GTD Digest 2007-02-24

Weekly recap of GTD highlights (news, views, tips and tricks) from around the web

How to stop procrastinating
By meta
But now you add the second trick David Allen hasn’t included in GTD yet: you give each next action an immediate payoff. It’s something I do all the time. If I go to the dentist for a checkup, I get myself a doughnut. ...

David Allen: Feeling Good About What You're Not Doing
By David Allen
The David Allen Company is a professional training, coaching, and management consulting organization, based in Ojai, California. Its purpose is to enhance performance and improve the quality of life by providing the world's best ...

A Primer on Getting Things Done
By Al at 7P
When it comes to GTD, the web seems to have two camps: those who follow it, and those who are sick of people talking about it. This article is for the ones who are in between… the ones that heard about it and are curious to know more ...

Get Things Done (GTD) With Shoeboxed
By Dan
David Allen is a widely popular author who preaches the concept of GTD, or Getting Things Done. He is a thought leader in the area of personal productivity, and I’ve been meaning to mention him and his suggestions on the blog for awhile ...

43 Folders: Best of GTD
By Merlin Mann
Since this may be the first time some folks have visited the site, I wanted to highlight a few of my favorite GTD posts from the past four years. We talk about lots more than GTD here, but it’s definitely a lot of my readers’ favorite ...

How a “Sniggly Day” Can Help You Get Things Done
By Christine Kane
A Sniggly Day is to Getting Things Done what the Junk Drawer is to Personal Organization. It’sa designated catch-all day for batching all the random stuff you have to do - and then doing that stuff in a way that feels fun and good to ...

GTD Mastery 100: Step 20
By Chris Y.
To read my complete journey to GTD Mastery see the main post. Step 20 to GTD Mastery is: I have all the office supplies I need (p. 92). Page 92 in Getting Things Done refers to a list of tools for your work space. ...

NPR Tackles GTD
Lifehacker Australia - Sydney,NSW,Australia
National Public Radio's All Things Considered takes a look at David Allen's Getting Things Done philosophy, offering an overview of what makes GTD so ...

Getting Things Done By Others
By Joseph Michelli
If leadership is the ability to “get things done by others,” why don’t more leaders give greater autonomy to staff. Dr. Michelli discusses common barriers that prevent the creation of an empowerment culture. Download Standard Podcasts.

Why isn’t the Getting Things Done audiobook available in the UK?
By Rachel Murphy
Finally, in an old post on David Allen’s blog I found a suggestion to try abebooks.co.uk. Bingo! I got the Getting Things Done abridged CD for £9.86. (Although looking today I see the cheapest is £19.93. There’s obviously a lot of ...

Getting Things Done: Why it’s life-changing
By Sarah
... but other than that, onward! Tomorrow we’ll be back to our daily challenges and other fun stuff. Of course, I’ll continue offering ideas about how to implement Getting Things Done into your life. If you’ve just been dipping your [...]

It's Not About Time
Success Magazine - New York,NY,USA
David Allen is an international lecturer and founder of the David Allen Company, a management consulting, coaching and training company. ...

[The Gateway III - extended version] Tricky Business
By davidlanger
In 2002, David Allen published a book entitled Getting Things Done (GTD) which has since sold over 500000 copies and been published in 23 languages. Attracting a huge following in the blogosphere, many would name the book as the ...

 

Tired of "Getting Started" with Microsoft Word?

Are you tired of seeing the "Getting Started" Window Pane in Microsoft Word each and every time you start Word?  You can turn it off.  From the Tools menu, Select Options, then uncheck Startup Task Pane.

Circuit City offers education to prepare you for the upcoming Digital TV Conversion

Circuit City is planning a year-long education campaign to inform consumers about the analog to digital television broadcast transition scheduled for February 17, 2009.

• On Tuesday, February 19, 2008, Circuit City will present a free online interactive Webcast about the digital conversion.
• Circuit City will enhance their in-store signage and provide educational materials to shoppers.
• The retailer will begin stocking government coupon-eligible DTV converter boxes priced at USD59.99 on February 17, 2008.

For more information see Circuit City's website section titled Understanding the analog-to-digital TV transition.  To receive your US government sponsored $40 digital converter box coupon, see the National Telecommunications and Information Administration website.

