Comments on: ClearContext and My Quest for an Empty Inbox http://manage-this.com/clear-context-outlook-inbox/ Sun, 22 Apr 2012 22:50:33 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: carl http://manage-this.com/clear-context-outlook-inbox/comment-page-1/#comment-19102 carl Sun, 28 Nov 2010 04:33:19 +0000 http://manage-this.com/clearcontext-and-my-quest-for-an-empty-inbox/#comment-19102 Hi Filipe - Lately I have been using the text version of the <a href="http://manage-this.com/droe-tool/" rel="nofollow">DROE Tool</a> instead of OneNote. I have an update that automatically parses the note input for tasks and creates them in Outlook when the note is submitted. I have been using this for about a year now, and it will be included in <a href="http://manage-this.com/updated-droe-tool-in-the-works/" rel="nofollow">the next DROE Tool update</a>. I have also upgraded to Outlook 2010 and OneNote 2010, so I'll probably give the integration another shot and see if it is <a href="http://manage-this.com/onenote-outlook-task-synchronization/" rel="nofollow">more stable than before</a>. Regarding ClearContext "Personal", I did <a href="http://online.clearcontext.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2832&p=10846" rel="nofollow">ask them about that</a> earlier this year. They now have a <a href="http://www.clearcontext.com/personal/" rel="nofollow">free/personal version available again</a> on their home page. -Carl Hi Filipe –

Lately I have been using the text version of the DROE Tool instead of OneNote. I have an update that automatically parses the note input for tasks and creates them in Outlook when the note is submitted. I have been using this for about a year now, and it will be included in the next DROE Tool update. I have also upgraded to Outlook 2010 and OneNote 2010, so I’ll probably give the integration another shot and see if it is more stable than before.

Regarding ClearContext “Personal”, I did ask them about that earlier this year. They now have a free/personal version available again on their home page.

-Carl

]]> By: Filipe http://manage-this.com/clear-context-outlook-inbox/comment-page-1/#comment-16407 Filipe Fri, 08 Oct 2010 20:00:00 +0000 http://manage-this.com/clearcontext-and-my-quest-for-an-empty-inbox/#comment-16407 Hi Carl, thanks a bundle for sharing your productivity hints! I am a long-time user of your DROE Tool, and I love it. It seems that currently there is no personal edition available from clearcontext, and the price is still steep at 90$. Have you come across any free alternative in the mean time? Xobni seems to be quite hot, but it apparently lacks the archiving features. I was also wondering, how your GTD workflow looks now, are you still using the OneNote-Outlook Task link? Thanks again for all the stuff you share! Filipe Hi Carl,

thanks a bundle for sharing your productivity hints! I am a long-time user of your DROE Tool, and I love it.

It seems that currently there is no personal edition available from clearcontext, and the price is still steep at 90$. Have you come across any free alternative in the mean time? Xobni seems to be quite hot, but it apparently lacks the archiving features.

I was also wondering, how your GTD workflow looks now, are you still using the OneNote-Outlook Task link?

Thanks again for all the stuff you share!
Filipe

]]> By: carl http://manage-this.com/clear-context-outlook-inbox/comment-page-1/#comment-15047 carl Thu, 26 Aug 2010 13:45:25 +0000 http://manage-this.com/clearcontext-and-my-quest-for-an-empty-inbox/#comment-15047 Hi Gary - Yes I am still using ClearContext on a daily basis. I just switched to Outlook 2010, and am also working with their 5.x release, so I don't think I've figured out my new settings yet. Once it gels, I can share my settings in a future post. -Carl Hi Gary – Yes I am still using ClearContext on a daily basis. I just switched to Outlook 2010, and am also working with their 5.x release, so I don’t think I’ve figured out my new settings yet. Once it gels, I can share my settings in a future post.

-Carl

]]> By: Gary http://manage-this.com/clear-context-outlook-inbox/comment-page-1/#comment-14938 Gary Mon, 23 Aug 2010 13:43:52 +0000 http://manage-this.com/clearcontext-and-my-quest-for-an-empty-inbox/#comment-14938 Hi Carl, Thanks for taking the time to share your time/insights. You mentioned above sharing a follow-up post with ClearContext settings/preferences you use. Are you still using ClearContext, and would you mind sharing your preferences/settings? Greatly appreciated, Gary Hi Carl,

Thanks for taking the time to share your time/insights. You mentioned above sharing a follow-up post with ClearContext settings/preferences you use. Are you still using ClearContext, and would you mind sharing your preferences/settings?

