One of the core values of Getting Things Done (GTD) is to capture everything. You use "buckets" such as a pad of paper, a voice recorder, etc. to capture any and all things you need to get done. Ideally you should get by with as FEW buckets as you can, and you have to empty them periodically, ideally daily. Then all the items should be processed, put into appropriate slots for further action.
Some people start into GTD with guns blazing and eventually bail out, abandoning the system entirely as too much trouble and too rigid. Some others (like myself) continue to capture everything, but don't make the time to do the processing and wind up with information scattered hither and yon.
Myself, I have a digital voice recorder, a Palm PDA, my GMail account using a GTD Firefox extension, the GMail task list widget, a collection of Google documents and a couple of scattered OneNote files. I also recently loaded up EverNote to give it a swirl but have thus far put very little into it. Needless to say it is overwhelming when I look at all of them and try to wrap my head around it.
Like an addict of some kind, though, I continue to go through the motions even though I have no idea why I'm doing them. I guess I think I'll suddenly get a bunch of time to plough through and get my collective stuff in order.
I don't normally consider myself an overly hopeful individual but I must be. The MOST important items continue to bubble to the top but what I really need to do is clear the decks and do another reset. Hand-in-hand with that is a need to ruthlessly purge a lot of things that have been hanging around my lists for years now that I am just going to have to accept are not going to happen in my lifetime.
The geeky aspect of all this is that I'm saving up and waiting to get myself an iPod Touch to try and replace a bunch of these items. There are some people who follow GTD who have eschewed the technological approach and go with Hipster PDAs (collections of 3x5 cards with a binder clip).
I wonder what the techgnostic approach to all this should be? Generally it would mean an application of just enough technology to be effective without gold-plating for the purposes of geeky fulfillment or to fit into whatever current rhetoric my technological church of choice dictates. Maybe my technology needs are simpler than I think they are, and my fevered thoughts of creating or finding an XML format to allow for a vendor and platform neutral means to store all my GTD information are insanity?
Hmmm. Now that I start looking around apparently EverNote supports XML import / export. Here's someone else who's obviously put a lot of thought into this also. Plus there are many software packages for this.
The techgnostic thing to do, I think, would be to pick something that is just enough to help me integrate what I have and make it less painful to keep up. Another project to add my my list.
Doh!
Showing posts with label information. Show all posts
Showing posts with label information. Show all posts
Friday, July 17, 2009
Friday, June 5, 2009
PDA Migration
Long ago my life started to get complicated enough that I started having to keep track of things on paper because my brain wasn't going to hold enough information anymore. I started with a simple paper organizer and then moved on to more involved ones as time went on like the Franklin.
In the early 1990's I purchased a Sharp Zaurus. Being a computer-guy it seemed appropriate for me to keep my data in an electronic format. I had to pay extra to get a serial cable interface so I could back up my data. It ran on AAA batteries and was super cool (to me, at least).
My the mid-late 90's, though still working, the Zaurus was getting passe so I moved onto a Palm Pilot. Again this was super cool. The device was designed for synchronization so it was very handy to move data to and fro, plus there was a programming kit so I could dabble with software for it.
This was followed by another Palm, then by a Sony Palm incarnation called the Clie (very nice). For a brief time I had a Palm VII, one of the first wireless PDAs. The data plan was way too expensive (data was charged by BYTE transferred). The latest (and probably last) Palm I got was the Zire, the low cost color version of the venerable Palm PDA. This mainly was my calendar, contact list and password storage device.
For a while, I had a laptop and largely used it for my information management needs. Then it died and I could not justify buying another one in light of my other responsibilities.
My work in the past has provided me with Blackberry or Windows Mobile devices. In all cases I have used them but never trust much to them, largely because they were provided by my employer and I keep my personal and professional items separate.
Now, my Zire is starting to fail. The digitizer is hit or miss and the screen is starting to go. Once a week or so I have to do a hard reset to make it go. Palm now no longer makes PDAs so I find myself at a crossroads. I want a small electronic device for handling my personal information, but the market only seems to be producing phones to do this, and I don't want a monthly bill.
I believe that now I want an iPod Touch. I had three other MP3 players before I got my iPod Nano a couple of years ago and I have to say hands down that the iPod is the superior experience. As a computer guy I was able to figure out my other devices but the iPod was just that much better. The iPod Touch is much larger and seems better suited to handling my needs for information management. There are a couple of sticking points.
