TiDy - Time Management and Diary Manual

Transcription

1 Manual Ralf Longwitz V

2 Table of Contents 1 License Agreement Introduction Installation First Installation Uninstall Updates Quick Starter Introduction to TiDy s Sheets and Functions Creating a new planning workbook Main sheet Daily Task List Week Headers Month Headers Every Day Tasks Buttons Other Operations on the main Worksheet Projects Sheet Purpose of the Sheet Projects Instructions for the Sheet Projects Task List Sheet Instructions for the sheet Tasklist Columns Collaboration List Sheet FAQ...17

3 1 License Agreement TiDy is freeware, that means you do not need to pay to use it. Anyway, by using this software you agree to the following license agreement: Software License and Software Disclaimer of Warranty for private and commercial use and distribution of the software TiDy - Time Management & Diary 2008 Ralf Longwitz, Longwitz Organisation & Consulting IMPORTANT - PLEASE READ CAREFULLY: This is a legal document which is an agreement between you, the Licensee, and Longwitz Organisation & Consulting, in the following referred to as LOC. By opening/installing the software, Licensee agrees to become bound by the terms of this agreement, which include the Software License and Software Disclaimer of Warranty. LICENSE This software, (herein after Software ) is owned by LOC, which reserves all rights not granted to you by this Agreement. This Software is copyrighted and protected by both the Swiss copyright laws and international treaty provisions. As the purchaser or downloader of this Software, you receive only ownership of the copyrighted written material and program disks in the package and a non-exclusive license to use the Software recorded on the program disks, on the following terms and conditions. You May: 1. Use the Software on only one computer by one user at a time. If you desire additional users of the Software, such as on a network or multi-user computer, you must purchase an additional copy of the Software for each simultaneous user. The Software is in "use" on a computer when it is loaded into temporary memory (i.e. RAM) or installed into permanent memory (e.g. hard disk, or other storage device) of that computer. 2. Make one backup copy of the software. The Software is owned by LOC or its suppliers and is protected by Swiss copyright laws and international treaty provisions. Therefore, you must treat the Software like any other copyrighted material (e.g. a book or a musical recording) except that you may either (a) make one copy of the Software for backup or archival purposes, or (b) transfer the Software to a hard disk provided you keep the original for backup or archival purposes. 3. Transfer the Software and accompanying written materials on a permanent basis provided the recipient agrees to the terms of this Agreement. RESTRICTIONS You May Not: 1. Wrap this software into another software or component based software. 2. Use or permit this Software to be used except as permitted by this Agreement. 3. Loan, rent, copy or sub-license this Software except as permitted above. 4. Alter, modify, reverse engineer, decompose or disassemble compiled, binary format files included in the Software. TERM This License is effective until terminated. This License will terminate automatically without notice from LOC if Licensee fails to comply with any term or condition of this License. The Licensee agrees upon such termination to destroy all copies of the software in his posession. The Licensee may terminate the agreement by destroying the program and all copies thereof. LIMITED WARRANTY Except as specifically set forth herein, the Software and accompany written materials (including instructions for use) are provided as is without warranty of any kind. Further, LOC does not warrant, guarantee, or make any representations regarding the use, or the results of the use, of the software or written materials in terms of correctness, accuracy, reliability, currentness, or otherwise. The entire risk as to the results and performance of the software is assumed by Licensee and not by LOC or its distributors, agents or employees. EXCEPT AS SET FORTH HEREIN, THERE ARE NO OTHER WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, 1

