Jamie Elis said:
DA uses ToDo for projects and context lists but in ToDo I could not easily locate an item I had already entered if I wanted to see it because it sorts only by date or priority. Why would I want to see it? Because I often can't remember if I put something in my list or not. For example, I may get to my office and find notes to return calls to Jenny, Joe and Marla. I think that maybe I have each of them in my @telephone list already or that I did call two of them and resolved everything or maybe I need to check if the phone numbers left are different or the matter is different.
That may a problem of habit more than of any specific software configuration. If you're at least capturing everything immediately, then it should either be in In or processed into your system; otherwise your brain won't trust the system. In the above example, when you process your notes to return each phone call, you check your @telephone list to see if the individual is already on the list. If so, you can toss the note. If not, you add that person to the list.
Or, I see an ad for a DVD player and I don't recall if I already wrote what I want out in project format, or if it is active or SDMB.
You have to look at your lists, not "remember" them. "Get DVD player" is either on your Project list or your Someday/Maybe list. If it takes more than 60 seconds to scan both lists to see if the entry appears (or any custom list: e.g. I keep a Someday/Maybe Buy memo list category), you probably don't have a trusted system.
Or for at errands I can just as go through my stuff put in Hardware Store-staple gum, Hardware store-take storm window and they will come up together.
That might be a good idea if you're in the context frequently -- if you're doing a lot of home improvement, for instance. I keep keep a separate context list for @Library, but put everything else in one flat @Errands list, knowing that when I'll review it every time I'm out for errands.
In contrast, Memo will sort within a category by the first letter or number or symbol. So, it is fairly easy to find what you have entered if you use even a loosely consistent method. For example, I have a pre-fix for my Projects that relates to my areas of focus and responsibility, FAM (family), SELF, SELF-health, PROF-duties (professional), PROF-credentials, FIN (financial), HOUSE-IN (inside), HOUSE-OUT (yard, exterior), CAR. If your context lists are also in Memo you can move an item easily from one to another and just edit it slightly. @comp
ROF:Issues Meeting on 2/10-title and abstracts to Alex. When the action is done it goes to @waiting for
ROF:Issues Meeting on 2/10-title and abstracts: sent to Alex on 2/3 preference?approve?
If you must organize your lists by linked heirarchies of focus (in this case, 20,000 and 10,000 ft.), you're probably better off sticking with your current system than trying to move items to Tasks. DA and DAC coaches tend to use and recommend flat lists for each level of focus. LifeBalance is probably the most popular Palm tool for heirarchical list management.
Instead of moving a completed action, I'd recommend deleting it and immediately creating a new next action. Deleted items can be set to auto-archive if you still need them for CYA. But if you do want to move it, you can either cut and paste between categories directly on the Palm or, like I do, do all of your processing on the Palm Desktop and change the category by double-clicking on the item and clicking on the Category drop-down list.
You can also move things that way in ToDo but let's say I want to tell Lynn about the Issues Meeting. If @adgenda is in ToDo and I put it in @adgenda starting with Lynn it won't come up next to any other entry for Lynn. In Memo if I already have in @adgenda Lynn item, they will come up together.
There are two ways to list agendas in Tasks: as a comma-separated list following the individual's name ("Lynn: item 1, item 2, item 3") for a short list, or as a note attachment for a longer list.
This may be neither logical nor GTD but for my projects that are not unique (that is I have to do the same things over and over I have a # before the pre-fix and that brings it to the top of the list), the ones that I intend to be really active on in the current week have a ^ so they come up towards the top. All the other's are running in the background so to speak. It is also very possible that I don't understand certain aspects of the GTD system since I struggle in all aspects of my life to get my work done.
For me, there are two outcome lists: Projects and Someday/Maybes. If it's an active project that I'm moving on that week, it goes on the Project list; otherwise it goes on Someday/Maybe. The antidote for sorting and search is setting up hard edges.
