Setting up Things 3

Hello!

I use Things 3 in much the same way, but there are some additions:
1. For all the following tasks, I use only the Today list. This is from 25 tasks or more. I don’t use the list at any time - sorting is very inconvenient.
2. Every day I do a morning review and move all the following actions within the Today section to the Evening subsection.
3. Next, I type in the search line “Due” - I check myself to see if there are any tasks with a completion date of today and move them (if any) to the Today section.
4. Next, I look through the list in the Evening and choose what I will do during the day and transfer it to Today. This is from 5 cases or more.
5. If all the tasks in the Today section are completed and there is time and desire, I look through the list in the Evening and add new tasks from it to Today.
6. My list Today is sorted by context in the following order: Negotiations/Meetings, Calls, ‍Laptop, Trips, Home, Waiting. Sorting manually is elementary. These emoticons indicate context, so you don't have to use a tag. Visually, at first glance, you can see what context this task has and how the list is sorted.
7. The task counter in the application icon is set in the position - Time to complete. Therefore, it shows only the number of tasks that are due today.
8. At the bottom of the Evening list, the Awaiting context accumulates - I denote it with the emoji. These tasks are sorted by the deadline - the longer until the event, the lower the task is on the list.
9.I use the following areas, in this order:
- Current projects (here are all projects that are in work, the list is updated after each Weekly Review)
- ️Responsibilities (routine). Regular recurring tasks are concentrated here, divided into projects: business, property, finance, children, competencies, etc. I have 7 projects in this area, which group constantly recurring tasks that form the skeleton of my life. Each of these projects has subsections for convenience. For example, the Property project is divided into subsections: House, Car, etc. You can go even deeper - create a House project and divide it into subsections: Kitchen, Living Room, Bedroom, etc.
The Responsibilities section does not need to be monitored regularly, it is there and keeps the responsibilities in order. I almost always have this area folded.
- Goals for 2023-24 . Here I have 2 main goals that I strive for. These are projects that also have Next Actions like all other projects. But this Area allows me to keep my big goals in mind in my daily routine. As a rule, these are large projects with 50 different actions or more. Such projects need to be thought through sometimes, making amendments to plans and next actions.
- ✈️Vision for 3-5 years (2023-28). I have one project here. Its date is hidden in Someday and in its title, subsections and notes, in it I described how I see my future. I use it as a guide to rise up; if I have difficulty finding a solution to a complex problem, I try to understand the level of thinking above and follow my plan. I don’t look at it often, out of spiritual demand.
- Mission and principles. This is also a project with a date hidden in someday, as well as a title, notes and subsections. I put my life principles into it. As for the mission, I haven’t yet worked it out to perfection, it’s still an outline and sometimes I think about it and make notes.
- Checklists. These are lists like Weekly Review, Packing for a trip, Packing for a picnic, and so on. The date is hidden for everyone someday. There I also have a project in which I write down quotes or aphorisms that motivate me. Sometimes it inspires me when I re-read it. There are not many of them, I try to be very selective and contribute only the most valuable ones in my opinion.
10. Completed tasks are configured in such a way that during the day, I mark them as completed and they are visible. Every evening I am happy to transfer them to the Journal. This helps you see your productivity throughout the day and helps you get things done. This also allows me to remember to assign a new next action in projects while looking through the list of completed ones.
11. I use a medium-sized widget on my iPhone - which allows me to see the first 4 things on the list and every time I pick up my iPhone, I see on the first desktop what other things I have to do for today. Helps you stay focused throughout the day. I use a widget on the lock screen to quickly record a new idea/task in Things 3 without unlocking my iPhone. 1 second and the task is transferred from the head to the inbox.

In principle, that's all without any nuances. The main work is in the Today section. Every day I start with a Checklist - a daily review: 1. Parsing the inbox, 2. Sorting tasks in the List - Today/Evening, 3. A quick look at the project circles - are there any projects among them that do not have the next action. Over the course of a week, I add new projects immediately to the Someday or Current Projects area.

So far, this has all been working for several years: emergency jobs, colds and various stresses have tested this system and it is complex enough to display the GTD model, but also simple enough to sort the to-do list in the Today/Tonight section with a temperature of 38 and not forget anything. I've been using Things 3 since version 2. The system like in the GTD manual or with tags requires too much effort to maintain connections between tasks and projects, or a lot of action with tags and sorting them. Emoticons as contexts are my option. Moreover, I am already 43 years old).