4 WITH RESPECT TO THE SOFTWARE, THE ACCOMPANYING WRITTEN MATERIALS, AND ANY ACCOMPANYING HARDWARE.NEITHER LOC NOR ANYONE ELSE WHO HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN THE CREATION, PRODUCTION, SALE OR DELIVERY OF THIS PRODUCT SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, LOSS OF BUSINESS INFORMATION AND THE LIKE) ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF OR THE INABILITY TO USE SUCH PRODUCT EVEN IF LOC HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, BECAUSE SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILTY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, OR LIMITATIONS ON DURATION OF IMPLIED WARRANTY, THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO LICENSEE. GENERAL Should any provision of this Agreement be void or not enforceable, the remainder of this Agreement shall continue in full force and effect. This agreement is governed by the laws of Switzerland. Contact: Longwitz Organisation & Consulting Ralf Longwitz, Salzhausstr. 15, 2503 Biel, Switzerland Web: Introduction TiDy - Time Management & Diary is a comprehensive add-in for Excel. Its purpose is planning of tasks and control of your progress. TiDy is easy to use: if you know Excel, you basically know how to use TiDy. In this manual all functions are explained in detail. In addition, the manual contains some basic principles of time management. Like this you are quickly able to plan and document your use of time effectively. TiDy consists of a Microsoft Excel Template and a set of macros. The macros have been tested on versions 2002, 2003, and 2007 of Excel so far. For older versions than 2003 small adjustments are necessary that are described in this manual. The macros do not run on old versions of Excel for Mac. TiDy has not been tested on the new version 2008 of Excel for Mac. That TiDy is not a standalone program but integrated in Excel has several advantages that you will certainly soon learn to appreciate: Ease of use, especially for those who already know Excel Flexibility: it s just a table, and you can do whatever you like with the data Expandability: if you know a bit about VBA you can easily add your own functions Comprehensive data treatment: use Excel functions to create graphs and statistics Ease of data exchange: you can simply copy/paste your data to other programs or use the built-in Excel export functions 3 Installation 3.1 First Installation TiDy is distributed as an msi installation file. This is a compressed file that contains the following files: TiDy.xla TiDy.xlt The TiDy add-in file that contains all TiDy macros Template file needed by the Add-In to create a new TiDy workbook. 2

5 TiDy example.xls TiDy Manual.pdf License.txt, Lizenzvertrag.txt An example workbook. You are reading this file now. License agreement text files in English and in German Please choose the right version for your version of Excel: English or German. If your version is not German, the English version will work in most other cases. The language of all versions is English, the German version only corrects a VBA compatibility issue in the file TiDy.xla. This file can be exchange for other language version files after installation. For the installation and operation of TiDy, macros must be enabled in Excel. The user must have the rights to access the Add-In and Template folders: C:\Documents and Settings\[User]\Application Data\Microsoft\AddIns C:\Documents and Settings\[User]\Application Data\Microsoft\Templates To install, first make sure that Excel is closed. Then double click on TiDy.msi and follow the instructions. A program group is created in the Windows Start menu containing shortcuts to the manual, to the example file and to the uninstall program. Now please open Excel. If the toolbar does not already show up, then the AddIn needs to be activated: In Excel go to Tools>Add- Ins Then find TiDy in the list of Add-Ins and check the check mark to enable TiDy. Press OK, and the toolbar will show up. Create a first planning and diary table by clicking New Year and choosing your options, and you re ready to go. Most of the buttons will not work when the active workbook is not a TiDy workbook. Note for Excel 2007: After creating a new TiDy workbook, you are asked to save the workbook. Excel 2007 normally wants to save in the new.xlsx format which does not contain macros. Please save the new workbook WITH macros in the format.xlsm in order to retain TiDy functionality. 3

6 If you open the example workbook (TiDy 2007 example.xls) you might get a security alert. Please choose the option to allow active components for this workbook. 3.2 Uninstall First make sure that Excel is closed. To uninstall TiDy, you can use the shortcut in the TiDy program group in the Start menu or the Windows feature Change or remove programs : Open Add or Remove Programs in the Control Panel. Click Change or Remove Programs, and then click TiDy. To remove the program, click Remove. Alternatively you can open TiDy.msi again by double-clicking on it. The installer detects that TiDy is already installed and offers to remove the current installation. To remove all traces of a TiDy installation, follow these steps: Go to Tools > Add-Ins... (only available when a workbook is open) Uncheck TiDy in the list of add-ins, click ok. The toolbar - if it was still there - disappears. Delete the Add-In and Template files in the respective folders (not in the folder with the installation files!): C:\Documents and Settings\[User]\Application Data\Microsoft\AddIns (You do not need to delete the TiDy.ini file. Parameters for new years are saved here.) C:\Documents and Settings\[User]\Application Data\Microsoft\Templates To delete the toolbar: Right click on the toolbar, choose Customize, select the Toolbars tab, select TiDy, then click the Delete button. 3.3 Updates First make sure that Excel is closed. To update TiDy means to replace the files TiDy.xla and TiDy.xlt in the folders C:\Documents and Settings\[User]\Application Data\Microsoft\AddIns and C:\Documents and Settings\[User]\Application Data\Microsoft\Templates by the new files provided in an updated TiDy package. If you want to make sure to have a clean update, uninstall an old version as explained above before installing a new version. Normally it is sufficient to start the new installation package. If the installer detects an earlier installation, it will offer to remove the old version first. This is not completely reliable, though. As far as I know, you cannot completely mess up an installation. In the worst case uninstall and reinstall as explained above. The last step is to create a new TiDy workbook. When creating a new workbook, you will be offered the option to import data from an old file. 4 Quick Starter At this point I assume that you successfully installed TiDy and created a first clean workbook. To start using your first TiDy workbook, the following steps are suggested: In the Projects worksheet list your projects and sub projects Set project and sub project priorities Items must be in between the upper and lower lines. To add more rows, select a cell in between the lines and choose Insert>Rows on the menu. 4

