I use OmniFocus and create projects and tasks for each active contact.
Then I use DevonThink for my contact's notes, attachments, and e-mail archives.
BusyCal is all I really use for a contact solution.
I do miss Now X's ability to show a contact and any attachments and notes in one place. It's a Swiss Army approach (one program to rule them all) but I can see benefits (begrudgingly) in a separate program approach:
1. OmniFocus is better suited at task management than Now X's simple task list. The mythological project/task management module for Now X will never happen.
2. DevonThink is a better place to store my notes than Now X. I can suck in e-mail from Mail.app. I also keep attachments such as spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, call history, etc. in here.
3. BusyCal is the program that I wished Now X's calendar would become.
If you are using Contactizer, why not create groups to separate your contacts? Dump the inactives in an inactive group. Then create another group for your most commonly used contacts. Then just work in the commonly used contacts group?
It would be like iTunes. My iTunes master library includes songs from my wife and daughter. But I create a folder in iTunes that holds all my personal playlists. I don't have to weed through my wife's music and my daughter's music. I ignore the master library and just go straight to my own personal library.
thanks dave, appreciate all the leg work you've done to date.
wilsonng, i just noticed you're in guam. me too. small world. i completely agree about omnifocus for tasks, as i've been using that for quite a while now. i never though about devonthink about all the notes and attachments, and will give that a look see. and busycal is working good for me at this point (but i miss not being able to format the calendar to my aesthetic tastes).
interesting idea about contactizer groups. this is definitely worth looking at, as the program allows groups and categories. thank you! you may have solved my dilemma. i'll post my findings back here for others who might be in the same boat.
otherwise, the surf sure looks great today (got a window view from my office). hafa!
lol.... small world (and small island) indeed. Maybe I'll run into you at Marianas Electronics or something. Hoping for one of the new MacBook Pros whenever they come out ;-)
One of these days, I'll get into Contactizer Pro. Just too busy trying to burn through my OmniFocus task list. Tax Day and all..... I might just bug you one of these days to see how you're doing in Contactizer Pro.
Using groups will help you manage things easier. It's better than looking at a long list of contacts.
I would probably create the following:
Customers with e-mail addresses (easier to look for customers when you are using Apple Mail)
Customers without e-mail addresses (for customers that can't be contacted via e-mail and you need to talk to them directly)
Vendors (all the folks you gotta pay. Power company, Banks, etc.).
Personal friends (gotta call the buddies when it's time to party!)
Wife's friends (for the people you don't really care about but gotta visit because your wife associates with them). I rarely go to this group unless my wife needs a phone number for someone.
Good luck sgecko.... Maybe we'll encounter each other at a fiesta, rosary, or wedding.....
I use DevonThink in the same way that SOHO Notes works in SOHO Organizer. So I'm pretty happy about it. It's easier to find everything in DevonThink instead of looking for it in the Finder. Now X sadly didn't have much in the way of notes storage that SOHO Organizer had.
Another program I use is Mariner Paperless to scan and store my bills and receipts. But I might transition over to DevonThink for this instead.
The BusyCal folks did say that printing features are on the wish list. We'll just have to wait and see.
As an additional thought, I didn't really need Contactizer Pro's projects and task management because I already have projects in OmniFocus for various customers. The idea is that if you have a client, you'll usually have a project tied to that one client.
Contactizer Pro would be great for those of you who don't already have a project/task manager.
I usually have to refer to a client in these storage areas
Set up an Apple Mail smart mailbox to catch all correspondences for a particular client.
Create a folder in DevonThink to house all documents such as graphics, invoices, receipts, Word documents, PowerPoint presentations, and Excel documents.
Create a project in OmniFocus to hold all the necessary tasks for that particular client.
Apple Address Book contains basic contact information.
As a GTD rule, try to use as many inboxes as you need and as few inboxes as you need. I wouldn't be able to use Contactizer Pro's projects/tasks features because I already have them in OmniFocus. There was no need for me to duplicate tasks in Contactizer and OmniFocus. Trying to update both would be a mindless waste of time.
I use things as my todo list, it syncs with ical which then automatically syncs to contactizer pro... it has helped me get a feel for CP's todo flow. Things also syncs with my iphone.
As longs as I use things as my input source all is well.
I am thinking of upgrading to busycal but I a eager to see what CP has in store with their new syncing process they are working on.
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