P.S. (translated by the author of the post from Russian, using Google translate, for which I apologize)
 
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FocusGuy

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P.S. (translated by the author of the post from Russian, using Google translate, for which I apologize)
Thank you so much for your post and explanation about the way you work with things. It is very interesting and great for inspiration. Things 3 is an amazing software so simple but so powerfull too. I love it and I love seeing how people use it for applying GTD.
 

FocusGuy

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I indeed enjoy working with things. It is so easy and great to work with. I also use and re discovered searches and it’s amazing hidden functions. What i like the most, is the intuitive way of managing projects and tasks. I also love the iphone app. For now i dont have any friction. I feel much better with things 3 than every task manager i used before.
 
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GNewman

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For now i dont have any friction. I feel much better with things 3 than every task manager i used before.
I noticed from other threads that you used to use Omnifocus. I've been using OmniFocus forever and decided to try Things yet again. I bounced around with Things during the Omnifocus beta. I am finding it very hard to make the switch and build trust in the app. I know Things pretty well, my mind just isn't clicking with it. I wonder if I just need to stick it out for a while.
 

FocusGuy

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I noticed from other threads that you used to use Omnifocus. I've been using OmniFocus forever and decided to try Things yet again. I bounced around with Things during the Omnifocus beta. I am finding it very hard to make the switch and build trust in the app. I know Things pretty well, my mind just isn't clicking with it. I wonder if I just need to stick it out for a while.
Yes I am/was an old user of Omnifocus (since OF1). I wrote a lot about it here and on the web. Relashionship with a software seems to be a very complex process depending on our own mindset.

For years I was simply unable to chose one or the other. I had time period with Omnifocus and time period with things. This was complicated because I had to update each software when I was switching. Also I tweaked a lot omnifocus. I spent hours making and erasing perspectives. Reading stuff. Searching for the holly graal. I never found it.

I realized that this search was a kind of procrastination, but also that a little voice always brought me back to Things.

That said, along time ago David Allen explained (from what I remember) that the good feeling with the software was important to consider.

Yes Omnifocus is indeed a very good tool. It can be set as you like and perspectives are the core of it. So One month ago I decided to give a real chance to OF4 and I bought the licence. After one month of testing I realized that it did not helped me and nothings really changed except some good little improvements. I also realized Omnifocus is very mental energy consuming with me. It needs a to of effort to maintain and update for me and doesn't worth to it.

So I decided to find something lighter and switched again to Things 3. Things is very powerful but it has for me two incredible advantages : no friction and no tweak. Here I can only explain how I feel things vs Omnifocus. For me the main difference TH VS OF is mainly about process and daily use.

Things is lighter. Things is easy. Things is perfect for what I attend from a software to manage my stuff, give me a good bird eye of everything and plan regarding to the scale of Time.Things is, at last, much more intuitive for me and my way of beeing. I don't know really why. May be it's the way things works and made is more funny for me than OF witch is too serious and too compartmented / Segmented.

In real life Things does the same than omnifocus. It's simply easier. Now, I need being more in the flow and efficiency. I dont want to tweet a system and spend my time for this. I am not an informatician. I am a business maker. What I want is to get results.

May be later I will be in another mood and mindset like a manager. So May be later I will come back to Omnifocus or I will stick with Things. There is no perfect system (sub folders miss me a lot)

So I decided for a while (until May 20) to stick with Things and forget Omnifocus. I will see I It is able to manage my turbulent life. For now it does it very well. I will see at the end of it if I miss too much Omnifocus... For now it doesn't miss me....
 
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mcogilvie

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I noticed from other threads that you used to use Omnifocus. I've been using OmniFocus forever and decided to try Things yet again. I bounced around with Things during the Omnifocus beta. I am finding it very hard to make the switch and build trust in the app. I know Things pretty well, my mind just isn't clicking with it. I wonder if I just need to stick it out for a while.
I did OK with OF 1 and 2, but not always great. In hindsight, OF 3 was worse. Meanwhile, Things 3 was looking better and better. However, things (pun intended) really took off for me when I simplified my areas from over 10 to 5, and cut my number of active tags to 7. I found that I could work very effectively from the Today view. In fact, my use of Things is fairly close to what Cultured Code suggests. The lack of friction is wonderful. My life is still complicated, busy and rich, but the issues I face are mine and I don’t confuse them with my use of Things. I’m not trying to convince you that Things is better for you than OmniFocus. You should honestly work towards a mind like water. I think you’ll know when you are getting close.
 

