I’m getting more and more into Google Wave as a collaboration tool. I’m using it with Justin Levy for work stuff, with a whole host of people for my new business project, and I’m getting into the possibilities. I still have many wishes for it (post forthcoming). Today, I started using it for task management, shifting away from my use of “Things” on my Mac.
Here’s my reasoning:
We can only visit so many applications regularly as part of a flow. Right now, my current “go to” applications are: email, Google Reader, calendar, Facebook, Twitter, email marketing (Publicaster), Evernote, slowly Google Wave, and that’s about it.
In a business flow, they work something like this:
- Mail and Twitter – communication / media making
- Reader – monitoring and story gathering
- Calendar – scheduling / appointments
- Evernote – “storage” information (like my frequent flier card #’s)
- Google Wave – project collaboration, like figuring out how things will work for events, etc.
Inside Wave, I started a wave to myself called “Threads.” In there, I have the status of Open, Waiting For, and Scratch Pad. I edit them as I have things come in. So, if someone needs something, I throw it in the “open” section until I get it done.
What’s missing are things like “deadlines,” but you know what? I don’t use deadlines, and if I have a deadline, I use the calendar. What’s also missing are some automated functions, like being able to “checkbox” closed a task. But I don’t care. I just delete.
The point, I guess, is that I’m using Google Wave as a task manager because it’s starting to fit into my flow. All my tools have to fit some kind of flow or I won’t use them.
Have you ever mapped your own flows?
And what do you think of the idea?
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