Setting up Things 3

[Broomscot]

this would mean storing your project list somewhere else and I am not sure how I feel about that.

I use Things to navigate my day but I use a different app to manage projects because I haven't found a program that is good at both perspectives, i.e. the daily perspective and what to do next, and the more strategic perspective of the projects that should have my attention over the next week, month or quarter. When I do my weekly review, I review my project list to get a high level view and decide on specific outcomes that I want to achieve in the next week. I add these weekly outcomes to Things as projects, keeping them together in a Things Area called 'Weekly Outcomes'. At the end of the week, when I review progress, I update my project list, clear out my Weekly Outcomes folder in Things, and then choose a new set of Weekly Outcomes for the next week.

 

[FocusGuy]

@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".

@GNewman Yes that's new for me. I use the next tag with Omnifocus and things.
The idea is having a list of the next action per project. It is different that the context tag (eg @Call, @Computer...)

it shows me the project and it list of very next action I need to see relative to a project.

I also add specific task I need to keep a daily eye on like a waiting for :
exemple in a négociation lawyers needs to have a call together for making an agreement so I wrote
- WF Layers to speak together 03.20 tags are Next + WF.
I also have a next action I can do asap so I wrote :
- Reporting of the negotiation and the tag is @OrdiMac (I do it on my computer)

Then :
With things I can see every next action relative to projects but I can mixt it with @Ordimac or @Call to see what I want
With Omnifocus It is more complex. I have specific perspectives for that I am still testing which does the same.

 

[GNewman]

The idea is having a list of the next action per project.

Makes sense I guess but in my mind it feels like more work trying to keep up with the @next tag, especially in Things3. I need to do some reading on this and some reflection. thanks for the info.

 

[mcogilvie]

I use Things to navigate my day but I use a different app to manage projects because I haven't found a program that is good at both perspectives, i.e. the daily perspective and what to do next, and the more strategic perspective of the projects that should have my attention over the next week, month or quarter. When I do my weekly review, I review my project list to get a high level view and decide on specific outcomes that I want to achieve in the next week. I add these weekly outcomes to Things as projects, keeping them together in a Things Area called 'Weekly Outcomes'. At the end of the week, when I review progress, I update my project list, clear out my Weekly Outcomes folder in Things, and then choose a new set of Weekly Outcomes for the next week.

I find this interesting, because I think Things is stronger on project planning than daily doing. You have the Anytime view, where everything is organized by area and project. You also have the All Projects view, and you can use tags on projects and areas. What other program do you find better for managing projects?

 

[FocusGuy]

Makes sense I guess but in my mind it feels like more work trying to keep up with the @next tag, especially in Things3. I need to do some reading on this and some reflection. thanks for the info.

Yes it needs to be a bit rigorous. For me the result is great at one glance i have all my next action. I can sort them in the order i want. I also use a smb task in paralle with things function. It could seems un usefull, but for seeing every thing in smb during the weekly review, it is very helpfull for me !

 

[mcogilvie]

Nothing. I have a reference material in gdrive and things does what is actionable + archive.
When the project is done i may archive it in gdrive or let it in things

Thanks, but it was a question for @Broomscot.

 

[Broomscot]

I find this interesting, because I think Things is stronger on project planning than daily doing. You have the Anytime view, where everything is organized by area and project. You also have the All Projects view, and you can use tags on projects and areas. What other program do you find better for managing projects?

I have tried a number of different apps for managing projects. My favourite, mentioned in a post elsewhere, was MyLifeOrganised but, alas, it doesn't have a macOS version and I switched from Windows to Macs in 2015. I tried Merlin, which has two versions, Merlin Project, a full-blown project manager, and Merlin Express, a cut-down version. They are great programs, but I found the feature split between the two awkward. Merlin Express lacked some features that seemed essential to me, like the ability to filter your list. But Merlin Project was very complex and had lots of features I didn't want such as resource management. Because I like a timeline view similar to a Gantt chart, I have also tried SheetPlanner and Aeon Timeline.

I am now using, and very happy with, Tinderbox, but I wouldn't recommend this unless you already use it (or just love learning new stuff! ) as it has a steep learning curve. However, the aspect that matches GTD perfectly is that you can start with an extremely simple project list and gradually add more features as the need arises. In other words, you can adapt it to match your workflow (and, most importantly, your changing workflow) rather than having to adapt your workflow to suit the software. Because it's easier to explain with a picture, I've attached a screenshot. The fields on the right are mostly fields that I have defined myself to match my workflow. Code, Status, AoF (area of focus), Things_project and Tags are key attributes that the software has allowed me to create to meet my personal needs.

 

[mcogilvie]

Thanks, @Broomscot. I see what you are doing now. I would find moving between Tinderbox and Things difficult, but I see how it could work. I keep everything in Things, but I have worked hard to get it all simple enough to do so.

 

[Broomscot]

Thanks, @Broomscot. I see what you are doing now. I would find moving between Tinderbox and Things difficult, but I see how it could work. I keep everything in Things, but I have worked hard to get it all simple enough to do so.

Yes, I agree that simplicity is really important. I have to say that I don't use Tinderbox much once I've completed the weekly review. From day to day, I work from Things or even from paper. Then I update Tinderbox at the next weekly review, which provides a good opportunity for reflection. I find it's quite a good way of preventing me from getting sucked into too many projects, because it sets this week's projects apart from the rest.