thanks for your reply... much to think about...
i hadn't consciously thought about a specific working styles too much before this... i knew that "things" doesn't support making things in series. it also doesn't seem to support "folders" for projects, which is a minor issue for organizing the lists...
i have been wondering how to order the tasks in either software... in other words, if i have a list of 10 tasks available probably across different projects, i would normally plan where to start and in what order to do the tasks even when they are not interdependent. even in the context of driving errands, i normally write down all the stops and items i need, then reorder and number them according to what makes the most driving sense... if some stops are time dependent, like a dentist appointment, then time become part of the criteria for my list, like when i need to leave by... my habits for lists is to use them when i need them and otherwise not... i only write down items to buy that are things i won't remember naturally, not everything i intend to buy, because i know what i normally need or can decide what to buy based upon what is available, like produce... i only make a list for a day when i have a lot of things to do that day and need to plan it out... i don't plan to use OF or "things" for errands and these types of activities, but instead primarily for the longer term projects, like things at work...
at work, i don't need to write down steps for many activities because i've been doing them for more that 20 years and know how to do them without having to figure out how to do them... it's like riding a bike... i may put bike riding on my list of things to do, but i don't write down the steps for how to ride... even though some analyses can take 6 months work time and span more than a year to complete, i just need to keep that activity in my list of what i'm working on and make time for it, but i don't have to write down what to do when working on that activity...
this thread has helped me be more clear on what i'm planning to use this type of software for:
1 - a reminder to keep track of things i tend to forget,
2 - planning out a block of time or series of tasks
what i want out of this is to have a more efficient way of working that compliments what i already do, instead of replacing what already works for me...
after my post, it occurred to me that i've been using the "tags" in "things" to function like the "context" in OF... perhaps i might consider making "context" that match the "tags"? for example, i made an "admin" tag to remind me of the administrative things that i need to schedule... i don't use a calendar to drive my life, but i sometimes put a block of time in a calendar for administrative chores... my day's at work often are interrupt driven... i start the day with what i most need to get done from a schedule standpoint, e.g. deadlines i'm working towards. then people and activities interrupt that task and i spend much of the time working with people or tasks that pop-up during the day... the tasks and deadlines get change by various people... often i spend time at home either at nights or weekends making progress on the longer term tasks, which no one ever asks for but are things, like a template or presentation, i need to get done in order to be ready for an upcoming activity... everything requires my mac, but i always have it. so it doesn't seem to make sense for me to make a "tag" or "context" of "mac". what i do need a reminder for either for planned events (meetings) or to squeeze in some time for administrative tasks, like clearing out email or the piles of papers on my desk regularly... so, i'm writing down some of the chores that get crowded out of my schedule so that i can put them back in... this is how things are there for everyone at work, not just me... the real problem is overcommitment... there is more work to do that i can comfortably get done or manage... i suppose i'm hoping this software approach will help me be more conscious about i choose to let slide, instead of the important long term things becoming "overcome by events"... during a stable period of time, i do keep up with things... those periods are becoming less frequent and shorter as the years pass... during the chaotic times, i'm looking to use this software to triage the work better... as a matter of fact, the "chandler" software has a "mode" called "triage", which seems analogous to the "context" mode, or more correctly, it is like the "today" in "things"...
so i'm still a little confuse about time in OF... the inspectors panel all have a start, due, complete, and next, repeat, etc. fields... don't those work with the "due" button in the OF toolbar?
regarding "things" and "areas", i guess "areas" confuse me as much as the "contexts" confuse me... i thought one of the "things" tutorials referred to "areas" as a place for on-going tasks, that are never completed, possibly like recurring activities...
regarding using time/dates to keep track of activities and tasks, this is somewhat confusing and problematic for me... there are some activities and tasks seem very natural to work from a date and time perspective, like deadlines and meetings... however, there are other random tasks that can happen whenever convenient... that has been one of the difficulties i've had in using ical... it works for appointments, deadlines, and meetings, but hasn't worked well for me for anything else... the "to do" in ical doesn't work at all for me... i'm thinking now that i may be seeking something that compliments a calendar approach... but there will be overlap between the way i want to order things in OF and the "today" like approach by using a calendar... one thing that i really like about chandler that i haven't seen in any other calendar software is the ability to switch from a "calendar" view to a "to-do" view they call "triage" mode... osaf does state that use a GTD approach for their calendaring software... working things of in a list mode is much more efficient for me that to try to work the from a "calendar" view... i want to be able to get all the other information out of the way and just focus on the simple tasks at hand and not have the information overload of all the other things i don't need to see right now... i have seen that this is the essence of OF and other such tools, which is what attracts me to them... sometimes i need to work in the big picture and planning mode, and other times i need to work in a focused check list mode when i want to get things off my plate...
this is all so interesting... i always like figuring out new things that i don't quite understand... hope i'm not being too long winded... this is helping me quite a bit...
thanks again for your reply-