Greatly appreciated,
Gary

]]> By: carl http://manage-this.com/clear-context-outlook-inbox/comment-page-1/#comment-14381 carl Thu, 05 Aug 2010 04:12:17 +0000 http://manage-this.com/clearcontext-and-my-quest-for-an-empty-inbox/#comment-14381 Gregory, thanks for the tip. Lookeen <a href="http://manage-this.com/attach-notes-to-outlook-messages/comment-page-1/#comment-6149" rel="nofollow">has been mentioned before</a> by other readers. I agree that a good search tool will win every time. As I stated above: "After using Taglocity for over a year and studiously tagging my emails with 3-4 tags each, I only used those tags 2 or 3 times to find an email." I used my search tool 99.9% of the time, and the tags 0.1%. I actually prefer <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/desktopsearch/choose/windowssearch4.mspx" rel="nofollow">Windows Desktop Search</a> since it is free, and Lookeen costs $39. -Carl Gregory, thanks for the tip. Lookeen has been mentioned before by other readers. I agree that a good search tool will win every time. As I stated above: “After using Taglocity for over a year and studiously tagging my emails with 3-4 tags each, I only used those tags 2 or 3 times to find an email.” I used my search tool 99.9% of the time, and the tags 0.1%. I actually prefer Windows Desktop Search since it is free, and Lookeen costs $39.

-Carl

]]> By: Gregory http://manage-this.com/clear-context-outlook-inbox/comment-page-1/#comment-14201 Gregory Fri, 30 Jul 2010 10:38:54 +0000 http://manage-this.com/clearcontext-and-my-quest-for-an-empty-inbox/#comment-14201 Hey thanks for the informative post! My way to manage e-mail overload is a tool called Lookeen, don't know if you heard of it before! Small search tool for Outlook with great results! So my question is does it make sense to use Taglocity, if you have already a search tool like Lookeen? Maybe you wanna have a look at it or try it, you find it here: http://www.lookeen.net Hey
thanks for the informative post!
My way to manage e-mail overload is a tool called Lookeen, don’t know if you heard of it before! Small search tool for Outlook with great results! So my question is does it make sense to use Taglocity, if you have already a search tool like Lookeen?
Maybe you wanna have a look at it or try it, you find it here: http://www.lookeen.net

]]> By: carl http://manage-this.com/clear-context-outlook-inbox/comment-page-1/#comment-8595 carl Tue, 25 Aug 2009 16:49:08 +0000 http://manage-this.com/clearcontext-and-my-quest-for-an-empty-inbox/#comment-8595 Paul - My opinion is that there is a significant amount of overlap between Taglocity and ClearContext. They don't really go together like Peanut Butter and Jelly, it's more like Smooth Peanut Butter and Crunchy Peanut Butter. There may be some way in which you could use them both, but you would probably be better off just picking one. I would recommend trying them one at a time and seeing which one fits your work style better. My main reason for switching away from Taglocity was that their 2.0 version dropped some of the best client features and instead focused on social/collaborative email. I also realized that after spending all that time carefully applying multiple tags to thousands of emails, I never once searched on the tags to find something! I always used a desktop search tool such as WDS or GDS. Another way to think of it is that with a desktop search tool, every word in the email can be a tag. I have some <a href="http://manage-this.com/taglocity-workflow/" rel="nofollow">Taglocity setup tips here</a> which may be useful in concept, although the UI has changed since 1.x. Also note that both ClearContext and Taglocity are getting ready to release major upgrades to their products (<a href="http://blog.clearcontext.com/2009/07/clearcontext-v5-simpler-faster-smarter.html" rel="nofollow">ClearContext v5</a> and <a href="http://www.taglocity.com/taglocity2to3upgrade.html" rel="nofollow">Taglocity 3.0</a rel="nofollow">). Some of the client features may be returning in Taglocity 3.0, so it may be worth a look. Hope that helps... -Carl Paul – My opinion is that there is a significant amount of overlap between Taglocity and ClearContext. They don’t really go together like Peanut Butter and Jelly, it’s more like Smooth Peanut Butter and Crunchy Peanut Butter. There may be some way in which you could use them both, but you would probably be better off just picking one. I would recommend trying them one at a time and seeing which one fits your work style better.

