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Selecting Remaining task ONLY past start date Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
I would appreciate any help in the following:

I have (many) perspectives with delegated tasks for which the context (the delegated person) is set to HOLD. E.g. tasks for which I am waiting for response (and therefore should not be available to me). To see any action in these perspectives I need to select REMAINING tasks. However this will also reveal all tasks for which the STARTDATE is not yet reached. These latter tasks I would like to filter out (e.g. List only Remaining tasks passed start dates; OR for which no start date is set).

Any solution available for this?
 
You can't do it. You might consider putting a start date on the delegated tasks instead of setting the context to be on hold. Then you can view available tasks in those contexts and the ones which are active will appear.
 
Thank you for your (really quick!) response. However, when the context would not be on HOLD, all the tasks in this context will become available. The purpose to set the context to HOLD is that I am waiting for a response to these tasks. And thus to have these tasks not available for me for execution (or waiting any project for the response of the delegee).
 
No, you put a start on the tasks, then they are not available prior to that start date and will not show up if you are viewing Available actions.
 
Once they do show up, you know that it is time to go follow up and find out why you haven't gotten a response.
 
Thank you once again. My problem is that I also have a lot of delegated tasks without a start date set. I use the start date only when tasks are periodic (repeating) tasks that should not be available for a specific date. In the meantime I can have many other tasks with a specific delegee (same context) for which no start date is set. In fact, I would not considering setting a start date, since every minute these are finishes early would speed up the execution. Setting the context not on HOLD would mean that the project is not waiting for a response and thus that I should be progressing on it myself. Be aware, the due date field is only used by me to indicate the really committed end date by the delegee (and that is the field I use to track progress c.q. expedite on completion).

Anyway, OF is a really incredible tool to boost productivity. And my current workflow for delegated tasks is really working. Only in case I need a perspective view of the specific delegee the view becomes cluttered somethimes with routine tasks that should not yet show up (since start date is not yet met).
 
I understand the workflow; I used to do that myself. What I'm suggesting is that there's an improvement :-)

When your delegate hands you the completed report, you go look in the relevant context and mark off the task as complete, whether the start date has arrived or not. You have to do that in your workflow as well, so there really is no drawback. You don't want to be delegating actions without some sort of accountability, so putting a start date for when you expect to have gotten a response is a good thing, not something to be avoided.

On the Mac, you could use the "Where in OF" script to do a search for tasks in your on-hold context that had passed their start date. You can't make a perspective, though, and it doesn't help you in the slightest on the iPad.
 
I think I know where you are getting to; which could indeed be a further improvement of my delegate workflow. Before I am going to really modify my 300++ delegated tasks, just a confirmation I am getting it:

You use the due date of a task to reflect the date the delegate committed to finishing the task (accountability). And the start date for yourself to check on progress of the specific task (thus expediting to an early finish). The context for the delegate therewith can be set to ACTIVE. You only have to make sure every delegated task has AND a startdate (for expediting) AND a due date (Ultimate accountable end date). In the ultimate case that you do not want to expedite on a task, you set both start & due to the same date. On expediting for the progress of the task you push the start date to a new expediting date (or set it to the end date for no further expediting)?

Could really work! (I probably have been mislead by having the OF standard contxt waiting being set to HOLD).
 
 


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