ForumsGetting Things Done®Proximo's GTD Setup
Proximo's GTD Setup
| Author | Message |
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Proximo |
@ken,
I think the Hotlist is not mentioned as much because it has some major drawbacks and lacks more selections to make it work for more users. I would love the Star to be an option here as well. |
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Rob G |
Posted by Proximo:
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 @Proximo I'm not clear how you got the sub-tasks to appear without the parent task in the Waiting For folder when the sub-task view is "indented". For me, a sub-task is only shown in the Parent's folder - whatever the sub-task's folder is - if using Indented view. Is there some setting somewhere to control this? Without this I have sub-tasks that don't appear where they should unless I have set the parent's folder to be the same. This is my number one gripe with Toodledo as it means I don't fully trust my lists. And of course I still think its great! ps I've just noticed a post from @Proximo on 19th October that describes the situation above. Needing to keep the sub-task in the same folder as the parent. It seems to contradict the video by Proximo. This message was edited Nov 16, 2009. |
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Proximo |
@Rob G,
I just checked it again and some weird things are happening. When I change a sub-task from the Projects folder to the Waiting for folder. I still see the sub-task with it's parent but I also see it in the "Waiting for" folder. I have to turn off filters for me to see it in the Waiting for folder. When I go back to my Projects folder, my task are no longer indented and I must change them to Indented again. Now here is something odd. I recently started using the Multi-line view and when I look at my sub-task in this mode, there is no option to change the sub-task folder. I am starting using this view to get rid of the Spreadsheet look of the Grid Mode. It looks cleaner for me and keeps the details hidden until I choose to see them. I don't know why both views would work differently when dealing with sub-task and the option to change the sub-task folder. If I am looking at my "Work" Contex and change the sub-task from the Projects folder to the Waiting for folder. I don't see the Waiting for section in this view after I refresh. But if I go to the bottom of the page and turn off filters, I can see the Waiting for section again, but now my Projects section in the view is no longer indented. The same sort of thing happens in the Folder view, but it's a little more confusing in the Context view. I will create a video of this to show you. I have to go eat now because I am hungry. :-) This message was edited Nov 16, 2009. |
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Proximo |
Back from lunch.
Here is my video. http://screencast.com/t/YjNhZjQ0Yj |
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Steve |
Yes, does seem to be a problem with this setup. Kind of makes sense, though. Your filters say to indent subtasks. When you go to the Waiting For view, filters are still set to indent subtasks, of course. But this task, in this view, has no parent, so there's nothing to indent it from. Turning off filters just says to flatten subtasks, so it shows up, but subtasks remain flattened when you switch back to Projects.
I guess we could ask Toodledo to show "orphaned" subtasks in an indented view. I don't think they've really considered the case where subtasks have a different folder to the parent. |
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Proximo |
Posted by Steve:
Yes, does seem to be a problem with this setup. Kind of makes sense, though. Your filters say to indent subtasks. When you go to the Waiting For view, filters are still set to indent subtasks, of course. But this task, in this view, has no parent, so there's nothing to indent it from. Turning off filters just says to flatten subtasks, so it shows up, but subtasks remain flattened when you switch back to Projects. I guess we could ask Toodledo to show "orphaned" subtasks in an indented view. I don't think they've really considered the case where subtasks have a different folder to the parent. Steve. First I can't believe you actually figured out why it does this. It makes perfect sense. I did not even try to look deeper into it since I don't have that many Waiting for task. They call me the "Hammer", so I get people to do things immediately. Just kidding. Anyway, I would not expect Toodledo to make such a change. It's working as it should and it's more of an issue with me trying to mimic a standard GTD environment within Toodledo. Thanks for the input and clarification thought. |
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Foxandxss |
Hello there, Im new to toodledo and GTD.
