Folders vs. Nested Projects
 

Before I get too far into to setting things up only to find out I should have done it differently, how do you decide whether a group of things should fall under a folder or if they should be a project? Are there benefits to each one over the other that would inform my choice?

I'm a homemaker, and am basically using this to organize household chores. I've been trying to focus on a particular room every day, in addition to daily tasks, so that I can get the house under better control.

So, I set up my system with Homemaking as a Folder, and then started setting up each room as a Project that views its tasks in parallel. Under each room I made a Routine project that holds the process I would use every time the room comes up, which has a due date and a repeating schedule and views its tasks sequentially. Then I add any non-routine items as siblings to the Routine folder.

Would there be any pros or cons to setting up each room as a folder instead of as a project?

Are there any other examples that could help me figure out the distinction between folders and projects when I get around to expanding my system beyond routine chores?

Thanks for any advice you can offer.

Oh, and is there any way to convert a project to a folder or vice versa after it's been created? If not, is there any efficient way to make a change if I need to?

- Leisel

I am a fan of flat structures so a single folder for homemaker tasks makes sense to me. But I'd have a lot more projects. You can create your projects either by room or by task.

If you need lots of detailed actions and prefer to do each sort of task all at once then I'd word it like this:

Vacuum Upstairs[INDENT]Vacuum bedroom
Vacuum Upstairs bathroom
Vacuum Reading room[/INDENT]Vacuum Downstairs[INDENT]Vacuum stairs
Vacuum entry
Vacuum living room
Vacuum kitchen
Vacuum downstairs bathroom
etc.[/INDENT]
If you prefer to work in a single room then I'd arrange it like a Hotel Maid does, Start at the door and work clockwise. Add as actions every task for each room so an example might be:

Reading Room cleaned and tidy[INDENT]Pick up and put away all books and magazines
Vacuum floor and chair
Clean each bookcase [INDENT]Remove books
Clean shelf
Polish wood
Replace books[/INDENT]Dust light fixtures
Clean fan blades
etc.[/INDENT]
From my own experience though don't get too far into picking a way until you've tried it out. You can spend a huge amount of time setting up this great structure that doesn't work for you once you are trying to use it. Better to try several ways of organizing your projects and tasks using a single room or single set of tasks, try it for a while and then spend the time entering in the whole house once you know what works for you, that you like and will use. For me, I dislike all housecleaning tasks so I'm still struggling with finding a way to make them interesting and fun to finish ;-) I'll gladly spend hours mucking a barn yet put off scrubbing a toilet as long as possible.