respectful-and-effective-shared-calendaring&utm_content=terrilgriffith">Flash analysis: Collaborative consumption &#8211; a first look at the new web-sharing&nbsp;economy</a></li><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/08/mobile-payments-forecasts-technologies-and-opportunities/?utm_source=collaboration&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=waterfall?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=390639+10-tips-for-respectful-and-effective-shared-calendaring&utm_content=terrilgriffith">Mobile payments: forecasts, technologies and&nbsp;opportunities</a></li></ul><img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&#038;blog=14960843&#038;post=390639&#038;subd=gigaom2&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>10 Ways to Find More Time in Your Schedule</title>
		<link>http://gigaom.com/collaboration/10-ways-to-find-more-time-in-your-schedule/</link>
		<comments>http://gigaom.com/collaboration/10-ways-to-find-more-time-in-your-schedule/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 13 May 2011 15:05:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dawn Foster</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[calendar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[meetings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[productivity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[remote work]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[schedule]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://gigaom.com/?p=343991</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[How much more you could get done if you had just an extra hour a day? While I can't magically transport you to Bajor, where they have 26 hour days, I can share a few tips that will help you to take control of your schedule.<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&#038;blog=14960843&#038;post=343991&#038;subd=gigaom2&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://gigaom.com/collaboration/10-ways-to-find-more-time-in-your-schedule/4442226810_d5d8288c3d_z/" rel="attachment wp-att-343997"><img  title="Calendar Days Slipping Away" src="http://gigaom2.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/4442226810_d5d8288c3d_z.jpg?w=300&h=212" alt="" width="300" height="212" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-343997" /></a>Most of us would like to have just a little more time: how much more you could get done if you had just an extra hour or two a day? While I can&#8217;t magically transport you to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bajor#Homeworld">Bajor</a>, where they have 26-hour days, I can share a few tips that will help you to take control of your schedule and help to make it seem like you have a few extra hours.</p>
<ol>
<li><strong>Decline meetings.</strong> I don&#8217;t accept every meeting. If I don&#8217;t see real benefit resulting from my attendance, either for me or someone else, I decline the meeting. By only going to meetings you need to attend, you free up some time to do something productive.</li>
<li><strong>Have effective meetings.</strong> Strive to have <a href="http://gigaom.com/collaboration/7-tips-for-efficient-meetings/">shorter, more effective meetings</a> by being organized and always having a definitive end time. Spending a few minutes preparing for a meeting and send out an agenda and other materials in advance; it will mean that you get through the meeting faster, with less floundering around figuring out what you need to accomplish. I also try to keep people on track during the meeting and attempt to end on time or early when possible.</li>
<li><strong>Schedule work.</strong> We all have certain tasks that require uninterrupted time where we can focus. For those activities, I try to free up big blocks of time on my calendar, and I schedule those tasks the same way that I would schedule a meeting, which allows me the time to work uninterrupted.</li>
<li><strong>Schedule recreation.</strong> I also schedule my workouts just like any other meeting on my calendar. This has a couple of advantages. First, I get a reminder when it&#8217;s time to work out, and second, it discourages other people from scheduling over my workout and makes it more likely that I will be able to find the time for staying fit.</li>
<li><strong>Take advantage of off-peak times.</strong> Try to schedule activities at times when you can do them in less time. When I need to drive to work (a 45- to 60-minute commute), I get up early to beat some of the traffic and schedule my workout after work, so that by the time I&#8217;m done exercising and ready to drive home, the traffic isn&#8217;t as heavy. I also try to avoid grocery shopping right after work or going to the bank at lunch.</li>
<li><strong>Group and combine.</strong> Where possible, I take advantage of logical groupings to minimize travel time, such as scheduling afternoon meetings downtown when I know I need to be there for an evening event. I also try to combine meetings where possible, and I often meet with people for informal discussions at local tech events or prior to meetings. By combining meetings with meetups, I can get more done.</li>
<li><strong>Be flexible.</strong> I try to be flexible with my schedule to maximize productivity. On days that I work from home, I start work at six or seven in the morning and then take a slightly longer lunch with a workout, which helps me start the afternoon refreshed. I also tend to move things around on my schedule and be flexible to take advantage of unexpected, but productive conversations with coworkers or to stay &#8220;in the zone&#8221; when I&#8217;m really being productive on a chunk of work.</li>
<li><strong>Take breaks.</strong> When we get really busy, we tend to turn into workaholics and attempt to power through the work even when we aren&#8217;t being productive. While taking a break sounds like you will lose time, in many cases, it can help you get a new perspective on a difficult problem. A short walk can help, as can taking a break to accomplish something else, like running an errand or getting in a workout. After a little break, your brain will be refreshed and ready to be productive again.</li>
<li><strong>Turn off the television.</strong> I used to watch a lot of television in the evenings until I realized I was spending too much time watching other people and not enough time experiencing my own life. I was surprised at how much time I had for hobbies, reading, fitness or even just getting a little work done in the evening when television wasn&#8217;t sucking hours out of my day.</li>
<li><strong>Block out time for you.</strong> I block out my calendar from 4:30 to 5:00 every afternoon to give me a few minutes to reflect on the day, double-check my task list and wrap up any last-minute projects. In a past job where I often had back-to-back meetings all day, I used to block out my lunch hour just to give me time to eat! I know others who block off some time in the morning or afternoon to have time to take their kids to and from school. Think about what is important for you and make sure you find time in your schedule for what you want to do.</li>
</ol>
<div><em><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/sarahreido/4442226810/">Photo</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en">courtesy</a> of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/sarahreido">Flickr user sarahreido</a>.</em></div>
<div><em><br />
</em></div>
<p><strong>Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:</strong><br />Subscriber content. <a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=343991+10-ways-to-find-more-time-in-your-schedule&utm_content=geekygirldawn">Sign up for a free trial</a>.</p><ul><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/03/the-future-of-workplaces/?utm_source=collaboration&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=waterfall?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=343991+10-ways-to-find-more-time-in-your-schedule&utm_content=geekygirldawn">The Future of&nbsp;Workplaces</a></li><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/02/the-future-of-work-platforms-an-overview/?utm_source=collaboration&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=waterfall?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=343991+10-ways-to-find-more-time-in-your-schedule&utm_content=geekygirldawn">The Future of Work Platforms: An&nbsp;Overview</a></li><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/04/connected-consumer-q1-the-over-the-top-vs-pay-tv-battle-heats-up/?utm_source=collaboration&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=waterfall?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=343991+10-ways-to-find-more-time-in-your-schedule&utm_content=geekygirldawn">Connected Consumer Q1: The Over-the-Top vs. Pay TV Battle Heats&nbsp;Up</a></li></ul><img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&#038;blog=14960843&#038;post=343991&#038;subd=gigaom2&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>7</slash:comments>