7 Project priority lists must be sorted by signs! (select one sign in each list and click the A->Z button in the Excel main toolbar) In the Tasklist worksheet list your tasks. Set task dates, resources, urgencies and priorities. On the first lines in the main worksheet adjust your Every Day Tasks In the main worksheet plan year, the current month, week, and the next days At the end of each day: review today s tasks in the main sheet and the task list on the Tasklist sheet. Then plan for the next day(s) In the morning of every day: review the tasks for the day During the day: adjust tasks of the day and the task list as needed 5

8 5 Introduction to TiDy s Sheets and Functions How to use TiDy is best learned by learning about its components. In this chapter you find the purpose of all worksheets in a TiDy workbook explained, and detailed descriptions of all components of the sheets. More general comments on Time Management in this document are formatted like this paragraph: indented to the left and right, with a grey border, and in dark green colour. 5.1 Creating a new planning workbook To create a new TiDy workbook, press New Year. You are asked to enter your preferences and a file name. The new workbook is then created and saved. Options: Name Year Weekends Weeks Months File Path Username (will be displayed on main worksheet and reports) The year for which you would like the workbook to be created Create rows for weekends? Create summary rows for weeks? Full: including task rows Create summary rows for months? Full: including task rows File name Folder where the workbook will be saved As soon as you click OK, TiDy opens the template file and starts adding rows to the planning worksheet. In the status bar on the lower left you can see the number of the month on which TiDy is currently working. Depending on your computer it can take anything from 10 seconds to several minutes until the sheet is completed. Importing data from other TiDy workbooks Eventually you will be asked whether you wish to import data from an earlier TiDy workbook. This option allows you to automatically copy your project list, the tasklist, and the collaboration list from another TiDy workbook. This is especially useful when creating a workbook for a new year. When choosing Yes in the import window, a file dialog opens where you can choose the file from which the data is to be imported. If the year of the import file is the same as the new file, you will be asked if you wish to import the data from the main sheet as well. This is especially useful when updating to a new version of TiDy during a year or if you would like to change certain parameters of a workbook like adding weekend rows, for example: You simply create a new workbook with the desired parameters, then import data from the old file. Once the creation of a new TiDy file is done, you are asked to enter a file name and location where you like the file to be stored. File and path as selected in the initial menu are set as default. When the file is finished, a file save dialog pops up where you can choose file name and location. 6

9 Changing the file name If one day you wish to change the name of one of your TiDy files, DO NOT change the file name directly in the windows explorer. Instead, open the file, then save it under the new name of your choice. If you change the name directly, links in the file will break, and some formulas and macros won t work anymore. 5.2 Main sheet To describe the various areas of the main sheet, I use a bottom up approach: From days to weeks and months Daily Task List Mon, Project Time Priority Accomplished Comment In: 1 Lnch out: 2 Lnch in: 3 Out: Σ Day With these lists you plan every day and gain an overview of the day s tasks. Columns Date (no header) Task (no header) Date of the day. This column also contains task numbers, and Σ Day to indicate the Sums row. Contains a short description of a task. Recurring tasks preferably use the same description: Back up files on one day should rather not be File backup on another. The header line shows *** TODAY *** on the current day. When tasks are imported from MS Outlook, these tasks are marked with a *. When such tasks are not modified, they are recognized when more tasks are imported, as to avoid double entries. Scheduled tasks may have the scheduled time added: Meeting (10:00-11:00) Project Time Priority Enter the project category signs in this column. These signs are defined on the Projects sheet described in the chapter Projects Sheet on page 13. Estimated time needed to complete the task. When project signs are entered, a priority is calculated automatically. This can be modified according to your own judgement. When the project signs given in the Project cell are not found in the list of projects, an error message is displayed in the priority cell. Accomplished Mostly only a short not is entered here: started, done, pp (postponed), - (cancelled), etc. It can also contain a note such as delegated to Lucy, or waiting for document. Comment Room for additional comments. Also used to note events: Fred s birthday, Bank holiday in Scotland, etc. 7

