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Unactive Items in Project View? Help dealing with delegated tasks... Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
I am struggling with how to manage items that are "unactive" or "waiting for". If I send out an email that is waiting for a reply, I assign it the context "Waiting" which is an On Hold context. When I review projects, there is no way to show the On Hold, or unactive items without showing everything together. i.e. I can't filter by unactive or On Hold items, I can only show "Remaining" which shows everything. I want to look at the projects that have items waiting in them only.

I was trying to filter all my "stalled" projects but it only shows projects that have NO active items in them and it does not include SAL's.

I'd love some input. I don't understand why there isn't a filter to show unactive items in project mode or is there a better way to review my delegated items?

Oh... And If I put a project On Hold, shouldn't the actions in that project inherit an On Hold status or context and can be viewed along side other items that have been given an On Hold context? You have to view On Hold actions in the Context Mode and then switch to Project mode if you want to view On Hold projects....

Last edited by marshallj; 2009-06-15 at 12:33 AM.. Reason: added text...
 
Is there a particular reason for putting the "Waiting For" context on hold? I've always left mine as active, and just set up a saved perspective that doesn't show it. Then I keep a separate perspective saved that shows only my Waiting For, so I can see quickly who owes me deliverables.

When I switch to my project view, I can see all my projects, and whether I own the next action item, or someone else.
 
Hmm... I guess it seemed logical to put delegated items "on hold" because a delegated item is actually on hold. I can't complete it until I receive something from someone else. So, it seems like you're proposing a work around because there isn't a filter to show hold contexts only in Projects view.

I also lose the functionality of the stalled projects view.

I'd also love some thoughts on why items under an on hold context don't inherit the on hold context
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by marshallj View Post
I'd also love some thoughts on why items under an on hold context don't inherit the on hold context
I don't understand what you mean by "items under an on hold context"? Do you mean sub-contexts? ("Items" makes me think of actions, and they can't be under a context.)
__________________
Cheers,

Curt
 
Yes, actions... apologies.

If I put a project on hold, all the actions become gray and are completely hidden in context mode. I'm getting it now... An on hold project and all it's actions are completely off the map when you're in context mode.

When I'm focused on working within a larger project, I tend to work out of project mode, which I know isn't sticking with the GTD system...

It would be nice to be able to show all the actions that have an on hold context (i.e. unactive actions) within project mode so I can see everything I'm waiting for within a large project.

Last edited by marshallj; 2009-06-21 at 01:52 PM..
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by marshallj View Post
When I'm focused on working within a larger project, I tend to work out of project mode, which I know isn't sticking with the GTD system...
I wouldn't lose a lot of sleep over it. GTD is intended to help you be able to work on what is most important, and if what is most important is that you focus on a specific project today, you should do just that. To the extent the project is sequential, there isn't much point in looking at it in context mode when you don't have multiple choices for what to work on next. I see context mode as the natural place to work when you are going to work on several projects, possibly making only incremental progress on them. If on the other hand you have a project that is due today, you might as well work it looking at it in project mode.
Quote:
It would be nice to be able to show all the actions that have an on hold context (i.e. unactive actions) within project mode so I can see everything I'm waiting for within a large project.
I occasionally find it useful to go to context mode, select only my on hold contexts, hit the focus button (which will focus on all of the projects that have actions in the on hold contexts), then switch to project mode and tweak the view bar to suit (you'll want remaining actions). This will show you the current "sticking points" in the projects plus what comes after them. There is the slight flaw that a project where the current next action is not in fact one of your on hold actions will also show up, but you could always remove it from the selection and focus again if it really bothers you.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by whpalmer4 View Post
I occasionally find it useful to go to context mode, select only my on hold contexts, hit the focus button (which will focus on all of the projects that have actions in the on hold contexts), then switch to project mode and tweak the view bar to suit (you'll want remaining actions).
Hmm. What am I missing? This doesn't work for me. The "focus" button is greyed out when I'm in context mode.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by marshallj View Post
It would be nice to be able to show all the actions that have an on hold context (i.e. unactive actions) within project mode so I can see everything I'm waiting for within a large project.
There's no way to just show actions with on-hold contexts from project mode. But here are some ideas that might help:
  • In Context mode, you might try adjusting the View Bar like so: Set the Show Context lozenge (the first one) to "On Hold". Set the second lozenge to Group by Project. Set the fourth lozenge to Show Actions with Status Remaining. Now you have a view showing all the actions from on-hold contexts, grouped by project. You can save that view as a perspective if you find it useful (Perspectives → Save Window as New Perspective).
  • In project mode, you can add the Context column. If your on-hold contexts are named consistently (like "Waiting For, Fred" or "OH, Paris") then you could scan down the Context column to find the actions.
  • You've probably noticed this, but for completeness I'll mention it. "Blocked" actions show up in a lighter gray color. Blocked actions belong to on-hold contexts, have future start dates, or come sequentially after such actions. So, you can scan for light gray actions in Project mode to narrow down the list.

Hope that helps.
__________________
Cheers,

Curt
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by curiousstranger View Post
Hmm. What am I missing? This doesn't work for me. The "focus" button is greyed out when I'm in context mode.
You have to select some actions in the main pane before you can focus on their projects.
__________________
Cheers,

Curt
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by curt.clifton View Post
You have to select some actions in the main pane before you can focus on their projects.
Ahhh, you have to individually select the actions. Select all doesn't work, because it also selects the context headers. This is slightly annoying and maybe a bug...
 
 


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