How do you review your tag settings?

Folke

09/09/2013 15:45

In Doit, the tasks' tags are not visible in the list. You have to open the task to see them, or you can try filtering to see which tasks are affected by which tag.

But I am the nervous type :-)
I like to double-check my tagging during my reviews. Most apps have the tags visible and that makes it easy to just ocularly scan the list.

How do the rest of you do this in Doit?

I tried to suggest as a feature that tags be made visible, but did not get any encouraging answer. http://help.doit.im/topics/1448

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• hntopper  (积分：395)09/09/2013 17:18
  1 floor

  @Folke, glad to see you.
  
  I too wish the tags were visable. Perhaps this is something they will implement. We shall see how quickly them iterate vs some others. For some of my more frequented Tags, I've simply created a smart filter for them so I can check them periodically throughout the day without much fuss. I have the filter results sorted by priority. I find this gives me the majority of what I need throughout the day and they are saved on all my mobile devices.
  
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•   (积分：10)09/09/2013 19:23
  2 floor

  Well, very pleased to see you two! And @hntopper a double thank you. Your comment on the other forum regarding your intention to try Doit for a year encouraged me to do the same. I have been hanging around here for a month or more but you gave me the nudge. Second thank you is that you mentioned Smart Filter. I hadn't spotted that!
  Currently I am trying to resist thinking something is inferior simply because it's not what I have been accustomed to. I find it very clunky to give a task a start date and a due date. But the quick entry box is a wizz so perhaps it's about familiarity.
  And @Folke are you just visiting or are you considering your options?
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• Folke  (积分：2425)09/09/2013 20:40
  3 floor

  Glad to see you guys, too..
  
  Simon, I am always considering my options :-) Great hobby and I always want the best.
  I think this is a very good one - one of the two best, I'd say :-)
  The Priority feature is the main attraction for me.
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• hntopper  (积分：395)09/09/2013 21:25
  4 floor

  I like the priority feature as well. I struggled with the STart and Deadline feature set last week but I'm getting more used to it. I really like the "DoIt Now" feature and that it has reminders and can link to my calendar. I am also starting to really like the Smart Filter option. I think it's nice to be able to set up a couple of filters that I use consistently. While this isn't perfect, it's a good start and the admin group here has been very attentive. I've asked about 12 questions so far and have received answers back on all of them within 24 hours, no exceptions. And I looked at their App Update log on iTunes and they've released 18 updates to their iphone app since this time last year. While all the updates did not release new features (some were to fix bugs), it's very promising to see how aggressive they've been to keep improving their product.
  
  At the end of the day, Elbert's post just didn't resonate with me and I thought I would try something else for awhile. If this doesn't turn out to be what I'm looking for, perhaps another will emerge as a strong contender.
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• Folke  (积分：2425)09/10/2013 10:17
  6 floor

  So, how do you guys review (verify) your tag settings, in particular verify that you have not forgotten to apply tags (which is something you cannot find out by filtering)?
  
  Do you simply try to make sure you do it right when you enter the task and then leave it at that? Or do you open each task and check the tags carefully as a part of the weekly review? Or use some other method?
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• hntopper  (积分：395)09/10/2013 12:44
  7 floor

  @folke, I've done two things, both involving filters. I have a "No Tags" filter and a "No Context" filter. I check both once per day during my morning prep work to see if anything I entered the day before I forgot to put a tag or a context. In my set up, all action items get a least 1 tag and get a context so there should be no tasks without tags (unless they just hit the inbox and I have yet to prioritize them). While this is not foolproof as I can always put the wrong tag or wrong context, its the best work around I have since I can't visually see them. I do have other filters established (for my 3 areas of responsibility) that I also check quickly every morning before I get started as I'm checking my work to decide what I will work on that day and while I'm checking those filters I can make a mental note if I don't see something that I think should be there. If I'm missing something I'll do a quick search for the action item using search to find out what I've tagged it or listed as it's context.
  
  Again not perfect but I've not had too many instances so far where I've failed to list a tag or context. With my set up, I typically am only using 1 or 2 tags. The first tag is for area of responsibility, second tag is if I need to delegate or assign it to someone (I don't use Doit's waiting for feature as it requires the other person to be a member or do it). If I have a third tag, it's usually if I need to put it on someone's Agenda List for a 1 on 1 meeting with them as an agenda item. I used to use tags a lot more before but I found that I wasn't using them as much as I thought I would so I just stopped using them as much.
  
  I hope this helps.
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• Folke  (积分：2425)09/10/2013 14:25
  8 floor

  @hntopper - that's a good idea - to make it part of the daily review, and at least catch those tasks that you had completely forgotten to tag with anything.
  
  If you are interested, I have an additional type of safeguard, also in the daily review:
  
  For various reasons (primarily other reasons than this) I keep my single actions in "phony projects" named after the Area of Responsibility. This helps me keep the tasks apart and facilitates my review. I try to take great care to make sure that tasks really are properly tagged before I finally apply a project designation. Therefore, i.e. by trying to make it a habit to apply the project setting last of all, I can often catch entry errors by looking at tasks that do not belong to a project. But as you say, nothing is perfect ;-)
  
  I'll make a No Tags and No Context filter as well :-)
  
  I do wish, though, that they would make the tags visible in the list, and ideally even let you apply different colors to see them better.
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• hntopper  (积分：395)09/10/2013 14:58
  9 floor

  @ folke
  
  thanks for the suggestion about phoney projects. I've thought about this in the past, when I was using Nirvana, but I didn't use it for some reason.
  
  What do you find the advantages of doing it this way are vesus just letting them be stand alone?
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• Folke  (积分：2425)09/10/2013 15:28
  10 floor

  @hntopper - the main advantages are:
  
  - when I sort the Next list by project I get them neatly organized into meaningful groups, and can find tasks easier
  
  - I can see them clearly "tagged" with a visible Area name in all lists, and can more easily interpret what the task name itself tells me to do
  
  For example, in Doit I can alternate between Priority and Project sorting of the Next list. I find Project sorting better for my once-per-day main morning review of the Next list, whereas I prefer the Priority sorting for repeated visits several times later during the day (to pick more tasks or just see "what's up").
  
  The main (only) disadvantage is it makes the list of projects in the left menu longer.
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