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Delegated tasks? Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
Quote:
Originally Posted by bushford
Hmm... To keep it simple, when you delegate something, there should be only one thing you have to enter in OF, not 1) Joe paints the house 2) Remind Joe to paint the house. That's a reason why I think there should be specific functionality for delegated tasks.

Delegated stuff is not simply "waiting for": we wait for things over which we have no control (the weather, a parcel arriving by post, ...) but when we delegate, we still control and chase...
I disagree partially...

Delegated stuff involves both waiting for, and a reminder that if something hasn't been done in a given time, that you take another action.

You are waiting for a response from Vendor A about the email you sent.
If it hasn't happened within a week, you have another task to email the client to check on the status.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by lshastings
It seems that some tasks may have multiple contexts, depending on one's view or perspective at the time. For instance one could put the delegated task for Susan in @Phone and @Agenda:Susan and @Waiting For. Not multiple tasks, but multiple views of the same task from different contexts. Modification or completion of the task in any one context is reflected in the other contexts.

Does OmniFocus support multiple contexts in this way?
I just wanted to add my 2 cents into this - multiple contexts is a fact of life, and not just hierarchical contexts. I don't know how you deal with this from a visual standpoint in the context view, but the usefulness of OmniFocus (which otherwise looks incredibly useful) would be severely limited without multiple contexts. Simple example: @Shopping:Gifts:Mary and @Yardwork:Hedges:Mary. Maybe this is related to delegation, but in neither case is Mary actually doing the tasks.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by maverator
I just wanted to add my 2 cents into this - multiple contexts is a fact of life, and not just hierarchical contexts. I don't know how you deal with this from a visual standpoint in the context view, but the usefulness of OmniFocus (which otherwise looks incredibly useful) would be severely limited without multiple contexts. Simple example: @Shopping:Gifts:Mary and @Yardwork:Hedges:Mary. Maybe this is related to delegation, but in neither case is Mary actually doing the tasks.
I don't think I understand your example. Contexts in the GtD sense are particular places or tools that are preconditions for working on a task. I can see Shopping, Yardwork, and Mary all being contexts. I can also see Hedges being a context if there are lots of tasks that you do around the hedges. I don't see how Gifts is a context. It is a nice piece of meta-data to have available. I do like to search for gifts that I've given in the past to avoid buying someone the "perfect gift" two years in a row. :-) Omni is planning on including a meta-data facility for tracking such things.

I deal with multiple contexts by grouping contexts into places. For example, when I'm at my office, I want to see all the next actions in the following contexts: @Briefcase, @Computer, @On-line, @Phone, and @Agenda (the last having subcontexts for the various people I work with). On the other hand, when I'm on a plane I want to see @Briefcase and @Computer.

Considering lshasting's example about a delegated task to Susan being in @Waiting, @Agenda:Susan, and @Phone, it seems unusual to me for the item to be in all those contexts. If I just delegated something to Susan, then I'm waiting for it. I don't want it showing up on my agenda or phone contexts, lest it make me (even more) impatient. I would instead put the task in @Waiting with a due date. When the date comes up, I would reevaluate whether to send a follow-up (moving the task to @Email or @Phone) or to just put it on my agenda for the next time I see Susan. I also have to review my agenda items occasionally to be sure nothing is languishing there. To me GTD works best when I'm studious with reviews so that my context-based task lists are unpolluted by things I am not ready to do. If a task for Susan was immediately on my @Phone list right after I delegated it, then this would seem like task list pollution to me.

I'm not trying to say that multiple contexts wouldn't be useful, just that I don't understand yet how they would be useful. I would appreciate more examples, or perhaps just more description around the current examples. Maybe I'm missing the boat on something that would help me be more productive.

Thanks!
 
Contexts are not only places available, but tools available.
Example:
Computer
Internet
Those are two contexts that use the same tool, but one context could be used only where you have a computer and an internet connection, primarily the internet connection. The other context can only be used when you have a computer.

Gifts begins to seem outside context, unless it is around Christmas time and you want to see all the gifts you need to get for different people. Personally, I have a different program for lists like gifts.

