One of the messages of 2Time is a difficult one – that users who are not technologically savvy are choosing to limit their productivity.
It might not be obvious as to why this is the case, but one of the major reasons has to do with portability. A user who is unable to travel with their schedule from place to place simply is not as effective as one who is not stuck with a desk-based or paper-based system.
They will end up wasting their own time, and that of others, as they take time to consult their schedules, wherever they may be, simply because they are unable to master a PDA or similar device.
This is not to say that everyone should purchase a PDA, any more than everyone should be a Green Belt. Instead, each person should pick a level that they are comfortable with and operate at it, and use the physical tools that they feel comfortable using. They do need to accept, however, that their unwillingness to learn how to use a Palm will cost them some degree of productivity, and that their inability to learn how to use Outlook will prevent them from being as productive as they could be.
The user must decide if the investment in changing habits is worth the time, effort and cost or not.
I disagree. The nature of a persons life, work and appointments dictate what technology is needed.
My first palm was a Palm III. I don’t have one now. I don’t need one. My schedule is static from week to week. Productivity for me is managing multiple large projects with lots of backup materials. Paper therefore works better for me and my life.
Technology only makes sense if it helps you be more productive. I can use a palm but my lifestyle doesn’t require it. Each individual needs to decide for themselves whether technology improves that or not.
I feel a rant coming…
Oh God, have mercy on those blinded by their Gizmos. I find what you are writing here
plain wrong. Maybe your PDA works nicely for you. That’s fine. Maybe others achieve more without PDA’s. I owned several Palms. I know how to program an IBM mainframe, sold my own Windows shareware, roll my own HTML, CSS, Perl and .htaccess files. Been an IT manager (boring job). I am more productive, more creative and happier than I was using a PDA. I own a Filofax which fits in my pocket and goes everywhere with me. I also own a big honking Unix box (it’s a Mac, obviously) which I use all the time. It is about YOU (or me), not a piece of grey plastic or exotic brown leather.
My Filofax survived a drop from 2m (my Palm Vx didn’t. I’m sorry mister customer, I dropped my PDA so I didn’t know where to meet you. Sorry again.), allows creative freehand writing and scribbling (no Gizmo gets close, you have to fit your brain to what the thing can grasp. It is just that you don’t notice what you have lost after a while), works in all conditions, does not depend on anything (travel the world with a Palm and forget your power-adapter-travelling-kit for comparison), is not susceptible to viruses, has superior resolution, can flip from date-to-date infinitely faster, allows for a page to be taken out and left for anybody who does NOT have the exact same Filofax 2.0 service pack 12, can be used in a plane, during a concert, and generally anywhere without pissing people off, also carries stamps, credit cards, passport, a condom, emergency money, yellow stickies (beats Twitter hands down as an inclusive social network), business cards and a ruler. It is also way cheaper, looks better, and creates less toxic waste. It has a journalling file system (you can retrieve and roll back changes you made) and I can still read my notes from 1979. In fact, the black hole I have in my own history spans exactly the years I used a PDA. Lost forever. Those years now feel insignificant because I lost trace of what I did, what I learned, and who I met. I do remember I was a tech junkie.
Tip: search the net for ‘Hipster PDA’ or ‘Pile of Index Cards’. Be amazed. These people are more computer savvy than me or you. Yet they prefer to do some things analogue.
Remember, reality is analogue. Thanks for making me realise how happy I am stepping away from Palm.
Cheers,
Paul
Rebecca,
I think we are agreeing here… each individual needs to decide for themselves whether technology improves their productivity.
No technology is for everyone.
Neither is any belt in 2Time for everyone. And, it is impossible to attain the higher belts without mastering some technology.
Now, not every user needs to be at a higher belt level than they need, but the message to those that want to improve their productivity is that mastering technology is essential.
And, you are right, this is not a message that applies to everyone.
Paul,
It sounds like the best combination would be a blend of what your Filofax provides AND what a PDA provides.
However, each has its drawbacks, at the moment, but PDA’s are getting smaller, better powered, more fool-proof and more virus-free.
At some point in the future, a PDA will be small enough to be just another page in your Filofax, with all the flaws you mentioned completely fixed.
At that point, your Filofax system would have the power of both.
But, you would need to be able to technologically savvy to make use of it, which is the point I was trying to make.
At the moment, I use a wallet with a pad and PDA, with a place for credit cards, and a pen. I would probably change the blend of functions if I could i.e. if the palm were thin enough, and better designed, and if the wallet allowed for more flexibility.
I think that in the future, the most useful “devices” will combine the best of both paper and electronic worlds.
I agree: there are features a PDA or computer offers which I do sometimes miss with my Filofax. For me, the balance still tilts in favour of analog for organising and note taking, though I confess more and more of my notes go into a blog.
And of course: you need to master a tool to have maximum benefit from it. Agreed.
Thanks for replying.