If you're interested in finding a computer application to help you organize your time, manage tasks, build concise schedules, handle projects, and set reminders in a simple, no-nonsense manner, then zPlanner is probably exactly what you're looking for!

zPlanner is a small application that employs different, interrelated methods to help you manage your time. Although its Graphical User Interface (GUI) is very plain and its functions are not very intuitive, it doesn't take long to master them and put them to good use. Once you've read its Help Section and played around with it for some time, you'll totally get the hang of it.

Since zPlanner supports multiple users, you start by entering a User Name. Once you do that, you're taken to your User Home, where you can access all the time planning and management features available.

zPlanner works by categorizing everything you do during a day into either Projects or Activities. Projects are things you do which have a start and end dates - e.g. a self-study course, redecorating the house, a trip, etc. - while activities are things you do regularly, whether daily, weekly, monthly, or otherwise - e.g. sleeping, going to the gym, reading, etc.

When you plan a project, you get the option of dividing it into Tasks. This is a universal method of project management, recommended by virtually every time management speaker or guidebook, and it has many benefits - but this is not the place for a detailed discussion. You can take a look at McGraw Hill's book entitled Time Management for more details.

Whether you're planning tasks or activities, you get to set Time Frames for them. This is basically setting when you're going to start and finish.

After setting time frames, you're presented with a Schedule which uses all the information you've entered so far to give you a visual representation of what your day, week, or month will be like. This is very useful since it gives you a chance to have a Big Picture or a Bird's Eye view, so you can make changes when something doesn't seem convenient or doable. You can also print the schedule so that you have with you whenever you need it.

You can also set Reminders. These reminders can be single or recurrent, and you can set them daily, weekly, monthly, or annually for any task or activity you have entered. Actually, I have only tested the reminder feature once during my initial tour of the application, but I haven't used it in real life time management yet. But during the test, it seemed very easy and useful.

All in all, I find zPlanner an indispensable tool in my everyday life. It helps me manage my time very efficiently, and I find that everything I read in time management books and manuals can be easily applied and integrated into the program. Sometimes it takes me a minute or two to figure out a way to do that, but it's usually pretty straight-forward.

zPlanner is freeware graciously given away by www.2-0.biz, and can be downloaded from Download.com at the following link:

http://www.download.com/z-planner-agenda/3...&tag=button

 

 

 

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