Im just reading the book and this post is really good. The proximo's approach to GTD in Toodledo is as good as Vitalist's approach but with the Toodledo extras :) Now, in my humble opinion, the 'context' thing depends on you. I will explain myself: You people have something like @work, @home, @personal. I have no work, Im just a software developer student. Should I have only a @home context because Im always at home? I don't think so. I have some BIG projects like.. web development, desktop development, a blog.. I have a @WebDevelopment, @Blog .... contexts. I use the context as BIG project and the projects itself as parts of that big project. For example, I have Css learning project, jQuery learning project, ASP.NET learning project... All that projects have the @WebDevelopment context. Why? Because I devote days to web development, other days to my blog... If I am in a Web Development 'day', I use a custom search that filter all the @WebDevelopment context and the task that are next actions. Im doing wrong? Will Allen kill me? :PP EDIT: Reading the post I see a solution like the one I posted here, although I can use the Goal option for that. I will try all options :P This message was edited Nov 20, 2009. |
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Proximo |
@Foxandxss,
I don't see anything wrong with what you are doing. First let me just say that GTD can and should be tailored to each persons situation. Using your context as you described is spot on. I also have two other Context called "Proxstud" for my website and "CINT" for a Personal Business that I own. If you don't require a @Work context based on your situation, you should not use one. You only use what makes sense for you. I use Tags for a second level context identifier and I use it mainly for my personal life or @Personal. Many of the things I do for Personal use can require other context that make sense for me to track. Such as @Errand, @Internet, and @Home. What I try to do is eliminate adding context or tags in areas that don't make sense for me. In my @Work context I don't use any tags for second level context because my office has everything I need to accomplish all of these task. No need to specify @Internet, @Call, @Meeting. What I do instead is use Verbs for my task titles that identifies clearly what it is. "Call Mike about project A" or "Research Duplicate File programs". There is nothing wrong with adding Context/Tags to your task as long as it makes sense to you and you are productive. I use Context for Areas of Focus and Tags for Context related to resource. Hope this makes sense. The bottom line is that you are doing just fine and there is no such thing as the GTD police. You can apply as much or as little of GTD into your productivity system as you like. Edit: I wanted to mention that I would not be using tags if I could assign multiple context to my task. The ability to add multiple context is something I wish Toodledo would update. This way we can use a Context based on location and a context based on resource just like GTD teaches it. This would allow me to use context more freely and not have to deal with tags as a supplemental entry for context. This message was edited Nov 20, 2009. |
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Foxandxss |
Thank you Proximo.
I have another question, maybe is answered through the book but I didn't see it yet. What about a task that you can't complete in 'one shot'? For example, If I have a task like: Learn moonlight sonata mvt 1. I need like 10 hours to learn it, that is about 2-3 weeks. What should I do? Create a repetitive task "play moonlight" and mark it complete every time I spend time on it and deleting it when I complete it? And what do you recomend about reading a book? Creating a project with every chapter as subtasks? And the same problem as before... If I have "CSS MM: Chapter 1" marked with a star but I can't finish it in one shot... How I track that I worked on it? Or simply mark it whenever I done it? Thank you :) |
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Foxandxss |
Proximo, looking on your last video of the filter / waiting for weird behavior, I saw some changes on your GTD setup like some more columns (like importance) or the Next folder.
Can you explain your new changes? Thank you. |
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Proximo |
Posted by Foxandxss:
Proximo, looking on your last video of the filter / waiting for weird behavior, I saw some changes on your GTD setup like some more columns (like importance) or the Next folder. Can you explain your new changes? Thank you. I still don't have the ability to Reorder task and it become frustrating. I only use the Priority column for sorting. Now that we have manual sorting for sub-task, I wish they would add manual sorting of all task. I don't really use Priorities and this is not to say that I don't consider some task higher priority than others. In GTD this is done during my Weekly Reviews and I don't ever loose focus of what I need to be doing. So in a nutshell, it's another hack for me using Toodledo for GTD. |
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Proximo |
Posted by Foxandxss:
What about a task that you can't complete in 'one shot'? You could always make the "moonlight" task a project and break down your study sessions into sub-task with different dates. This way you can see progress and each session will have a designated date and time for you to commit too. As for books. I read many books but I don't ever list them as Task. I always carry with my books and I read them when ever I have a chance. Not everything I do requires a task. I don't have a task for Grocery shopping, I simply go when I need too. just a suggestion. |
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Foxandxss |
Posted by Proximo:
As for books. I read many books but I don't ever list them as Task. I always carry with my books and I read them when ever I have a chance. Not everything I do requires a task. I don't have a task for Grocery shopping, I simply go when I need too. just a suggestion. It's a good point but Im student, 75% of my time is reading books. I have to list them as Task. At this moment, Im putting every chapter as subtask and it's working fine. |
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Proximo |
@Foxandxss,
Good example of doing what works for you. I read books on Personal Development and Leadership to help me become a better person, so I don't require much structure on when and how I read my books. I also read the Worlds best seller on a daily basis. :-) |
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Jacky |
Hi Proximo,
I used your suggestion on the search for the next action items. When I use the search for the next action, it also appears the completed task. I want to exclude the completed task when search. How you handle the completed task in your next action search? un-star it? Thanks Fai |
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Proximo |
Posted by Jacky:
Hi Proximo, I used your suggestion on the search for the next action items. When I use the search for the next action, it also appears the completed task. I want to exclude the completed task when search. How you handle the completed task in your next action search? un-star it? Thanks Fai See if this helps http://screencast.com/t/YTMyZTIxNT |
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Yannis |
[UPDATE: I just realized this has been discussed above.]