The Susan being in @Waiting, @Agenda:
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by curt.clifton
I don't think I understand your example. Contexts in the GtD sense are particular places or tools that are preconditions for working on a task.
I am not familiar with GTD, but I do have a concept of what's important for me to be able to keep my head wrapped around all the things that are important to me in my life. If you superimpose this idea on the contexts concept that GTD apparently has, which seems to be more pragmatic from your description, then that's where I'm coming from.

Here's an example. If I need to buy a gift for my friend's birthday, then the contexts would be "Personal" (because my personal relationships are an important aspect of my life), "Shopping" (more of a standard to-do type of GTD context category I guess), and "Finances" (because I would like to see a slice through all the items that are going to have an impact on my bank account). These categories don't have a hierarchical relationship with each other.

It's kind of like keywords or tags I guess, but with an application like OmniFocus I am hoping that visualization of tasks with respect to tags (contexts) is more explicit than it is with things like del.icio.us, where items are highlighted and the tags are listed in a subordinate way. One function of OmniFocus seems to be to view the contexts with the tasks subordinate (which is why I am drawn to it). As I alluded to in my last post, I guess the challenge with non-hierarchical contexts would be to find some way to execute this view so that tasks aren't duplicated on the page (or if they are, that there is some intuitive way to realize they are duplicates).
 
I'm seeing a lot of people who don't know anything about GTD working with the OF alpha. And that's fine.

But it is a little like having a lot of people who don't drive evaluating cars. Yes, there are tons of things they can test out and judge as well as any driver (poor placement of window controls, too many cup holders) -- but there are things they shouldn't have opinions about because they can't drive. [why are both pedals operated by the right foot? would a joystick be better than a steering wheel?]

I'm not focusing on anyone here (especially the previous posters on this thread), but I've seen a lot of people question/complain about things that are addressed in the basic GTD literature. People are asking for built-in calendars, priority indicators and the like -- and these are not part of the GTD project list concept.

OmniFocus was designed to be a GTD Next Action manager. It was never intended to be a "do everything" personal life manager. It is a second generation product, Kinkless GTD was first generation. If you've never looked at KGTD, wander over to Kinkless.com and take a look. Ethan isn't working on this any more, but I think the old forums are still around.

Again, I'm not trying to single out anyone, just remark about a general attitude I've seen here.

--Liz
 
For GTD newbies....

Remember that Contexts are not "how you know someone or something" but at state of which you will be in that can do tasks.

Example: Gifts for my wife are not @Wife but @Errands since I am not @Wife doing tasks but I am @Errands around town and need to look at my list of things to do.

Example 2: When I need to discuss something with my boss it is not @Work but more @Agenda-Boss which means when I am sitting in a room with him I can bring up my @Agenda-Boss list and go for it as opposed to @Work which would contain a ton of other things.

Really though, OmniFocus, while not a 100% GTD application was built off of the idea of a PURE GTD app in kGTD and helped along by two people (Ethan and Merlin) who are VERY GTD.

You don't have to know all of it to use OmniFocus but it will help.

BZ
 
TO OMNIFOCUS DEVELOPERS...

I want to add a strong vote for MULTIPLE CONTEXTS... I know it is not a strict implementation for GTD but that truly cannot be the point. Omnifocus admits they are not simply an GTD tool.... I want to be able to put (for example) something in @Calls (where in true GTD fasdhion I list all my calls) but also in @LosAngeles so I can see the call as part of the actions I need to complete in Los Angeles. A VERY useful feature, otherwise I have to continually scan all my actions to make certain I haven't missed something....
 
This may not be appealing or what you're after, but I'm experimenting with preceding any waiting for actions with "WF: ", and then filtering for that when I want to see those.

Bob
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by LizPf
I'm seeing a lot of people who don't know anything about GTD working with the OF alpha. And that's fine....

But it is a little like having a lot of people who don't drive evaluating cars.

OmniFocus was designed to be a GTD Next Action manager. It was never intended to be a "do everything" personal life manager.

--Liz
Can we get someone from Omni to weigh in on this statement? If OF will only ever be a "GTD Next Action Manager" and not a (hopefully more flexible) personal productivity app, then it will probably save a lot of discussion (and more than likely push many folks back over to iGTD).

-gb
 
 


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