I have used this side panel for a while to help me be organized. The calendar is handy for looking up dates, I show the next 3 appointments so I have an idea of what is coming up soon.

I use the To-Do List to focus on what I need to do, but only what I plan on doing *this* week and only go a couple of steps into the entire task (steps like "print invoice", "call client" and "put invoice in mail" instead of "bill client"). It also shows flagged emails I have to either do something or reply to.

When I have to send our weekly activity log on Monday I comb through the completed To-Do items. In the calendar view I see not only what has been completed, but when it was completed.

Then every Monday I re-evaluate my tasks and change the due dates to the end of the week.

This helps me keep track of what I need to do (steps) and what I have done and when. Of course I'm interested in other ways to work it.