My main reason for switching away from Taglocity was that their 2.0 version dropped some of the best client features and instead focused on social/collaborative email. I also realized that after spending all that time carefully applying multiple tags to thousands of emails, I never once searched on the tags to find something! I always used a desktop search tool such as WDS or GDS. Another way to think of it is that with a desktop search tool, every word in the email can be a tag.

I have some Taglocity setup tips here which may be useful in concept, although the UI has changed since 1.x. Also note that
both ClearContext and Taglocity are getting ready to release major upgrades to their products (ClearContext v5 and Taglocity 3.0). Some of the client features may be returning in Taglocity 3.0, so it may be worth a look.

Hope that helps…

-Carl

]]> By: Paul http://manage-this.com/clear-context-outlook-inbox/comment-page-1/#comment-8584 Paul Tue, 25 Aug 2009 03:53:28 +0000 http://manage-this.com/clearcontext-and-my-quest-for-an-empty-inbox/#comment-8584 Hi Carl, I am a new user of Taglocity and ClearContext and new to GTD and was wondering if they could be used together effectively. I like the idea of hierarchial tags that taglocity brings and as they are saved as outlook categories anyway they could be used with ClearContext. I would have for example an Actions parent tag with child tags such as Phone, Reply to Email, Make appointment, Research, Discuss with Team etc. I could then use Taglocity search to find for example all tasks where I need to Reply To Email. Hi Carl,

I am a new user of Taglocity and ClearContext and new to GTD and was wondering if they could be used together effectively. I like the idea of hierarchial tags that taglocity brings and as they are saved as outlook categories anyway they could be used with ClearContext. I would have for example an Actions parent tag with child tags such as Phone, Reply to Email, Make appointment, Research, Discuss with Team etc. I could then use Taglocity search to find for example all tasks where I need to Reply To Email.

]]> By: carl http://manage-this.com/clear-context-outlook-inbox/comment-page-1/#comment-6223 carl Sun, 22 Feb 2009 21:14:04 +0000 http://manage-this.com/clearcontext-and-my-quest-for-an-empty-inbox/#comment-6223 Thanks Eucaly61... BTW, I agree <a href="http://www.vargonsoft.com/Outclass/" rel="nofollow">Outclass is a great tool</a>, I used it for a while. I wish someone was still updating it! -Carl Thanks Eucaly61… BTW, I agree Outclass is a great tool, I used it for a while. I wish someone was still updating it!

-Carl

]]> By: Eucaly61 http://manage-this.com/clear-context-outlook-inbox/comment-page-1/#comment-6152 Eucaly61 Mon, 16 Feb 2009 02:31:49 +0000 http://manage-this.com/clearcontext-and-my-quest-for-an-empty-inbox/#comment-6152 Dear Carl: Thanks for the excellent explain. I think the preferred methodology is quite different from yours to mine. I found that ClearContext "FILE" mails by moving them to the correspond "project" folder (*1), and the free version seems only workable on "Inbox" (*2). While, (1) I do not like moving mails to separate folders, instead tags is assigned and then list by Outlook "virtual search folder". In this way, mails can have multiple instance in different collection. (2) I work with a time-based *.PST file (every 3 month a PST file), so that the "Inbox-only" operation is not preferred ... To sum up, I am now happy with @In, @Now, @Que, @done, ... with TagActions by Taglocity 1.x => This is for GTD portion. As for project based tagging, I will stay with "outclass" (3+ years till now). I might write more clear description in Traditional Chinese in my own blog. And then, if the English version ready, I will leave a message here. Thanks a lot!! Dear Carl:

Thanks for the excellent explain.

I think the preferred methodology is quite different from yours to mine. I found that ClearContext “FILE” mails by moving them to the correspond “project” folder (*1), and the free version seems only workable on “Inbox” (*2).