10 Working time (no header) This column contains - In: The time when you com in in the morning - Lnch out: Lunchtime out - Lnch in: Back from lunch - Out: End of the working day The time used for other breaks can be added to lunchtime: add 15 minutes to the time Lnch in for a 15 minute tea break in the afternoon. Time Management basics: For proper time planning this list is filled in on the evening of the previous day. Then it is reviewed in the morning of a day and updated throughout the day as tasks are completed. This list helps to schedule tasks but is not meant to be used for scheduling or to replace an agenda. Once a meeting or another task is scheduled it has to be done at the scheduled time, unless it is postponed, which should be the exception. The task list simply shows which tasks are planned to be worked on during a day, not at what exact time. The Priority determines an order: tasks with a higher priority are supposed to be tackled first. The estimated time for a tasks is another help to determine what to work on next. Ideally a task is started and completed without interruption. Taking a break does not count as an interruption since resting regularly is important to keep up performance. When there is only a limited time left between the end of one task and a scheduled task (or lunch), it may be wiser in some cases not to begin with a big high priority task, but to get a short term low priority task off the desk, and to start the big task when a longer uninterrupted period is coming up. Short free periods can also be used to prepare a bigger task, such as collecting documents etc. As soon as you start filling in the table for the day you will note time values in the last row, Σ Day. In the column Time, the hours for the listed tasks are summed up. Added to these hours is the daily buffer time (DBT) as described below. If, for a particular day, you do not wish the buffer time to be added, please edit the formula for the sum: delete +DBT from the formula which looks something like this: =IF(SUM(D1703:D1705)>0,SUM(D1703:D1705)+DBT,0) When adding tasks, take care not to overcharge a day. When the sum exceeds your Daily Working Hours (defined on the Projects sheet), the hours are marked in red. These hours are also marked red in past days when the time spent on projects is greater than the total working time. In the lower right you find the actual working hours summed up. Holidays When the word holiday is entered as the first task of a day, all task fields of the day are hatched. In the report, these days are counted as holidays, and other tasks on that day are not counted. 8

11 1.1.2 Week Headers Week: 1 Mon, Sun, To do this week: Project Time Priority Accomplished Comment Σ Week The week header is used to plan a week in essentially the same way as every single day. Only the major tasks for the week are entered here. In the last row Σ Week you find the hours of the week s days summed up Month Headers Month: 1 January Sun, Tue, To do this month: Project Time Priority Accomplished Comment Σ Month The month header is used to plan a month in essentially the same way as every week. Only the major tasks for the month are entered here. In the last row Σ Month you find the hours of the month s weeks summed up Every Day Tasks Every Day Tasks Project Time Priority Comment 1 W.C 00: Mail W.C 00: News W.E 00: Planning W.A 00: Phone calls W.C 00: Σ per Day 01:55 Every day you do certain things that will not be scheduled or otherwise turn up as tasks. Such activities include reading mail and s, scanning the news, phone calls, getting coffee, and of course planning. These activities are entered at the very top of TiDy s main table with the estimated time used for each activity throughout the day. The Σ per Day is added to the hours used for tasks every day. When estimates for the time used for Every Day Tasks are not good, this will result in major mismatches between the time worked on projects and the actual working time. Time Management basics: Usually minor unscheduled tasks take about 20-25% of the time, depending on your job, of course. Since every day there will be unexpected tasks and interruptions coming up, it is wise not to plan a full day ahead without sufficient buffer times. Usually about 60% of a working day are planned, 20% are reserved for regular tasks that are not planned specifically, and the other 20% are reserved for unexpected additional tasks, and for tasks that take longer than expected. If you spend more than 40% of your day on unscheduled activities that s a bad sign... 9

