[laner19]

I think this was mentioned earlier as a possible solution to single tasks but wanted to elaborate on possible implementation.

I think it would be nice to see a third category in projects view side bar titled "Single" or something similar. This would be a catchall group for single tasks that can be viewed and easily accessible in project view. Maybe even throw in a unique icon for single tasks similar to how the Inbox icon is unique.

For example in project view mode the side bar would show:

Inbox
Single
Projects

I agree that to be true GTD you should be working in the context view for doing work but I sometimes feel more at home reviewing/working in project view based on the mindset I am in. For this reason I use the Inbox as an "unprocessed" holding tank which needs attention before I can work on it. This is just my personal preference for not keeping single actions in the Inbox.

I currently have to nest a single tasks project in the project folder and it just doesn't seem like the right place based on my workflow since it isn't a project.

Just my 2 cents....

[TommyW]

I have a Single Tasks Project that I assign them to.

Philosophically it's a kludge, but practically it poses no problems in a workflow.

[laner19]

Originally Posted by TommyW

I have a Single Tasks Project that I assign them to.

Philosophically it's a kludge, but practically it poses no problems in a workflow.

It may not pose problems to your work flow but it does to mine.

As I mentioned I do the same thing with you having a "single tasks" project. When I work click on the projects folder to get the entire scope of all my projects and use the filter to group by project. When you have a single project gets placed into a "NONE" folder. I can resolve this by creating a "Single Task" folder but its redundant.

[curt.clifton]

I put a Singletons project under each of my top-level folders. This might be too much structure for some, but the advantage is that I can easily focus on a particular role. This way I can see the project actions and single-step actions just for a particular role.

That said, I think a top-level Singletons folder that was built-in would be a reasonable way to show singletons in the project view. That would help me catch items that I should categorize during my weekly review.

[pvonk]

Yes, curt has pointed out an important organizational issue. If, as suggested by a number of previous posts, we have Inbox, Projects, Singles (or whatever you call it) at the top level, then you have the problem of some singleton actions not being placed within a folder representing that task's catagory (assuming you use folders to organize by category).

As curt suggests, place the "single" folder/project inside each folder, but then you have the next issue, what of subfolders within folders? Are you to have a "single" folder/project within each folder regardless of level? This begs for a muddled organization.

Several earlier posts have actually brought up one important GTD issue, which I fear many/most users are not in tune with. Projects are a side-issue. The GTD method is to throw ideas into a hopper (inBox) and when processed, if the idea is actionable, it must be assigned a context. All of this is supposed to be a black box from which you get "next actions" whenever you are ready to do something. The concept of projects is a convenience added to the system to keep sets of actions that belong to one objective together.

Unfortunately, many/most users focus on projects as the center of the universe. I easily slip into that mentality myself. The projects view should be for just that - projects. You can review them, tweak them, etc. But singletons should not be a part of that. However, we really do need a full view of the landscape to help us look over things, to be sure nothing is lost. So, the suggestions given above provide a way to keep everything in view. I'm sure the designers at Omni have one eye on GTD, but they also realize that OF needs to be less pure, to connect with users who are project-centric, or even those who are simply "task" oriented. The bottom line is that OF will become a hybred; a generic tool that users from different perspectives can use.

As for the problem of singletons vs. the appropriate folder/subfolder they should be associated with - I don't see a solution that offers a simple organization.

[Terry]

Following is a suggestion I wrote to the ninjas a few days ago when reading the singleton threads. I'm reposting here.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

These terms:

Project
Context

seems to generate a whole bunch of tug-of-wars, especially concerning where to place Actions with no projects.

I submit that a slight change in terms in the toolbar may settle many conflicts.

The primary problem we have right now is that the term Project is too limiting on what the view really needs to be. If the view is called Project, then that's pretty much all you can display, Projects. Even the Inbox is displayed in the Project view. But Inbox doesn't really fit, does it? It's not a Project.

Just because GTD has Projects doesn't mean OmniFocus has to name one of its views Project. A better term for this view would be Review. Now this view can contain the Inbox, Projects, single actions with no Projects, etc.

According to GTD, when a person is actually getting things done they're working from the Context view. This view is fine.

By this simple change, now Actions with no Project can be shown in both Review and Context and everyone is happy.

So what will happen is this:

Any Action with no Context and no Project will be in the Inbox;

Any Action with no Project will be in a Review view folder called Non-Project Actions;

Any Action with no Context can't exit, because by definition, a person has to be somewhere, or in some Context;

All other Actions will have a Context and a Project and therefore will be in the Project Actions folder.

Now that there is a Review view, Smart Folders can also exist in this view and be used however the user wants.

[curt.clifton]

Terry,

Having a "Review View" makes great sense.

The only tweak I would make, is that Actions with a project but no context do belong in the project actions folder, but they should be somehow highlighted.

My reason is that I often brainstorm actions while doing project planning. Sometimes I only remember to set contexts for the first couple of actions. But then when I check those off, my project is stuck. The next action, having no assigned context, doesn't show up in Context view. But if actions with projects but no context were highlighted differently in the Review view, then I could easily notice and fix them during a review.

Cheers,

Curt

[Terry]

Yes, please tweak away. My main idea was to modify the limiting view called Project.

[pvonk]

Thanks, Terry! I agree that the "Projects" view should be for just that and nothing else. Your "Review" view is just the thing I was thinking about, more of a maintenance view to be sure nothing falls between the cracks. In the end, it's the Context view that we should be working from to Get Things Done.