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			<media:title type="html">Calendar Days Slipping Away</media:title>
		</media:content>

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			<media:title type="html">Dawn</media:title>
		</media:content>

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			<media:title type="html">Calendar Days Slipping Away</media:title>
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		<title>15 Tips for Accomplishing More in Less Time</title>
		<link>http://gigaom.com/collaboration/15-tips-for-accomplishing-more-in-less-time/</link>
		<comments>http://gigaom.com/collaboration/15-tips-for-accomplishing-more-in-less-time/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 06 May 2011 17:03:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dawn Foster</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[accomplishments]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[calendar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Email]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gmail]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[productivity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[remote work]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[time savers]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://gigaom.com/?p=341092</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I'm a huge fan of anything that can make me more productive, so I'm always looking for ways to accomplish more while not killing myself doing it. It's easier to excel if you can do more than your peers while still having time to recharge.<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&#038;blog=14960843&#038;post=341092&#038;subd=gigaom2&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://gigaom.com/collaboration/15-tips-for-accomplishing-more-in-less-time/3535379567_c02ef24426_o/" rel="attachment wp-att-341105"><img  title="Timer" src="http://gigaom2.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/3535379567_c02ef24426_o.jpg?w=300&h=240" alt="" width="300" height="240" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-341105" /></a>I&#8217;m a huge fan of anything that can make me more productive, so I&#8217;m always looking for ways to accomplish more while not killing myself doing it. It&#8217;s easier to excel if you can do more than your peers while still having time to relax and recharge.</p>
<p>Here are my tips for getting more done in less time:</p>
<ol>
<li><strong>Stay focused on the important work.</strong> Keep your eye on the work that will have the biggest impact, and make sure you finish the most important work first. Don&#8217;t get caught up in tasks, even those that seem urgent, if they aren&#8217;t really important.</li>
<li><strong>Learn keyboard shortcuts.</strong> The more you can do without taking your fingers off of the keyboard, the faster you&#8217;ll finish your work, so take the time to learn available keyboard shortcuts for commonly-used tasks. Email, RSS readers, browsers and any other frequently-used apps are good places to start. Keyboard shortcuts aren&#8217;t only available in desktop apps; many web apps, such as <a href="http://gigaom.com/collaboration/productivity-tip-google-reader-keyboard-shortcuts/">Google Reader</a> and <a href="http://gigaom.com/collaboration/productivity-tip-gmail-keyboard-shortcuts/">Gmail</a>, also have keyboard shortcuts.</li>
<li><strong>Know whom to ask for help</strong>. If you can spend less time trying to figure things out for yourself, you can get more done. Make connections with people in your company and your industry you can ask for help. However, you&#8217;ll need to be prepared to help others, too.</li>
<li><strong>Filter anything you can.</strong> If you get really good at automatically filtering out the noise, you can focus only on what you really need to see. Set up filters wherever possible: in your <a href="http://gigaom.com/collaboration/tips-for-handling-information-overload/">email</a>, <a href="http://gigaom.com/collaboration/how-to-hack-rss-to-reduce-information-overload/">RSS reader</a> and more.</li>
<li><strong>Learn to skim. </strong>If you get good at skimming over content without reading every word, you can quickly determine which items require your attention and which ones can be ignored. This works for reading social network posts, news and email.</li>
<li><strong>Touch once.</strong> This one is hard for me to stick with, but when I do it, it really makes a difference. For email or other communications, look over it and decide what to do with it right away: archive, respond, create a task item, flag for followup, etc. Regardless of how you process communications, just make sure you deal with them once rather than looking at them multiple times.</li>
<li><strong>Take control of your calendar.</strong> I&#8217;m really proactive about my calendar, and I only attend meetings where there is some benefit from my attendance. If you want to have time to get any real work done, you&#8217;ll probably need to occasionally decline meetings.</li>
<li><strong>Become the master of your email.</strong> Don&#8217;t let email control you. Finding ways to <a href="http://gigaom.com/collaboration/email-information-overload/">reduce email overload</a> and proactively deal with email will allow you to spend less time on email and more time on actual work.</li>
<li><strong>Work in chunks and focus. </strong>Despite what some might think, <a href="http://gigaom.com/collaboration/is-multitasking-a-productivity-killer/">humans are not great at multitasking</a>. We work better when we focus on one thing at a time. I do this by <a href="http://gigaom.com/collaboration/how-i-work-in-chunks/">breaking my work up into logical chunks</a> where I can focus on specific tasks.</li>
<li><strong>Get really good at using search engines.</strong> Learn <a href="http://gigaom.com/collaboration/10-simple-google-search-tricks/">little tricks for your favorite search engine</a>. For example, with Google, you could search for &#8220;productivity site:gigaom.com/collaboration&#8221; to find all of the productivity tips posted on this blog. Spending less time looking for information means that you can get more done.</li>
<li><strong>Automate routine tasks.</strong> For any mundane tasks that you perform manually over and over, you should find a way to automate them if at all possible. I write scripts, automatically process email with rules and filter RSS feeds to <a href="http://gigaom.com/collaboration/automate-your-way-to-productivity/">automate tasks</a> and spend less time on things I can have the computer do for me.</li>
<li><strong>Prune.</strong> Have less data to process. Dump those irrelevant newsletter subscriptions, drop the social network contacts who don&#8217;t have anything interesting to say and prune feeds out of your RSS reader. Focus on the important information and get rid of the rest.</li>
<li><strong>Keep it simple. </strong>When faced with any task, look for ways to keep things simple and avoid spending time on complexity that doesn&#8217;t add much value. Simple document formatting is a good example. Focus on the content that matters without getting too caught up in having elaborate formatting that could create more maintenance problems later.</li>
<li><strong>Get news from podcasts.</strong> I pick and choose the news sources important to me with a combination of mainstream news and news on niche technology topics, and I listen to that news when I&#8217;m doing household chores, driving, grocery shopping, working out and more. I get only the news I want, and I listen to it at times I wouldn&#8217;t otherwise be productive, which allows me to keep up with industry news while spending little time on it.</li>