12 1.1.5 Buttons The TiDy add-in buttons are only used on the TiDy main worksheet. On other worksheets they will either do noting, produce funny results, or - most likely - result in an error message. Please keep in mind that results of macros cannot be undone. Save the table before using one. Some macros take a while to complete. The Report macro, for example, can take a minute or more, depending on the number of tasks you have entered, and the performance of your computer. Go to Today This button takes you to today. If today s tasks are in a collapsed group, please click on the + sign on the upper end of the grouping bar to the left of the screen to expand the group. You may need to do this twice, for Month and Week groups. Go to Date Works like Go to Today, only that you can choose the date freely. Add Task Select a cell within the task area of a day to which you want to add a task row. Then click the Add Task button to add a row. Delete Task Inside the task area, select a cell within the row of the task that you want to delete. Then click the Delete Task button to delete the task. Defer Task Select a task that you would like to defer then click the Defer Task button. A calender pops up and lets you choose the date to which you would like to defer the task. The task is not moved to another day, but copied. Copy Task The button Copy Task allows you to easily copy tasks from the Tasklist to a date of your choice. There are two ways to copy tasks: 1.) Select a cell in the task area of the day to which you would like to add a task then click the Copy Task button. The macro finds the first unfinished task in the list and adds it to the day s tasks. or 2.) Select a task in the tasklist, then click the Copy Task button. The selected task is added to the day of your choice. Sort Tasks Clicking this button will sort the tasks in the selected task area by priority. 10

13 Time Record When Time Record is chosen, the focus will move to today s tasks. Then the first free cell in the work time column is selected and the current time inserted. Report The Report macro is one of the most sophisticated TiDy functions. It collects all tasks in the main sheet, calculates statistical information, and displays it on an extra sheet. Print Week / Month The two buttons Print Week and Print Month present a simple way to print a useful area of the main planning worksheet. The selected week or month is set as a printing area and the Excel print preview is shown. In the preview you can adjust parameters to your liking and then print the overviews. Backup / Restore Backup creates an identical copy of the main sheet. Restore copies the contents of the backup to the main sheet and deletes the backup sheet. You will be asked if you are sure about a restore before the main sheet is overwritten. Outlook Import Imports calendar entries from Outlook into the main sheet. The date range can be chosen. New Year Creates a new blank TiDy workbook for a chosen year. Insert Time Inserts the current time value into the selected cell. What colour? For debugging. TiDy macros rely on the background colours of cells for orientation. The macro called with this button displays the number of the background colour of the selected cell. The colours that are assigned to a number may be changed to the user s taste (Tools > Options > Color). The numbers must remain the same, i.e. DO NOT use Format > Cells > Pattern or the Fill Colour button to change a background colour. 11

14 1.1.6 Other Operations on the main Worksheet Using Groups In a newly created TiDy workbook, the days of a week and the weeks of a month are grouped, and all groups are collapsed. Therefore all you can see at first are the headers of the months. To the very left of the screen you find the grouping column. This columns contains little squares with + and - signs. These squares serve to expand and collapse groups. To expand all groups down to a certain level you can choose one of the numbered squares at the very top of the grouping column. Stopwatch TiDy offers a simple way to keep track of the time you spend on a task. When you double-click in an empty cell in the column Accomplished, the current time is entered into that cell, with the word Start in front. When double-clicking the same cell again, the start time is replaced by the time that has elapsed since the start time. The elapsed time is entered in a format that can directly be copied into a cell in the Time column. If there is already a time in the cell in which you start the stopwatch, the stopwatch function will not enter the current time into the cell, but the current time minus the time in that cell. Like that, you always get the total time that you spent on a task when stopping the stopwatch. Deleting or Adding Columns Don t! The TiDy macros depend on a constant number and order of columns. If there is a column that you don t want to see, hide it: Select the column by clicking on the column number (A, B, C, ) with the right mouse button and choose hide. You may add columns to the very right of a table at your own risk. Deleting or Adding Rows Simply selecting rows and deleting them can make a mess of TiDy tables, so please be careful. Rows that may be deleted without risk are task rows with a task number greater than three. It is still safer to delete tasks by using the Delete Task button. Formatting Tasks Automatic formatting: The task rows use conditional formatting. I already mentioned that all task fields within a day will be hatched when you enter the word holiday into the first task cell of a day. When you enter the word done or the minus sign - into the column Accomplished of a task, the font colour turns to grey. Like this you can more easily detect remaining tasks in a day s list. Manual formatting: You may use manual formatting of the font to emphasize tasks. TiDy s macros do not care about font formatting. You can also add graphical elements or even pictures to the worksheet. You may NOT change the background colour of table cells, though! Many TiDy macros depend on the background colour to determine the type of a cell. If you change the background colour of any cell, especially in the main planning sheet, you might encounter all sorts of effects when using a macro. Mostly simply a failure with an error message. So please don t. If you don t like the standard background colours, you can change what they look like. To do that, go to Tools>Options, and choose the Color tab. There you can change the standard colours to any other colours or reset everything to the original standard colours. 12