Count me in, Proximo, among those delighted and greatly helped by your contribution. Thank You! As a recent Toodledo-er, and one who adopted your GTD setup, I have bumped on a small yet irritating issue. Hopefully the collective wisdom in this forum can chime in with some advice. In a few words, I think Toodledo mishandles subtasks when their context or folder is different from that of their parent task. More specifically: Once in a while, a subtask and its parent task will belong in different contexts. For example, a hypothetical project "Defend Doctoral Dissertation" may include a "Photocopy Presentation Handouts" subtask. In this scenario, the project itself would belong in my "PhD" context, whereas the subtask would belong in my "Errands" context. Curiously, when I choose to view my tasks by "Errands" context, and if I have selected an "indented" view, Toodledo fails to display the "Photocopy Presentation Handouts" errand from the above project. In other words, Toodledo hides by default those subtasks whose parent task belongs in a different context. The problem disappears if I select a "Flat" view and then revert to "Indented again." For some inexplicable reason, this sequence of events makes the "Errand" subtasks reappear. (Toodledo also offers a warning at the bottom of the task list that several active tasks have been hidden because of my filter settings). An analogous problem, obviously, exists with Folders: Viewing tasks by Folder will fail to present those subtasks whose parent event belongs in a different folder. The solution is identical to above: Click on "flat" and then click on "indented" in a row. This is too much of a hassle because, quite often, I will move a subtask in the "Waiting for folder" while the parent task itself belongs, as all parent tasks, in the "Projects" folder. Any ideas? Thank you very much. PS: Perhaps an interim solution would be a (Greasemonkey) script automatically switching back and forth between the "indented" and "flat" views? This message was edited Jan 18, 2010. |
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Proximo |
@Yannis,
I posted on this very issue myself. We can only take Toodledo so far with GTD. Toodledo is not designed or setup to handle GTD fully because of it's open nature. With this said, there are some things that simply just don't work as you would like them too. You have to make compromises or use hacks to get around some of these issues. I simply keep all the sub-task of my projects under the same Project folder to prevent this issues. I understand that in REAL GTD, the ideal method would be for the Next Action of a Project to show up in the Next Actions list but I made a compromise to avoid the Filtering confusion you just described. When I add a Star to the "Next Action" of my projects, they show up in the Star view along with any Individual Next Actions that I marked with the Star. I reserve the Star for task that I have committed in completing that day which helps keep my focus. While in the Star view, the task that require my attention can all be seen regardless if some live in the "Next Actions" list and others are the Next Actions of a Project. Hope that made sense. If anyone has come up with a simple way around this, I would like to know. If it's not simple, I usually don't do it. I try not to spend too much time in my GTD System because it take time away from Getting Things Done. :-) This message was edited Jan 18, 2010. |
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Yannis |
Thanks for writing back, Proximo.
I understand that TD is not a true GTD system. It is both more and less than that, and we will occasionally need to resort to apparent "hacks". One potential solution to this issue would be a script of some sort (Greasemonkey? I'm not an expert in the scripting domain) which would detect the "hidden tasks" warning that appears at the end of the list when the the parent task belongs in a different context/folder from the subtask, and would then automatically: 1. Switch from the indented to the flattened view 2. Immediately switch back to the indented view This would show the previously hidden (filtered-out) subtasks in indented view! (Why this is so I just cannot comprehend; it simply seems inconsistent/buggy, not merely incompatible with GTD). Any ideas or thoughts on this possibility? This message was edited Jan 18, 2010. |
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Proximo |
I have not looked too deeply into this, but it seems the filters are working as intended. It's just a combination of a filtered setting working against the other function. I think it's doing what it's supposed to do as far as Tooldledo goes.
Is there a solution? Not sure. |
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