[Originally posted on my blog.]
For the last few months I’ve had a paid account at Backpackit.com, a site by 37Signals which is basically a personal project manager. If, like me, you’re not working with clients or part of a team, and you don’t need a fully-fledged project management app, then Backpack should suit you to the ground.
I’m going to detail how I use it to manage my web projects, to help organise myself, and to (he hopes) increase my productivity when I’m just easily led astray.
How I Use It
When you start a new ‘Page’ (as they’re called in Backpack), you need to enter a name for it, and (optionally) a descriptive note. I tend to use either the domain name of the project I’m developing, or two or so words to describe it (possibly even it’s name, if I’m feeling clever ).
Once the new page has been saved, you’re provided with essentially a blank sheet of paper, with a bunch of option buttons.
Note also the ’send email to this page’ note at the bottom (I’ve blurred out the email address - sorry!). As you may imagine, this lets you send an email which is added to the page - great for when you’re out and about, and come up with an idea. Use your cell phone to email a note off to your Backpack, and it’ll be added without you even needing to be near a PC. Not bad, eh? You can have the entire page emailed to you, too (sans images/attachments).
Listing Priorities and Tasks
Clicking the List button takes you into the list wizard. Now, this is all done asynchronously (ie, with Ajax), so there’s no page refreshing at this stage. You’re literally dropping ideas and notes onto the page, and it’s saving it.
Here I tend to do a quick list of what I know must be done before the site can be finished. Everything from ‘register the domain’ to ‘design the site’ and ‘validate XHTML and CSS’, and so on.
You can have multiple lists as well, so as things progress and you need to prioritise your action points (!!) then you can, quite easily.
Jot down info notes
Again with Ajax, you can add notes onto the page. This is pretty self-explanatory.
Manage Files
Another great option is the ability to attach files to your page. This may be a copy of the T&C’s which you need to have handy, or a spec sheet you need to share with someone (see Page Sharing below).
Managing Images
As if being able to add attachments wasn’t enough, you can also add images - the system will automatically create thumbnails for you, which you simply click to go directly to your saved image. This is great if you’re quickly grabbing images you’d like to use in the project, and need them all centralised.
Sharing Pages
As mentioned above, you can also share your page either with everyone in the world (make this page public), or with specific people (who will need to sign-up to Backpack, but can do so for free). This allows you to share ideas, documents and images with people easily, and they can also make changes to your page themselves (all changes are tracked, too, so don’t worry about that).
The Benefits
I love this tool. Since I began using it, I’ve been able to quickly sketch out ideas for all of my projects, begin gathering the resources and information for each as I have the time (and ideas) to do so, and it’s all centralised in one place that I can access anywhere that has an internet-connected PC. On holidays, but have a thought for that new site you’re planning? Drop it into your Backpack. Simple.
www.backpackit.com
(Note - these are affiliate links cos I can't be fucked to replace them from what I had in my blog. Click here => www.backpackit.com <= if you don't want me to get credit. Cheerio!)
For the last few months I’ve had a paid account at Backpackit.com, a site by 37Signals which is basically a personal project manager. If, like me, you’re not working with clients or part of a team, and you don’t need a fully-fledged project management app, then Backpack should suit you to the ground.
I’m going to detail how I use it to manage my web projects, to help organise myself, and to (he hopes) increase my productivity when I’m just easily led astray.
How I Use It
When you start a new ‘Page’ (as they’re called in Backpack), you need to enter a name for it, and (optionally) a descriptive note. I tend to use either the domain name of the project I’m developing, or two or so words to describe it (possibly even it’s name, if I’m feeling clever ).
Once the new page has been saved, you’re provided with essentially a blank sheet of paper, with a bunch of option buttons.
Note also the ’send email to this page’ note at the bottom (I’ve blurred out the email address - sorry!). As you may imagine, this lets you send an email which is added to the page - great for when you’re out and about, and come up with an idea. Use your cell phone to email a note off to your Backpack, and it’ll be added without you even needing to be near a PC. Not bad, eh? You can have the entire page emailed to you, too (sans images/attachments).
Listing Priorities and Tasks
Clicking the List button takes you into the list wizard. Now, this is all done asynchronously (ie, with Ajax), so there’s no page refreshing at this stage. You’re literally dropping ideas and notes onto the page, and it’s saving it.
Here I tend to do a quick list of what I know must be done before the site can be finished. Everything from ‘register the domain’ to ‘design the site’ and ‘validate XHTML and CSS’, and so on.
You can have multiple lists as well, so as things progress and you need to prioritise your action points (!!) then you can, quite easily.
Jot down info notes
Again with Ajax, you can add notes onto the page. This is pretty self-explanatory.
Manage Files
Another great option is the ability to attach files to your page. This may be a copy of the T&C’s which you need to have handy, or a spec sheet you need to share with someone (see Page Sharing below).
Managing Images
As if being able to add attachments wasn’t enough, you can also add images - the system will automatically create thumbnails for you, which you simply click to go directly to your saved image. This is great if you’re quickly grabbing images you’d like to use in the project, and need them all centralised.
Sharing Pages
As mentioned above, you can also share your page either with everyone in the world (make this page public), or with specific people (who will need to sign-up to Backpack, but can do so for free). This allows you to share ideas, documents and images with people easily, and they can also make changes to your page themselves (all changes are tracked, too, so don’t worry about that).
The Benefits
I love this tool. Since I began using it, I’ve been able to quickly sketch out ideas for all of my projects, begin gathering the resources and information for each as I have the time (and ideas) to do so, and it’s all centralised in one place that I can access anywhere that has an internet-connected PC. On holidays, but have a thought for that new site you’re planning? Drop it into your Backpack. Simple.
www.backpackit.com
(Note - these are affiliate links cos I can't be fucked to replace them from what I had in my blog. Click here => www.backpackit.com <= if you don't want me to get credit. Cheerio!)
