ForumsQuestionsSub-Tasks and Folders


Sub-Tasks and Folders
Author Message
Toddbg

Posted: Sep 16, 2011
Score: 0 Reference
There have been a few threads about this so I wanted to start fresh and show an example of how I use Toodledo and see if I can gather some input on how to better structure my todos.

Right now I am desperately wanting at least one more level of folder or subtask. (oh god please)

So my examples - let's say I have a few projects to do around the house (landscaping and working on the truck)

What I currently do is create (f)olders:
_____(f)Landscaping
_____(f)Truck

Then I create (p)rojects:
_____(f)Landscaping
__________(p)Front yard
__________(p)Side yard
__________(p)Back yard
_____(f)Truck
__________(p)roofrack
__________(p)bumper

So far, so good. HOWEVER this is where it breaks down. Toodledo only lets me put (t)asks in the next level where what I need is a (s)ub(t)ask. [or subfolder or subproject - doesn't really matter how you slice it]

BareMinimum Needs: Example:
_____(f)Landscaping
__________(p)Front yard
_______________(t)design
____________________(s)(t)#1
____________________(s)(t)#1
____________________(s)(t)#1
_______________(t)build
____________________(s)(t)#1
____________________(s)(t)#1
____________________(s)(t)#1
_______________(t)install
____________________(s)(t)#1
____________________(s)(t)#1
____________________(s)(t)#1
__________(p)Side yard
_______________(t)design
____________________(s)(t)#1
____________________(s)(t)#1
____________________(s)(t)#1
_______________(t)build
____________________(s)(t)#1
____________________(s)(t)#1
____________________(s)(t)#1
_______________(t)install
____________________(s)(t)#1
____________________(s)(t)#1
____________________(s)(t)#1
__________(p)Back yard
_______________(t)design
____________________(s)(t)#1
____________________(s)(t)#1
____________________(s)(t)#1
_______________(t)build
____________________(s)(t)#1
____________________(s)(t)#1
____________________(s)(t)#1
_______________(t)install
____________________(s)(t)#1
____________________(s)(t)#1
____________________(s)(t)#1
_____(f)Truck
__________(p)roofrack
_______________(t)design
____________________(s)(t)#1
____________________(s)(t)#1
____________________(s)(t)#1
_______________(t)build
____________________(s)(t)#1
____________________(s)(t)#1
____________________(s)(t)#1
_______________(t)install
____________________(s)(t)#1
____________________(s)(t)#1
____________________(s)(t)#1
__________(p)bumper
_______________(t)design
____________________(s)(t)#1
____________________(s)(t)#1
____________________(s)(t)#1
_______________(t)build
____________________(s)(t)#1
____________________(s)(t)#1
____________________(s)(t)#1
_______________(t)install
____________________(s)(t)#1
____________________(s)(t)#1
____________________(s)(t)#1


Ideally - I'd be able to put in another level as a (s)ub(p)roject under the (p)roject level so I could make a nesting of things associated. like for instance the backyard might include the following subprojects (Fence, Hedgerow, pathway, waterfeature). each of those have enough moving parts that it would be nice to group them.

So - given all that how would you go about tracking/inputting all of these?
would you need SubTasks?
I think we need one more sublevel at least.

Thoughts?


This message was edited Sep 16, 2011.
Scott

Posted: Sep 16, 2011
Score: 0 Reference
Try using Goals - the Goal would be fix up the backyard and then you can view by goal and see all the individual projects that make up that goal.

sb


This message was edited Sep 16, 2011.
Jake

Toodledo Founder
Posted: Sep 17, 2011
Score: 0 Reference
You might also try having "design", "build", "install" as tags.
JPR

Posted: Sep 18, 2011
Score: 0 Reference
I've worked with systems that allowed unlimited sub-levels. The big downside IMO is that things get needlessly complicated and easily lost.

Personally, I would combine levels in the searchable description field, so you would have:

(p)Front yard design
(p)Front yard build
(p)Front yard install

and you can easily search for "front yard", or sort Alpha to group things.

You could also do it at the folder level:

(f)Landscaping Front Yard
(f)Landscaping Side Yard

YMMV.
saskia.x

Posted: Sep 22, 2011
Score: 0 Reference
I second the idea of using goals for this kind of thing.

Short term goals for me are basically like projects (in the traditional sense rather than the GTD sense) that I intend to complete within a year or two (although some are much more short term than that), so for instance I've had a short term goal recently to rearrange the downstairs living areas of the house, which has had a number of sub-projects (more like GTD projects) like putting up shelves, rearranging a specific area, etc. Long term goals are used in a similar but not identical way, many are specific projects I intend to complete in the next 2-5 years, but they're often a bit more "vague" than my short term goals as they tend to represent what you could call "visions" rather than specific projects as such. Lifetime goals are my overall aims in life to which everything else contributes, the kind of "what do I want to know that I've done when I look back on my life before I die?" type of things.

The only disadvantage with using goals for this is that I still feel the goals feature is a little underdeveloped and imperfect. With lots of goals it can get unwieldy, and there are a lot of things you can't do with goals that you can do with tasks. You can't, for instance, assign a due date or priority to a goal. Personally I've come up with a workaround which involves prefacing the short term goals with exclamation marks - 3 for high priority goals, 1 for low priority. This means they get sorted in order of priority in the list of goals, which is useful for keeping me focused on the most important goals.

I have at various points in the past wanted multiple levels of subtasks too, but when I started using the goals this way it all fell together and I haven't really had much need for further levels.

I don't use folders the way you do, though, for me these are more akin to GTD "areas of focus" - just a handy way of grouping tasks related to each area of my life, e.g. "family", "household", "work" etc. I've found them totally unsuited to organising projects as once you've got more than a handful of projects they get seriously unwieldy! Plus there's no way of organising folders, no way of indicating the timescale on which the projects are meant to be completed, etc.
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