GTD Digest 2008-02-17

Weekly recap of GTD highlights (news, views, tips and tricks) from around the web

It's time to ...(Get Things Done)
Palm Beach Post - FL, United States
It was called Getting Things Done, and, after a slow start, the book began to gain steam, especially after it became available in paperback and began to get ...

Are you making these 20 common mistakes with getting things done?
By admin
Getting off track with getting things done is incredibly easy because so many other things exist that are easier to do in the moment. In order to protect yourself from getting easily distracted and to prevent yourself from feeling the ...

David Allen: Let's Talk About Prioritizing
By David Allen(webmaster@huffingtonpost.com)
The David Allen Company is a professional training, coaching, and management consulting organization, based in Ojai, California. Its purpose is to enhance performance and improve the quality of life by providing the world's best ...

A Smarter Approach to Time Management
By David B. Bohl
Sometimes we become so focused on getting things done that we forget to give ourselves a break. Walk around the office or go outside and get a few minutes of fresh air. Eat your lunch, and have a snack in the afternoon. ...

Simply GTD with Kelly: It's either actionable or it's not--there ...
By kelly@davidco.com (Kelly)
There are two forks in the road when you process an email: it's either actionable or it's not. Yet time and time again people tell me that they get emails that they think fall into this mysterious gray zone. ...

Power To-Do List: One for the Windows Users
WebWorkerDaily - San Francisco,CA,USA
If you’re on Windows, there’sa new option for this with a GTD flavor: Power To-Do List from Five O’Clock Software. While it doesn’t have the slick lickable ...

Getting Things Done via your Inbox
By Grig Gheorghiu(Grig Gheorghiu)
I've been Getting Things Done long before it was cool to GTD. My method is simple: I keep my list of things to get done in my email Inbox. Once I get a thing done, I move it to a different folder, and I forget about it. ...

Do something you’re passionate about
By admin
This might not seem like the normal productivity tip, but give it a thought: if you really want to do something, you’ll work like hell to get it done. You’ll work extra hard, you’ll put in even more hours, and you’re less likely to ...

Computers.Geek To Live: Getting Things Done with Google Notebook
By Bevsiem
Here's where unprocessed thoughts - "open loops" as David Allen calls them - get dropped off for dealing with later. Pop-up thoughts, half-baked notions and "Oh! I should..." go here. Next Actions. This is your immediate, ...

Getting Things Done by David Allen
Are you looking for a way to get more done each day? If you've been feeling overwhelmed with work, the GTD method can help you get organized and stress less.

Getting Things Done on my Mac, Part II
By slowe
A short while ago I wrote about how I was trying a new way of getting things done on my Mac. Since I published that blog entry, I’ve made some progress on wrapping myself around some of the tools and addressing some of the shortcomings ...

Fun Day Friday

I find Friday's to be one of the toughest days of the week to get work done.  Most people have been busting their humps all week, the weekend is about to begin, and the motivation to start a major new initiative is usually dwindling at this point in the week.  So how do you make Friday productive?  Make it fun!

...or at least enjoyable.

I have found that saving your most satisfying tasks until Friday is the best way to make a Friday productive, enjoyable, and allows you to end the work-week on a high note.  This has worked for me.  This has worked for members of the teams that I have managed.

For example;

• In a prior role, I lead a team of engineers.  We reserved Friday's for investigating new technologies, testing new products or coding a pet project.
• In my current role, I reserve my Friday afternoons for my weekly review.  I get great satisfaction from this exercise.  I can close down my work week, recording what I've accomplished, identifying what I need to do in the next week and addressing what I need to follow-up on.
• As a computer geek at heart, I have also used Fridays as my day to deep dive into technical problems that needs to be solved.  To this day, I still dig doing that type of stuff.

Keep your Friday's light.  Keep your Friday's reserved for what you want to do.  The company you work for will benefit because you are giving 110% as the week is winding down.  You will benefit as you end your work week on a high note because you've been working on something you enjoy; something that gives you personal satisfaction.

This is my twist on the Google way.  That is; Google engineers are encouraged to take 20 percent of their time to work on something company-related that interests them personally.  Perhaps 20 percent does not work for you or the company you work for, but at a minimum, I would encourage everyone (and the people they manage) to take some time for something they are truly passionate about on Friday's.

Using the E-mail Subject Line to set Expectations

I'm a big fan of using the e-mail Subject Line to define my expectations of the recipient.  It's a quick and easy way to let the reader know up-front what you will require of them.  I call this the action statement.  I enclose the action statement in brackets and use all CAPS to set it apart from the Subject Line.  For example;   This is my Subject Line <ACTION STATEMENT>

Following is the list of my most frequently used action statements.

