Technology, Theology, and Anything In Between

Ephesians 5:15-17

15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
(ESV)

It is important to manage our time wisely. This challenge to the Ephesians proceeds after the Apostle Paul tells them to behave in a manner fitting for Christians. We are to use our time in a manner pleasing to God, and not waste it.

In my professional career, two time management systems have helped me in prioritizing and keeping track of what tasks to do, when to do them, and to have visibility into what lies ahead on the schedule. For my “day” job, I use Accomplice. If I did not have a Windows Mobile PDA, I’d probably use this software for both my job and my business. Accomplice is a very nice, well designed program that in my opinion takes time managment and productivity software to the next level. You can enter tasks, and then put them “on your plate”, and then start to work and knock off the tasks, one by one. A task can have e-mails and calendar items attached to it (from Microsoft Outlook). By clicking on the note entries for the emails, it will pull up the entire e-mail if you need it. There is also a contact manager, but I do not use that, since I use Outlook to manage my contact information. I also like that you can collaborate with a team, although I do not use this feature yet.

For my business, I use Franklin Covey’s PlanPlus for Microsoft Outlook. The latest version comes with Pocket Informant 2007 for Windows Mobile. The upgrade was worth it, just to get a better PIM for Windows Mobile. I absolutely love Pocket Informant, and find it to be a great way to visualize the schedule information. PlanPlus is great, because if properly used, can help with defining mission and values, goals, and specific tasks to acheive them. I’ve been using this to track several projects, and I like it.

Part of the reason I like PlanPlus over Accomplice for my business is that at my “day” job, my duties are to be 100% technical skills, and 0% planning. In other words, I do what I’m asked, and am told the schedule, rather than the person who plans it. I still like to use planning software to help keep all the tasks grouped and organized, and to help me remember what to do if distracted. For my business, I am the one who sets the schedules, and I have to track how things are going. For this, having defined goals, mission, and values helps me to see the tasks I’m doing with perspective.

Hopefully this helps someone who is considering buying productivity software. PlanPlus is $99.95, Accomplice is free if you put up with ads, otherwise, it is currently $29.95/year.