A potential additional clutter on my desk (but nice concept still)

From Designboom that is often oozing with awesomeness: "Daily Stack is time management tool created by designers sebastian Rønde Thielke and Anders Højmose. The simple design allows users to help track their work flow by creating physical representations of their tasks. The design consists of a small base and a series of wood blocks that each have a different colour and shape. each colour represents a different task and the time interval is determined by the size of the block. the user stacks their tasks on the base, committing to them. The base contains electronics that communicate with a computer, tracking time and tasks in progress digitally. The user can even go back through their archive and look at previous stacks. The design helps the user better visualize their time, helping them make the most of it." (via the wicked - as in cool - swissmiss whose blog is turning 5. Yay!)

Daily Stack from Anders Højmose on Vimeo.

I love that the idea is so visual & creative, but here’s why Daily Stack won’t work for me (or people like me):

1. My table is cluttered enough already I couldn’t even find my stapler sometimes. Oh look, last week’s curry puff!
2. My cats are free to roam around the table while I’m working, so you can quite predict the outcome of the stack once they get their paws on it. Also, Yoda + any items small enough to be swallowed by a cat = OM NOM NOM.
3. I am a klutz with a terribly short attention span, so if I accidentally knock over the stack, I would have problems remembering how many hours I have allocated for the tasks, hence resulting in further panic attack.

Also if I may add, I have this sort of problem using time management software (I’ve tried TeuxDeux, tasks option in iCal and many others) and various other methods – including one of the time management systems in Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits technique. I would still return to the basic, the flexibility & the comfort of being able to strikethrough my tasks and rewrite the ones I haven’t performed on the next day’s list on a plain paper. I am such a traditionalist.

P/s: I also happen to own a Rolodex for business cards. I am so retro that way, punk.