<li><strong>Take time to recharge.</strong> If you work constantly, you&#8217;ll look like you are busy, but you&#8217;ll burn yourself out. If you really want to be productive, you need to take time to workout, do something fun, take a vacation, read or do something else relaxing. You&#8217;ll find that you come back to work with new ideas and focused energy to make a real impact.</li>
</ol>
<p><em>Share your productivity tips below.</em></p>
<div><em><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pasukaru76/3535379567/">Photo</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en">courtesy</a> of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pasukaru76/">Flickr user pasukaru76</a>.</em></div>
<div><em><br />
</em></div>
<p><strong>Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:</strong><br />Subscriber content. <a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=341092+15-tips-for-accomplishing-more-in-less-time&utm_content=geekygirldawn">Sign up for a free trial</a>.</p><ul><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/03/the-future-of-workplaces/?utm_source=collaboration&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=waterfall?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=341092+15-tips-for-accomplishing-more-in-less-time&utm_content=geekygirldawn">The Future of&nbsp;Workplaces</a></li><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/02/the-future-of-work-platforms-an-overview/?utm_source=collaboration&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=waterfall?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=341092+15-tips-for-accomplishing-more-in-less-time&utm_content=geekygirldawn">The Future of Work Platforms: An&nbsp;Overview</a></li><li><a href="?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=341092+15-tips-for-accomplishing-more-in-less-time&utm_content=geekygirldawn"></a></li></ul><img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&#038;blog=14960843&#038;post=341092&#038;subd=gigaom2&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Gantt, PERT, or Task Calendar: Which Scheduling Model is Best for Your Project?</title>
		<link>http://gigaom.com/collaboration/gantt-pert-or-task-calendar-which-scheduling-model-is-best-for-your-project/</link>
		<comments>http://gigaom.com/collaboration/gantt-pert-or-task-calendar-which-scheduling-model-is-best-for-your-project/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 27 Dec 2010 17:00:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Celine Roque</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Apps]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[How Do You Work?]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[calendar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mindmap]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[project managemnt]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[project plann]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[scheduling tip]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://gigaom.com/?p=279162</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[With a new year comes new projects, and with new projects comes plans to execute them. These plans may work -- or not. The key is to find the right model, or combination of models, that can help you schedule your projects more effectively.<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&#038;blog=14960843&#038;post=279162&#038;subd=gigaom2&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a rel="attachment wp-att-280460" href="http://gigaom.com/collaboration/gantt-pert-or-task-calendar-which-scheduling-model-is-best-for-your-project/33012_workflow/"><img title="33012_workflow" src="http://gigaom2.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/33012_workflow.jpg?w=604" alt=""   class="alignright size-full wp-image-280460"></a>With a new year comes new projects, and with new projects comes plans to execute them. These plans may work — or not. The key is to find the right model, or combination of models, that can help you schedule your projects more effectively. Here are three of the more common models.</p>
<h3>Gantt Charts</h3>
<p>Since the Gantt chart is one of the more popular project schedule formats, most people are familiar with <a href="http://www.ganttchart.com/Examples.html">how it looks</a>. A horizontal axis represents time, while a vertical axis lists tasks/activities. Bars are used to illustrate the duration of each activity. These bars can be color-coded according to your needs. For example, using the same color for different bars can show task dependencies, who is assigned to the task, or what resources are used. You can also add lines and markers to specify milestones, notes, and other information.</p>
<p><strong>When they’re useful: </strong>Gantt charts are effective for showing the big picture. Because smaller tasks are shown adjacent to each other in relation to the project as a whole, everyone in the team can see how their work will affect everyone else’s. This is especially useful for teams with remote workers. Gantt charts can also provide a useful template for projects with scopes and schedules that rarely change.</p>
<p><strong>When they’re not:</strong> Since you need detailed breakdowns of project activities in order to develop Gantt charts, they may be difficult to implement in projects requiring many changes, such as in agile software development. The slightest change in dependencies, milestones, or tasks may force you to start a new chart from scratch. There are still ways to use a Gantt chart in these cases, but it’s not always the best choice.</p>
<p>The graphical representation in Gantt charts may also be unnecessary for projects that look more like the linear process of an assembly line, or for projects with only one or two participants.</p>
<p><strong>Tools: </strong>If you want to try out Gantt charts, here are some apps you can start with: <a href="http://www.tomsplanner.com/"></a></p>
<ul><li><a href="http://www.tomsplanner.com/">Tom’s Planner</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.gantter.com/">Gantter</a></li>
<li><a href="http://gantto.com/">Gantto</a> (currently in private beta).</li>
</ul><h3>Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) Charts</h3>
<p>The PERT chart illustrates a project by focusing on the relationships between activities. The structure of a PERT chart is similar to a flowchart or mind map. An important characteristic of PERT charts is accurate time estimates. Examples and instructions can be found at <a href="http://www.netmba.com/operations/project/pert/">NetMBA</a> and <a href="http://www.edrawsoft.com/PERT-Chart.php">Edraw Soft</a>.</p>
<p><strong>When they’re useful:</strong> The layout of a PERT chart makes the relationships between activities easier to see than with Gantt charts. Thus, PERT charts can be effective for projects that include many activities occurring sequentially and in parallel. PERT charts are also more flexible; you need to make three different time estimates per task, which allows for mid-process changes.</p>
<p><strong>When they’re not:</strong> Some people don’t like the math involved in computing the “expected time”, which is the average time it may take to complete a task if it were repeated. <a href="http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/project-management/?p=120">Here is a concise explanation of the formula</a>, which may make it seem less intimidating. Another disadvantage of PERT charts is that they can be difficult to understand and follow, if the project has many complex dependencies and simultaneous activities.</p>
<p><strong>Tools:</strong> Since PERT charts resemble mind maps or flowcharts, most mind mapping tools can help you create a PERT chart quickly. You can start with:</p>
<ul><li> <a href="http://www.gliffy.com/">Gliffy</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.mindmeister.com">Mindmeister</a></li>
<li><a href="http://gigaom.com/collaboration/tag/mind-mapping/">Other tools we’ve reviewed</a></li>
</ul><h3>Task Calendars</h3>
<p>Task calendars show the activities you need to accomplish each day, week, or month. Task calendars can be as simple as paper desk calendars or planners that are date or time based and have room for a to-do list each day.</p>
<p>Some calendars have blank spaces for a to-do list for items that don’t have to be assigned to a specific day. Some of them have indicators for task priorities, work-life balance, and task progress. David Seah has a number of different varieties of task calendars <a href="http://davidseah.com/productivity-tools/">available from his blog</a>,</p>
