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Apple’s Big Failure
Admittedly, I am an Apple fan. I love my MacBook Pro, and I am anxiously awaiting the next version of the iPad. And I’ve written many times about all the ways I use and love my iPhone.
But really, I can’t believe that Apple got something so basic, so very wrong. I’ve written about how personal productivity is a weakness in the Mac platform, and if it were just “weak,” I could live with it. But how can there be NO native task support in the iPhone? And really, the task list in iCal is 
nothing more than an afterthought. Seriously, Apple? Don’t you know that your customers have very busy lives? We’ve got details to manage, for goodness sake! Could you please, please recognize this already, and give us some meaty, comprehensive task manager in the next OS update? Preferably something that integrates well with Mail, and syncs with iPhone? Aren’t you sick of Outlook kicking your butt? Don’t you realize there is a very lucrative segment of your customers spending money on all kinds of other solutions to fill the gaping hole you’ve left?
I’ve had to work hard to find a solution to this problem so that I could train my Mac customers on my Empowered Productivity System. And because none of the solutions are native to OSX, I have to change this solution every so often. This article from MacWorld has a nice summary of the best solutions available to sync from tasks in iCal to iPhone. I was using ToDo and Appigo Sync as they describe them, and suddenly it stopped working. I lost some tasks, and it became untrustworthy. That’s a deal-breaker. So recently I have moved to another product the article mentions, 2Do by Guided Ways Technologies. So far so good. The problem I think that both of these have is an inability to sync seamlessly from desktop to iPhone to iPad because, big surprise: tasks don’t sync up to MobileMe! Really, Apple? I’m so disappointed. Having to go outside the three programs I already need to run my life (iCal, Mail, Address Book) is just really inefficient.
I’ll tell you what. I’m happy to help you solve this problem in your next update. Lend me a programmer and we’ll take care of the rest. Are you listening, Steve? Steve?
How to Sync Outlook Tasks with your iPhone
UPDATE: 7/28/11: This post refers to syncing Outlook for WINDOWS (all versions, as far as I can tell) with your iPhone. It covers using ToodleDo (the free way) and using ToDo by Appigo ($4.99 as of today). Since this post, I can recommend another way to sync tasks to iPhone either from iCal for Mac or Outlook for Windows, and that is 2Do by Guided Ways Technologies. It works well and there are instructions on their website. I have not yet found a solution for syncing Outlook 2011 for MAC tasks directly with iPhone. I did find this article about syncing to iCal and if that works successfully, you can then sync tasks from iCal to iPhone via 2Do or ToDo. I can not speak to how well it works. These difficulties, to me, are sufficient reason to recommend AGAINST Outlook for Mac as a productivity solution. For other suggestions of productivity tools for Mac users, see this post and this post.
I used Outlook to run my life for almost a decade, and the majority of the training I do is still using Outlook as the support tool. I am a fan and think it is a very powerful PIM (personal information manager) that can easily handle the complexity of your life. The one shortcoming is if you need to share calendars or other information, you need to be running an Exchange server and this doesn’t make sense for everyone (however you can sync your Outlook calendar with Google and share it that way).
A question I get a lot is how to sync Tasks in Outlook with an iPhone. I found an article online with detailed instructions for doing this and got permission to repost it here. It comes from Daniel B. Curran’s excellent how-to blog. Below are his instructions. I hope this helps. If you try this and run into any snags, I’d love to hear about it. And incidentally, I’m using To-Do (the app he mentions) to sync Tasks with iCal and I am VERY happy with it – well worth the $10 in my opinion. You can read about my experience with that here.)
Here is Daniel’s Post:
Let’s start with how you can sync your Microsoft Outlook Tasks to your iPhone for free.
I have read several articles about how to do this but I found the process to be convoluted. Let me make it very simple.
Step 1. Set up a free account at Toodledo.com The direct link for a new account is right here.
That should have taken you about 15 seconds. Let’s move on to step 2.
Step 2. Close Outlook, download Chromatic Dragon’s Toodledo Sync Application and install it.
Almost done! The sync application will want your Toodledo ID number. Leave it open on the tab that wants the ID number.
Step 3. Log into Toodledo and from the menu on the left select Account Settings. On that page you will see your Unique ID, simply copy and paste it into the sync program that you left open.
On the Synchronization tab you can change your Automatic Synchronization to whatever works for you. I don’t add tasks very often so once every 60 minutes is fine for me. To close the Options window select File -> Close. You will see a green checkmark icon in your tool tray. Right click it and hit Manual Sync.
Outlook is now synchronized to ToodleDo.
Ready for the iPhone part?
On Your iPhone, go to the App Store and Download ToodleDo for $3.99.
<end Daniel’s post>
Open ToodleDo on your iPhone and select “Settings” and log in to your account.
