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-   OmniFocus for iPhone (http://forums.omnigroup.com/forumdisplay.php?f=49)
-   -   Defer, what does that mean (http://forums.omnigroup.com/showthread.php?t=30773)

gkruijer 2013-09-19 08:28 AM

Defer, what does that mean
 
Have downloaded OF2 and have a question. I deferred a task that was due on monday and deferred it to next monday.
However, still see this task in my due list?
Am i overlooking something here.

Lizard 2013-09-19 01:06 PM

'Defer Until' is the new name for what used to be labeled 'Start Date'. So if the due date is still today, it's still due.

philrob 2013-09-21 02:13 PM

If (like me) you prefer the old terminology of start date (or indeed like the defer until approach) please use the feedback button to let the omni folk know.

Defer feels wrong to me, particularly when I am creating a task. I know it is just a word but it indicates a different mindset (and uses more letters :-)

Omni Clint 2013-09-22 05:51 PM

[QUOTE=Lizard;127282]'Defer Until' is the new name for what used to be labeled 'Start Date'. So if the due date is still today, it's still due.[/QUOTE]

Cool! That makes way more sense. I hope that makes it into the desktop version and you get a button with a preference that lets you say "Defer start date, Defer due date, or both" when it is pressed. Like so many of the applescripts people create for this feature.

trenchantly 2013-09-23 04:37 AM

Defer isn't the right word
 
I can imagine the OmniCrew spent a long time on this, but Start Date is far more intuitive and less confusing. Please change back.

And whilst I'm at it, you really, really need a postpone feature. It will save a lot of fiddling.

DoktorMarkus 2013-09-23 01:49 PM

I couldn't agree more with trenchantly and philrob, and I think Omni Clint misunderstood Lizard.
"Defer" means to put something off that was already scheduled. It does not mean "start" (at least in my experience.) If I was in a meeting, and we discussed a new project, and someone said "When shall we defer it" or "what defer date shall we set?" I would have no idea what they meant or why they were using that word. This is how it seems to me (if the functionality of Defer is the same as the old Start field—if wrong, please set me straight.)

If this is correct, then I would agree that a "postpone" or "defer" feature would be great. This would easily allow a user to postpone or defer the due date (I know, not very GTD, it is not unusual for me or my clients to postpone a due date of certain tasks).

Along these lines, it would be nice, if, in Forecast, projects/tasks that have passed their start date, but not yet reached the due date, would show up. That way, a quick glance at any day in forecast would show tasks that are DUE, and tasks that have been started.

cbeaudj 2013-09-23 02:59 PM

[QUOTE=DoktorMarkus;127413]
Along these lines, it would be nice, if, in Forecast, projects/tasks that have passed their start date, but not yet reached the due date, would show up. That way, a quick glance at any day in forecast would show tasks that are DUE, and tasks that have been started.[/QUOTE]

Good call Doktor, I too would like to see this added! I really like the Forecast view and have been using 'defer' dates to place tasks and projects on the calendar that I'd like to work on, but that aren't actually 'due'. However, if I don't complete a task on the day that it is deferred to, when I come back to the calendar the next day it is completely cleared from the calendar - there is no easy way to see tasks/projects that have started recently. I have to remember to re-set the defer date into the future, or I end up having to sift through my projects the next day to see what was deferred but not completed.

It would be amazing to have 'recently started' tasks/projects in their own list in the 'past due' section of the Forecast!

+1

kevinx 2013-09-23 04:14 PM

I could understand why they call it defer. Based on GTD logic, people should pick actions to do in current context, even the action is not due soon. You should complete as many actions as possible in the context unless you cannot do it now so you "defer" it to future date.

[QUOTE=DoktorMarkus;127413]I couldn't agree more with trenchantly and philrob, and I think Omni Clint misunderstood Lizard.
"Defer" means to put something off that was already scheduled. It does not mean "start" (at least in my experience.) If I was in a meeting, and we discussed a new project, and someone said "When shall we defer it" or "what defer date shall we set?" I would have no idea what they meant or why they were using that word. This is how it seems to me (if the functionality of Defer is the same as the old Start field—if wrong, please set me straight.)

If this is correct, then I would agree that a "postpone" or "defer" feature would be great. This would easily allow a user to postpone or defer the due date (I know, not very GTD, it is not unusual for me or my clients to postpone a due date of certain tasks).

Along these lines, it would be nice, if, in Forecast, projects/tasks that have passed their start date, but not yet reached the due date, would show up. That way, a quick glance at any day in forecast would show tasks that are DUE, and tasks that have been started.[/QUOTE]

chmars 2013-09-30 03:02 AM

Defer means postpone, so the start date shouldn't be called 'defer until'. I would expect 'defer' to postpone an action with a given start and/or due date.

rh26 2013-10-01 07:11 AM

Defer is a Negative Term
 
[QUOTE=chmars;127627]Defer means postpone, so the start date shouldn't be called 'defer until'. I would expect 'defer' to postpone an action with a given start and/or due date.[/QUOTE]

I have sent feedback noting I do NOT like the word "Defer" to refer to Start Date.

When I am planning something that I can't start until next Monday that is a start date. Defer only makes sense if I am *delaying* some existing action I could/should have been working on.

I find it particularly troublesome on the Forecast screen; I see actions labeled "Deferred Until Today" and I get stressed, as OmniFocus is implying that I have procrastinated on some items and now they are coming back to haunt me. I don't need stress. I have turned off viewing Deferred item for this reason (despite preferring to see items that have just started as a way of refreshing my memory).


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