@Folke

Hi,

We have removed it. Now you can use "move to" to change the box. Do you want it to be there?

@wendy_only

Your question: "Do you want it to be there?"

It is a tough question to answer, because I think you know my opinion already:

1) The Star is a very common feature in most programs. Its purpose is to mark and unmark things very conveniently for your attention. It normally has no other meaning at all. It makes things appear in a "starred" place IN ADDITION to wherever they actually "live".

2) I fundamentally disagree with Doit's view that Today is a separate "Box". Everything there must "live" somewhere else. Calendared actions for today should also be visible under Scheduled. Starred next actions should still be visible under Next. Starred Waiting for actions should still be visible under waiting etc. Only Next, Waiting, Someday/Maybe, Calendar and Tickler are valid GTD boxes. A "starred list" is very convenient, but not a separate "Box", just different "view".

3) I fundamentally disagree with Doit's view that everything you do today is "calendared scheduled" for Today. This is the total opposite of the GTD philosophy. Most things that you do today or intend to do today or hope to do today are Next actions until they are completed. You simply do not put them on the calendar at all. Only appointments etc are calendared. The majority of tasks belong in Next until they are done (with or without a star).

So, @wendy_only, since you knew all this already, how should I answer you question "Do you want it to be there?"

Here is a suggestion:

If you (Doit) really have the opinion that Today means "calendar scheduled for today", why do you not simply put it under Scheduled, and make it possible for us to hide the Today (just like we hide the Tomorrow list)? And give us a brand new list that you can call "Starred" or "Hotlist" or "Dashboard" or something where we can gather things of ALL KINDS that we want to have EASY ACCESS to today, what GTD calls a "white index card" (to carry in your pocket).

I have a strong feeling that the Doit team really hates what GTD stands for. Instead, Doit spends huge energy and money on 1980's style time planning features which assume that every user is trying to turn his life into some kind of predictable cogwheel in a totally predictable clockwork. This is a great pity, but of course you have customers for that, too. And luckily for me, so far, I have found Doit to be very useful for me and for GTD despite its obvious obsession with predicting, scheduling and measuring TIME.

Hi,
this is a very interesting discussion.
My first thought was: Oh my god, please do not change anything I am aldeady used to - because I hate changing a behaviour I am used to (even if it meant adapting to a given system at the beginning, like when I started usin Doit). (That's why I hate the missing "Doit now"-Option at iphone at the moment. ;-)) I guess I am not the only customer feeling like that.

I have to confess that I don't know much about the GTD-Theory. I first heard about that when I searched for a task management program fitting to my personal needs. It sounded not bad, and some other apps referring to GTD also look useful. But I think I would have chosen Doit even if it did not refer to GTD, just because it fits to my needs. Maybe I am even not using it "correctly" considering GTD oder Doit (for example I almost never use "Inbox") - but I think that is irrelevant as long as I like it and find it worth paying the yearly fee. ;-)

Considering Folke:
I would not change the previous function of the star since every user would get confused then.
I also do not get what should be the difference between the suggested new "Hotlist" and "Doit now" - maybe the developer could just add a flash to all tasks in all other Focusses besides "Today" (I would love that!).
I would prefer keeping "Today" as a seperate box - at least for appointments. And I would allow the user to decide by himself how to use the given features - even if it might be "wrong" considering the original theory.

Best wishes
CC

@tinetante

Re: Change and confusion: Yes, all changes can confuse people. This aspect must always be considered carefully. The way Doit handles it is very confusing for everyone that has used other apps before.

Re. Difference. The difference is that we need a NEUTRAL "central" list that does not automatically reclassify everything as CALENDAR SCHEDULED for Today just because we star it. The neutral way is the normal way - less confusing, and it is also much more flexible and useful than Doit's approach. The neutral way means that NOTHING about the task is changed except the star itself - no dates, no "boxes", no nothing can change.

I am perfectly fine with keeping the Today list for this normal general purpose, but then the Today list must be changed such that it works like starred lists usually do. For example, a starred Next action must still be a Next action; a Waiting for action must still me a Waiting for action etc. Even if a task is Scheduled for, say, next Friday and I star it for my attention, then its scheduled date must remain next Friday unchanged (not changed to today's date just because I starred it, which I probably did just to remember to double-check the date etc.), and so on. Nothing can change except the star. The Star only means show this task on Today list ALSO. Nothing more. Nothing whatsoever.

Those few actions that really are calendar scheduled for today should always appear in a Today group at the top of Scheduled, and can optionally be auto-starred (and unstarred) for display on the the Today list.

All this is something I have suggested several times before.

The new idea here - using different lists - was just a way of rephrasing the same idea and for also "allowing" the Doit team to persist in its unusual, confusing and ineffective approach, and to allow me and many others to have a normal "proper" Today list. This choice could also be implemented as a user preference in Settings - a choice whether to use the Today list in "Normal mode" or in "Doit mode".

Please observe that even in "Normal mode" users could still calendar schedule whatever they want to, if they want to. But it is simply wrong for Doit to force users to use calendar scheduling inappropriately and ineffectively.

