There is a need for "Scheduled" in the left hand pane of Nirvana
I regularly come across actions that I am not able to start until a certain date. The question is, where I should put them. Placing them in the next list makes no sense, since I can not do them right away. I do not want to put them in the Someday list either since I tend to put things there that I may (or may not) start at a later, but unspecified date.
So my suggestion would be to simply add a Scheduled category right below "Waiting For".
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Support Staff 2 Posted by Elbert McLaughlin on 20 Feb, 2010 02:54 AM
Yes - we are actively working to get Scheduled and Recurring Tasks live on the site. Thanks for writing in. :-)
3 Posted by zen on 17 Apr, 2010 07:50 PM
+1 Both the features will be helpful.
4 Posted by Proximo on 19 Apr, 2010 09:15 PM
+1 from me too.
I know there is a "Due" tag that will filter the Next List with task that have Due dates, but I would rather have a "Scheduled list" on the left Navi.
Support Staff 5 Posted by Elbert McLaughlin on 19 Apr, 2010 10:04 PM
The plan here is to be able to set a scheduled date, in addition to a due date. The tasks will then be grouped by upcoming This Week, Next Week, Next Month and Later. Or something like that. Tasks would then bump themselves into Next accordingly.
Make sense? Bone-headed idea? Thoughts?
6 Posted by Terminado on 20 Apr, 2010 04:40 AM
What will the scheduled date be labeled?
This is not a huge item but there are tasks (and projects) I want to schedule to START at a later date, and there are other tasks I want to be REMINDED of at a later date. The latter would be TICKLER or REVIEW or REMINDER rather than START. Also, there are some tasks that need to be reviewed periodically once they have been started, thus the more flexible terminology. (Also, it would be nice to be able to set up a series of review/tickler dates in advance, rather than having to advance the date for each review.)
I guess SCHEDULED covers everything but I thought I'd ask and see what others think about this.
7 Posted by Elurven on 20 Apr, 2010 11:04 AM
First off, I would like to say that I agree with the notion that tasks should pop up in the next list when they reach either scheduled or due date (why I include "due" is because a task might have a due date but not be scheduled to a particular date).
But the tasks have to originate from somewhere before getting on the next list. They may come from several lists, but I strongly think that we need a "scheduled" list in the left-hand pane because there are tasks, like the ones that I mentioned in my first post, that simply don't belong anywhere else. The program "Things", which I only use for easier and personal task management has implemented such a solution.
The added configurability suggested by Terminado is also good, but the tickler date may be optional, while due (or scheduled) should be mandatory.
8 Posted by Proximo on 20 Apr, 2010 07:52 PM
I agree with e.liffe on this.
I think having a dedicated Tickler function is also very useful. The Scheduled list is great for me to see what is on the calendar, but I also want to have task tickle me when it's important without having to use a due date at all.
Maybe having a Tickle me or Remind me area on the task that is separate from the Due date area.
9 Posted by roddyt on 21 Apr, 2010 03:13 AM
I'm a Mac person at home, but I use a PC at work, hence my primary reason for requiring a web-based solution for my GTD needs. Having a Mac, though, has allowed me download a 15 day trial of Things (6 days left).
The similarities between Things and Nirvana are striking, so when I look at how Things has implemented Schedules, I know that the same structure could work in Nirvana. I'm not implying that the way they do it should be the way Nirvana does it, but it's a springboard for ideas.
For the sake of you PC people, I created some dummy tasks, each is a various mix using schedule and due dates, repeating on a set date, and repeating after task completion. Along with individual tasks, I created a scheduled project and an active project with one scheduled task The task names describe what they are set up for. I've attached screen shots.
With a schedule set, the task is hidden from the Next view. When the scheduled date arrives, it will either be placed in the Today list, or be highlighted (you pick which).
You can create scheduled tasks from within this view, or drag a task from another view to the Scheduled list to apply a schedule.
I won't comment on the interface, but I will say that all the functionality that I would like is present in it. And that is
set a schedule (aka start) date that will hide the task from view until that date
repeat from a specific date
repeat from completion date
Hope this helps you visualize what could be,
Roddy
Support Staff 10 Posted by Elbert McLaughlin on 21 Apr, 2010 07:53 PM
@roddyt
Thanks for this. I'm a Mac guy at home and at work, and while I used Things for the better part of last year, my inability to keep my iphone, home and work machines all in sync was the nail in the coffin that convinced me that there had to be a better way. Not to mention the lack of a category killer in the GTD space for Windows...