<p><strong>When they’re useful: </strong>Task calendars are time-based, making them useful for those who are working on multiple projects at the same time. You can see the tasks you need to accomplish each day, week, or month, even if they’re attached to different projects. Breaking down tasks this way also makes them seem more manageable. Task calendars are also ideal for projects with simple, straightforward processes, since you don’t have to think about simultaneous activities or thorough time estimates.</p>
<p><strong>When they’re not:</strong> Unlike Gantt or PERT charts, it’s not easy to see the connections, dependencies, and costs of your projects on a task calendar. Some calendar apps do give you the option to view only the tasks associated with a specific project, allowing you to check your progress for each project. Also, as the number of project participants increases, the daily task lists will become bulkier. This makes task calendars difficult to use for large teams, unless individual calendars are created for each participant. Because of these limitations, task calendars may be more effective when used in tandem with PERT or Gantt charts.</p>
<p><strong>Tools: </strong>Most calendar apps<a href="http://www.rainlendar.net/"></a> allow you to create task lists or an agenda for the day, including:</p>
<ul><li><a href="https://www.google.com/calendar/">Google Calendar</a></li>
<li>iCal</li>
<li>MS Outlook</li>
<li><a href="http://www.rainlendar.net/">Rainlendar</a></li>
</ul><p>There are also a few to-do list apps that have a calendar view. <a href="http://www.todoist.com/">Todoist</a> is one of them, though you have to type in a search query to get custom calendar views. I also recommend <a href="http://www.worktrek.com/">Worktrek</a>, especially since it tells you whether you’ve had an efficient day or not.</p>
<p>While these three models aren’t the only ways to schedule your projects, they can provide a good starting point when figuring out your approach. Will you benefit from the big-picture thinking inherent in creating a Gantt chart? Or will a PERT model serve you better, since you’ll make several changes along the way? Is having a daily to-do list of deliverables enough? You can even use these different models together, if necessary. After all, no matter how you dress them up these models all aim to do one thing: help you get that project finished.</p>
<p><em>Have you tried any of these project scheduling formats? What are the benefits and limitations you’ve encountered?</em></p>
<p><a href="http://www.sxc.hu/photo/33012">Photo</a> by <a href="http://www.sxc.hu/profile/jnatiuk">stock.xchng user jnatiuk</a></p>
<p><strong>Related content from GigaOM Pro (sub. req.):</strong><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2010/09/how-to-manage-consumer-grade-collaborative-tools-in-the-workplace/?utm_source=collaboration&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_content=celinus&amp;utm_campaign=intext&amp;utm_term=279162+gantt-pert-or-task-calendar-which-scheduling-model-is-best-for-your-project"><br></a></p>
<ul><li><a title="Enabling the Web Work Revolution" href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2009/05/enabling-the-web-work-revolution/?utm_source=collaboration&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_content=celinus&amp;utm_campaign=intext&amp;utm_term=279162+gantt-pert-or-task-calendar-which-scheduling-model-is-best-for-your-project">Enabling the Web Work Revolution</a></li>
<li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2010/08/by-the-numbers-running-a-coworking-space/?utm_source=collaboration&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_content=celinus&amp;utm_campaign=intext&amp;utm_term=279162+gantt-pert-or-task-calendar-which-scheduling-model-is-best-for-your-project">By The Numbers: Running a Cow﻿orking Space</a></li>
<li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2010/06/making-coworking-corporate-scale/?utm_source=collaboration&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_content=celinus&amp;utm_campaign=intext&amp;utm_term=279162+gantt-pert-or-task-calendar-which-scheduling-model-is-best-for-your-project">Making Coworking Corporate﻿-Scale</a></li>
</ul>
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		<title>Diacarta: Picture Your Schedule</title>
		<link>http://gigaom.com/collaboration/diacarta-picture-your-schedule/</link>
		<comments>http://gigaom.com/collaboration/diacarta-picture-your-schedule/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 30 Jun 2010 14:00:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Charles Hamilton</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Apps]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Personal organization]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[app]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[calendar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[diacarta]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[iPad]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[iPhone]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[iPod Touch]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://webworkerdaily.com/?p=35225</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Are you bored with regular calendars? Diacarta, a new app for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, has come up with a different way of visualizing your schedule. When you open the app, instead of the usual grid of hours, you'll see an analog clock face.<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&#038;blog=14960843&#038;post=35225&#038;subd=gigaom2&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/diacarta-logo.jpg"><img title="diacarta-logo" src="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/diacarta-logo.jpg?w=285&h=125" alt="" width="285" height="125" class=" alignleft"></a>Are you bored with regular calendar software? <a href="http://www.dia-carta.com/">Diacarta</a>, a new S1.99 calendar app for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad (<a href="http://itunes.com/apps/diacarta">iTunes link</a>), has come up with a different way of visualizing your schedule.</p>
<p><a href="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/iphone-sample-2.jpg"><img title="iphone-sample-2" src="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/iphone-sample-2.jpg?w=166&h=300" alt="" width="166" height="300" class=" alignleft"></a>When you open the app, instead of the usual grid of hours, you’ll see an analog clock face marked with AM or PM. Click the plus sign, and you’ll be presented with over 50 icons that can be used to create different types of events. These images are imaginative, and include a check mark, a golfer, a dog, a party hat, a sailboat, a skier and a blank one that you can add text to. Once you’ve selected the icon, you can drag it to attach it to the clock, <a href="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/iphone-sample-4.jpg"><img title="iphone-sample-4" src="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/iphone-sample-4.jpg?w=166&h=300" alt="" width="166" height="300" class=" alignleft"></a>or double-tap on it to add details. The result is a visual representation that’s surprisingly easy to understand at a glance. It works well for “dinner at 7″ but is probably not so useful for “train at 5:28.”</p>
<p>Diacarta has some cute touches, like a “ticking” sound that plays for a couple of seconds while it’s loading. It uses some unusual gestures like rotating the clock face — clockwise to move forward in time, or anticlockwise to move backward — so it takes a bit of learning. But I figured it out in only a couple of minutes, even before watching the entertaining and narration-free <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyA0PQGZPAk">video</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/iphone-sample-6.jpg"><img title="iphone-sample-6" src="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/iphone-sample-6.jpg?w=166&h=300" alt="" width="166" height="300" class=" alignleft"></a>What makes the app stand out are the graphics, which are elegant, and a real  change from  Apple’s usual clean, if slightly sterile, design. The app looks good on my iPod touch, and I suspect it’ll look even better on the iPad’s larger screen. The only jarring note  is the  use of a monospaced font in certain  interface elements, which looks out of place to me, but which doesn’t detract from the app’s readability.</p>
