Choose where to put overdue items
Daylen
via web
Right now Nirvana automatically puts overdue items under today. But the thing is, I don't really want to work on the item today. I should be able to drag it to Next or something without having it automatically come back to the Today section.
Comments are currently closed for this discussion. You can start a new one.
2 Posted by Proximo on 28 Mar, 2010 03:37 AM
Why does it have a due date?
The Calendar is sacred in GTD and if an overdue item does not need your attention, then it should not have a due date to begin with.
The easy solution is to remove a due date once it becomes overdue. If you put it in your Next list when it's overdue, Nirvana would not be as useful because it's not bringing this to your attention.
Always remember that if something deserves a due date, it should be extremely important if it's not met. In most cases this means you messed up. If you did not get a report ready for an important meeting with Staff, if you forgot your Doctors appointment, or you forgot to pick up the kids from their field trip. These are the type of task that should have due dates and it's always a big deal if it's missed.
If the important task was pushed back for some reason, you can adjust the due date and move on. If it's overdue, it should be more important than anything in your today list. Moving it to your Next list without adjusting the due date is probably a bad practice and I believe Nirvana is designed to capture this.
Just some thoughts.
3 Posted by Daylen on 28 Mar, 2010 04:08 AM
Ah. Thanks. I've removed the due dates.
The thing is, the to-do isn't urgent or requiring immediate attention, but I would still like to know the original date it was due. That is why I move it into next, because I will get to the item later but just not that day.
4 Posted by Proximo on 28 Mar, 2010 04:30 AM
Daylen,
One idea is to use your notes to capture this information. If the task was important at one time but for one reason or the other it's priority changed. I would simply make a note with a date stamp telling me that this task was originally important and due on X date, but it's priority has changed.
The idea here is that task with due dates are important. They should not get a due date unless it's TRULY due on a particular day. If you start giving task due dates just because you THINK you will have it done on a particular day or would like to have it done on a particular day. You loose the true meaning of what a due date is and they end up becoming Wish Dates. Now when you look at your Calendar or Task and see a Due Date, it does not have the importance it deserves because you created a habit of adjusting the due date when it was not met.
I hope that makes sense.
When I start my day, the very first thing I look at is my Calendar and my Today list. If a task in the Today list because it's due that day, this takes priority over any other task in my Today list. Simply because the task with a Due Date has to be done that day or I will have to answer to someone for it. The other task that I selected for me to tackle that day which also show up in my Today list are less important than the task with the due dates.
Just trying to help out. :-)
5 Posted by smatlanta on 20 Apr, 2010 05:30 PM
How do you handle a situation when I need to call call someone next month about something, or... Maybe I want to be reminded to clean out my closet next month. There is no firm date, I don't want to look at it now, but I will want to at the later time. Currently it seems like if there is no due date, I have to each week on my review sort through my huge list of Next Actions that may be in the hundreds... even if I already know I don't need to see it in next weeks pile. How do you handle that?
6 Posted by Proximo on 20 Apr, 2010 06:58 PM
@smatlanta,
There is not Tickler feature in Nirvana yet and this is exactly what it would be used for. As a work around for now I can only add a due date for it to show up when I need to be reminded. I understand that it's not DUE on that day, but this is a work around to Ticklers for now.
I don't have many task that would fall into this scenario, but I do understand the importance of Ticklers. When Ticklers are implemented, it would be best for them to also hide the task until the Tickler date. I would also like the option of hiding task with a due date "X" days out. This way I may choose to hide all task with due dates that are 1 month away to make the review process easier.
7 Posted by smatlanta on 21 Apr, 2010 05:40 PM
Until that time comes when it is fixed, I am treating the due dates all like ticklers since that is usually the case. In the cases when it truly is a Deadline, I include Deadline as a tag. Now whenever I scan Today, or Next I can look at only the tasks that truly are due by selecting my Deadline tab and I can even control click any additional tags for context and see what is truly due only at my office (because I have a tag for that) or Home (I have a tag) or Errand (I have a tag). Nirvana still hopefully will fix the situation soon though :)
8 Posted by Proximo on 21 Apr, 2010 07:42 PM
Sounds like you have a good interim solution.