OK, back to work!!!
11 Posted by Proximo on 21 Apr, 2010 08:21 PM
@roddyt,
Thanks for the great input from "Things". I like the ideas and I think the goal for Nirvana is to provide similar functionality but in the Cloud.
Having input like this is great and I know Elbert is familiar with Things as well. It will be exciting to see more great functionality coming to Nirvana for sure.
12 Posted by darlinalberto on 27 Apr, 2010 12:47 AM
I use "Things" on my Mac and one thing I'd like is the ability to have a "Scheduled Time". I'd like to see such functionality in Nirvana, where a task is due "Today" but remains hidden until the appropriate time in the day.
Support Staff 13 Posted by Christiane Magee on 06 May, 2010 04:12 PM
@darlinalberto
100%. Schedules/Recurring are core features that will be developed next.
14 Posted by Ursula on 08 May, 2010 03:32 AM
I would very much appreciate a schedule for those daily tasks too! Its so much easier once they're written down
15 Posted by Michel Peterson on 20 May, 2010 01:08 PM
+1 to this. It's a much needed feature. Good to see the good work that Nirvana's team is doing.
16 Posted by fbrancato on 08 Jun, 2010 02:30 PM
In the interim, I have been using a project that I label "Scheduled" to place all of my items that are not actionable until a particular date and recurring items. Of course when the recurring items pop into the "Today" area I must manually change the date to reflect the next recurring due date.
Does anyone have any insight on another possible method of dealing with scheduled and recurring items until they are properly implemented?
Cheers,
Frank
17 Posted by Proximo on 09 Jun, 2010 03:24 AM
It's goes against the GTD method, but you can add a due date and then
choose how many days befor that date the task should appear in Today.
This way it gets your attention but dies not mark the task overdue.
18 Posted by Elurven on 09 Jun, 2010 10:30 AM
@ fbrancato: That might actually work as a short time solution. I'm not after any fancy new function, I just want an item in the Focus area called "Scheduled", the same way as it is implemented in "Things". That would really solve a lot of issues for me since there is no place to put actions that are scheduled for a certain date, unless they are associated with a project. If there are actions that are associated with a project, I could simply put them as an action with a date in the list for that project. But for single actions that are not assoicated with any project, there is no good solution at the moment.
19 Posted by fbrancato on 09 Jun, 2010 10:55 AM
@Proximo: I started out using Nirvana in that manner, but I could not stand my next list being cluttered up with items that were not actionable or needed to be seen until they were due.
@Elurven: I actually use my method as a work around for not having the "Scheduled" folder even for single action items. By creating a project called "Scheduled" and treating it just as a focus area and placing single actions in it. It will do for me until they create an actual "Scheduled" area for Nirvana.
Thanks for the replies!
20 Posted by Proximo on 09 Jun, 2010 11:01 AM
Just want to mention that the DUE button near the tags on top does
show all the scheduled task in the current list you are in but it's
not global.
21 Posted by fbrancato on 09 Jun, 2010 11:03 AM
@Priximo: Thanks. Yeah, I understand that. I still just like to keep out the items that should not populate the "Next" area.
22 Posted by Elurven on 09 Jun, 2010 11:07 AM
I agree with fbrancato. A separate focus are named "Scheduled" is needed.
23 Posted by Proximo on 09 Jun, 2010 11:08 AM
@fbrancato
I agree. These core functions need to happen.
24 Posted by Proximo on 09 Jun, 2010 11:14 AM
+1 from me.
It's very useful and important.
25 Posted by Ari on 13 Jun, 2010 01:37 PM
+1 from me too.
Support Staff 26 Posted by Christiane Magee on 14 Jun, 2010 02:16 PM
I can confirm I saw this icon in the left navi this morning when I had a quick demo of the next release. :)
27 Posted by Elurven on 14 Jun, 2010 02:48 PM
That is excellent news Christiane. I thought I saw that heading on one of the screenshots from the next release as well but I was afraid to get my hopes up. But now, they are up :-)!
Elbert McLaughlin closed this discussion on 16 Jul, 2010 02:57 PM.