tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7798130736762118813.post-53258879034531388752007-08-23T14:25:00.000+01:002007-08-23T14:59:46.768+01:002007-08-23T14:59:46.768+01:00Managing Time and Projects with Outlook 2007<div><div>Despite using the weekly review to identify and discard projects which did not fit in with my current 90 day Goals I still have a tendency to take I more than time allows. To overcome this I have been using Outlook 2007 to help manage my time and projects in conjunction with OneNote 2007 - here I will describe my current workflow. This is an subtle adjustment to my <a href="http://www.blog.7breaths.co.uk/2007/06/gtd-with-onenote-collected-links.html">previous workflow </a>with Outlook & OneNote - a lot of it remains unchanged.</div><br /><div>I contniue to collect & process my inputs in OneNote. When I identify a next action now I use the outlook flag CTRL+SHIFT+5 to flag it as an action and have it show up in my Outlook to do list. I then set a context for it using Outlook. I then can filter my contexts in Outlook as needed.<br /></div><div>If I identify a project I again flag it using CTRL+SHIFT+5 and open it in Outlook. I have a set of colour catagories in Outlook based on my Roles & Responsibilities eg .R&amp;amp;amp;amp;R - Work & Career. For each project I decide what R&R it fits into and assign it.</div><br /><div><br /><a href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_E_PFyR2XVyw/Rs2Rymxf6mI/AAAAAAAAAHU/ONCJevQNT8g/s1600-h/step2.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5101894251468286562" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_E_PFyR2XVyw/Rs2Rymxf6mI/AAAAAAAAAHU/ONCJevQNT8g/s400/step2.gif" border="0" /></a><br /><br /></div><div><a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_E_PFyR2XVyw/Rs2N_Gxf6iI/AAAAAAAAAG0/Wst5oMun0Ko/s1600-h/step3.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5101890068170140194" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_E_PFyR2XVyw/Rs2N_Gxf6iI/AAAAAAAAAG0/Wst5oMun0Ko/s400/step3.gif" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div><br /> </div><div>I use Outlooks calendar for my hard landscape. I colour code commitments for the week using the same colour scheme as my R&R. In this example I've colour coded work commitements and R&R - Work & Career both green. It all comes togehter during my weekly review as described below:<br /></div><br /><br /><div><strong>Weekly Review Workflow:</strong></div><br /><div>1. Preview the weeks hard landscape:<br /></div><br /><br /><div><a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_E_PFyR2XVyw/Rs2NTGxf6gI/AAAAAAAAAGk/rcYEhTSHjcc/s1600-h/initial+week.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5101889312255896066" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_E_PFyR2XVyw/Rs2NTGxf6gI/AAAAAAAAAGk/rcYEhTSHjcc/s200/initial+week.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><br /><div></div><div>So at present just a few commitments - mostly green i.e work.</div><br /><br /><div></div><div>2. I then open the To-Do bar in the calander view - and review each project.</div><br /><br /><div><a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_E_PFyR2XVyw/Rs2N_Wxf6jI/AAAAAAAAAG8/N95fuVpNTVE/s1600-h/step4.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5101890072465107506" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_E_PFyR2XVyw/Rs2N_Wxf6jI/AAAAAAAAAG8/N95fuVpNTVE/s400/step4.gif" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>3. I then L click and drag that project to a time slot on the calendar. This way I can assign some time to work on the project and ensure I do not overcommit & underdeliver.<br /><br /></div><div><a href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_E_PFyR2XVyw/Rs2N_mxf6kI/AAAAAAAAAHE/_9C8qUdvrvw/s1600-h/step5.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5101890076760074818" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_E_PFyR2XVyw/Rs2N_mxf6kI/AAAAAAAAAHE/_9C8qUdvrvw/s400/step5.gif" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><div>When I come to work on the project I click on its appointment slot, this opens it so I can then click on the OneNote link and go straight to my notes and reference materials for it.<br /></div><br /><br /><div>As the week goes by I keep a track of what I've been doing - filling in the time slots in outlook and colouring them as needed. If any new projects come up during the week I know if I have the time to do it or not, rather than just putting it on a project list and hoping to get it done.</div><a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_E_PFyR2XVyw/Rs2Ra2xf6lI/AAAAAAAAAHM/H14zIDfQ6ZY/s1600-h/step6.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5101893843446393426" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_E_PFyR2XVyw/Rs2Ra2xf6lI/AAAAAAAAAHM/H14zIDfQ6ZY/s400/step6.gif" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><div>By doing this for each project and using the colour codes I can get an overview of how my week is planned and I think more importantly if I am neglecting any roles & responsibilities I have.<br /></div><br /><br /><div></div></div>Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10705936779091146429noreply@blogger.com