Re: [tlug] how to keep track of one's work... another 'BestPractices' question

["Micheal E Cooper" <mcooper@example.com>]

> I use the Planner personal information manager for Emacs.
> (http://www.plannerlove.com,
> http://www.emacswiki.org/cgi-bin/wiki/PlannerMode). It uses plain text

That sounds good. Thank you. I am very happy to know what other folks are
productively using, because knowing of a certain software or method is one
thing, but having something that you actually rely on is another. There
are too many experienced users on this list to not have some record of how
people use what they use.

I have been a vi user since I started with *nix, but I have been meaning
to give Emacs a try.

> If you need to track projects, http://www.backpackit.com is pretty
> good. http://www.voo2do.com is pretty handy, too, and there's e-mail
> support.

Yes, so using a project planner would be another angle on the problem. I
do not work by time contract, so I do not need to track the time spent on
tasks, but it might be a good idea to get into that habit, even if it is
just to be able to estimate the time needed for future projects.

To keep a running summary for reference to myself and others:

Stephen J. Turnbull suggested that a trouble ticket suite would be good,
especially if it included email support for submitting entries. Though
created for queuing, solving, and recording problems in a system and
managing input from staff and users, a trouble ticket system would time
stamp the entries, enable one to declare categories for searches, and even
let one submit entries from email. That is very nice. Another thing that
trouble ticket software would enable is the input from the users I
support, since many of my tasks are enhancements or solutions that start
with user requests. I could have them send me an email telling me the 3rd
floor printer toner is out, and that would be the initial ticket. The
solution would be an entry from me to note the date-time that I replaced
it. I could also initiate tickets, created a kind of todo list with
threads and timestamps.

Sacha Chua uses Emacs planner http://www.plannerlove.com and is happy with
it. She also recommends network-based project tracking suites like
http://www.backpackit.com and http://www.voo2do.com, especially since the
latter includes email support. Many aspects of the job are like projects,
and  project tracking is suited to keeping a record of what was done, how,
when, and in what order. Including time tracking would be a good idea
because it would allow me to estimate the time needed for future jobs.

Thank you for the input.