Quote:
Originally Posted by curt.clifton
I'm waiting for the item from Alice. It blocks the subsequent tasks in my project. If I don't want it distracting me, I put a future start date on it. When the start date roles around, if I've received the item then I check off the task and move ahead with the project. I don't want an item popping up telling me to Remind Alice about the TPS reports if, in fact, she already gave them to me. If I did it that way, then I'd have to evaluate every Remind action before doing it. As it is, I have to evaluate every Waiting For action, but those are neatly identified with this system and are captured in my tickler review.
This system works fine for me. The OP specifically asked what I'm doing. I answered. If that doesn't work for you, feel free to do something different. I won't have an argument about which approach is right.
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I'm sorry if I sounded a little brusque. I don't think of it as an argument, but rather as a discussion of best practices. Which is what this forum is for, isn't it?
So, if you have an action with a future start date blocking a sequential project, whether the action is "Waiting for Alice" with context @WaitingFor or "Remind Alice" with context @E-mail doesn't alter the blocking effect. And either way, assuming you have a mind like water, what will trigger your going back to that project will be one of two things, either receiving the report from Alice or having the task with the start date pop up. "Having to evaluate every Remind action" is not really an issue, since you end up evaluating the action when it comes up either way. If Alice was on time and you returned to the project before the deadline, the only difference is checking off your Waiting action versus deleting my Remind action.
Other than that, the difference is that, my way, 1) you don't have to generate a new, separate Remind action when your Waiting action comes up, and 2) the separate Waiting For review is eliminated — which seems like a pretty significant savings of overhead to me. If it makes you more comfortable, you can phrase the action in if-then form.
Of course I'm not telling you that you
must do things my way. That would be silly.