Tomorrow
Dave
via web
It would be great if there was a "Tomorrow" right under "Today". As I go through today's tasks I might decide that a task is just not important enough or is going to take too much time to fit into today. I want to quickly drag it into a "tomorrow" folder so that its not lost down with other tasks, and to have it promoted to the Today list the next day. (and also emailed to me)
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2 Posted by Don on 23 Aug, 2010 07:50 PM
I would like to see this as well.
3 Posted by Proximo on 23 Aug, 2010 08:53 PM
@Don and Dave,
I have used other GTD apps that have the tomorrow folder. First I want to say that this is a feature that never bothered me too much but I never really used it.
Here is why.
The Today list is simply a Focus list. Items in the Today list simply mean that you decided to focus on these task "Today". It does not mean they are due that day or that you must complete them that day.
I have many task that may take me 2 or 3 days to hatch out and if I know I will continue working on them the next day, I simply leave them in the Today List.
Tomorrow when I show up to work, is now Today. I am still focused on what I will be working on Today regardless. Having items in the tomorrow list to me is weird because when tomorrow comes, they need to be moved to Today.
I just use the Today list as a simple Focus Bucket and it makes sense for all items I am working on Today or maybe Tomorrow.
Just a thought.
4 Posted by Don on 25 Aug, 2010 07:50 PM
@Proximo,
That makes sense. The more I think about how I do things outside of Nirvana, the more I see I really want these main non-project lists:
Today: all tasks with today as a due date (or past due) and any tasks placed there by starring.
Next: all tasks flagged as next (a new flag like the star) - mainly (only?) tasks from projects.
Actions: all non-project tasks not in Today or Next.
Someday: My someday/maybe list.
I don't see the difference between Someday and Later - any words of wisdom there?
5 Posted by Proximo on 25 Aug, 2010 09:11 PM
@don.mullings
Today: All task that you choose to focus on for that day. Does not matter if it's a single task or the Next Action of a Project.
Next: All Next Actions belong here. Single task by default are all Next Actions because they don't have any other steps. The Next Action of a Project should also show up here but nothing else. No other Project Task, No Waiting for task, No someday task.
Actions: The Next list is the Actions list. It covers both Single Task which are also Next Actions and it covers Next Actions of Projects.
Someday: Correct. Your someday/maybe list.
Later:
How can I say this in a nice way. hmmmmmm. Sorry, I can't. Later is NOT GTD and in my opinion should not be part of the UI. I will be civil here and say that an option to turn it off would satisfy me just fine. If turning the Later list off is an option in the future, I think it should be off by default because it does nothing but confuse many GTDers coming here to test drive Nirvana.
PS. The Later list is a touchy topic for many. I respect others wanting it but I think it's one of the worst directions I have seen Nirvana take since I started using it.
6 Posted by Don on 25 Aug, 2010 09:42 PM
@Proximo,
Today: We agree on this - maybe I was not clear - no worries.
Next: I agree with your description, but do not want to move the next action of a project out of the project to get it in Next. I want to flag it (a Next equiv. to the Star for today).
Actions: Maybe I misunderstand, but I have the impression that the "pure" GTD implementation has both a Next and an Actions list. I will do little research with the book and flow diagrams tonight.
P.S. FYI, it is mullins, not mullings, though I do mull over things often. :-)
7 Posted by Proximo on 26 Aug, 2010 09:08 PM
@Don,
I think the Unified Next List feature coming soon will allow you to flag the Projects Next Actions so they show up in the Next list as you describe.
As for GTD, Single task are Next Actions by default. Projects have multiple actionable task but one one can be a Next Action that moves the project forward. You CAN have parallel task in a Project which would make it possible to have more than one Next Action in a project.
Sorry about messing up your name. :-(
8 Posted by Dave on 27 Aug, 2010 11:06 AM
The reason I want a Tomorrow is because I WANT my Today list to be clean at the end of the day. If "life" happens and I can't get to part of the list or I run into a particularly difficult task, I want to look at my list and say: shoot, let me move these lower things to the top of the list for tomorrow, along with other tasks that I'm going to do tomorrow.
It's just a mechanism to allow me to move items off of the today list "safely", so that I don't lose track of them the next day. If I were doing this in my pen and paper system, I'd just go to the next sheet and put the task there.
Another way to do this would be to make the Schedule For take one less click by putting a "Schedule For" box on the main task row next to the Due Date. This effectively does the same thing as a Tomorrow folder and, frankly, is more useful since I can push things to two or three days from today if needed. I just don't like having to open up and edit the task first.
Yes, I know this is really, really nit picky and I can get used to using it as designed, but that's the fun of "beta": giving feedback. And that's just how I feel. :)
D
9 Posted by Proximo on 29 Aug, 2010 12:31 AM
@Dave,
I understand your reasons.
Just remember that GTD is about filtering task based on the current situation and therefore you don't have to think too much about what is the right thing to do tomorrow or in the next several days.
Everyday is different and your Time, Energy and Context change through the day. If you focus on filtering based on these criteria, you will always have the best task to work on in front of you and you don't need to worry so much about putting the thought into what needs to be done in the future.
just a thought.
David McLaughlin closed this discussion on 09 Feb, 2011 09:18 PM.