One is price. At over two hundred dollars (as of this writing) it is not something that I can trivially purchase. It starts to get me into the neighborhood of buying a netbook instead. Admittedly the netbook would not have the portability of the iPod Touch, but it would have other strengths (like a keyboard) to make up for it.
Another is software. I have Palm OS software that I've used for years that will no longer be usable. I have to take that into account also.
For now I will limp the Zire along and see what Apple comes up with on Monday at the WWDC and go from there.
It's been interesting watching the rise and fall of each of the form factors and companies. From Sharp (still around but out of the PDA business) to Palm (with a history of mis-steps and frittering away their huge lead) to Apple (whose Newton venture paved the way for more functional PDAs). It will be interesting to see where things progress to. There are rumors that Apple will expand the iPod Touch into a small tablet and effectively re-launch the Newton. I'll be paying close attention.
In the early 1990's I purchased a Sharp Zaurus. Being a computer-guy it seemed appropriate for me to keep my data in an electronic format. I had to pay extra to get a serial cable interface so I could back up my data. It ran on AAA batteries and was super cool (to me, at least).
My the mid-late 90's, though still working, the Zaurus was getting passe so I moved onto a Palm Pilot. Again this was super cool. The device was designed for synchronization so it was very handy to move data to and fro, plus there was a programming kit so I could dabble with software for it.
This was followed by another Palm, then by a Sony Palm incarnation called the Clie (very nice). For a brief time I had a Palm VII, one of the first wireless PDAs. The data plan was way too expensive (data was charged by BYTE transferred). The latest (and probably last) Palm I got was the Zire, the low cost color version of the venerable Palm PDA. This mainly was my calendar, contact list and password storage device.
For a while, I had a laptop and largely used it for my information management needs. Then it died and I could not justify buying another one in light of my other responsibilities.
My work in the past has provided me with Blackberry or Windows Mobile devices. In all cases I have used them but never trust much to them, largely because they were provided by my employer and I keep my personal and professional items separate.
Now, my Zire is starting to fail. The digitizer is hit or miss and the screen is starting to go. Once a week or so I have to do a hard reset to make it go. Palm now no longer makes PDAs so I find myself at a crossroads. I want a small electronic device for handling my personal information, but the market only seems to be producing phones to do this, and I don't want a monthly bill.
I believe that now I want an iPod Touch. I had three other MP3 players before I got my iPod Nano a couple of years ago and I have to say hands down that the iPod is the superior experience. As a computer guy I was able to figure out my other devices but the iPod was just that much better. The iPod Touch is much larger and seems better suited to handling my needs for information management. There are a couple of sticking points.
One is price. At over two hundred dollars (as of this writing) it is not something that I can trivially purchase. It starts to get me into the neighborhood of buying a netbook instead. Admittedly the netbook would not have the portability of the iPod Touch, but it would have other strengths (like a keyboard) to make up for it.
Another is software. I have Palm OS software that I've used for years that will no longer be usable. I have to take that into account also.
For now I will limp the Zire along and see what Apple comes up with on Monday at the WWDC and go from there.
It's been interesting watching the rise and fall of each of the form factors and companies. From Sharp (still around but out of the PDA business) to Palm (with a history of mis-steps and frittering away their huge lead) to Apple (whose Newton venture paved the way for more functional PDAs). It will be interesting to see where things progress to. There are rumors that Apple will expand the iPod Touch into a small tablet and effectively re-launch the Newton. I'll be paying close attention.
Friday, May 29, 2009
What do I do with my data?
At this point in time there are two broad categories of approaches you can use to manage your data:
Like the name suggests, relational data are items that can be related to one another through the use of a key value. For example, your government issued an identifier number to you that is used to identify you. This number is then linked to your name, where you were, born, etc. It is a key to reaching that information.
If you think of a table of information, with rows running horizontally across the page and columns intersecting the rows vertically, running down the page, the key value identifies the row. So, for information about person you might have something like this:
Each key identifies a row, and each row has columns of information. Then, in another table where you store, say, order information, you do not have to enter John Smith's personal information every time you create an order for him. The data exists in one place. Then, if you find out that he spells his name "Jon" and not "John" you can change it in once place.