15 5.3 Projects Sheet Purpose of the Sheet Projects On this sheet all project categories and sub-categories are listed. The tables serve as a reference to calculate priorities. Priorities are calculated from a combination of project and subproject priorities. Priorities are calculated in the main sheet and in the task list. In the task list, additional information is used to determine priorities for single tasks. The Projects sheet also helps you to organise yourself because here you create an overview of the categories of projects to fit in all of your tasks. Every category serves a certain purpose. When thinking about how to categorise a task, you think about why you re doing it, too Instructions for the Sheet Projects Please start by entering your major projects into the General table. Then choose a sign for every project. This sign can consist of any number of letters, preferably one or two. No two projects should have the same sign. The table must be sorted by the Sign column: Place the cursor onto one of the signs and click the A-Z sort button in the Standard toolbar, or choose Sort in the Data menu. Then enter a number for the priority of each project into the Priority column. Several projects may have the same priority. Mostly a number from 1 to 3 is used here, 1 being the highest priority. You may use higher numbers, but then, are you sure you want to work on a project with a priority lower than 3? I personally use 4 for tasks that other people might want me to work on but have not yet succeeded to motivate me. 5 is my priority for playing computer games, for example. So if there s really nothing else to do...) In the Comment and File columns you may add information and hyperlinks to files as you like. (To add a hyperlink: Main menu: Insert > Hyperlink..., or right-click on the cell and choose Hyperlink...) Ideally, every project you work on serves a greater purpose. Please enter this greater purpose into the Vision fields for your own reference and motivation. 13

16 The Sub table works in the same way as the General table, and allows for greater detail in categorising your tasks. To add a row in either table, please select a row in a table, then press Ctrl-+, or select a cell inside the table and choose Insert > Rows in the main menu. On the bottom of the table you fine two more lines: Daily working hours: what is your normal limit? If you go over this limit when planning your work for a day, the sum of planned working time in the planning sheet will turn red as a warning. Daily buffer time: This time is added to the sum of planned working time of each day. Initially this is the sum of hours you planned for Every Day Tasks on top of the planning sheet. You might want to increase this number for additional buffer time. 5.4 Task List Sheet Instructions for the sheet Tasklist To enter a new task it is best to copy an existing task. To copy a task, please select a cell in the task row that you wish to copy. Then press the button Copy task. You may also create a new blank task row by pressing the button New task. You are not supposed to enter data into the grey cells, since these are automatically calculated using information on the sheet Projects and in the columns Urgency, Importance, and State. For a task to be automatically recognized as a finished task, please enter the word done in the State column of the task. By default, the table is filtered. This means that buttons with little downword pointing triangles appear in the header row of the table. This allows you to easily filter the tasks that are displayed in the table by clicking one of these buttons and choosing your criteria. For example, if you do not want to see the tasks that are already completed, click on the button in the State cell, choose (Custom...), select does not equal in the State list, and enter the word you use to indicate a completed task into the parameter field (i.e. done ). In a similar way you can choose to only display tasks of a certain project, within a range of Due dates, etc. Several filters can be combined. To remove a task, select the task row and click Ctrl--, or choose Edit > Delete... > Entire Row in the main menu. 14