<p>This is an initial 1.0 release, and it lacks some features that would make it  more useful, like a way to sync information with the iPhone’s own Calendar, or with other services like Google Calendar. It also doesn’t have a way to create recurring events, or a backup and restore function.</p>
<p>But if you’re an analog sort of person who’s not “so amazingly primitive that [you] think digital watches are a pretty neat idea,” (thanks, Douglas Adams) you may find Diacarta a refreshing change from the traditional interface.</p>
<p><em>How do you manage your schedule on a mobile device?</em></p>
<p><strong>Related GigaOM Pro content (sub. req.):</strong> <a title="Report: The Real-Time Enterprise" href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2010/01/report-the-real-time-enterprise/?utm_source=collaboration&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_content=hamiltonc&amp;utm_campaign=intext&amp;utm_term=35225+diacarta-picture-your-schedule">Report: The Real-Time  Enterprise</a></p>
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		<title>Elements Of a Social Media Calendar</title>
		<link>http://gigaom.com/collaboration/elements-of-a-social-media-calendar/</link>
		<comments>http://gigaom.com/collaboration/elements-of-a-social-media-calendar/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 24 Dec 2009 19:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Aliza Sherman</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[How Do You Work?]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[calendar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[social media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[social media calendar]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://webworkerdaily.com/?p=25142</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In a previous post where I discussed the concept of a social media calendar to manage your social media outreach and messaging, Bob Hazlett commented and offered up his calendar to use as an example. I&#8217;ve downloaded it and thought it might be useful to show [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&#038;blog=14960843&#038;post=25142&#038;subd=gigaom2&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>In a previous post where I <a href="http://gigaom.com/collaboration/why-you-should-have-a-social-media-calendar/" target="_self">discussed the concept of a social media calendar</a> to manage your social media outreach and messaging, Bob Hazlett commented and <a href="http://onehalfamazing.com/blogging/social-media-calendar-template/" target="_blank">offered up his calendar</a> to use as an example. I&#8217;ve downloaded it and thought it might be useful to show discuss his calendar and my own company&#8217;s version as examples and look at the elements that make up these calendars and how best to use them.</p>
<p>Here&#8217;s a screenshot of Hazlett&#8217;s calendar:</p>
<p><a href="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/social_media_calendar-neooffice-calc.jpg"><img  title="social_media_calendar - NeoOffice Calc" src="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/social_media_calendar-neooffice-calc.jpg?w=607&h=274" alt="" width="607" height="274" class=" alignleft" /></a></p>
<p><span id="more-25142"></span>Hazlett&#8217;s calendar is pretty straightforward and gives a solid starting point for planning out your social media messaging. He breaks it down by months, weeks and days and then has the following additional fields:</p>
<ul>
<li>Focus</li>
<li>Theme</li>
<li>Keywords</li>
<li>Events</li>
</ul>
<p>I think this is a good place to start and gives a good overview. My company is finding as we implement multiple, highly-detailed and evolving social media marketing campaigns for clients is that we need more specificity than this, though.</p>
<p>Here&#8217;s a screenshot of the social media calendar my company developed and is using:</p>
<p><a href="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/template-social-media-calendar-2010-1.jpg"><img  title="TEMPLATE-Social Media Calendar 2010-1" src="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/template-social-media-calendar-2010-1.jpg?w=607&h=213" alt="" width="607" height="213" class=" alignleft" /></a></p>
<p>The elements are as follows:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Date</strong>. We break campaigns down by week, and then by day.</li>
<li><strong>Client</strong>. This is where we put the tasks that fall on the client to do.</li>
<li><strong>Consultant</strong>. This is where we put the tasks that we&#8217;ll handle.</li>
<li><strong>Blog Post/Theme</strong>. This is where the campaign &#8220;hooks&#8221; reside. We see blog posts as the hub of a wheel and all social media conversations are the spokes from that hub. So if we have a contest, an offline event, a promotion or anything else that is the core of a campaign, we make sure blog posts give all the necessary details and use it as a returning reference point as links in the social media messaging we put out.</li>
<li><strong>Blogger</strong>. We utilize a number of professional bloggers in addition to our own staff, so we specify who will actually write and/or edit the blog here. In advance, we establish a single person with the power to publish, although we always have a backup who knows how to do it in case the publisher is not available.</li>
<li><strong>Deadline</strong>. We are sticklers for deadlines and make sure our calendar includes them if something needs to be produced in advance. We&#8217;re also learning hard lessons about what happens to your timeline when it is the client who misses deadlines and not your team. You should have a clause in your contract stating that all deadlines will automatically shift based on client delays, but you will still make efforts to deliver per original deadlines when possible.</li>
<li><strong>Publish On</strong>. This date is also critical so everyone knows when something is going to appear online and can activate other social media marketing steps.</li>
<li><strong>SM Messaging.</strong> While we don&#8217;t like to produce canned messaging except under certain circumstances &#8212; such as a daily empowering quote where all quotes are pre-programmed to release at future dates &#8212; we still include ideas for tweets and status updates that spring from or complement that blog post or theme. These are used more as ticklers and reminders.</li>
<li><strong>Done</strong>. Accountability is a major issue in any process with a lot of moving parts and multiple players. We make sure a date is added to the Done column when the person responsible for the task completes it.</li>
</ul>
<p>Here&#8217;s what a portion of this calendar might look like filled out:</p>
<p><a href="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/template-social-media-calendar-2010-2.jpg"><img  title="TEMPLATE-Social Media Calendar 2010-2" src="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/template-social-media-calendar-2010-2.jpg?w=606&h=84" alt="" width="606" height="84" class=" alignleft" /></a></p>
<p>An effective social media calendar should include:</p>
<ul>
<li>Clear designations of each task.</li>
<li>Clear assignments to specific people.</li>
<li>Clear deadlines to set expectations.</li>
<li>A place to show a task is complete to demonstrate expectations have been met.</li>
</ul>
<p>Overall, your calendar should be clear, specific, and emphasize accountability with enough detail to support tracking and management of the many moving parts of your active social media marketing campaigns.</p>
<p><em>Do you have an example of a social media calendar you can share? Any thoughts on the ones shared above?</em></p>
