ForumsGetting Things Done®Proximo's GTD Setup
Proximo's GTD Setup
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Jrod |
That's why we all like Toodledo so much. It can fit whatever method that works for you!
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Proximo |
@Jrod,
Sound like you have things working in harmony for yourself. That is the goal. Just wanted to point out that in my Project Folder, I can see all my projects with related sub-task and the Star indicates clearly which Projects currently have a Next Action active that I am working on. I also use Custom Search for isolating my Starred Task within a given context simply because I like the focus it gives me. Toodledo gives you so many ways to digest your information. The important thing is that it satisfies your appetite for Getting Things Done. :-) |
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Jrod |
@Proximo:
That's right - I forgot you use the stars to indicate your next actions. I stand corrected. |
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Rob G |
I am using Proximo's setup in Toodledo and its working well except for project sub-tasks that become Waiting For.
Waiting For is a Folder and so is Project. I have all my sub-tasks with a Folder of Project, so that I see them all in the Projects folder indented with the Parent task. If I now change it to Waiting For, it won't be in the Projects Folder any longer. On the other hand if I make Waiting For a Context, I lose the ability to set any other Context for the sub-task. Can anyone offer any advice? Would a solution be to replace Context with Tag? That way multiple Tags can be applied. Can Tags be used in the same way as Contexts? Searches for Tags, a Tag View, etc? Tags on iPhone? |
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Steve |
Hi Rob. As far as I can see, subtasks not in the project folder still show up in the Projects tab, because the parent belongs there. Shouldn't be a problem.
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Proximo |
@Rob G
I am not saying that my GTD setup is perfect in any way. But Steve is correct. Here is a video. http://screencast.com/t/qlrUIpzO |
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J |
I really wish I could watch your videos on my iTouch on the way to work, Proximo. Great work!
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Proximo |
Posted by johnnywheels:
I really wish I could watch your videos on my iTouch on the way to work, Proximo. Great work! I wish I had an iTouch or iPhone. :-) I am planning on finally getting my iPhone this weekend. |
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Proximo |
Posted by Proximo:
Posted by johnnywheels: I really wish I could watch your videos on my iTouch on the way to work, Proximo. Great work! I wish I had an iTouch or iPhone. :-) I am planning on finally getting my iPhone this weekend. I got my iPhone this past weekend. It is a Treat and not a Trick. :-) |
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melchizW |
Proximo, just wondering if using the iPhone app has brought any modifications to your method for using toodledo?
thanks ! |
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Proximo |
Posted by melchiz1:
Proximo, just wondering if using the iPhone app has brought any modifications to your method for using toodledo? thanks ! I am still diving into my Toodledo iPhone App. but so far things are working just fine. I was glad to see that I can list things by Star which is all the task I want to do today, but I can't filter them by Context at the same time. So I get a list of personal task and work task that need to be done today. At work, I don't care to see the others, so I have been using the Context view the most. Still trying to get used to the iPhone App. and see what I can and can't do. I will need help from veteran iPhone users soon. :-) |
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wjlynch |
Until the Toodledo app gets the filtering capability of the ToDo app from Appigo, it will continue to be "incomplete" for me. Where the ToDo app from Appigo fails me is in the fact that it does not support stars and you cannot set an "optional" due date. The quest for the perfect app continues...
