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If-Then-Else actions, or Yes-No actions... Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
Wondering if anyone else has implemented an if-then-else structure for their projects. This is the first time I've thought to do this, and while one could argue it's an unnecessary step, it helps me plan out my course of action for each possible outcome.

In the example below, while sitting in a lecture I was thinking about an episode of the StarTalk radio show, and wondered whether or not the show was available on iTunes. I didn't want to open iTunes and check at that moment, so I added the "research whether or not Startalk podcasts available from iTunes" item to my inbox. Normally I would leave it there and deal with the yes/no structure internally while I was completing the task, but decided to plan out both possible routes while I was thinking about them.

While this additional planning adds a little time to the process phase, I think I like the way it lets me think a project all the way through before I tackle it.


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PS: Taking the 2 minute rule into consideration, I have discovered that StarTalk is indeed available from iTunes (though not entirely up to date), so if anyone else was interested in getting their Neil Degrasse Tyson pumped directly into their iPod, have at it! :)


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Thanks for the suggestion! I often need to plan projects this way and your approach is clean and simple. Thanks!
 
Interesting ideas... but it would have the side effect of displaying two next actions in your action list that aren't actionable, and not displaying the actual next action step. The next action step should be "research whether or not...", but instead, OF will display these two actions: "delete episodes..." and "download remaining...".

You could use a "waiting for" step in there before the IF group, to keep those actions on hold until you've done the itunes research.

I would demote the two "If" groups so that they are siblings of the "Research whether..." step and then I would add a "Waiting to finish research..." step before the first "IF". The Waiting For context means that the project will become stalled once you complete the research step, and you'll have to manually go and restart the project. If you don't want to wait for your periodic review to catch the stalled project, add a note to the first step like this: "research whether... and remove waiting for step in project view".


So, it would look like this:

-Research whether... (iMac)
-Waiting to finish research (waiting for)
-If Yes...
-delete episodes... (iMac)
-If No...
-download... (iMac)
 
 


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