I use Apple's Mail and iCal to keep my schedule organized and to keep a hold on the multitude of things that would otherwise get lost in the ether of my mind. If it doesn't come through one or both of those programs, the chances of it slipping through the cracks are extraordinarily high for a person like me. I (mostly) subscribe to the Inbox Zero philosophy and so I try to take action on emails as they come in so that I can ignore the things I need to ignore and do the things I need to do. I especially like using Mail's Todo section to keep track of all the things that I know I'll have to do, but can't take care of right at the moment I am notified about them. Because of this, I've written a little Applescript which I trigger via Mail's rules to automatically add a Todo item to my list whenever I get something from DoneDone that requires my attention). You can download it here. This script will watch for incoming messages from DoneDone and either create or check off issues in your Todo list based on whether the issue requires your attention or has been marked as completed in DoneDone.

Before you set up your rules, be sure to modify the script above by replacing "YOUR CALENDAR NAME GOES HERE" with the name of the actual calendar you want to keep your todo list on.

Here's a rundown of my rules setup:


1. All conditions must be met.
2. From contains "@mydonedone"
3. Subject does not contain "- New comment"
4. Subject does not contain "- Response to"
5. Run the script above.

It isn't much, but for naturally disorganized people like me -- every little bit counts.

Labels: DoneDone