• <ACTION REQUIRED> - I need you to do something
• <ACTION REQUESTED> - If you have time, try to fit this in
• <FYI> - Informational only, no need for action
• <REPLY REQUIRED> - I need a reply from you on this
• <REPLY REQUESTED> - I would like a reply, but not required

Related Posts:

• 9 Great E-mail Tips
• The Complete List of Microsoft Outlook Tips

That was the dumbest idea I've ever heard!

Have you ever been that guy (or girl) with the dumbest idea?  It's not all bad.  Many times it can work for you.

Let's say you are asked to lead a group of peers to come up with a solution to a problem.  You and your group decide on a meeting date and place.  Your first one hour meeting goes something like this...

1. Some people have input on how the problem could be worse. 
2. Some people dwell on how we got into this problem situation in the first place.
3. Some people focus on who is to blame for this problem.
4. Some people come up with creative solutions (this is what we want!) on how someone else who is not part of this group, does not care, or does not have accountability to act, should solve this problem for us (crap, that isn't what we wanted!).
5. ..and there are always a few that just sit there quietly and don't say a thing.

You have just wasted one hour of your life.  Let's not do that again! 

Unfortunately, 1 thru 5 above are human nature.  Unless you are part of a group of super-leaders, you will get some similar form of unproductive chatter.  My tip: accept it and deal effectively with it.

Here is what you might want to try during your first meeting...

Step 1: Announce to the group that they can have the first 10 minutes discussing the problem.  Leave it open ended, but watch the clock.  I guarantee they will spend that time focusing on some form of 1 thru 5 above.  Let people get it out of their system.  Remember; Cut them off after 10 minutes.

Step 2:  Remind the group that it is their responsibility to come up with an actionable, realistic, and creative solution to the problem.  If they have touched on anything that resembles 1 thru 5 above, read numbers 1 through 5 aloud.  They will quickly realize how unproductive their dialog has been.

Step 3: Offer up the first solution.  Any crazy idea will do.  Offer up your idea and then do not say another thing.  If there is silence, let it linger for a minute or two.  If that does not get some constructive dialog going, pause, then try another idea.  Still no dialog?  ...pause and repeat Step 3.

Eventually, someone (or many) in the room will think one of your ideas is the dumbest idea that they have ever heard.  That's OK.  Bad ideas are good if they are constructive and thought provoking.  Inevitably, you will hit on something that strikes a cord in someone that starts a healthy discussion leading to a good solution.

Trust me on this.  If you want to lead, you need to be the first one to throw something out there and let it get torn apart.  Show the team that it's OK to speak up with a bad idea as long as it's constructive and moves the conversation forward.  Your bad idea will "break the ice".  Once the ice is broken, the creative juices in the others will start to flow. 

Step 4 (if needed):  It is not uncommon that someone will start down the "death spiral" of 1 thru 5 above.  Stop them quickly.  Like a virus it will spread it's disease quickly.  Vaccinate with a vengeance.  Refer everyone to Step 2 and start over. 

If it continues to get unruly, politely (yet firmly) adjourn the meeting until another time.  People will get the hint that the unproductive "death spiral" discussion will not be tolerated.

Hopefully, Steps 1 thru 3 get you to a solution.  If not, and it gets ugly, do not be shy about pulling out Step 4.  I've seen it work.

Has this ever happened to you?  How have you dealt with these types of situations?  Please leave a comment and share your experiences.

GTD Digest 2008-02-10

Weekly recap of GTD highlights (news, views, tips and tricks) from around the web

GTD In A Nutshell (Except I’ve Never Read The Book)
By kidko
Now, on to GTD. I've never read the much-praised Getting Things Done by David Allen, but have just recently found many little short descriptions. I pieced them all together to get a rough sketch of what Mr Allen intended. ...

How to beat procrastination
PersonnelToday.com - UK
Its 'Getting Things Done' workout can help OH professionals recognise and avoid self-imposed delaying tactics, understand what creates a proactive mindset, ...

Nozbe for Getting Things Done - GTD - Three Videos
By Andrew Mason
Just been re-looking at Nozbe for Getting Things Done and came across these three videos via YouTube. Nozbe is a simple web-based gtd software, so you don’t need to install anything on your computer - just sign up for a free account and ...