There are other advantages to the model, but this is the crux of it. Information only has to be entered once, and then related to other information.
A relational database management system (RDBMS) is software that allows you manipulate this type of information easily.
Non-relational is a grab bag of different approaches that do not include necessarily the idea of a key value (or at least not in a separate tables sort of way). Generally a non-relational data store will store all of the information for any one thing all together, all at once. For example, an order would be stored all on one line, with the customer information repeated over and over for each order they are linked to. You wind up storing the information more than once for certain items and you have a lot of work to do if you want to update that information or use it to link to information that is held elsewhere.
Storing information in a spreadsheet often winds up being non-relational but in more modern systems there are ways to make the data relate to other data. The lack of management tools, however, will generally drive you towards a management system.
If the data you are storing is VERY simple and small in size you can save time and money by just storing it into a text file that you update by hand. For anything beyond that you should consider more sophisticated software to help you with the process of storing and updating the information.
Weighing the pros and cons of the various different packages is a very involved process. Think through what your needs will be and then invest the time in some research. Make sure you base your decision on your needs and not on what some marketing tells you your needs are.
Make a techgnostic choice for your database needs and you will achieve your goals effectively and efficiently.
- Relational
- Non-relational
Like the name suggests, relational data are items that can be related to one another through the use of a key value. For example, your government issued an identifier number to you that is used to identify you. This number is then linked to your name, where you were, born, etc. It is a key to reaching that information.
If you think of a table of information, with rows running horizontally across the page and columns intersecting the rows vertically, running down the page, the key value identifies the row. So, for information about person you might have something like this:
| Key | FirstName | LastName |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | John | Smith |
| 101 | Fred | Brown |
| ... | ... | ... |
| 174 | Zachary | Miller |
Each key identifies a row, and each row has columns of information. Then, in another table where you store, say, order information, you do not have to enter John Smith's personal information every time you create an order for him. The data exists in one place. Then, if you find out that he spells his name "Jon" and not "John" you can change it in once place.
There are other advantages to the model, but this is the crux of it. Information only has to be entered once, and then related to other information.
A relational database management system (RDBMS) is software that allows you manipulate this type of information easily.
Non-relational is a grab bag of different approaches that do not include necessarily the idea of a key value (or at least not in a separate tables sort of way). Generally a non-relational data store will store all of the information for any one thing all together, all at once. For example, an order would be stored all on one line, with the customer information repeated over and over for each order they are linked to. You wind up storing the information more than once for certain items and you have a lot of work to do if you want to update that information or use it to link to information that is held elsewhere.
Storing information in a spreadsheet often winds up being non-relational but in more modern systems there are ways to make the data relate to other data. The lack of management tools, however, will generally drive you towards a management system.
If the data you are storing is VERY simple and small in size you can save time and money by just storing it into a text file that you update by hand. For anything beyond that you should consider more sophisticated software to help you with the process of storing and updating the information.
Weighing the pros and cons of the various different packages is a very involved process. Think through what your needs will be and then invest the time in some research. Make sure you base your decision on your needs and not on what some marketing tells you your needs are.
Make a techgnostic choice for your database needs and you will achieve your goals effectively and efficiently.
Friday, May 22, 2009
What kind of a database do I need?
So, we covered the need for one. Chances are you need one. But which one? First we have to think a bit.
There are some questions to consider the answers to:
There are some questions to consider the answers to:
- What kind of data am I storing? Is it just text and numbers, or do I have to store files or picture? Do I have to store documents?
- How much data am I storing? Do I have a few dozen customers and a couple of suppliers, or do I have hundreds of both? Do I have historical information I need to put in, and how much of it do I have?
- How many people need to get at it? Is this just for me, or do other people need to get at it also?
- What other requirements do I have? Speed, costs, etc. Does the system have to lightning quick or can you wait a second or two? Do you have a budget to spend on this, both for software and somebody to handle it?
- If the amount of data is small, simple and textual you could get by with a text file. An XML file can easily hold a fair amount of structured data and does not require very powerful software.
- If the amount of data is larger and maybe a bit harder to manage you might need a spreadsheet like Open Office Calc, Google Doc or Microsoft Excel.
