Outlook Usage - @Action vs Tasks

[Adam]

Hi Folks,
Finished reading GTD and optimistic about adopting it. I am however
struggling with using the GTD Outlook Plug-In and reconciling the usage
of folders and tasks.

I currently have @Computer, @Home, @Calls, @Errand folders.
I also have a ton of projects and next actions listed in Outlook as
Tasks.

The way I'm currently using the system I sometimes drag a mail into the
@Computer folder as the task is obvious and I occasionally create a
task and assign it an @Computer action....

This seems broken as I now have to review both the folders and the task
lists to see what's on my plate.

Am I missing something here ? How should I be using folders and tasks
in outlook ?

Thanks
Adam.

[brainwidth]

One option is to create each project as a Contact. That way when you
create a task you can list the project it belongs to as a contact.
>From the contact dialogue, you can pull up all the actions, whether
they take the form of tasks, emails, or other contacts, that are
related to that project. Read more here:
http://home.comcast.net/~whkratz/id3.htm. I haven't implemented this
(since I just read it yesterday), but I'm planning on playing with it
this weekend.

[Jonathan Greene]

I've been messing with the plugin a bit today and like it on the
surface, but how things get linked back (projects for example) on Palm
sync is not that cool. I created a project today SOS (having a client
issue) and added things to it. After sync, my treo has a todo listed
as SOS... no reference to any other info.

Life Balance seems like the best comprimise to me, though there's no
easy way to link the inflow of email other than manually making note
of actions and adding them to an outline. My main computer is a mac
anyway so Outlook, while interesting, won't cover the full scope of
what I want to track.

[Carl T-]

I don't really use Outlook for any of the lists. I find the low-tech
paper method much more useful, since I can look at it at a whim, such
as in an elevator, to get a quick reminder what I'm doing. (I'm
really, REALLY absentminded).

I do use it, however, as an auxiliary inbox, with a projects folder
that contains subfolders named for each project. It holds email that
relates to the projects that I want to keep as reference material.

I also don't like the default ordering, with the inbox halfway down the
list. I don't find the @-trick quite satisfactory either. What I do
is name my folders in the order I want them listed, i.e. "1. Inbox",
"2. Pending", etc. The number makes it sort at the top in any order I
want. Inserting one later is going to be a pain, though, if I ever
want to do that.

Of course, I have to make a "rule" that copies everything coming into
"Inbox" to "1. Inbox", which is kind of a kludge, but it works.