While, (1) I do not like moving mails to separate folders, instead tags is assigned and then list by Outlook “virtual search folder”. In this way, mails can have multiple instance in different collection. (2) I work with a time-based *.PST file (every 3 month a PST file), so that the “Inbox-only” operation is not preferred …

To sum up, I am now happy with @In, @Now, @Que, @done, … with TagActions by Taglocity 1.x => This is for GTD portion.
As for project based tagging, I will stay with “outclass” (3+ years till now).

I might write more clear description in Traditional Chinese in my own blog. And then, if the English version ready, I will leave a message here.

Thanks a lot!!

]]> By: carl http://manage-this.com/clear-context-outlook-inbox/comment-page-1/#comment-6150 carl Sun, 15 Feb 2009 16:16:19 +0000 http://manage-this.com/clearcontext-and-my-quest-for-an-empty-inbox/#comment-6150 Hi Eucaly61 -- My Outlook setup with Taglocity and with ClearContext are very different. In Taglocity, I was using those workflow tags, <a href="http://manage-this.com/taglocity-workflow/" rel="nofollow">as described here</a>, to track and move individual messages. You could do something similar in ClearContext by setting up @Now, @FollowUp, and @Done topic folders. That, however, is not really the preferred workflow in ClearContext since ClearContext highlights the relationships between messages vs. handling & tagging each message individually. The point with ClearContext is that once you assign a topic/project, all messages are assigned to that topic/project and you can view all messages, tasks, and appointments together (in context) with one click. I think the big "aha" for me was that I was spending all of my time carefully tagging messages, but then I never used those tags to find anything later. It was just easier to rely on a desktop search tool like Google Desktop or Windows Desktop Search, so the tags were just a waste of time for me. What I really wanted was project-based organization, which is more what ClearContext provides. -Carl Hi Eucaly61 — My Outlook setup with Taglocity and with ClearContext are very different. In Taglocity, I was using those workflow tags, as described here, to track and move individual messages. You could do something similar in ClearContext by setting up @Now, @FollowUp, and @Done topic folders. That, however, is not really the preferred workflow in ClearContext since ClearContext highlights the relationships between messages vs. handling & tagging each message individually.

The point with ClearContext is that once you assign a topic/project, all messages are assigned to that topic/project and you can view all messages, tasks, and appointments together (in context) with one click. I think the big “aha” for me was that I was spending all of my time carefully tagging messages, but then I never used those tags to find anything later. It was just easier to rely on a desktop search tool like Google Desktop or Windows Desktop Search, so the tags were just a waste of time for me. What I really wanted was project-based organization, which is more what ClearContext provides.

-Carl

]]> By: Eucaly61 http://manage-this.com/clear-context-outlook-inbox/comment-page-1/#comment-6144 Eucaly61 Sun, 15 Feb 2009 07:10:59 +0000 http://manage-this.com/clearcontext-and-my-quest-for-an-empty-inbox/#comment-6144 I would like to clarify that after using ClearContext, do you still need Taglocity to achieve "setting @Now/@FollowUp removes the @Incoming tag". I would like to clarify that after using ClearContext, do you still need Taglocity to achieve “setting @Now/@FollowUp removes the @Incoming tag”.

]]> By: carl http://manage-this.com/clear-context-outlook-inbox/comment-page-1/#comment-5495 carl Fri, 12 Dec 2008 19:18:15 +0000 http://manage-this.com/clearcontext-and-my-quest-for-an-empty-inbox/#comment-5495 Neil - Thanks again for your comments. I plan to describe the Outlook side in a future post... hopefully soon :-) -Carl Neil – Thanks again for your comments. I plan to describe the Outlook side in a future post… hopefully soon :-)

-Carl

]]> By: Neil http://manage-this.com/clear-context-outlook-inbox/comment-page-1/#comment-5486 Neil Thu, 11 Dec 2008 17:23:54 +0000 http://manage-this.com/clearcontext-and-my-quest-for-an-empty-inbox/#comment-5486 If you are able to "make" some time, i would be very interested to see your current workflow with OneNote, ClearContext, etc. . . . please? :-) Thanks for all the great info. I am evaluating ClearContext right now. If you are able to “make” some time, i would be very interested to see your current workflow with OneNote, ClearContext, etc. . . . please? :-)

Thanks for all the great info. I am evaluating ClearContext right now.

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