http://blogs.msdn.com/shawnmor/archive/tags/Productivity_2F00_GTD/default.aspxTags: Productivity/GTDen-USCommunityServer 2.1 SP1 (Build: 61025.2)http://blogs.msdn.com/shawnmor/archive/2004/11/25/270472.aspxThu, 25 Nov 2004 22:26:00 GMT91d46819-8472-40ad-a661-2c78acb4018c:270472Shawn L. Morrissey2http://blogs.msdn.com/shawnmor/comments/270472.aspxhttp://blogs.msdn.com/shawnmor/commentrss.aspx?PostID=270472http://blogs.msdn.com/shawnmor/rsscomments.aspx?PostID=270472<p>Nothing clarifies the need for help managing the ol' inbox like being out of the country for a week.&nbsp; My inbox got pretty out of control last week, which drove me to search for some help.&nbsp; Don't get me wrong - Outlook is great, and has some interesting tools built in, and with over 1000 pieces of unread email, I needed to look outside the box (no pun intended).&nbsp; </p> <p>The first tool I found is a new one on the scene (as best I can tell).&nbsp; <a href="http://www.clearcontext.com/">ClearContext Inbox Manager</a> automatically prioritizes your inbox, color codes stuff based on priority, etc.&nbsp; I'm still getting used to not dealing with my inbox in a LIFO fashion, and this looks pretty interesting.&nbsp; It makes you think about dealing with critical email first.&nbsp; It also seems to do a better job that Outloot does of presenting email threads together.&nbsp; So far, I really like it - I was able to blow through and delete all the non-critical stuff in about 5 minutes, and could then focus on important emails for a good 2 hours solid.</p> <p>The second tool I found is one I've been watching for a while, trying to fit it into my own quirky mental processes.&nbsp; <a href="http://www.franklincovey.com/planplus/outlook/index.html">FranklinCovey's PlanPlus</a> is a godsend for someone like me.&nbsp; I get techie-ADD very, very quickly.&nbsp; If there's a shiny toy to be distracted by, count me in!&nbsp; Overall, I have found this Outlook add-in to be incredibly useful, and it is now a foundation of my planning system.&nbsp; I've been using <a href="http://www.davidco.com/productDetail.php?id=63">David Allen's GTD plug-in for Outlook</a> for quite some time now, and it felt like something was missing.&nbsp; PlanPlus provides a great anchor for me - it helps me figure out what to focus on (mission, goals), and then helps keep me focused on achieving those goals.&nbsp; Tasks map to projects map to goals map to roles map to mission.&nbsp; It's very, very simple to use.&nbsp; I wish there were a tighter integration between Outlook's task categories (which I use to connect tasks to projects) and PlanPlus's project list, and I'll keep asking for that,</p> <p>Overall, I feel much more on top of things right now.&nbsp; I'm sure all that will change around the Whidbey beta time, with multiple deadlines and masses of content to publish, and at least right now, I'm feeling pretty good...</p> <p>&nbsp;</p><img src="http://blogs.msdn.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=270472" width="1" height="1">GeekStuffProductivity/GTD