[brianogilvie]

Originally Posted by LizPf

If they were, they'd all be next actions, and show up in my context view. Instead, the top item is "Special", and I see none of the others.

If I were in charge, I'd add another project type, so we'd have parallel, sequential, and All Next Actions.

Maybe my brain is still running slowly, but I don't see why you can't just use the "Available" filter if you want to see all the actions you can do in a parallel project or subproject: that is, all actions that are logically next (they're available) but not necessarily semantically next (I really think they're next on my plate even though I could skip them and do something else further down the list).

It seems to me easier to use the filter instead of creating a new kind of project.

[LizPf]

Available will show all of my un-done tasks.

I have lots of tasks that I don't need to see on a day-to-day basis, such as my shopping list for my upcoming trip to IKEA. I'll get there sometime in the next 6 months, but I sure don't need to see those items/tasks now.

--Liz

[curt.clifton]

Originally Posted by LizPf

Available will show all of my un-done tasks.

Available shows all actions in a parallel project but only the first action in a sequential project. Remaining shows all un-done tasks.

I must not understand the difference between your ANA projects and parallel projects. Can you say more about that?

[Craig]

Originally Posted by LizPf

I have lots of tasks that I don't need to see on a day-to-day basis, such as my shopping list for my upcoming trip to IKEA. I'll get there sometime in the next 6 months, but I sure don't need to see those items/tasks now.

Could this be where marking contexts as inactive could help?

[LizPf]

Originally Posted by curt.clifton

Available shows all actions in a parallel project but only the first action in a sequential project. Remaining shows all un-done tasks.

I must not understand the difference between your ANA projects and parallel projects. Can you say more about that?

An example:

I have a long list of household tasks -- fix the doorbell, repair a chair, unpack some more boxes from our move 2 years ago, clean the undersink cabinet ... there are maybe 30 tasks like this.

I also have a short list of weekly tasks to do for my online t-shirt shop: upload to Google Base, add a new design, check my web page stats ... maybe 5 tasks.

Right now, both Projects are parallel. If these were the only things in my OF file, my context view/next actions would show 2 items; the available view shows 35. I really don't need to see all my household tasks all the time, but I do want to see my shop tasks.

If I could, I'd leave the Household tasks Parallel, and switch my shop tasks to All Next Action. Then I'd have 6 items showing in my Context/NA — the 5 shop tasks I need to do this week, plus a Household task.

Now, add my 15 other big projects, and you can see how having an ANA setting can let me focus on the stuff I *have* to do, not the stuff I kind of have to do. Make sense?

And I know there are other ways to do lots of this, by futzing with dates, flags and the like -- but the ANA concept makes a lot of sense to me.

--Liz

[curt.clifton]

Originally Posted by LizPf

I have a long list of household tasks -- fix the doorbell, repair a chair, unpack some more boxes from our move 2 years ago, clean the undersink cabinet ... there are maybe 30 tasks like this.

I also have a short list of weekly tasks to do for my online t-shirt shop: upload to Google Base, add a new design, check my web page stats ... maybe 5 tasks.

Right now, both Projects are parallel. If these were the only things in my OF file, my context view/next actions would show 2 items; the available view shows 35. I really don't need to see all my household tasks all the time, but I do want to see my shop tasks.

If I could, I'd leave the Household tasks Parallel, and switch my shop tasks to All Next Action. Then I'd have 6 items showing in my Context/NA — the 5 shop tasks I need to do this week, plus a Household task.

Thanks, Liz. That example helps.

If I understand correctly, you could make the Household tasks sequential and use the Available view. But there are two problems with that: (1) you would be stating a false dependency between those tasks and (2) you wouldn't have an easy way to view just the 35 tasks.

I use flags for this sort of focusing, but it doesn't exactly solve the problem. For example, I'd flag the shop project and use an Available+Flagged view. But that wouldn't show any household tasks.

Hmm, what if there was a way to view Next Actions plus Available, Flagged Actions?

[GeekLady]

You know, if flagging a task would override task ordering and automatically set a task as a next action, it would be the first useful thing flagging a task ever really did.

Hmm, what if there was a way to view Next Actions plus Available, Flagged Actions?

[curt.clifton]

Originally Posted by GeekLady

… it would be the first useful thing flagging a task ever really did.

What?!?

Flagging is already extremely useful as is. Since separate filtering on flags was added, flagging has been a key part of my system. At the beginning of the month I flag the projects that support my goals for the month. (You just have to flag the top-level project; children inherit the flags.) If my weekly review, or my gut instinct, says that I'm not making good progress on monthly goals, then I turn on the Flagged filter in context view. This lets me really focus on my key priorities.

[al_f]

Originally Posted by GeekLady

Now I understand I'm the only person here that doesn't want to see single tasks in Project view

No you're not. :) If a task can be accomplished in a single physical action, surely by definition it isn't a project? In a paper GTD implementation these single tasks would definitely not be in your Projects list.

I also agree that tasks with neither project nor context should stay in the inbox, as their processing is incomplete: you have neither done, delegated (it'd be in @waiting for) or deferred (it'd be in a context).

Originally Posted by GeekLady

I'm just begging that there be a preference to hide the Project-less tasks Project and the Context-less tasks Context. The concept already annoys me, but being able to make them hidden but active would make everybody happy I think.

Being able to collapse the view of these down to a folder would be fine, but I agree that these two views are unnecessary.

[Lutin]

Originally Posted by al_f

I also agree that tasks with neither project nor context should stay in the inbox, as their processing is incomplete: you have neither done, delegated (it'd be in @waiting for) or deferred (it'd be in a context).

I agree on this too.