GNewman

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After one month of testing I realized that it did not helped me and nothings really changed except some good little improvements. I also realized Omnifocus is very mental energy consuming with me. It needs a to of effort to maintain and update for me and doesn't worth to it.
This is pretty much where I am right now.
along time ago David Allen explained (from what I remember) that the good feeling with the software was important to consider.
I really need to pay attention to this; thanks @FocusGuy . I'm not "feeling good" with OmniFocus anymore, no matter how much I try to configure it and frankly I'm tired of configuring.

I found that I could work very effectively from the Today view.
This is very true. In OmniFocus I have a couple of perspectives I use. It's gotten better and I could almost live in the forecast but I appreciate how I can work in Today in Things3 and then pull from Anytime as needed.


After I posted the reply above in February, I tried to use Things3 as my main app for 30 days. I lasted about 4 days and went back to OmniFocus. But here I'm getting ready to do my weekly review and OmniFocus is making me anxious. I have never felt anxious using Things3 but I have felt distrust in it and I think that's simply because it's a new system (for me) and my brain is rejecting change. I'm going to try to do the 30 day challenge again.
 

FocusGuy

Registered
r I posted the reply above in February, I tried to use Things3 as my main app for 30 days. I lasted about 4 days and went back to OmniFocus. But here I'm getting ready to do my weekly review and OmniFocus is making me anxious. I have never felt anxious using Things3 but I have felt distrust in it and I think that's simply because it's a new system (for me) and my brain is rejecting change. I'm going to try to do the 30 day challenge again.
For doing my weekly review I noticed than OF4 (Like OF3) was much time consuming than things 3. I think it is because the 2 softwares have a different philosophy.

OF is great because it force you to make a real inventory of all your engagement focus on project and next action. You decide what to put on you plate, the result to obtain and the next action. Sometime the trap is to go too deeper in the project itself So it takes a lot of time.
Then you decide when to begin something with the start date. "I won't do that until this date" but with a list of context there is no real time affected for that. It is a list. You chose as it come and every projects is included. It may be complex sometime for making choice. The brain is just unable to choose. So you have to use the focus function to focus on one project only.

During the WR, Things is more intentional. The first question it asks is what is on my plate ? Is it doable next week or not. If the project must be done but not now I just postpone later. Next week for example. Then It is out of my plate. I can postpone stuff on the forecast view very naturally and see the all project but not the tasks it contains. Idem for task without the project itself.

What is more complex is the question of the next action. When you decide that you will work on 10 or 20 project you dont have in things any perspective to say that says "there is no next action on this project". So you have to review each project and decide about the next action. It is again an intentional act. Then you will use the "when" function. "When" does'nt mean "I won't work on that until Wednesday" like on OF. It means in things "I intend to do on Wednesday" and if it is undone it will be reported on Thursday then Friday etc... Until it is done.

The today view is crucial with things. It show what must be today. IT is your GTD agenda's list.

Of course you can configure Omnifocus 4 to work nearly like things, in a certain way. But il will never be as agile as Things which is faster and easier. For example during the day I scroll and see what is on my plate for the current month. Sometime Something changed I just change the date with my finger or on my computer. It is a natural process and the time line is for me much better in things than in Omnifocus.

This may be why I also felt anxious with Omnifocus making my weekly review. My brain works like things. I am focus on results. I love GTD but having a list of stuff by context of 10 to 30 different next actions relative to different projects is confusing for me. It ok for choosing but complex for acting.

In things I choose what to do tomorrow at a glance using cmd Y. It is clear as I see my task with a star at the beginning of it and it goes directly in the today's view which is my daily path for the day.

Again Omnifocus can do the same with flag but the view is less engaging that Thins is.

At last the number of perspective in omnifocus drove me nut. I prefer Things function. I love the search function in things wish is amazing.

This may be why you may feel anxious as I am sometime with it.
 

GNewman

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Sometime the trap is to go too deeper in the project itself
This is so true. I always "thought" I liked how OmniFocus hides actions completely (unless you set the view to remaining) but I always ended up in a trap where I forget about actions until the weekly review then they make me anxious. Or sometimes I'll reenter tasks because I forgot they were in the database and just hidden. I like how Things3 exposes those hidden tasks a little easier (later items).