17 Columns Task Project Group Comment Date Due date Time Date completed Resources The task description. Code to categorize the task. Use signs from worksheet Projects : Sign.Subsign This column offers an additional possibility to group tasks. This column may contain category terms such as Books, Fun, Meetings, etc. Additional comments. Date when the task is added to the list. By this date the task must be completed. Otherwise the date will turn red. The estimated time it will take to complete the task. Date when the task has actually been completed. What s needed to finish the task. Money, materials, documents, colleagues. Especially used when delegating a task. Priorities: Urgency How urgent is the task? Enter a number where the lowest number means the highest urgency. I suggest a number between 1 and 5: 1: At once / today! 2: Within the next days 3: Within the next weeks 4: Within the next months 5: Whenever Importance What is the task priority within the project? Enter a number where the lowest number means the highest urgency. I suggest a number between 1 and 5: 1: must be done 2: very important 3: fairly important 4: good, if it's done 5: for fun Project P. Calculated from the sign used in the Project column: Proj. = (priority(sign) + priority(subsign)) / 2 Combined P. Calculated as a combination of the Task, and Proj. values: Comb. = (Task + Proj.) / 2 Total P. Calculated as a combination of the Urgency and Comb. values: Total = (2 * Urgency + Comb.) / 3 Like this, urgency counts twice as much as the combined task priority. State ABC The total priority expressed by the letters A, B, and C May contain information such as started, on hold, done. You can also enter numbers to indicate the percentage of completion (which I myself don t do). 15

18 The columns to the right of the column "State" are for statistical purposes only. The columns Task, Project, Date, Due date, Time, Urgency, and Importance should be filled in. Into the cells Urgency and Importance you should fill in numbers within the same range as used for priorities in the Projects sheet to get a meaningful result for the calculated Total priorities. The fields Group, Comment, and Resources are not always necessary. Done date and State are filled in as the task advances. The last row in the task list (grey and hatched) should remain empty. This row is necessary so that the table can easily be sorted. 5.5 Collaboration List Sheet When you send requests to other people or delegate tasks, you can add tracking information here. Like that you are always up to date about your collaborations with other people. 16

19 6 FAQ Q: I just installed TiDy, and receive error messages such as Can t find project or library when starting macros with the buttons. A: The following libraries are needed and usually already installed by default: MS Outlook 11.0 object library, Microsoft Calendar. Version 10.0 (and perhaps older versions) work as well. These libraries must be selected manually: Open VBA by pressing Alt-F11. Choose Tools > References and choose the versions of the necessary libraries that you find in the list. Q: How do I find out about the version of my Office installation? A: Choose Help > About on the main menu. Q: Excel could not save all the data and formatting you recently added to TiDy. when saving the workbook. A: Don t worry, click ok. Q: When pressing the button Add task I get the error message: Run time error 5 : Invalid procedure call or argument A: You have the wrong language version installed. Unfortunately, the English language version of Excel is not completely compatible with the German language version. In the source code, the difference is only one word Please try and download the other language version of TiDy.xla and copy it into the AddIn folder. If that doesn t help, please contact me. 17

20 Q: When I copy a task from the task list to the planning sheet using the button Copy Task, the equation used to calculate the priority in the planning sheet is overwritten by the total priority in the task list. A: This is on purpose. The total priority in the task list is determined in a more sophisticated way than on the planning sheet and therefore more meaningful. Anyway, the calculated priorites are only suggestions by the program. Please adjust them according to your own judgement. Q: The TiDy toolbar is gone. A: I. The toolbar may be turned off. Turn it back on with View > Toolbars on the main menu. II. The toolbar is not in the toolbar list. Go to Tools > Add-Ins and turn off TiDy, click ok. Go to Tools > Add-Ins again and turn TiDy on again. III. The toolbar is really gone. Close and restart Excel. Q: When creating a report I get the error message Day [date] has no task! A: This is likely because somehow the background colour number has changed. The colour number of task cells is (undefined). This usually looks white. When the background is set to white it will look the same but have a different number (likely 2). Solution: Replace white formatting by undefined formatting. To do this, choose Edit > Replace on the main menu. Clear the Find what and Replace with fields. Click the Format button of Find what, choose Pattern and click on the white colour button, then ok. Click the Format button of Replace with, choose Pattern and click on the no colour button, then ok. Click Replace all. After a short moment a window should pop up giving you the number of replacements. For answers to more questions, please use the TiDy forum on or send an to info@longwitz.ch 18