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Proximo |
Posted by wjlynch:
Until the Toodledo app gets the filtering capability of the ToDo app from Appigo, it will continue to be "incomplete" for me. Where the ToDo app from Appigo fails me is in the fact that it does not support stars and you cannot set an "optional" due date. The quest for the perfect app continues... I am on the same quest and currently looking at different GTD specific solutions. I enjoy Toodledo and have shared it with many friends who now have Plus accounts. I would not do this if I did not think it was a great service. Is it perfect for GTD? No and I don't think it would ever be, because Toodledo is an open system and not focused on any particular productivity system. This makes it hard for certain changes to happen without considering the rest of the user base who do not use GTD. So I think with time, I will eventually find a GTD specific solution and move on. :-( Not yet..... Not yet.... (Quote from Gladiator) |
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Lance |
Posted by Proximo:
I am on the same quest and currently looking at different GTD specific solutions. I enjoy Toodledo and have shared it with many friends who now have Plus accounts. I would not do this if I did not think it was a great service. Is it perfect for GTD? No and I don't think it would ever be, because Toodledo is an open system and not focused on any particular productivity system. This makes it hard for certain changes to happen without considering the rest of the user base who do not use GTD. I would move to OmniFocus if they only had a web application. Because my employer (Govt.) continues to have an unholy alliance with Microsoft, and I have a Mac at home, I need a Web solution. I would move now, but trying to work solely from my iPhone is just not practical. I'm considering a Mac-mini server solution at home, and using a remote login solution (Go To My PC). Very high upfront expense, but then I would have total control of the system. |
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ken |
I've been trying to migrate to my version of Proximo's GTD solution posted early in this thread. I like the idea of using folders for the GTD-specific areas of focus and contexts for things like Work, Personal, etc.
For me, migrating to Proximo's setup means a lot of folder and context swapping. (Ex: moving from Work folder/Project context to Project folder/Work context) I have almost wrapped my brain around this setup, but am hung up on one thing right now: my @Calls context. I often want to look at this list on my way home from work - or when I have some time to make phone calls. In my current system, this is pretty straightforward: I can view my @Calls context and see any calls I need to do. And if I happen to be at work, I will view only the @Calls in my Work folder. The problem is that if I have a Work context and a Personal context (which does make sense to me), then I cannot assign a call to the @Call context without losing the Work/Personal distinction. How do those of you using the simplified folder structure (Inbox, Actions, Projects, etc.) handle items like calls that can fall into work or personal? |
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ken |
In Proximo's video, I notice he has all his actions that belong to a project in the Project folder.
I was wondering why these sub-tasks were not in the Actions folder? Since they are, after all, actions - that just happen to be part of a project. As I was tranferring over to Proximo's setup tonight, I inadvertantly moved a bunch of sub-tasks into the Actions folder. I was going to move them into the Projects folder as Proximo has them in his video, but then started wondering how I should be treating those sub-tasks. One of the nice flexibilities of Toodledo is that with sub-tasks, I can have the parent task in one folder and the sub-tasks in another (likewise with contexts). When looking at a list of projects, I can always click the project icon and see that item's sub-tasks even if they are normally hidden by the current folder or context selection. In fact, in Proximo's video, when he goes to the Project folder view, it would look very similar even if sub-tasks were in the Actions folder. They would all be listed in that view with their corresponding parent. When sorting by Task/Sub-Tasks first, having sub-tasks in the actions folder (and the parent project task in the Projects folder) means that when I click on my Actions folder, I see all Action tasks first, followed by all the sub-tasks that are part of a project. So I'm curious... For those of you using Action and Project folders, what folder do your sub-tasks belong to? |
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Karateka |
AT LAST i was going o just to another app... because i did know were to start...
thanks so much ;o) |
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Proximo |
Posted by ken:
In my current system, this is pretty straightforward: I can view my @Calls context and see any calls I need to do. And if I happen to be at work, I will view only the @Calls in my Work folder. The problem is that if I have a Work context and a Personal context (which does make sense to me), then I cannot assign a call to the @Call context without losing the Work/Personal distinction. How do those of you using the simplified folder structure (Inbox, Actions, Projects, etc.) handle items like calls that can fall into work or personal? Use Tags. I have a similar situation with my Personal tssk. Filtering by Personal alone is OK but I have certain task that are Personal and need to be done at Home, others on the Internet or Errands. So I use tags to further break down these task and I can easily filter specifically to what I want. If we could use Multiple Context, this would not be an issue. For now the workaround is using Tags as a second level of filtering your task. So in your case, create a Tag called @Call and you can assign this to Work related task or Personal. If you are about to leave home and want to see what calls you can make on the road. Switch to your Personal Context and see what requires calls with the @Call tag. Better yet, you can create a custom search to find all task with a Context of "Personal" and a Tag of "Call" and they are populated for you. This is how I do this and just wanted to pass it along. |