- If your data needs are larger you start to get into actual "database" software, of which there are many different options from free to very expensive. The choices stretch out a great distance, but include smaller ones like Microsoft Access or FileMaker or ones that will scale out as needed like MySQL, PostreSQL or Microsoft SQL Server (various editions).
Friday, May 15, 2009
Do I need a database?
"Oh, obviously you need a database."
What?
What is a database, you ask? All you know is that it lives on the computer somewhere and keeps track of things. Why can't you just keep your paper and files? Or are you already using a computer? "Look, see - I have it all in a spreadsheet!".
The person who told you of your need for a database rolls his/her eyes and groans and says "THAT is not a database!"
Confusion reigns.
So, what is it?
Strictly speaking, ANY collection of data is a database. Your paper and files? That's a database. A bunch of index cards in a box? Database. That spreadsheet of yours. Also a database. Any one of many different software products with the word "database" in their name? Yeah, database. Really, a database is an organized body of related information. Period. The exact mechanics of it are where people get hung up.
Honestly, the person who recommended a database to you most likely meant that you would benefit from a "database management system" (DBMS) such as has been around for many years, specifically designed to manage your information. Even though your stack of paper is technically a database how long does it take you to find a very specific piece of data out of it, say, an invoice from a particular vendor? When the pile is small it is trivial. As the pile grows it becomes non-trivial.
You've moved from a small pile / number of cards / number of spreadsheets. What happens when someone else needs to get at the same information? Any more than a couple of people cannot effectively search through your pile. And when the information must be updated what do you do? Mark up the original? Attach sticky notes? Put the file on a shared drive and hope for the best? And if you want to know some kind of aggregate information like "how much money do I owe all people with outstanding invoices?" you now have a much larger task on your hands. That is where a DBMS really comes into its own.
A DBMS has been designed, from the beginning, to efficiently store your information, with methods to capture, store, analyze and create outputs based on the information stored within. They are at the core of much of the efficiency that is attributed to computer technology.
For anybody who is doing anything in their lives that requires capturing information, storing it for future use, sifting and analyzing it and creating output such as reports or simply answers to questions about the data the need for a computerized database is clear.
However, just like the question of "do I need a computer" (most often "yes") is followed by "what kind of computer do I need?" there are some questions you have to ask yourself before you start down the path of using a DBMS. As the blog title implies we will cover this in a techgnostic fashion in the next post.
For a sneak peek, the questions will be along the lines of:
That will be followed by another post wherein some of the more popular alternatives are considered, as well as some less popular choices. Come to think of it, this might become a series of posts. Stay tuned.
What?
What is a database, you ask? All you know is that it lives on the computer somewhere and keeps track of things. Why can't you just keep your paper and files? Or are you already using a computer? "Look, see - I have it all in a spreadsheet!".
The person who told you of your need for a database rolls his/her eyes and groans and says "THAT is not a database!"
Confusion reigns.
So, what is it?
Strictly speaking, ANY collection of data is a database. Your paper and files? That's a database. A bunch of index cards in a box? Database. That spreadsheet of yours. Also a database. Any one of many different software products with the word "database" in their name? Yeah, database. Really, a database is an organized body of related information. Period. The exact mechanics of it are where people get hung up.
Honestly, the person who recommended a database to you most likely meant that you would benefit from a "database management system" (DBMS) such as has been around for many years, specifically designed to manage your information. Even though your stack of paper is technically a database how long does it take you to find a very specific piece of data out of it, say, an invoice from a particular vendor? When the pile is small it is trivial. As the pile grows it becomes non-trivial.
You've moved from a small pile / number of cards / number of spreadsheets. What happens when someone else needs to get at the same information? Any more than a couple of people cannot effectively search through your pile. And when the information must be updated what do you do? Mark up the original? Attach sticky notes? Put the file on a shared drive and hope for the best? And if you want to know some kind of aggregate information like "how much money do I owe all people with outstanding invoices?" you now have a much larger task on your hands. That is where a DBMS really comes into its own.
A DBMS has been designed, from the beginning, to efficiently store your information, with methods to capture, store, analyze and create outputs based on the information stored within. They are at the core of much of the efficiency that is attributed to computer technology.
For anybody who is doing anything in their lives that requires capturing information, storing it for future use, sifting and analyzing it and creating output such as reports or simply answers to questions about the data the need for a computerized database is clear.