<p><strong>Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:</strong><br />Subscriber content. <a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=25142+elements-of-a-social-media-calendar&utm_content=alizasherman">Sign up for a free trial</a>.</p><ul><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/03/why-ipad-2-will-lead-consumers-into-the-post-pc-era/?utm_source=collaboration&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=waterfall?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=25142+elements-of-a-social-media-calendar&utm_content=alizasherman">Why iPad 2 Will Lead Consumers Into the Post-PC&nbsp;Era</a></li><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/03/the-near-term-evolution-of-social-commerce/?utm_source=collaboration&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=waterfall?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=25142+elements-of-a-social-media-calendar&utm_content=alizasherman">The Near-Term Evolution of Social&nbsp;Commerce</a></li><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/02/content-farms-the-players-the-benefits-the-risks/?utm_source=collaboration&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=waterfall?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=25142+elements-of-a-social-media-calendar&utm_content=alizasherman">Content Farms: The Players, The Benefits, The&nbsp;Risks</a></li></ul><img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&#038;blog=14960843&#038;post=25142&#038;subd=gigaom2&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>9</slash:comments>
	
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		<title>Work Better With Google Sync for iPhone, Now With Push Gmail</title>
		<link>http://gigaom.com/collaboration/work-better-with-google-sync-for-iphone-now-with-push-gmail/</link>
		<comments>http://gigaom.com/collaboration/work-better-with-google-sync-for-iphone-now-with-push-gmail/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 23 Sep 2009 14:00:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darrell Etherington</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[CNN Big Tech]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://webworkerdaily.com/?p=19833</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As I noted over at TheAppleBlog, Google has turned on push for Gmail on the iPhone. That means that your incoming messages will be pushed from the Google servers to your phone, instead of your phone having to call in periodically to check for new mail. [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&#038;blog=14960843&#038;post=19833&#038;subd=gigaom2&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/sync.gif"><img  title="sync" src="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/sync.gif?w=48&h=48" alt="sync" width="48" height="48" class=" alignleft" /></a>As I noted over at <a href="http://gigaom.com/apple/google-sync-gets-push-gmail-support-on-the-iphone/" target="_self">TheAppleBlog</a>, Google has turned on push for Gmail on the iPhone. That means that your incoming messages will be pushed from the Google servers to your phone, instead of your phone having to call in periodically to check for new mail. It means you&#8217;ll be more up-to-date, and your phone will use a lot less of your battery&#8217;s power than if you use Apple&#8217;s Fetch alternative.</p>
<p>For Gmail users with an iPhone who work from home, this is great news. Often, those of us not plugged in to the corporate world miss out on the little niceties like Exchange information syncing. Google Sync, now that it includes Gmail, offers a great free alternative for those of us who&#8217;ve left our office working days behind. And it uses Microsoft Exchange technology to do it. <span id="more-19833"></span></p>
<p>Now you can manage your contacts, calendar and email all from your smartphone, and have that information synced back to the cloud in real time, so that wherever you access it, you&#8217;ll be looking at the same thing. I&#8217;ve been using MobileMe to do that for about a year now, but since many people already use Gmail, and since Google&#8217;s alternative is free, this is much more useful for most people.</p>
<p>If you&#8217;d like to set up your iPhone or iPod Touch to work with Google Sync, check out <a href="http://www.google.com/mobile/products/sync.html#p=default" target="_self">the instructions</a> posted by the official Google Mobile team. Some may prefer to continue using Gmail on IMAP with their device, since it means you can set the schedule by which you&#8217;re notified of new mail, instead of having incoming messages dictate to you. Also, keep in mind that the iPhone supports only one Exchange account at a time, so if you have one already for work, you won&#8217;t be able to take advantage of Google Sync.</p>
<p><em>Are you using Google Sync?</em></p>
<p><strong>Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:</strong><br />Subscriber content. <a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=19833+work-better-with-google-sync-for-iphone-now-with-push-gmail&utm_content=etherin">Sign up for a free trial</a>.</p><ul><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/01/mobile-q4-all-eyes-were-on-android-4g-and-the-rising-tablet-tide/?utm_source=collaboration&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=waterfall?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=19833+work-better-with-google-sync-for-iphone-now-with-push-gmail&utm_content=etherin">Mobile Q4: All Eyes Were on Android, 4G and the Rising Tablet&nbsp;Tide</a></li><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2010/12/report-a-mobile-video-market-overview/?utm_source=collaboration&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=waterfall?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=19833+work-better-with-google-sync-for-iphone-now-with-push-gmail&utm_content=etherin">Report: A Mobile Video Market&nbsp;Overview</a></li><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2010/10/in-q3-the-tablet-and-4g-were-the-big-stories/?utm_source=collaboration&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=waterfall?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=19833+work-better-with-google-sync-for-iphone-now-with-push-gmail&utm_content=etherin">In Q3, the Tablet and 4G Were the Big&nbsp;Stories</a></li></ul><img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&#038;blog=14960843&#038;post=19833&#038;subd=gigaom2&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
	
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			<media:title type="html">etherin</media:title>
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		<title>Keeping In Sync</title>
		<link>http://gigaom.com/collaboration/keeping-in-sync/</link>
		<comments>http://gigaom.com/collaboration/keeping-in-sync/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 25 Aug 2009 23:00:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Meryl K Evans</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Gear]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://webworkerdaily.com/?p=18315</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Like many web workers, one of my challenges is keeping my data in sync between the various devices and apps that I use. I stopped using my Palm handheld over a year ago, but I&#8217;ve continued to use the Palm Desktop application, because it&#8217;s one of [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&#038;blog=14960843&#038;post=18315&#038;subd=gigaom2&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/many_phones.jpg"><img  title="Lots of phones" src="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/many_phones.jpg?w=300&h=200" alt="Lots of phones" width="300" height="200" class=" alignleft" /></a>Like many web workers, one of my challenges is keeping my data in sync between the various devices and apps that I use. I stopped using my Palm handheld over a year ago, but I&#8217;ve continued to use the Palm Desktop application, because it&#8217;s one of the easiest-to-use and most mobile-friendly applications ever, even though I now have a BlackBerry. Finding a solution that can keep my data in sync between Palm Desktop, my BlackBerry and the other apps that I use has been difficult.</p>
<p>For a while, I&#8217;d sync Outlook and Palm Desktop, and then Outlook would update the BlackBerry (I didn&#8217;t actually use Outlook at all, it just acted as the middleman). It worked great. But then my dependence on Google Calendar  grew, because I could access it from any computer as well as my BlackBerry, and it wouldn&#8217;t work with my sync setup.<span id="more-18315"></span></p>
<p>I investigated many tools and synchronization applications to find a perfect sync solution. I didn&#8217;t want to use lots of different applications to syncing needs.</p>
<p>The almost perfect solution was to find a dedicated synchronization app. Mine comes from <a href="http://www.companionlink.com/">CompanionLink</a>. This method cuts out Outlook for good. CompanionLink now has a Google edition available that synchronizes all of Palm Desktop&#8217;s features with Google, too. For updating my BlackBerry, I use <a href="http://www.google.com/mobile/products/sync.html#p=default">Google Sync for Mobile</a>. It&#8217;s still not perfect, but it works and I can access and update my information in Google or Palm, while my BlackBerry just has access to the information.</p>