You should now see all of your tasks on your iPhone in the ToodleDo app.
Further instructions if you have been through Empowered Productivity Training from RegainYourTime.com:
In the Chromatic Dragon ToodleDo Sync Application on your desktop, open “Options.” (You may have to find ToodleDo in your System Tray in the bottom right corner of your screen, right click on that, and select “Options.”
Select the tab that reads “Mappings.” Select the following options:
Then select the “Folders” tab and click “refresh folders and enable.”
Now select “File – Manual Sync”
Your Outlook tasks should now be grouped by categories on your iPhone app by selecting “folders” from the Home Screen.
I hope you have found this helpful. Good luck!
More iPhone & Other Technology Conveniences
I was hired to give a keynote presentation in San Antonio this weekend, where I stayed overnight, and on the drive home I was marveling over the technology that made the trip so enjoyable and convenient for me. Since it was a Friday, I suggested my husband take the day off and join me for a short getaway.
On the drive down (about 90 minutes from Austin), we used listening to an audiobook (or several) as fodder for conversation. This was possible through our subscription to Audible, an iPhone (iPod would work too), and an auxiliary outlet in the car. Oh, and we were also navigating to the hotel via Google Maps on the iPhone. What’s even better than the text directions is that the iPhone 3G shows your current location as a dot on the map so you can tell if you’re heading in the right direction, how close the turn is, whether or not you missed it, etc. Priceless for those, like me, who are directionally challenged.
We have not had a lot of down time lately, and we’ve visited San Antonio several times before, so we decided that after the talk, we were going to hole up in our room and indulge our “Lost” addiction. This was possible thanks to free internet access at the hotel, a laptop, and an $8.99/month Netflix subscription, which allows unlimited streaming of shows or movies, directly to your TV or computer. Personalized, on-demand entertainment on the go. I could not have imagined this 10 years ago.
But before the Lost marathon, we decided to head out for lunch. The Yelp app on the iPhone came in handy here, and thanks to that, we found a GREAT place to eat (which I highly recommend if you’re ever in San Antonio) called Texas Farm to Table. Using the app we got some options, read reviews, found out the details, and got directions to the restaurant. Yelp never lets me down when I’m in a new city. It’s like having an “insider” everywhere I go, and thanks to the iPhone app, I don’t need to make lists before I leave: I can check what I need on the fly.
I know that some people find it scary to embrace all of this new technology, but honestly I am amazed almost every day at how much easier and more convenient it makes my life.
If you have a story about how technology has made your life easier or more convenient lately, I’d love to hear it. Thanks for reading!
Confessions of a (Highly Productive) iPhone Addict: UPDATE
Since I wrote this post, I’ve gotten an overwhelming response from people who said they found it helpful. And now that I’ve had my iPhone for even longer, and upgraded to the 3G, I use it even more than I did before. And if you read that post, you know it was a lot then. I thought I’d share some of the new things I’ve learned.
First, let me just mention how handy the camera is, especially combined with email, and now text (AT&T finally supports images & video in text messages). My husband and I have been doing a lot of decorating lately, and it’s come in so handy for shopping. We were looking for some furniture & accessories, but it’s hard to visualize how things will look inside the house. I’ve snapped pictures of furniture in different stores, so not only could I compare pieces, but I could bring them home, hold up the picture in the spot, and visualize how the piece will fit in. I took a picture of the wall color so that I could get curtains & a pillow that would complement it. While shopping at the store I hold up the picture to check the colors together. I snap a shot of something & email it to my husband to make sure he likes it before I buy it. SO handy.
I’ve also discovered several apps that facilitate meditation & deep sleep which are great to help me relax and I use them at various times, like after a difficult phone call, before an afternoon powernap, and often while drifting off to sleep at night.
If you travel at all, you’ll want to check out Tripit and Packing. Each has proven to be invaluable to me both getting ready for trips and to access useful information while I’m on my trip, so now I use my iPhone even more when I travel.
I could go on and on here, so I’ll just briefly mention a few more of my favorites:
Yelp & Around Me help me find great local businesses (& my favorite chain stores) when I’m out of my neighborhood.
Snooth (or Beer Brands) helps me pick a good wine (or beer) at dinner or to bring to a party.
Stanza is my favorite eBook & PDF reader for my iPhone – I find a Kindle unnecessary thanks to Stanza (incidentally, Stanza by Lexcycle is the brainchild of former Austinite Neelan Choksi, and was acquired this year by Amazon).
FaceBook & LinkedIn have iPhone versions that let me quickly check in with my social media connections.
Pandora & Slacker let me listen to commercial free music in my choice of genre at any time.
