TODO’ing my life

So I went on a quest to find a simple, intuitive and collaborative Todo tool.

Sounds like an easy task right? Not really.

After trying several of the existing tools including some mentioned in techcruch I realized what 4 what I would call “common sense” features still lacking in exiting apps.

While I truly appreciate there being free apps at all to use, I would rather use no tool than a handicapped one. Anyone share the same feeling?

1. Task indentation: Yes, this IS important because if we do not split a major task into several more tangible ones that task will probably never get done.
2. Collaboration: For simple project collaboration this is essential. I want to be able to add and cross out tasks at the same time as someone else working in the project. It shouldn’t require a full-featured project management software to have todo lists collaboration.
3. Import and Export:  If migrating from some old form of todo list (yes it could be notepad), it is useful to have a way to import these lists. I struggled forever trying to import lists from Gmail’s task app and failed to import indented tasks.
4. Fresh uncluttered feel: Yes this is another overlooked “feature” but it is so important. If I am going to have a todo list I dont want it to be yet another tormenting and overwhelming factor in my life. I need a todo list that would say “yes! life is simple..do one task at a time..see the lots of white space?? see the lack of clutter?? see the tasks how clear they are?? you can do it!.” =)

Gmail Tasks App: This is by far the most intuitive yet simple app I have been able to use for more than a day. Its integration with a product I already use is ever better, less clicks to get things done. Yet it lacks collaboration. I can send an email with my task list but there is no way to update the list simultaneously.

Remember the Milk (RTM): Simple and lost of white space, but lacks the ability to indent tasks! You will see RTM recommended even in lifehacker.

Toddledo: Finally found one app that has almost everything  I need yet its looks needs much more improvement.  It makes me feel as if the task generating monster is going to devour me.

Blah blah List: popups = more clicks. This is a no-no.

Tada list by 37 signals:  Again, lacks task indentation.

Any suggestions? Right now my best option is Google docs. It is collaborative, integrates with other google apps I already use, and it is easily accessed from igoogle.

Let me know what tools you use!

Dating $bits for geeks

While reading this post about why geeks and nerds are worth it, I was inspired to write this. Being in the technology field has given me a chance to learn about the lives and habits of my fellow geeks, and this is what I have to say to you:

1. Forget about the concept of “dating” as you know it. It is not a job interview nor a face-to-face encounter, it is a human to human experience. The fellow person you have some interest in knowing more could very well turn out to be a good friend, as much as it could turn out to be a little more such as a lover. But there is no pressure for neither to happen, don’t over think it.

2. There is always something good to gain from meeting another person, and that is that you get to learn about another human being in this colorful planet, we all have some unique qualities to share with the world and observe in others. So enjoy the ride : ) If you interiorize this, your genuine interest in the other person will show and bring things to an honest and comfortable ground.

3. There is always time, later, to let the other person know more about what you do, if they want to know. As geeks we have many hobbies, many interests, and are amazingly proud of all of them. This is good, because we have something to occupy our time and says “I will likely not use you to kill my mute time which is a lot of time.” However, sometimes we have a tendency to pour onto the other person every bit of knowledge we have. Au contraire to what some people might think, we dont always do this as a way to show off, but because we are truly passionate about what we do. Passion is good, but leaving some for later is even better. Who we are is a mesh of the things we do and how we spend our time, but the individual pieces don’t show as much as the collective. Show who you are, not what you do. This applies I think to all of our daily interactions.

4. I personally believe that meeting for dinner or a similar scenario is not the best approach to get to know a person better. Although this is one of the most common things to do, it is staged and usually sets both of you of to feel as in a job interview and act as who you are not. For those of us who enjoy the outdoors, it might be enjoyable to share a canoe down the river together or with a local outdoors club, or go fishing even if neither of you know how to fish. Teaming to do anything is a great way to indirectly learn a lot about the other person and forget about what we think the outcome of a dinner date should be. In reality, this other person is no different than a friend you met playing chicken many years ago. Demystify him/her, you, and your time together. Although it varies per person, it is best to find something to do which does not necessarily involve sitting and staring at each other.

5. We geeks are no better people than those who aren’t. While it is true that we might be more compatible with those who share our interests and intellectual desires, there are many people out there with invaluable wit and interesting attributes with which we might enjoy spending time to get to know better.

