Glossary
This page describes some of the basic concepts and terminology used in Achieve Planner.
Grid – A grid refers to the spreadsheet-like interface used throughout Achieve Planner to display information using rows and columns.
Menus – Achieve Planner uses menus extensively. This manual uses the -> symbol to represent following a menu and selecting a sub-item of that menu.
For example, Go->Outline represents selecting the Outline menu item of the Go menu.
Parent/Child – Achieve Planner supports hierarchical (tree-like) outlines where items can have sub-items associated with them. For example, a task can have sub-tasks. The main task is called the parent, and the sub-tasks are called the children.
Project ( 
) – A project represents any high-level outcome that you want to track, whether it includes a single or multiple steps. Projects give you an overview of everything that you are working on at any given time.
Projects can be complex multi-step sequence of tasks, like developing a product, organizing an event or preparing a presentation, but they can also be something as simple as paying a bill, responding to an e-mail or taking the dog to the vet. Since the project list is hierarchical, each project can include sub-projects using as many nested levels as you need.
Result Area (
) – A result area represents a life dimension or role in your life like Health, Relationships, Finances and Work. Result areas help you distinguish work-related and personal projects/tasks, while also encouraging to think about your life in a more balanced way.
Result Area Category - Each result area is assigned to a Category, which by default is either Work or Personal. The category helps you distinguish work-related result areas and personal result areas so you can focus on work-related projects while working without having to look at the personal stuff. You can change the category of a result area using the information form (double-click on row to open).
Task ( 
) – Tasks are the action steps associated with a project. Tasks are usually things like “Call Fred,” “Read the file,” or “Write outline for memo.” Tasks can have a hierarchical structure with tasks, sub-tasks and sub-sub-tasks. Although you can have Tasks directly under result areas, Achieve Planner works better when tasks are part of projects.