Pret-a-Yoga allows me to get a yoga workout even when I can’t attend a class. I’m also considering buying my yoga teacher’s DVD and loading that on my iPhone.
Bump helps me easily share contact information & files with other iPhone users.
What’s YOUR favorite, use-it-every-day, can’t-live-without-it iPhone app? I’d love to hear it! Thanks for reading!
Confessions of a (Highly Productive) iPhone Addict
(also read the update to this post here.)
I’ve heard people say many times that they don’t want an iPhone or a “CrackBerry” because they don’t want to be that connected. “People already have too many ways to reach me, I don’t want to have to be available 24/7.” My response is always the same: you don’t. Just because you have a phone, doesn’t mean it has to be on. Just because it’s on, doesn’t mean to have to answer it if it rings. The same goes for email on your phone. In fact, you can have all the advantages of a smartphone without email. Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater, people! It’s so handy to have all of the other features available, particularly on an iPhone because there are so many. But the fact remains, YOU can be in control. In fact, that’s the secret to productivity. Mastering control over the details of your life (including the technology they come in on) so that they don’t control you.
So let me share some details about the way I use my iPhone in a typical day. It’s a lot. But it’s for MY convenience, not other people’s. Everything mentioned below is done with no other technology besides the iPhone and Apps I’ve loaded, with the exception of my external portable speaker.
I’m often reading something, or listening to something, on my iPhone before I go to bed in the evening, so it’s usually on my nightstand overnight. However, it’s usually off, unless I’m out of town, at which point I put it in flight mode (no calls in the middle of the night) and then set the alarm to wake me in the morning to my music. When I wake in the morning, I’ll usually turn it on, check my calendar for the day’s appointments, check the weather (both help me decide what to wear), and then I’ll usually check my Twitter feed on Tweetie. All of that takes me less than five minutes. If there is a link to an article from Twitter that I think I might find interesting, Tweetie has a very convenient button that reads, “mail this link.” I can send it to myself for processing with my email later.
Then my phone comes with me, where I plug it into a portable external speaker so that I can listen to music, an audio book, or a podcast while I shower and dig through my closet to get ready for the day. It also has the time handy so that I can make sure I’m not running late, and oh yeah, let me call up the map to see how far away that appointment is.
Then it comes in the car with me, where I turn on my Bluetooth headset and make a few calls (this is not safe, and I’m trying to wean myself away. Did you know that talking while driving impairs your ability as much as drinking and driving?! Scary!). So then I plug it into my car’s audio system to continue the music, ebook, or podcast, or some mixture of all of them.
I arrive at the meeting where I am the speaker. I set up the timer on my iPhone to keep me on track (again, flight mode, ensuring no calls or texts come in while I’m speaking). Any follow-ups from the meeting I jott to myself on the way back to the car. Someone asks if I’m free next Wednesday; let me consult my calendar. Next meeting is with a potential client, so I’ll check for their website address from my contacts, and tap to review it from the parking lot before I head in. After that I head to lunch and while I’m eating I check my voicemail, email, and tweets. Really I’m just scanning email messages here for my convenience. And by the way, on my iPhone, my “Fetch” settings for email are set to manual. So my email only downloads when I instruct it to. I’ll “process” the important emails later at my computer. Twitter usually gives me great reading material for while I eat.
So then I head back to my office, and set the iPhone to play some classical music while I work for several hours. The phone rings and not only do I get a name and number, but also a picture so I can decide if I’m going to answer. When a text shows up the options are “close” or “reply.” Since I’m working, one tap on “close” and I’m back to my work, barely interrupted. Now I’m starting to think about dinner, so I check Grocery iQ to make sure I’ve noted everything I need, and I dash off to the grocery store, where I check them off as I shop. When I get home, I plug into the external speaker again to listen to an audio book, call up the recipe on Safari, and cook dinner. After dinner I walk the dog with my husband, snap a picture of the beautiful sunset, email it to a friend and post it on Twitter and Facebook using Ping.fm in Safari. I’m involved in my neighborhood association so I also snap a picture of a broken sign and email it to the chair of the maintenance committee. When we get home, we start talking about a movie tomorrow night, so I call up Movies to see what’s playing and maybe buy tickets.
I already mentioned how I use it before I go to sleep at night. All of these uses have one thing in common: they enable conveniences for me, not others. I manage all the features so that I am in control of my time, and I don’t let distractions interrupt me when I’m busy. I would suggest that there are two important things to consider when pondering a phone upgrade: how many conveniences will it add to your life, and do you have the discipline to control it, rather than letting it control you? This same logic, in case you were wondering, can also be applied to many of the other ways to communicate like instant messaging, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. Learn the benefits that are available in participating, and then learn how to incorporate them into your life so that you are in control.
Thanks for reading! You may also be interested in the update of this post.)