<p>If you&#8217;re struggling to find the perfect syncing app, here are some options (some free and some paid):</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.chapura.com/">Chapura</a>: PocketMirror has been around for a long time, and syncs Palms with Outlook. Its Echo and PocketMirror work with Palm Pre.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.companionlink.com/products/companionlink.html">CompanionLink</a>: Syncs Google, Palm Pre, ACT!, LotusNotes, Outlook and many others.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.google.com/sync">Google Sync</a>: free Google syncing applications for Mac, Linux, Android and others.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.daveswebsite.com/software/gsync/">gSyncit</a>: Syncs Outlook and Gmail.</li>
<li><a href="http://markspace.com/">Mark/Space</a>: Sync apps for Macs.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.syncem.com/">Sync&#8217;Em</a>: Connects Macs with Exchange and Outlook.</li>
</ul>
<p><em>How do you keep your data in sync?</em></p>
<p><span style="font-size:xx-small;">Photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/djwudi/382030798/">djwudi </a></span></p>
<p><strong>Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:</strong><br />Subscriber content. <a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=18315+keeping-in-sync&utm_content=meryldotnet">Sign up for a free trial</a>.</p><ul><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/03/why-ipad-2-will-lead-consumers-into-the-post-pc-era/?utm_source=collaboration&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=waterfall?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=18315+keeping-in-sync&utm_content=meryldotnet">Why iPad 2 Will Lead Consumers Into the Post-PC&nbsp;Era</a></li><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/03/the-near-term-evolution-of-social-commerce/?utm_source=collaboration&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=waterfall?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=18315+keeping-in-sync&utm_content=meryldotnet">The Near-Term Evolution of Social&nbsp;Commerce</a></li><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/02/content-farms-the-players-the-benefits-the-risks/?utm_source=collaboration&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=waterfall?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=18315+keeping-in-sync&utm_content=meryldotnet">Content Farms: The Players, The Benefits, The&nbsp;Risks</a></li></ul><img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&#038;blog=14960843&#038;post=18315&#038;subd=gigaom2&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>22</slash:comments>
	
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			<media:title type="html">meryldotnet</media:title>
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			<media:title type="html">Lots of phones</media:title>
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		<title>Manymoon: Project Management with Google Apps Integration</title>
		<link>http://gigaom.com/collaboration/manymoon-project-management-with-google-apps-integration/</link>
		<comments>http://gigaom.com/collaboration/manymoon-project-management-with-google-apps-integration/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 25 Mar 2009 14:00:01 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darrell Etherington</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[CNN Startups]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://webworkerdaily.com/?p=9627</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[There&#8217;s no shortage of options for those looking to manage projects using web-based applications these days. Manymoon is another recent entry in this expanding category, and they are a serious contender that doesn&#8217;t lack for professionalism and features. Question is, is there something you can get [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&#038;blog=14960843&#038;post=9627&#038;subd=gigaom2&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img  title="manymoon" src="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/manymoon.jpg?w=241&h=39" alt="manymoon" width="241" height="39" class=" alignleft" />There&#8217;s no shortage of options for those looking to manage projects using web-based applications these days. <a href="http://www.manymoon.com/auth/login" target="_self">Manymoon</a> is another recent entry in this expanding category, and they are a serious contender that doesn&#8217;t lack for professionalism and features. Question is, is there something you can get at Manymoon that you aren&#8217;t already getting with your current project management solution?</p>
<p>Manymoon is well-designed, with a clean interface throughout. Of course, that&#8217;s true of a lot of project management web apps, and especially the free ones targeted at the independent, rather than the enterprise, user. Commands and tools are housed in submenus and tabs to keep visual clutter on any given page to a minimum. And I do find that everything is located where I intuitively expect it to be, which is not necessarily always the case in other apps.</p>
<p><a href="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/picture-54.png"><img  title="picture-54" src="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/picture-54.png?w=607&h=381" alt="picture-54" width="607" height="381" class=" alignleft" /></a><span id="more-9627"></span>Your home screen looks more like a Facebook newsfeed than the dashboard-type interface you might be used to from other comparable services. You receive updates here based on the recent activities of members of your project team. Things like the creation or completion of a task or a project, what any member is currently working on, and additions to the project team will all show up here as they occur.</p>
<p><a href="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/picture-35.png"><img  title="picture-35" src="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/picture-35.png?w=607&h=381" alt="picture-35" width="607" height="381" class=" alignleft" /></a>Setting up a project is easy, and assigning sub-tasks within that project is as complicated or as simple as you need it to be. By default, task addition is shown in a convenient quick entry mode: all you need to enter is a title. Clicking &#8220;Show options&#8221; allows you to add more detailed information, like a due date, priority, project staff responsible and file attachments.</p>
<p><a href="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/picture-42.png"><img  title="picture-42" src="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/picture-42.png?w=607&h=381" alt="picture-42" width="607" height="381" class=" alignleft" /></a>One really nice feature that sets Manymoon apart from other similar services is its Google Apps integration. You can tie your project and task deadlines to Google Calendar, right from within the web app, automatically. And you can attach documents directly from your Google Docs account, as well as those you upload from your hard drive. It&#8217;s definitely a huge plus if you depend on Google Docs as much as I do.</p>
<p>They&#8217;ve taken some cues from Facebook and Twitter, in that you can quickly and easily post about what you&#8217;re currently working on, or a useful link, from entry fields on the right of the home page. This certainly comes in handy when you want to draw your team&#8217;s attention to a useful resource without going to the trouble of sending a mass email.</p>
<p>While the basic version is free, Manymoon also offers two <a href="http://www.manymoon.com/misc/help?goto=upgrade" target="_self">levels of upgrade</a>, which offer you more storage space, and other custom options, for $5 and $10 a month. Since, for my purposes the 5MB allowed on the free version is more than enough, I highly recommend Manymoon as an inexpensive project management solution, especially to those who already depend heavily on Google Apps.</p>
<p><em>Does the Google Apps integration in Manymoon appeal to you?</em></p>
