[peterlemer]

I have created a top level folder: 'CAR',
and in it I have a project called 'Car Maintenance'

What I have done within MORI (my current PIM) is create a single task with a textual list of our 3 cars, formatted in 3 appropriate paragraphs, with a line in each paragraph for:

Car model and registration
Insurance due:
MOT ( safety check) due:
Service due:
Tax due:
Cam belt:

eg:

PICASSO:Citroen Zsara Picasso YV51 UOH service log
Insurance due: 20/9/07. NU Direct Policy MOT128299105 ( last cost £293) (renew = £290.99 - 278.00) 20/9/08
MOT due: 17/3/09
Service Due: 18/03/07 done changed wheel cylinders, will need pads & discs? 3/09
Tax due: 28/02/09
Cam Belt: 60k/75k

All completion dates are in bold text not available here.

Should I put this as a project within OF, and split the 3 cars into projects within that, and each car has 5 tasks within it?

Or is it commonsensical to carry on with the single project, managing the due dates using the text bolding system?

coaching welcome :-)

peter

[brianogilvie]

Information that is not something you can do (such as the make, model, and registration of the vehicle) might go in the project note field, or you might keep it in another application. (I tend to keep this kind of information in a Secure Note in my Keychain.)

Something that needs to be done should probably be an action within the project: a different action for each task and each vehicle. For example, in my recurring tasks project, I have an entry for "Have Mazda Protegé inspected," with a start date of 1 August 2008, a due date of 31 August 2008, and a repeat interval of 1 year from assigned date. I have a similar entry for my family's other car. I'll enter actions for service. I don't bother putting insurance and tax actions in the project because I pay those when the bills arrive. (If my town and insurance company were unreliable in sending out bills, I would put reminders in OmniFocus.)

The basic idea is that any distinct task should be an action within your project. Some people might make "Have car inspected" into a project, with individual actions such as "Call garage to schedule inspection appointment" and "Take car to garage for inspection," but that is too granular for my taste!

[peterlemer]

> (I tend to keep this kind of information in a Secure Note in my Keychain.)

interesting idea - hadn't thought of that, is it possible to link directly to this note from OmniFocus?

>Something that needs to be done should probably be an action within the
> project: a different action for each task and each vehicle.
> For example [...]

that's good. Will follow


> (If my town and insurance company were unreliable in sending out bills,
> I would put reminders in OmniFocus.)

some are unreliable - and so am I :-)
( I often find that my Intray is overstuffed for too long)

> The basic idea is that any distinct task should be an action within your
> project.

I guess that's the master key.


> Some people might make "Have car inspected" into a project, with
> individual actions [...] but that is too granular for my taste!

I will have to see how my data grows to see how granular I want to be :-)

thanks Brian

peter

[brianogilvie]

Originally Posted by peterlemer

> (I tend to keep this kind of information in a Secure Note in my Keychain.)

interesting idea - hadn't thought of that, is it possible to link directly to this note from OmniFocus?

I don't think so--Keychain Access encrypts your keychain, and I don't see a way to link to any individual item in the keychain. I use it for short notes that I want to keep secure, so I don't mind a little hassle in getting the info. Material that I don't need to keep secure I store in a text file or in Journler.

Otherwise, glad to have been of some help!

[peterlemer]

back to the drawing board :-)

> For example, in my recurring tasks project, I have an entry for "Have
> Mazda Protegé inspected," with a start date of 1 August 2008, a due date
> of 31 August 2008, and a repeat interval of 1 year from assigned date. I
> have a similar entry for my family's other car.

I missed this detail first time round.
You have a 'recurring tasks' project which presumably includes actions from a variety of activities?

Do you also have a project dedicated to cars as such?

> I'll enter actions for service. I don't bother putting insurance and tax
> actions in the project because I pay those when the bills arrive.

again, are these actions in the 'recurring tasks' project or in some form of vehicle project? Or in a 'recurring tasks' project within a Car folder?

I ask because I find I occasionally want to see a log of each particular vehicle, and ISTM that having key maintenance items in a general folder would make it difficult to get an overview. Unless OF intends to have the ability to have aliases/ghosts of items, I'd rather keep all car-speciic items in a car project

peter

[brianogilvie]

I have a "recurring actions" single-action list, for things I have to do regularly but not so often to dispense with a reminder. I keep a paper log in each vehicle, with notes on service, so I don't have a need for a car-related project. There's no reason not to make a separate project for each vehicle, though, if it would help your workflow.