(last edited on April 29, 2014 at 1:25 am)
Over on the Facebook Page for David Seah Dot Com, an enterprising user of the Emergent Task Planner made her own whiteboard version, using a permanent ink marker to draw it by hand on what looks like a larger size. It’s pretty glorious, so I asked my printer if they could make them.
They came back with a few options, ranging from a laminated flexible plastic to a rigid version. They are kind of expensive to make, so I’m testing the waters with this post.
So I’m looking for some feedback from people who like boards on their wall. The original idea was to adapt the ETP to this, but I’m open to suggestions. It would be cool, for example, to design a group project dry erase dashboard. I used to like these when I worked in teams, so we could see what the objective of the day was. I suppose I should prototype it.
Anyway, leave a comment here or post on the Facebook page if you have any interest in a future product like this. First, we’ll brainstorm and figure out what we’re looking for. Then, I’ll produce a mockup that testers can print locally at their nearby copy shops and see if it’s awesome or not. Thanks!
9 Comments
YES!!! Hmm, thoughts. Size must link with typical dry erase drawing height for letters, so likely a 24″ height for the sheet. Sounds fantastic Dave (how in the world did this brain hurricane take so long?!)
That sounds awesome! I would definitely be interested. Can you give an estimate of the price it would be?
Fred: Brain hurricane? :)
Zak: The price depends primarily on three things: (1) construction material (2) size (3) volume. For a letter-sized laminated sheet of paper that is flexible, it would probably be around $15-25 (I’m guessing) for 11×17″ retail if I committed to making a few hundred of them, plus packaging costs. I’m going to order some samples and see how they look in person. I’m interested in people’s preferences for the kind of dry erase boards they use. I’m really fussy about mine, but I use it for sketching and not planning.
Wait let me think …. YES! I would love to try that out. I’m thinking I could snap a photo with my smartphone and file each day in Evernote.
I’m now pricing 18×24″ rigid boards.
dry-erase ETP? I like to do mine on paper, and then I keep them as a record of what was done that day, what needs to be moved to the next day, etc. I punch them, put them in a binder, and use the blank side as a journal for that day, recording insights, new goals, etc.
Check out the record-keeping suggestion of FLYlady at flylady.net. She suggests setting up daily and weekly routines. These are printed and put in plastic page protectors, which would be MUCH less expensive than laminated letter-sized paper, and easier to alter. The routines in Flylady’s pages serve as a kind of mini whiteboard: you check off or cross out each task as you do it, and erase the marks at the end of the day. The page protectors can also be pinned onto a bulletin board or kept in a binder. One could certainly do the same with a ETP list of tasks, and only erase the ones that are done. That would also save re-writing continuing tasks the next day.
Speaking of continuing tasks, how do you track those? I do lots of things—compose music, teach classes, produce concerts, publish a journal—that do not fit on a one day ETP. ;-)
As well as boards check out the thin dry wipe sheets that you can stick up on any wall by static and write on with a dry board marker. They would be cooler and more useful I think…
In a word, yes! I’d love a white board ETP. Your pricing estimate sounds plenty reasonable, and it’s definitely a product I’d use.
Jody: I have the same problem! I have been trying a few things on the continuity problem, which I think is one of the great unsolved productivity app challenges. It’s probably more like managing a large farm with multiple crops. BTW, I like what you do with the backs of the ETPs as a journal area…perhaps I should start adding some lines to the back of the page.
Dave: Interesting! I hadn’t seen those before, though I’m aware of the vinyl decal wall decoration market. I’ll ask about this option on Wednesday…thanks!
Will: Cool, thanks for the vote of interest!