<p><strong>Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:</strong><br />Subscriber content. <a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=9627+manymoon-project-management-with-google-apps-integration&utm_content=etherin">Sign up for a free trial</a>.</p><ul><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/03/why-ipad-2-will-lead-consumers-into-the-post-pc-era/?utm_source=collaboration&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=waterfall?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=9627+manymoon-project-management-with-google-apps-integration&utm_content=etherin">Why iPad 2 Will Lead Consumers Into the Post-PC&nbsp;Era</a></li><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/03/the-near-term-evolution-of-social-commerce/?utm_source=collaboration&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=waterfall?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=9627+manymoon-project-management-with-google-apps-integration&utm_content=etherin">The Near-Term Evolution of Social&nbsp;Commerce</a></li><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/02/content-farms-the-players-the-benefits-the-risks/?utm_source=collaboration&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=waterfall?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=9627+manymoon-project-management-with-google-apps-integration&utm_content=etherin">Content Farms: The Players, The Benefits, The&nbsp;Risks</a></li></ul><img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&#038;blog=14960843&#038;post=9627&#038;subd=gigaom2&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>21</slash:comments>
	
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		<title>Anagram Captures Useful Data From Text Snippets</title>
		<link>http://gigaom.com/collaboration/anagram-captures-useful-data-from-text-snippets/</link>
		<comments>http://gigaom.com/collaboration/anagram-captures-useful-data-from-text-snippets/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 09 Mar 2009 21:00:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Simon Mackie</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[CNN Startups]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cool stuff]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[NYT Internet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Screencasts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Software Apps]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SYN Analysis]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[anagram]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[calendar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[contacts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[CRM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gwabbit]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://webworkerdaily.com/?p=8770</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Last week ,we reviewed gwabbit, an app that aims to automatically pull contact data from emails in Outlook. Scott Blitstein was positive about gwabbit, but it didn&#8217;t work as well for me when I tried it: sometimes it was unable to extract my contact data, even [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&#038;blog=14960843&#038;post=78478&#038;subd=gigaom2&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img  title="anagramlogo" src="http://webworkerdaily.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/anagramlogo.jpg?w=250&h=63" alt="anagramlogo" width="250" height="63" class=" alignleft" />Last week ,we <a href="http://gigaom.com/collaboration/capture-your-outlook-contacts-with-gwabbit/">reviewed gwabbit</a>, an app that aims to automatically pull contact data from emails in Outlook. Scott Blitstein was positive about gwabbit, but it didn&#8217;t work as well for me when I tried it: sometimes it was unable to extract my contact data, even though it was cleanly presented in the email&#8217;s signature block.</p>
<p>I really like the idea of being able to extract that useful information without having to manually copy and paste, though, so when Nicholas Maddix of Textual emailed me to tell me about <a href="http://www.getanagram.com">Anagram</a>, a similar Windows app, and it was also recommended by a couple of commenters on our gwabbit review, I thought I&#8217;d check it out.</p>
<p>Anagram is like gwabbit in that you can use it to extract contact data from emails. However, it&#8217;s more flexible, in that you can use it to capture information from any text, not just emails, and it&#8217;s not restricted to contacts: Anagram will examine any text you throw at it and automatically attempt to capture calendar events, to-do items and notes, too. Here&#8217;s a quick screencast of it in action capturing some contact data and adding a calendar event to Outlook:<br />
<object width="500" height="338" data="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=3542414&amp;server=vimeo.com&amp;show_title=1&amp;show_byline=1&amp;show_portrait=0&amp;color=00ADEF&amp;fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="src" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=3542414&amp;server=vimeo.com&amp;show_title=1&amp;show_byline=1&amp;show_portrait=0&amp;color=00ADEF&amp;fullscreen=1" /></object><br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/3542414">WebWorkerDaily Screencast: Anagram</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user1265663">Simon Mackie</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>
<p><span id="more-78478"></span>Unlike gwabbit, Anagram is not limited to Outlook. It can work with a variety of different target applications:</p>
<ul>
<li>Microsoft Outlook</li>
<li>Salesforce.com</li>
<li>Jigsaw</li>
<li>Palm Desktop/Agendus</li>
<li>NetSuite</li>
</ul>
<p>Anagram works very well and it&#8217;s very easy to use, too. You activate Anagram by highlighting your target text snippet (this can be in an email, on a web site or in a document), then hitting a hotkey combination. By default, the hotkey is tapping ctrl-c quickly twice in succession, which I think feels very natural, but you can change it to a function key if you prefer. Anagram parses the text, figures out what type of information the text contains, launches the target app (if it&#8217;s not already open) and populates the fields automatically. All you have to do is check that the information is correct and save the data. In my tests, it was very accurate with little to no manual intervention required. Anagram is a simple app, but if you use one of its target applications and find copying and pasting contact information a chore, it&#8217;s definitely worth a try.</p>
<p>Anagram is Windows-only and available as a <a href="http://www.getanagram.com/try/">free 45-day trial</a>. After that, <a href="http://www.getanagram.com/cgi-bin/cart_view.pl?start=y">pricing</a> depends on usage and will cost $34.95 for Anagram Personal or $74.95 per year for Anagram CRM.</p>
<p><em>Do you use Anagram or a similar app?</em></p>
<p><strong>Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:</strong><br />Subscriber content. <a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=78478+anagram-captures-useful-data-from-text-snippets&utm_content=simonmackie">Sign up for a free trial</a>.</p><ul><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/03/why-ipad-2-will-lead-consumers-into-the-post-pc-era/?utm_source=collaboration&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=waterfall?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=78478+anagram-captures-useful-data-from-text-snippets&utm_content=simonmackie">Why iPad 2 Will Lead Consumers Into the Post-PC&nbsp;Era</a></li><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/03/the-near-term-evolution-of-social-commerce/?utm_source=collaboration&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=waterfall?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=78478+anagram-captures-useful-data-from-text-snippets&utm_content=simonmackie">The Near-Term Evolution of Social&nbsp;Commerce</a></li><li><a href="http://pro.gigaom.com/2011/02/content-farms-the-players-the-benefits-the-risks/?utm_source=collaboration&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=waterfall?utm_source=collaboration&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=78478+anagram-captures-useful-data-from-text-snippets&utm_content=simonmackie">Content Farms: The Players, The Benefits, The&nbsp;Risks</a></li></ul><img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=gigaom.com&#038;blog=14960843&#038;post=78478&#038;subd=gigaom2&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></content:encoded>
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