"Coming Due" vs. "Available"
 

Hi.

I'm using a special perspective to scan all of the actions that are "burning" so i have set it up to show actions that are Coming Due. It's working as expected except for one thing: the Coming Due filter shows ALL actions coming due, that means also the ones that are in sequential projects and are not available to me at this point..

That is sometimes confusing - I have to think about an action and find out that I can really do it before I do something else from the list...

Am I missing something?
Is there some workaround?
Isn't it a kind of a bug..?


thanks


Jan

[QUOTE] the Coming Due filter shows ALL actions coming due, that means also the ones that are in sequential projects and are not available to me at this point[/QUOTE]

That's part of the point: it's a list of what's on your plate, not just the next available actions. In "available", a next action can be hiding 100 tasks, all of which need to be done today.

[QUOTE=sprugman;28228]That's part of the point: it's a list of what's on your plate, not just the next available actions. In "available", a next action can be hiding 100 tasks, all of which need to be done today.[/QUOTE]

I just made the point in another thread: I think parallel tasks are handled the wrong way. The OP wants to see 1/ all parallel tasks (that have started) and 2/ the first task in every sequential lists (that has started), both subject to context.

There is no way to do that: you either all of the sequential tasks, even though you can't do things beyond the first, or you get the "first" parallel tasks, which is a contradictory notion.

I find myself making tons of parallel projects, because I want to see "all available" tasks, and parallel tasks can't accomodate taht.

Victor.

I think that everything coming due should be shown in that view, whether next, blocked, or not yet started. But I think the OP is right that there should be visual distinction between available and unavailable actions.

I notice that there already is with some: With the "coming due" filter, actions that are unavailable because they haven't yet reached their start date appear in gray, but actions that are unavailable because there they are blocked by an undone prior sequential action appear in orange. Should they all be gray (or some other color)?

[QUOTE=Craig;28232]I think that everything coming due should be shown in that view, whether next, blocked, or not yet started. [/QUOTE]

Isn't that "remaining"?

"Available" really means, everything I can do right now, because I'm in the right context, it's the right time, and all prerequisites are fullfilled.

Victor.

the thing here is that I have a sequential project A that looks something like this:

PROJECT A
task1 due today
task2 due today
task3 due tomorrow
task4 due next week
etc..

but when I want to do "emergency scanning" (as David Allen calls it) and I use the Coming Due filter, I will see all three tasks [task1, task2, task3] and I only want task1 because form the nature of the project I can't do task2 before task1.. I do not want to be reminded of cooking the dinner before going shopping.. it just makes no sense.

So I am basically looking for a way to show me task1 only (in this example.) and obviously there seems to be no way at the moment.. or is there? :)

Just use the "next actions" filter, and pay attention only to the colour of "coming due" items.

Victor.

Yeah. But this way I will not see the available items of parallel projects but only the first ones - so called next actions..
Anyway - there seems to be no reasonable solution so I will just have to stick with the half-cooked solution..

thanks anyway.

jan

What about viewing remaining, and group by Due?

It would be cool to "Focus" on one of the groups in the grouped view...

-P

a solution would be to be able to use multiple filters as you do in Spotlight, Mail app and others..

Show me AVAILABLE "AND" COMING DUE

I guess that would solve a lot of other problems too..