Nirvana will be adding features related to ticklers/reminders.
9 Posted by Terminado on 22 Apr, 2010 03:04 AM
Proximo,
Thank you for reminding me of what I know but don't "know".
I have been assigning Due Dates to (too many) items I want to work on on certain days but which aren't actually due on that day and my work is backing up. I don't have a mind like water when, at the end of the day, I look at many items that were "due" today that I didn't get done. I need to embrace the idea that the Today list is comprised of tasks I want to focus on today, make an effort to work on today and, if I can, get done today, but only AFTER I do tasks that really are due today.
Until Ticklers/Start dates, this will require a daily review of my entire Next list, in addition to a weekly review, to make sure I don't miss things.
Thank you, Sensei, for your wisdom. . .
10 Posted by DC Clarke on 22 Apr, 2010 04:32 AM
With reference to due dates or tickle dates in the notes section, I think it might be helpful to have a right-click, shortcut or button option to stick a date/time stamp in the notes section of tasks and projects.
Our firm uses a god-awful over-kill program called TimeMatters by LexisNexis for case and time management. I use the date/time stamp feature (a simple right-click option) routinely when adding comments in the memo fields of various note records. Very helpful feature.
11 Posted by sunni.freyer on 22 Apr, 2010 01:35 PM
Proximo -- The manner in which you present yourself in posts leads me to conclude that you are an employee, subcontractor or equity investor in Nirvana. Are you affiliated with Nirvana? If so, it would be helpful to make that known on the "posted by" section. Thank you in advance for the clarification.
12 Posted by Proximo on 22 Apr, 2010 02:22 PM
@nw-woman,
This is the first time anyone has asked me this. I respect the bold question and completely understand the importance of the answer.
Am I an employee of Nirvana?
No, just a user like yourself. If you search hard enough, you will find some of my original post where I Slammed Nirvana for not moving forward fast enough and I was frustrated. I believed they had the potential to be what I always wanted in a GTD service but where moving way to slow with not a lot of activity happening.
Are you a subcontractor?
No. Not sure what services I could provide for Nirvana. I choose to spend time on here and help people if I can because I simply enjoy it. I enjoy sharing GTD with people and learning from others as well. It's made a large impact on how I work and get things done.
Are you an equity investor?
No, Not sure I am in a position to invest if I wanted. :-(
Are you affiliated with Nirvana?
Not at the moment. :-)
I really respect you for asking that. I know sometimes I may come across as having nothing but good things to say about Nirvana, but those who have read my early post will tell you that I was frustrated at one point and the Nirvana crew can confirm this. Nirvana still has many things it needs to implement but I am happy to know what is in the works and what we can expect. Back when I latched out at Nirvana, I did not know if they where serious about moving forward with the project and it frustrated me.
Now the beta is more open, great people like yourself are asking questions, making suggestions and sharing knowledge.
Your question hit me from left field and I never would have expected it but I want to thank you for asking it.
Hope my answers are what you where looking for.
13 Posted by sunni.freyer on 22 Apr, 2010 02:51 PM
Thank you, Proximo. I didn't mean to cause you discomfort. I am now no longer confused. I appreciate the detailed reply.
14 Posted by Proximo on 22 Apr, 2010 03:13 PM
@nw-woman
It was a great question and I appreciate you asking it. :-)
No discomfort on my end.
P.S.
Here are examples from the past.
Upset Proximo:
http://help.nirvanahq.com/discussions/questions/32-whats-with-the-l...
Happier Proximo:
http://help.nirvanahq.com/discussions/suggestions/132-what-is-drivi...
David McLaughlin closed this discussion on 04 Feb, 2011 02:31 AM.