17 Tips & Tricks for Being Organized, Staying Sane, and Getting ...
By Peter
Ever since reading David Allen’s Getting Things Done, I have made a point to carry a pen and notepad with me wherever I go. Ideas for blog articles come to me anywhere and everywhere, and I have found the key is to capture them right ...

6 Productivity Tips to a Stress-Free Life
By Lawrence Cheok
According to David Allen, author of Getting Things Done, one of the reasons that so much “stuff” is on your mind is because you have not processed and organized these loose ends in a manner that you trust. As such, they continue to ...

GTD with Netvibes
Seven years ago, David Allen penned his now best-selling book for time management and productivity, Getting Things Done (GTD). Something akin to a GTD cult has amassed since its publication, and a search for the acronym today yields ...

GTD with a Full Inbox
By Jonas Martinsson
"Getting Things Done" (GTD) tells you that keeping your inbox empty reduces stress. I like that. However, continuously removing and filing incoming items requires effort, especially if you're getting lots of e-mail. ...

The iPhone as a GTD Swiss Army Chainsaw
By brett
Once I’d played with it and sufficiently cut my teeth as to it’s capabilities, the obvious next step in my productivity-obsessed brain was pondering its usability as a tool in my GTD toolbox. The fact that I now had almost ubiquitous ...

Getting Things Done
By erik
I had an insight the other day about procrastination. It’sa twofer:. Truth A: I should never, ever, ever put anything off. Truth B: There is nothing that cannot be set in motion this second. “Putting something off” basically means ...

3 ways to overcome life out of balance
By Mike
Koyaanisqatsi is one of the great films of the ’80s. It uses video and a kick-ass Philip Glass score to explore life in turmoil (the eponymous title comes from the Hopi indian word for “life out of balance”). Koyaanisqatsi is a feeling ...

David Allen to speak at California State University

The Martin V. Smith School of Business and Economics will host author David Allen with a mixer at 4:45m and Allen's presentation at 5:30pm Tuesday, Feb. 19 at the California State University Channel Islands campus.

Allen's presentation is titled "Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity."

Admission is free but seating is limited.

Allen is the author of "Getting Things Done" and "Ready for Anything: 52 Productivity Principles for Work and Life."

He is also the founder and president of the David Allen Company, a management, consulting, coaching and training organization.

To make reservations, call (805) 437-8598.

Need a copy of Office applications for free?

So you bought your son or daughter a shiny new laptop for Christmas.  You are delighted when it boots up  and you see the Microsoft Office application icons.  Word, Excel, Powerpoint - Perfect!  All kids will need to learn to use Microsoft Office, since just about any job they will ever get will require that they know how to navigate an Excel spreadsheet, create a Word document or wow their boss with a snazzy PowerPoint presentation.

But wait!  You later find out that the copy of Microsoft office is not a fully licensed version.  Typically, it's a trial version and the trial version is only good for a limited time.  After 30, 60 or 90 days, you need to pony up the $320 for the full version or $125 for the Home/Student version of Microsoft Office.  If not, it expires and cannot be used.  Bummer.

I have an alternative for you.  Give OpenOffice a try.  What is OpenOffice?  OpenOffice is a free, open source set of Office applications.  In many ways, OpenOffice looks, acts and feels just like Microsoft Office.  OpenOffice can read and write Microsoft Office files!  OpenOffice comes with the following programs:

• Writer (just like Microsoft Word!)
• Calc (just like Microsoft Excel!)
• IMPRESS (just like Microsoft PowerPoint!)

How can OpenOffice be offered for free?
Originally, this application suite was called StarOffice and sold by a German company as proprietary software (i.e. you had to pay for it).  In 1999, Sun Microsystems purchased StarOffice and decided to give away the source code for free in an attempt to fight the Microsoft Goliath.  From this, a project called OpenOffice.org was born.  Basically, OpenOffice.org was (and is) a group of programmers who dedicate their free time to making improvements to the StarOffice software.  They called this new version OpenOffice and offered it to the general public for free.  To  this day, Sun Microsystems continues to be a major contributor of funds and code to OpenOffice.org.

To download and try a copy of OpenOffice, visit the OpenOffice.org download site.

• Click Here for the Windows Version
• Click Here for the Mac Version
• Click here to see all available Versions

If you are interested in seeing how OpenOffice stacks up against Microsoft Office, see the following articles.