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Proximo |
Posted by ken:
In Proximo's video, I notice he has all his actions that belong to a project in the Project folder. I was wondering why these sub-tasks were not in the Actions folder? Since they are, after all, actions - that just happen to be part of a project. As I was tranferring over to Proximo's setup tonight, I inadvertantly moved a bunch of sub-tasks into the Actions folder. I was going to move them into the Projects folder as Proximo has them in his video, but then started wondering how I should be treating those sub-tasks. One of the nice flexibilities of Toodledo is that with sub-tasks, I can have the parent task in one folder and the sub-tasks in another (likewise with contexts). When looking at a list of projects, I can always click the project icon and see that item's sub-tasks even if they are normally hidden by the current folder or context selection. In fact, in Proximo's video, when he goes to the Project folder view, it would look very similar even if sub-tasks were in the Actions folder. They would all be listed in that view with their corresponding parent. When sorting by Task/Sub-Tasks first, having sub-tasks in the actions folder (and the parent project task in the Projects folder) means that when I click on my Actions folder, I see all Action tasks first, followed by all the sub-tasks that are part of a project. So I'm curious... For those of you using Action and Project folders, what folder do your sub-tasks belong to? I could be wrong here but from my understanding, Projects are completely different list than the Next Action list. In fact, if you look at the GTD Diagram, it's clearly separated there. So to me, it does not make any sense to ever see Project related task in your "Next Actions" list. Every task in the "Next Actions" list is by default a Next Action. This is only true because it's a single task without any other steps required to complete it. A Project is different because it's a task that requires multiple steps to complete it. When you look at a Project, the Next Action as it relates to that Project is the task you will do first to move things forward. The other task in this Project are not yet Next Actions. If you where to have all of them showing in your "Next Actions" list, it would not be accurate per GTD because you are seeing task that are truly not Next Actions yet, because they are part of a Project and only one task is the Next Action in that Project. If you look at OmniFocus, Things, Nozbe, Doit.im, Nirvana, etc. All the GTD specific services or applications have a separate list for Projects. If you think of this in Paper form. It would not make sense to write down a Project with all it's sub-task and then write them again in your "Next Actions" list. They are different list and should be treated as such. What would make sense is for you to create a list with the Next Action of a given project and any other Next Actions that need to be done that day. This would include single task as well. In most of the GTD specific services or applications. You have what's called the "Today" list and this is usually done by adding a Star to a task. It does not matter if it's a single "Next Action" task or a Project sub-task. The purpose of the Star is to create a custom list that shows what you are committed in doing Today. In Things, the Starred task are removed from the Next Actions list for clarity and show up in the "Today" list. The purpose for the "Today" list is to bring all the Next Actions you have committed in doing today into one focused list so that you can get things done. This is why I use Stars in Toodledo. Since there is no "Today" list, I created custom saved searches for this purpose. I have one for Work and Personal. This is much simpler to deal with while you are Getting Things Done, than it would be to have a Massive list mixing Project Task with Single Task. Then you have Sub-task of Projects that are showing up but are not the Next Actions yet and you get confused. Not sure if this helps you out or not, but this is how I understand it and it actually makes sense to me. This is why GTD Specific software separate Next Actions and Projects but use the Today concept to bring them together for you to focus on them properly. I would love for Toodledo to have a "Today" List that automatically moves starred task to that list and hides them from their original location. I would also love for Task that are due Today, to automatically show up in the "Today" list like in Things and most of the other programs. I know Toodledo is not GTD Focused or Specific, so I don't expect everything to be designed for GTD. :-( This message was edited Nov 06, 2009. |
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ken |
Thanks Proximo. Your answer makes sense, and it goes with my recollection of the GTD book (which I've read twice, but some time ago - I need to read the second one).
In the purest sense, though, when you identified the Next Action in a Project, wouldn't you move that to an Actions list? Probably not practical. Your description of a 'Today' view sounds just like what I have asked of Toodldo: allow the Hotlist to utilize Star for criteria. Frankly, I'm surprised the Hotlist doesn't get brought up more, because it's basically a stripped down saved search built in. For us Blackberry users, it's also available in TaskJot. A great Hotlist for me would be to set it for actions due today or starred. I think that would accomplish the Today view you describe. Priority filtering could be optional. |
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