I miss the days of my paper planner. The reason: It was simple.
On a single page I could see my calendar for the day and critical action items for the day. On the other side of the page was a place for notes. In the tabs at the back were my longer-term lists — projects, next actions (that weren’t due on a certain day), and so forth.
Those are the four critical components of any planning system, and they were all right in view. Now that I am electronic, those four components are split across multiple programs. I have no way to get a single, integrated, and simple sight of my calendar, critical actions for the day, and a place to jot notes. Especially when I’m on the go and have to deal with the much smaller screen of the iPhone.
So although I could never go back from the speed of keeping everything electronic, I am continually frustrated — and slowed down — by the cumbersome interface(s) that we have to deal with.
Enter the (rumored) Apple Tablet. My first question for the iTablet (or whatever they call it) is how it will relate to my laptop. And I have an answer, which stems from the above problem.
Among all the various things it will be able to do, there is one main thing I want the iTable to do: I want it to be the electronic version of the physical planner that I used to have.
To do this, first of all it will have to be an extension of my laptop rather than a truly separate device. This means that it will have to easily (and wirelessly, fully, and instantly) sync with my laptop so I don’t have to keep track of which data is where.
Then, without that concern, I want to use it in conjunction with my laptop (at least when I am at my desk) as a second screen that I can use to show an integrated view of my calendar, daily tasks, and daily note capture.
My desire is to look to the iTablet to identify “what’s best” to do next (reviewing calendar and actions), and then to my laptop (plus the attached external monitor, for screen #3) to actually do the work.
That’s the heart of the matter: You need one screen where you do the work, and a different screen where you keep track of the work you are doing / will be doing next.
On top of this, I want to be able to input into the iTablet by writing on it. Just like I could with my old physical planner.
When I leave my desk, I’ll then take just my tablet with me. In those instances, then I’ll use it both as my planner and also for any other tasks I need to do on the go. But it will need to be simple to get back to the “planner view” so I can easily determine what needs to be done next. Gone will be the days of having to both keep track of my work and do my work in the same view.
And that’s the critical principle, so I’ll say it again: there needs to be a separation between the screen where you keep track of your work and the screens where you do your work. That, in a nutshell, is what the iTablet needs to offer.