Earth 2 Adam

Entourage GTD: Action Scripts 4-D

Adam Sneller — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 01:21:58 +0000

Well, it’s a new year and a new version of Entourage is on the loose. It only seems fitting that we should update our Entourage GTD Action Scripts as well!

The second release of Action Scripts gave us the ability to create a linked Action Item (a Task or Event) from any other email, task, event or note in Entourage. This served three purposes (1) it gave us an expedient means of processing email (and the like) to our Task List, (2) it enabled the creation of Follow up Tasks (and Events), and (3) it provided us with a facility to move tasks onto the Calendar (without removing them from the Master Task List).

So, what else could we possibly want in Action Scripts 4-D…?

…Why, two additional scripts, of course!

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OmniFocus GTD: Actions from Mail (redux)

Adam Sneller — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 18:04:15 +0000

If you’ve been using the Mail to Quick-Entry script (and happen to think that this is the greatest thing since sliced bread) then you and I are not alone!

OmniFocus now comes with a service menu item, called OmniFocus: Send to Inbox. This does exactly the same thing, so you no longer need the Mail to Quick-Entry script to process your email!

Simply highlight any message from within in Apple Mail. Navigate to the Mail > Services menu, and click OmniFocus: Send to Inbox.

Presto! The OmniFocus QuickEntry window pops up, with your email front and center and ready for processing.

Now, if only this came with a keyboard shortcut…

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Entourage GTD: Assign Projects 1.0

Adam Sneller — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 09:07:49 +0000

The mouse plays such an integral role in how we access our computers, it’s not likely that any one of us could make it through the day without it! But like any tool, the mouse has its place. There are certain applications where it does very well (graphics design), and others where it is more of a crutch. And while (at times) it may be a necessary crutch, if you lean on this thing to manage the brunt of your electronic workflow, one day, you will certainly… CLICK… YOURSELF… TO DEATH…!

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OmniFocus GTD: Create Actions from Mail

Adam Sneller — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 23:58:05 +0000

If you are fortunate enough to participate in the alpha-testing program for OmniFocus, you will likely start to hunger for one super-tasty feature that is almost/maybe/but not quit-yet supported… the ability to send email to the OmniFocus Quick Entry window.

I know, I know, it’s only a matter of nano-moments before the coding ninjas at OmniGroup introduce full Mail integration with Clipping Services. But for those of us with ants-in-the-pants (or who just really, really, really need email support NOW) this post is for you!

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Entourage GTD: Action Scripts 2.0

Adam Sneller — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 20:39:40 +0000

When Michael Day asked if I would write some custom scripts for Entourage, I said sure… someday, maybe (and then jumped at the chance, when I found out what he had in mind).

In his email, Michael details a set of scripts that lets you move a message, task or note onto the calendar. I found the notion intriguing and had actually played around with a similar concept before. But there was always something about this that bothered me.

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Entourage GTD: Scripting the Calendar

Adam Sneller — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 06:07:10 +0000

Behold… the Entourage Calendar! It’s not fancy (and it can be a little clunky), but this baby interfaces with Exchange Server, it lets you sort and filter with custom views, and you can link its events to any other element in Entourage. Did I mention that it interfaces with Exchange??? (more…)

Entourage GTD: Tickling Your Email

Adam Sneller — Sat, 14 Jul 2007 23:29:53 +0000

You remember when the Wizard of Oz said “Go away and come back tomorrow”? Well, that is exactly what a Tickler File lets you say to your email, “Go away and don’t bother me until you are actionable!” And you would use this for what?

Your phone bill arrives on the 1st… but it’s not due until the 30th.
(”Go away and come back on the 25th”).
The latest cost reports arrive… on Friday
(”Go away and come back next week”).
There’s a sale at Penny’s!!!!
(”Go a away and… DELETE“)

But one of the most useful things you can do with this is track the actions you have assigned to other people. (more…)

Entourage GTD: Quick Links

Adam Sneller — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 18:58:47 +0000

So what’s the big deal with links? Think of a link as being the sticky side of a Post-It note. This is the glue that holds information together. Only it’s not just notes scribbled on little yellow bits of paper. In Entourage, you can link tasks to email, email to contacts, contacts to projects, projects to files, files to notes, notes to tasks… Gadzooks, man!

But for all that power, the system is yet incomplete. Because while Entourage will let you link anything to anything, it doesn’t provide a keyboard shortcut so that you can quickly retrieve the data! Don’t all gasp at once. (more…)

Entourage GTD: Quick Delete

Adam Sneller — Mon, 07 May 2007 02:06:26 +0000

As powerful as Microsoft Entourage is, you would think that something as simple as the Delete Key would be a no-brainer. Think again!

For some reason, the developers have decided that just hitting “Delete” is far too obvious. If you want to get rid of a task, for example, you have to first select the task and hit Cmd-Delete. This brings up a Warning Dialog, which then lectures you on all the dangers of deleting!

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Entourage GTD: Actions from Email

Adam Sneller — Sat, 05 May 2007 22:01:45 +0000

If you haven’t already explored the Entourage Scripts Menu, I highly recommend it. Microsoft Entourage 2004 (Part of Office) comes pre-packaged with a set of AppleScripts to help you customize your workflow. And for those of you implementing GTD (See Getting Things Done by David Allen), two of these should be especially conspicuous:

Create Task from Message
Create Event from Message

Are we drooling yet???
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