• Microsoft Office vs. OpenOffice.org
• Open Office 2.0 Kicks MS Office Around the Block
• eWeek.com: Office 2003 vs. OpenOffice.Org

Give it a try.  I would highly recommend OpenOffice as a home/student/small business based alternative to Microsoft Office.  You certainly cannot beat the price!

Shortcut Key of the Week [CTRL-F]

Today's shortcut key tip for Windows...

CTRL-F - Find

In just about any Windows application CTRL-F will allow you to find something in the current window.  Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Internet Explorer, Firefox, or just about any program that adheres to the Windows standard shortcuts will allow you to use CTRL-F to find a word or phrase.

This is the latest shortcut tip in my ongoing quest to share one shortcut per week; making keyboard shortcuts easy to digest, easy to remember.

Set a due date!

Need something from someone?  Establish a due date.  Seems simple, but more often than not, I see people making requests without a clear, understood, or agreed upon due date for completion of a request or task.

Don't be afraid to ask for something to be done by a given date.  It's a fair request.  Here are a few reasons why;

1. It sets your expectations.
2. It allows the person being asked to adjust their schedule to fulfill the request based on your desired timeline.
3. It allows the person fulfilling the request to "push back" and ask for more time at the outset of the request.
4. It allows the person being asked to reset your expectations of what a realistic timeline looks like.
5. Given #4, it allows you to reevaluate the scope of your request.  Perhaps you could get less sooner.
6. Determining a due date ensures that you have taken the time to think through what you need and when you need it.
7. It sets the expectations of the person fulfilling the request.  All too often I hear people complaining that so-and-so did not get back to them in a timely manner, only to find out later that they did not clearly articulate their expectation of what a "timely manner" means to them.
8. With everyone on the "same page", you have a better chance to achieve a "win-win". - Sorry for the cliches!  :)

If someone does not get you what you want by the timeframe you did not identify, you have nothing to complain about.  Be courteous, be fair, and set a due date.

The Best Stuff from 2007

Seems a little late to be doing a "best of 2007" post, but here you go anyway.  Following is my Top Ten from 2007.  Enjoy!

1. The Fundamentals of GTD – Part 1
2. The Fundamentals of GTD – Part 2
3. The Fundamentals of GTD – Part 3
4. Free Credit Report? Yes!
5. How I keep my mind free – My Moleskine notebook
6. Trials and tribulations of a Moleskine notebook owner: A real feel good story
7. Clearing up a cluttered Inbox Part 4 - 10 Tips
8. My system for e-mail follow-ups
9. Super Cure for the Common Cold!
10. My Top 5 reasons for following GTD

Those are my Top 10 favorite posts from 2007.  If I missed one of your favorite Stuff for Getting Things Done posts, drop me a line.  Heck, even if you think they all sucked, drop me a line.  I'd love to hear from you!

GTD Digest 2008-02-03

Weekly recap of GTD highlights (news, views, tips and tricks) from around the web

Write for David Allen's 2-Minute Rule
By Lynn Gaertner-Johnston
Among his many tips and strategies, time management guru David Allen offers a "two-minute rule." He says that if you can get a new task done within two minutes, do it. If you cannot get it done that fast, either...

Getting Things Done (When You Really Have To)
By Jay White(Jay White)
Sure, I always end up getting things done but it can still put me in a bind. Surprisingly enough, I have no problem with being a chronic procrastinator. As far as I'm concerned, the key is to be able to really get your hands dirty and ...

Review of GTD Software for the Mac
By Duane Johnson
The “Getting Things Done” philosophy and workflow is something I’ve been trying to implement lately. The costs up front are high, but the benefits are many—eventually, I hope to tune my brain to work something like a pre-emptively ...

How to use Backpack for GTD
By Dave
All were nice, but the common issue was this: Each solution offers the author’s interpretation of how a GTD system should work. I don’t want to learn software before I can begin managing my stuff. Nor do I want to be limited to the ...

Bulldoze Those Workday Speed Bumps
By LauraStack
With a finite amount of time available, the temptation is to go faster and work more hours if you want to get more done. But productivity isn't just about squeezing more into your day: it's also about reducing the "speed bumps" ...

Michael Dolan: Becoming More Attracted to Your Weekly Review
By michael.dolan@davidco.com (mdolan)
For those of you who haven't seen David Allen live and in-person, I highly recommend checking him out in action at one of his wonderful GTD The RoadMap seminars. Here's the current schedule. In GTD The RoadMap, David does a masterful ...