6. Realize that dating is not a mystical experience. Don’t meet someone because your life is boring, meet them because your life is a great journey, and they can become part of it as friends, lovers, or just another passerby that shared a little of their time with you.

When the day comes to an end, what are you most proud of? Consuming vs Producing

“Emptiness is a symptom that you are not living creatively. You either have not goal that is important enough to you, or you are not using your talents and efforts in a striving toward an important goal.” ~ Maxwel Maltz

(Dr. Maltz was a plastic surgeon who turned into helping people as a motivational speaker, after realizing the unhappiness of many his patients)

A friend of mine recently noted something that made me think, amid an argument about whether or not watching tv is a waste of our time and eventually of our existence. In a moment of clarity, he said that it all comes down to Consuming vs Producing. When we watch tv we are merely consumers thus it comes down to the question of whether we want to produce or consume in our free time. Tada! Yes, it is that simple, and nothing like someone else to make you realize this piece of common sense. By producing here is meant the act of exercising your creative power to produce something , including ideas. I will leave aside the discussion of value of what is produced because it seems more important to understand how we perceive our daily tasks and how happy we are with what we have done at the end of the day. Are we passively intaking and observing (consumers) or are we getting our hands dirty and generating any output : ).

I have wondered why, although I keep myself quite busy doing you name it, there are weeks when I have a craving for creating, regardless of how I have busied myself with many tasks and activities during the week. The consumer vs producer idea makes it all very clear: I have busied myself with consumer activities, not producer ones.

Consumer activities usually are those who you feel relaxed about doing, because by nature they are not demanding. And yes, these are a necessity, just as sleep is. But how much of these can we take before our creative sense feel numb out of inactivity?

In an attempt to understand my own cycle of consumer and producing tasks, here is a short list during a typical week. I encourage you to become aware of how you distribute your creative energy and write down your own list:

Work hours: Yes, I do create during this time, sometimes, although it is well known that expecting your mind and spirit to be creative during certain hours is quite hopeful. Software design engages a type of creativity although it is different from that of visual arts for example. I cannot count on my tasks at work to be the bulk of my creativeness.

Surfing/Misc time at the computer: Being in the computer industry this is where great part of our times goes to for one reason or the other. However it also applies for a great number of people, reading email saving pictures, getting lost in the web of social sites, reading news, browsing random videos and images.

Exercise: Running, tennis, hiking. It feels like a consumer activity because I am intaking some sort of energy, I am not making something that was not there before. Yes, I am contributing to the well being of my body but aside from displaying discipline and possibly inspiring others to do the same, this is at heart a consumer activity.

Shopping: Yet another activity where we are obviously consuming. Unless you get as creative as some fashion women I have met, who do an amazing job at matching and combining outfits, or those who decorate their homes for the sake of the decoration, then shopping is probably a consumer task.
Shopping however, deserves a post for itself : ) . Recently I have discovered that a desire to shop could arise from a deep craving for beauty and aesthetics, it is not merely a desire to buy yet more clothes and accessories. So read my post about shopping.

Spending time with friends: This is a subtle one, there are several intangibles one could argue are being formed here, such as relationships. There is certainly an art for creating and strengthening bonds, social architecting, and many more subjective names. After all this post is in part a result of a social moment. However, often it feels as if social activities are a way of procrastinating away from creating!

Exploring and traveling to new places: We often enjoy a good share of visiting places, going to a nice walk around the city, discovering new hiking trails or unique restaurants, traveling to remote places (include here anything you call “driving around” or “going on a trip”). Through this we absorb fresh vibes from places and people we have not seen before, we learn and open our eyes to the world around us (consumer task anyone?). Photography I believe is one of those mediums we use to give back some of what we have taken from our surroundings, to fulfill our imperative duty to be creative. It comes from a sudden desire to capture that which we see, to take it all with us and share it with others later.

And last but not least:
Occasional piano musings or painting: This is what I call my “brain massage” time. After a long day of problem solving and challenging activities, these become the warm water in which to place your sore feet, or in this case your sore brain. These are consumer and producer activities at once because you consume a certain kind of relaxation yet engage your creative senses to mix colors and sounds.

This is my pattern, what is yours? When the day comes to an end, what are you most proud of?