What are singletons?
 

Could someone please explain what Singletons are and how they are used in OF?

thanks in advance

Not sure how familiar you are with GTD, so....

In Getting Things Done, any task you want to accomplish is either a project (if it requires more than 1 physical action step, e.g. "replace lightbulb in hall" which requires you to check the bulb needed, buy the bulb at the shops then replace it) or a single action step if it only involves 1 physical action/can't be sensibly broken down into smaller component parts (e.g. "water plants in kitchen").

Singletons are OF's way of dealing with these single action steps by grouping them into a project that is really just a group of these actions, a bucket to put them in if you will. Debate has raged on here (and is still) about whether this is the best way to implement this or not.

thanks for the reply - I see I've got a long way to go to get my head around all of this.

[QUOTE=stormer;19812]Could someone please explain what Singletons are and how they are used in OF?

thanks in advance[/QUOTE]

I agree with al_f's description of singletons, and I use them just that way. I have one bucket for singletons, one for purchases, and one for non-grocery coupons.

However, after some reflection, I think that singletons are actually actions of undefined or undelineated projects. While "water plants in kitchen" can't usefully (or sensibly) be broken down into smaller actions, it is part of a larger project, which could be "Keep Houseplants Alive" or "Maintain a Harmonious Atmosphere in Kitchen" or broadly "Enjoy Life" (assuming that plants in the kitchen brings you joy).

As a general rule, I find it faster just to list the singletons and get them done than to reflect on the overarching projects that they might support, but sometimes organizing the singletons into projects will cause me to think of other related actions that I want to add to the mix.

[QUOTE=stormer;19822]thanks for the reply - I see I've got a long way to go to get my head around all of this.[/QUOTE]

Try reading Getting Things Done, it will soon make sense :)

For a quick overview, check the [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Getting_Things_Done"]Wikipedia entry[/URL] or the [URL="http://davidco.com/"]David Allen website[/URL].

Except that many of us find such projects silly :-D

Maybe that's what I'm doing wrong in maintaining a harmonious atmosphere in my kitchen. Doh.

[QUOTE=dhm2006;19825]
However, after some reflection, I think that singletons are actually actions of undefined or undelineated projects. While "water plants in kitchen" can't usefully (or sensibly) be broken down into smaller actions, it is part of a larger project, which could be "Keep Houseplants Alive" or "Maintain a Harmonious Atmosphere in Kitchen" or broadly "Enjoy Life" (assuming that plants in the kitchen brings you joy).[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE]thanks for the reply - I see I've got a long way to go to get my head around all of this.[/QUOTE]

A big problem is that omnifocus is being used by users that believe in strict gtd structure, loose gtd structure, and some with no gtd background. For instance, it kills me that my singleton bucket is under projects. It's not a project. It's a group of single actions unrelated. For others, it's not a big deal. And this:

[QUOTE]I think that singletons are actually actions of undefined or undelineated projects. While "water plants in kitchen" can't usefully (or sensibly) be broken down into smaller actions, it is part of a larger project, which could be "Keep Houseplants Alive"[/QUOTE]

Makes my brain hurt. In my mind it's not a project if it can't be completed. Fixing up an old car is a project. Keeping it running is an area of responsibility. But, obviously, for others this works.

[QUOTE=GeekLady;19830]Except that many of us find such projects silly :-D
[/QUOTE]

I don't find them silly so much as implicit. That's why I maintain singletons instead of the larger projects.

But DA's book comments, "Your life and work are made up of outcomes and actions." Keeping plants alive is an outcome that requires an action (actually several recurring actions).

[QUOTE=gary;19833]In my mind it's not a project if it can't be completed. Fixing up an old car is a project. Keeping it running is an area of responsibility. But, obviously, for others this works.[/QUOTE]

In his book, DA talks about projects that don't have finish lines so much as what he calls "outcomes." One example he gives is "Create a way to regularly spend more time with my daughter," about which he goes on to say "is as specific a project as any, and equally demanding of a next action to be determined."

How do you track actions required for your areas of responsibility? Do you track these actions differently than you do actions for projects that have definite completion possibility?

I am interested because most of my work are areas of responsibility rather than projects that can be completed, to use your terminology.

I find them silly because they [I]are[/I] implicit. It would be like making a repeating task for brushing my teeth every morning. Setting that up in OF would be 2 minutes of my life I could never get back. Yeesh.

[QUOTE=dhm2006;19834]I don't find them silly so much as implicit. That's why I maintain singletons instead of the larger projects.

But DA's book comments, "Your life and work are made up of outcomes and actions." Keeping plants alive is an outcome that requires an action (actually several recurring actions).[/QUOTE]