When GTD Goes Too Far: How To Avoid Productivity Paranoia
By admin
Anyone interested in improving their productivity has no doubt heard about the Getting Things Done philosophy. Created by David Allen, this workflow program advocates a five step process to getting your daily to-dos under control. ...

Getting Things Done (GTD) with Mindmaps
By Jay (Jason Van Orden)
In this one we show you how we use mindmaps to implement a system based on “Getting Things Done” (GTD) by David Allen. It uses free collaborative mindmapping tools making it useful for teams as well as individuals. ...

Remember the Milk and GTD
By Rachel Murphy
Remember the Milk is a free online task manager that, although not designed specifically as a GTD application, can work well as one. It’s extremely versatile and there are various ways it can be set up. ...

Simply GTD with Kelly: Shifting your position
By kelly@davidco.com (Kelly)
Did you ever move your bedroom around as a kid? Even a simple thing like moving your bed from one wall to another? Remember going to bed that night? It felt new and exciting. Same furniture, new perspective. If that worked for you as a ...

Comparing Foresight
By Jeffrey Cox
Today on the David Allen Company - Getting Things Done Forum, someone posted a great question. “How does [Foresight] compare to the official GTD Netcentrics Add-on?” This is a great question; I appreciate the user asking it. ...

a message to overwhelmed friends; alt., why I love Tracks and GTD
By Luis
Implementing GTD alleviates the feeling of overwhelm, instills confidence, and releases a flood of creative energy. It provides structure without constraint, managing details with maximum flexibility. The system rigorously adheres to ...

A Slim GTD for Students: Keeping Yourself Organized
First off, I have never read David Allen's Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity that's the go to productivity organizing method. And from what I've talked with Chris about and for how much I've reading regarding the ...

Top 100 Motivational Blog Posts of All Time
By The Brandals(The Brandals)
David Allen’s Getting Things Done philosophy has helped countless individuals and businesses become more productive and successful. Check out the following posts for tips on staying motivated and organized, whether at home, ...

David Allen @ The Huffington Post

David Allen has been writing a weekly column at The Huffington Post.com.  As the author of Getting Things Done: the Art of Stress-Free Productivity, and Ready for Anything: 52 Productivity Principles for Work and Life, I always find David's perspectives interesting, informative and helpful.

Following are links to David's most recent articles.  Enjoy!

Passion Is Not Enough
The Task Of Defining Our Work
Don't Forget The Roses
Ah, The Roses
The Delights Of "Dummy Work"
Later, 2007: How To Make 2008 Your Most Productive Year Ever
Priorities, Priorities, Priorities
Three Cheers For Sloth, Indolence, And Procrastination!
How To Change Old Habits
Staying In The Groove (When There Isn't One)
Stalking The Wild Projects
Are You Micro-Managing Your Mind?
Taking Work Personally
Curing Interruptitus
Brainstorming And Mind Mapping
Categorizing Your "Stuff" Is The Path To Freedom
Is Thinking Interrupting Your Sleep?
What Does "Organized" Really Mean?
Think Smarter By Capturing Your Ideas
Getting Things Done

Outlook on the Desktop

I stumbled across what might turn out to be a handy little freeware utility called Outlook on the Desktop. This application loads a transparent view of Microsoft Outlook on top of your Windows desktop. To quote the author;

"Have you ever wondered why it's such a pain in the butt to use calendaring programs on your computer? It's simple: they don't mimic their real life counterparts very well. People who use calendars to organize their daily lives have them visible in plain sight nearly all of the time. Yet, on the computer, you have to go through a myriad of windows and clicks before you can even see your calendar. So to bridge the gap, I've come up with this little program that will place the Microsoft Outlook Calendaring system right on your desktop."

What appeals to me is that you can change the view based on what Outlook component you want to display on your desktop. Calendar, Contacts, Inbox, Notes or Tasks.

You also have the option to change the height, width, transparency or position of this window.

Outlook on the Desktop is a simple, clean and stable application. The only thing I have to get used to with this app is the amount of desktop real estate that it takes up. I'm a big fan of keeping frequently used applications and documents on my desktop. With Outlook on the Desktop loaded, I limit the amount of desktop space I have for my icons.

At a minimum, I'd recommend giving Outlook on the Desktop a try.