Features seem to be disappearing from DOIT. Please pause and reflect on the changes being made in each upgrade. This app worked really well for me but has since changed so much in the last week that I'm finding myself fighting it.

Hi,

now there are two threads with the same issue. I will try to stay in this one maybe integrating answers to your last post in
http://help.doit.im/topics/2015 also here.

I think I get what you mean, and I would also be fine having "Next" as the "heart" of my task management. Me too, I am apparently thinking and working more like "GTD" than after scheduled issues. A possible reason why Doit seems to favour the second way might base on its prevalent distribution in the asiatic region. Maybe this way comes closer to the asian kind of working. (That's just an assumption, maybe I am totally wrong with that!) In this case, the "scheduled way" will probably never be left.

I still don't get the real difference between "Doit now" and the "starred list" you describe, except in "Doit now" tasks are not in their old focus-folder any more. Since the "star" already disappeared in the app, maybe the flash could be replaced by the star soon. (Finally I don't mind if it's a flash or a star, since I have this "Doit now"-feature at all...) I also wouldn't mind tasks in my "Doit now" coexisting in their old folders, if I could easily recognize them as already marked for "Doit now". You would just need to be able to mark your tasks (with flash, star or whatever) in every focus-folder an not only in "today". (I am really missing that function, because at the moment I always have to mark a task for "today" first, then search it there, and then mark it again for "Doit now"...)

cc

@tinetante - I am so glad we understand each other.

I agree with you totally that it does not matter in the least whether it is a star or a moon or a flash or whatever.

You are perfectly right that the Doit Now tasks are/were also "calendar scheduled for today" just as the rest of the Today tasks. I like the Doit Now approach to narrow down the today list, but I do not like the fact that anything you star for Today is considered "calendar scheduled for today".

But the kind of Today list ("starred list") I want, and that virtually all normal apps have, is a list of "attention flagged" items, where starring does not change any dates or "boxes" or anything. It just shows things that you want to see, regardless of why you wanted to see them.

This kind of normal star ("attention flag") can be used very flexibly for may kinds of things:

- to remember calendar scheduled tasks, for example your appointments today

- to remember tasks that you hope you will be able to do, for example a few errands near where you will have an appointment, or tasks that you are falling behind with

- to remember to quickly double-check the status of something, for example if you are Waiting for a report and maybe want to call and ask why it is late, or you have a meeting Scheduled for tomorrow but have heard that the other person is ill, so you want to call and confirm/cancel.

Hi,

well, I think the feature you describe would really be better than the current "Doit Now" while integrating its most important features. Dear developers, you have the chance now since we need this iphone-update anyway! ;-)
(Considering your third example I would make new tasks for that, but that's individual choice. (I get confused quite easy without precisely defined tasks... ;-)))

cc

I just want to add my agreement to @Folke's points here - Starred (or whatever) items should remain on the Next list and certainly should not be turned into scheduled items - they do not have a deadline just because I decided to focus on them now. If they did have a deadline I would have assigned one from the beginning. This is a core concept of GTD that Doit.im is implementing incorrectly.

I am currently using the 'High Priority' flag as a workaround for the missing 'proper star' - to mark the tasks that I want to focus on right now. It sort of works but is far less than ideal - as it is not a separate list, like the today list should be. So please do consider Folke's suggestions regarding an alternative implementation of the Today list.

@avolosik

It’s much helpful to check out the FAQ first when you are in trouble. http://faq.doit.im/iphone_7.html

@khaberz @tinetante @avolosik @Folke

Hi all,

Q:1."Star"
A: Now you can use "Move to" on the task list to make the task to go to today. Task viewing page and Editing page are the same one. So you can change the start time of the task to take the task to today.
Do you feel that it is not so convenient for your attention? Do you want the star to show on the task bar in the list or the task viewing page?

Q: For "Today is not a box" and "Doit Now"
A: "Doit Now" will be added in all V4 versions as before and we are working on it now. About how to change it,we will consider your suggestions seriously.

Thank you for your support. Merry Christmas. : )

Best regards,
Doit.im Team

@wendy_only

"Do you feel that it is not so convenient for your attention? Do you want the star to show on the task bar in the list or the task viewing page?"

It depends on the timeframe you have in mind. You are asking me to say whether i prefer NO STAR or a CRAZY STAR. How soon could you have a NORMAL STAR implemented?

I think your decision to take away the CRAZY STAR was correct, see as an isolated change. The old crazy star meant "calendar scheduled for today". I doubt that anyone calendar schedules very much last minute. It is good enough to be able to schedule for today in the same way you schedule for anything else. Wasting a powerful and flexible toggle/indicator on just that is simply silly. So you did a good thing removing the "schedule for today" starring. Congratulations!

BUT: People need to conveniently turn on and off the "light" (a star) for things that require their attention. How soon can you implement a simple NORMAL star like you see in Gmail, Gdrive, Things, Nirvana, Zendone, Toodledo, Appigo.

If you are unwise enough to refuse to implement a NORMAL STAR soon, then I certainly prefer a CRAZY STAR to NO STAR at all, but if you decide to do the right thing I think I could wait a little bit and perhaps simply choose not to use the Today list at all until you manage to get it right.