However, just like the question of "do I need a computer" (most often "yes") is followed by "what kind of computer do I need?" there are some questions you have to ask yourself before you start down the path of using a DBMS. As the blog title implies we will cover this in a techgnostic fashion in the next post.
For a sneak peek, the questions will be along the lines of:
- What kind of data am I storing?
- How much data am I storing?
- How many people need to get at it?
- What other requirements do I have?
That will be followed by another post wherein some of the more popular alternatives are considered, as well as some less popular choices. Come to think of it, this might become a series of posts. Stay tuned.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Drowning in information
Moving into management made me aware of how many things I did not yet understand. Getting people to do what you want them to do without using some form of force is a challenge, and "because I said so" only seems to work with my children (and even then it's hit or miss). One of the venues I've used for information on what to do is seminars.
I go to a seminar that is covering a topic that's of interest and applicable to some problem I am having. The presenter has their slide deck and content down cold, and they go through the process. At the time I think "Wow - this is GREAT information. I am going to use that the next time I need to address this." I leave the course at the end of the day, go back to work the next day and slam into the wall that I'd left behind the day before the seminar.
I go back to my notes from the class and try to recall exactly what was said, and can't quite conjure it up. So I go to the web and search around for similar information and indeed it is all out there, but before the seminar I did not know what to look for. Now I have the information from the seminar, and now from the web also. A lot of the information on the web is structured to make me want to pay for some product or service, so I'm skeptical of some of it.
I need something unbiased, I think. How about a book?
Off I go to Amazon. I search for the subject I am interested in and find a plethora of books, half of which have very high ratings. I cull through the list and find the one that seems most suited to me and order it up. As soon as the order is gone I go back into the storm of daily items.
About a week later I get the book, open it up and am flooded with memories from the seminar, the web search and the remarks on Amazon about the other books I didn't get. I am no closer to having something actionable than I was earlier. And then another crisis pops up, I put the book on the shelf with every intention of reading it cover to cover and making notes, and it sits there for months.
Every time I see the book I feel guilty for not following through.
Sometimes I wonder if can just use common sense? Can't I just take a stab at what seems to be reasonable and then note the result? If the result is good, do it that way again. If it is a failure, try to determine why it failed and do it differently next time.
I think I fall into the trap of wanting total information before I do something, in the belief that it will cause a better decision. There is so much information, though, that it backfires and I don't know where to start.
Perhaps I need to keep in mind the old adage "Good decision making comes from experience - experience comes from making bad decisions".
In the meantime, what do I do with all these books?
I go to a seminar that is covering a topic that's of interest and applicable to some problem I am having. The presenter has their slide deck and content down cold, and they go through the process. At the time I think "Wow - this is GREAT information. I am going to use that the next time I need to address this." I leave the course at the end of the day, go back to work the next day and slam into the wall that I'd left behind the day before the seminar.
I go back to my notes from the class and try to recall exactly what was said, and can't quite conjure it up. So I go to the web and search around for similar information and indeed it is all out there, but before the seminar I did not know what to look for. Now I have the information from the seminar, and now from the web also. A lot of the information on the web is structured to make me want to pay for some product or service, so I'm skeptical of some of it.
I need something unbiased, I think. How about a book?
Off I go to Amazon. I search for the subject I am interested in and find a plethora of books, half of which have very high ratings. I cull through the list and find the one that seems most suited to me and order it up. As soon as the order is gone I go back into the storm of daily items.
About a week later I get the book, open it up and am flooded with memories from the seminar, the web search and the remarks on Amazon about the other books I didn't get. I am no closer to having something actionable than I was earlier. And then another crisis pops up, I put the book on the shelf with every intention of reading it cover to cover and making notes, and it sits there for months.
Every time I see the book I feel guilty for not following through.
Sometimes I wonder if can just use common sense? Can't I just take a stab at what seems to be reasonable and then note the result? If the result is good, do it that way again. If it is a failure, try to determine why it failed and do it differently next time.
I think I fall into the trap of wanting total information before I do something, in the belief that it will cause a better decision. There is so much information, though, that it backfires and I don't know where to start.
Perhaps I need to keep in mind the old adage "Good decision making comes from experience - experience comes from making bad decisions".
In the meantime, what do I do with all these books?
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