The first question it asks is what is on my plate ? Is it doable next week or not. If the project must be done but not now I just postpone later.
The way I'm going this in Things3 is if I cannot do it it this week I just put it in someday. That way, I can complete what is on Today then pull from Anytime and the Anytime view is a good indication of how much I have on my plate for the week. I can alway pull from Someday if I need to.

I also love the Projects search in Things. It is so hard to determine what are TRUE projects in Omnifocus because everything is essentially a project. I loathe single action lists in OmniFocus. Always have.
I love GTD but having a list of stuff by context of 10 to 30 different next actions relative to different projects is confusing for me.
I agree with this and to my prior point about single action lists it really blurs the reality of what is on my list. Some things can just be a simple checklist; something not supported in OmniFocus.
In things I choose what to do tomorrow at a glance using cmd Y.
What have you mapped Cmd+Y to? That's not a default binding I don't think (it doesn't work for me). Is this like a "Tomorrow" search?
At last the number of perspective in omnifocus drove me nut.
I have about 30 perspectives and only use one custom one. The filtering is so convoluted I just don't use them.

I kind of feel like I'm on the right path; I just need it to become the new normal for me.
 

FocusGuy

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). Is this like a "Tomorrow" search?
Just type in the search field tomorrow it will show tomorrow, all projects it will show all projects, i use it a lot with tags for example TE is my mit client i work a lot with him and love to so i have all subjects with him. I agree The search field is an astonish function in things like the everywhere search…
I also love the keyboard shortcuts.
Things is so well made
 

FocusGuy

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cannot do it it this week I just put it in someday.
I do the same. Each sunday i choose my projects for the week, plan what must be eg weekly review next friday and put in someday by areas every project i dont want to work on next week. Yes my someday is segmented by areas …
 

BrandiFig

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Great suggestions and thoughts, thanks! Another question: I have a bit of trouble focusing on what to do each day. I don't want to assign deadlines to things that don't have a hard deadline, but I'd like to have a list of items prioritized for the day. Would you use the "do" date in Things for this to have the items show up in Today but knowing that they aren't "due" today?
 

mcogilvie

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Great suggestions and thoughts, thanks! Another question: I have a bit of trouble focusing on what to do each day. I don't want to assign deadlines to things that don't have a hard deadline, but I'd like to have a list of items prioritized for the day. Would you use the "do" date in Things for this to have the items show up in Today but knowing that they aren't "due" today?
You can make something appear in the Today view using either a start date, a due date, or by just marking it as today (Command-T with a keyboard). The latter just says you would like to work on this today.
 

FocusGuy

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You can make something appear in the Today view using either a start date, a due date, or by just marking it as today (Command-T with a keyboard)
Yes that s one of the great function of things. I usually plan my project for the future eg account project for Tuesday, then the day before i review each project one by one and just star the tasks i want to do tomorrow. In the today's view every task is grouped by project ( it is a setting) so during the day I cross each item one by one. As David said 'you can't do a project, you can only do tasks about it"
Acting like this is very addictive, fast and efficient.

Of course Omnifocus could do the same. Anyway, for me, Things is more intuitive.
It is an acting process.
 
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ColdKeeper

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For doing my weekly review I noticed than OF4 (Like OF3) was much time consuming than things 3. I think it is because the 2 softwares have a different philosophy.

OF is great because it force you to make a real inventory of all your engagement focus on project and next action. You decide what to put on you plate, the result to obtain and the next action. Sometime the trap is to go too deeper in the project itself So it takes a lot of time.
Then you decide when to begin something with the start date. "I won't do that until this date" but with a list of context there is no real time affected for that. It is a list. You chose as it come and every projects is included. It may be complex sometime for making choice. The brain is just unable to choose. So you have to use the focus function to focus on one project only.

During the WR, Things is more intentional. The first question it asks is what is on my plate ? Is it doable next week or not. If the project must be done but not now I just postpone later. Next week for example. Then It is out of my plate. I can postpone stuff on the forecast view very naturally and see the all project but not the tasks it contains. Idem for task without the project itself.

