Time and Task Management

The Theory

The idea of organizing software is to save you time, leaving you free for activities you enjoy. That said, the naysayers claim that those using such software tend to be the already organized, anal compulsive types. This view is persuasive in light of the fact that in order for the organizer to do its assigned tasks, a human being had to spend a great deal of time inputting information in the first place. Only a very organized human would:

A)    Take the time to input all the information.

B)    Have all the information available in the first place.

So, is organizing software a worthwhile investment or a waste of time? Well, it depends a lot on the individual's needs and the individual programs on offer. One feature that may make a particular program worth its salt is the ability to replace several programs at once by making many diverse features available through the one program.

For example, decent organizing software should be able to provide all of the following: act as a dictionary, convert metric, traditional, and imperial units, perform advanced calculations, view and clear your computer's history, encrypt files, allow for file editing, provide a venue for sketching and drawing, view photos, create websites, organize and play videos, view and edit databases of varied formats, create databases, provide computer security and system information.

The Reality

However, many people never get beyond the basic secretarial skills of such software, which acts much like a calendar that gives you reminders, and stores information like an automated rolodex. In its usual capacity, organizing software helps you manage your time in terms of appointments, meetings, projects, events, and workflow and allows you to plan even years in advance for important dates in your personal and professional life.

Organizing software can help you prioritize your harried work life by helping you set deadlines and by tracking the progress and completion of tasks. In theory, this should help relieve some of your work-related tension, but whether or not this is effective in practice is anyone's guess. Some people swear by these programs, but such people tend to be the type who like a lot of gadgets and such and use them to bolster their feelings of preparedness and self-confidence. It's not clear that this type of software is any more than a psychological prop for very busy business people. Be that as it may, if the price is right and it feels good, organizing software may end up making your life a little easier.