What is more complex is the question of the next action. When you decide that you will work on 10 or 20 project you dont have in things any perspective to say that says "there is no next action on this project". So you have to review each project and decide about the next action. It is again an intentional act. Then you will use the "when" function. "When" does'nt mean "I won't work on that until Wednesday" like on OF. It means in things "I intend to do on Wednesday" and if it is undone it will be reported on Thursday then Friday etc... Until it is done.

The today view is crucial with things. It show what must be today. IT is your GTD agenda's list.

Of course you can configure Omnifocus 4 to work nearly like things, in a certain way. But il will never be as agile as Things which is faster and easier. For example during the day I scroll and see what is on my plate for the current month. Sometime Something changed I just change the date with my finger or on my computer. It is a natural process and the time line is for me much better in things than in Omnifocus.

This may be why I also felt anxious with Omnifocus making my weekly review. My brain works like things. I am focus on results. I love GTD but having a list of stuff by context of 10 to 30 different next actions relative to different projects is confusing for me. It ok for choosing but complex for acting.

In things I choose what to do tomorrow at a glance using cmd Y. It is clear as I see my task with a star at the beginning of it and it goes directly in the today's view which is my daily path for the day.

Again Omnifocus can do the same with flag but the view is less engaging that Thins is.

At last the number of perspective in omnifocus drove me nut. I prefer Things function. I love the search function in things wish is amazing.

This may be why you may feel anxious as I am sometime with it.
I just purchased Things 3 to give it a try and I am curious as to how you set it up. It sounds like you set everything up in projects and then the next actions within those projects. How about single action task that are not associated with a project? Are you using tags for context? I reviewed the GTD setup guide for Things, and I understand why they suggest setting up each context as a project because it allows you to quickly work your list. However, this would mean storing your project list somewhere else and I am not sure how I feel about that.
 

FocusGuy

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Hello @ColdKeeper

Welcome to Things 3 one of the best software for GTD !
My answers in your questions.
It sounds like you set everything up in projects and then the next actions within those projects.
Absolutly. I dont follow the GTD usual setting. I need to see everything relative to a project at a glance.

How about single action task that are not associated with a project?
They can go either inside a project or an area (Folder). It is one the big differences with Omnifocus and some other apps.

Are you using tags for context?
Of course !

I reviewed the GTD setup guide for Things, and I understand why they suggest setting up each context as a project because it allows you to quickly work your list.
There is a thread about this in the forum I answered why. It has no interest for me and it makes things complicated (both meanings)
As projects are results to obtain they must be listed one by one. As next action are relative to this result they must be included inside te projects. If you link reference material later inside a task all will be more complex is everything in everywhere. It is a sandbox. But I understand some people like this kind of setting. I don't. Maybe the habit of omnifocus.

However, this would mean storing your project list somewhere else and I am not sure how I feel about that.
Why doing both work ?
Things manage perfectly a project list

My setting here :
It is a special setting. I use a part of PARA where the folder "areas" contains long term projects.
I also Like having a global list of my actual project as DA does I guess = Projects
My specific areas are for someday stuff except for projects I want to work on eg renew mini LDD in June. I need to anticipate, but it will be set in June so it is not on my plate by now. I just need to keep an eye on that and do some calculation on the flow.
Tickler is for non actionnable project starting later. I have some eg I will prepare the annual balance sheet for Year 2023 with my accountant in April. As he does everything ( :) ) I dont have anything to do...
My tags helps me to narrow the list on the flow.
There are other lists after such as buildings, clients and so on... = References material. When they are ready they will become actionnable (=> project)

Things is an amazing software well set it does nearly the same than Omnifocus did for me but differently. Things gives me a bird eye Omnifocus gave me a short view (It is made for sorting and give a narrow view) but it is great too. I could use one or the other. Things is only easier and better for me.

Hope that helps ;)
 

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GNewman

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Would you use the "do" date in Things for this to have the items show up in Today but knowing that they aren't "due" today?
Yes, exactly. I star (cmd+t) to add an action to today and if I don't get to it I either reschedule the do date or leave it in Today for tomorrow's review.
 

GNewman

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@FocusGuy I see you use a `@next` tag. I have never used any next context in all my years loosely using GTD. In OmniFocus using sequential lists I just took it for granted the available action was the "next" action. How are you using this in Things3? I'm curious what that process looks like and if you find it helpful. I'm not sure how helpful it could be for my workflow since I've never used "next".
 
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