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sorting of all items in doit

PRO

lisa_alway 01/01/2014 12:48

Platform:All

Hi, I am continuing to improve my use of doit, and really would like a few more things added. I would love to be able to pull tasks around drag and drop to work out a priority order, Iove how you can drag and drop to contexts, projects etc, but would love to drag to priorities as well in some manner.

Also, sorting by alphabetical in any and all views is really important, I like that you can sort projects that way, but other things do not do this. toodledoos feature of multiple sorting is very good, and I feel this would strenghten this software immensely. It would be usable in any view, and give the user complete control on how to list items. I've posted about this before, but would really like to emphasize how powerful it is.

So, for example, you have several choices to sort by, alphabetical, priority, due date, start date, etc. You choose the highest level filter/sort, then the second and then the third. Often you want to see things in different orders.

any users out there have work arounds for this?

thanks,lisa

Folke post on 01/01/2014 15:41#1

PRO

I would be a bit cautious about copying too much from Toodledo. It is perfectly true that you have all those sorting capabilities in Toodledo, but it is also a well-recognized "professional" opinion - emphasized by Jake, Toodledo's developer - that this 3-level sorting by absolutely any of all its dozens of data fields is the reason why manual sorting in all of its forms is virtually impossible to implement in Toodledo. Many people have left Toodledo because of its total lack of manual adjustment of the automatically sorted lists and for its lack of fundamental manual sorting (of project tasks).

Doit (and other GTD apps) have the great advantage that they have quite useful GTD lists built in from the outset. They have separate lists for the main categories (Next, Waiting etc). they have Projects (and Doit even has Goals on top of that), and they have Contexts. "Methodologically agnostic" apps ("database type apps") like Toodledo and RTM only have neutral lists where you have to create all your own useful lists by using a lot of tags and creating and saving advanced filters that serve as your main lists, which, in my opinion, is not the best approach.

Although the advanced filters they have are extremely powerful it is more important (IMO) to have good lists built in from the beginning. It is very troublesome to create filters for everything. And too powerful automatic sorting makes manual sorting impossible. Sorting is usually best if it is "smart tentative automatic sorting with optional manual adjustment".
lisa_alway post on 01/01/2014 16:04#2

PRO

Hi Folke,

I see your point about this, I think I just need to setup my own filters better as you say, then can get what i need this way. thanks for your thoughts
Folke post on 01/01/2014 16:34#3

PRO

Hi Lisa,

I hope I did not come across as too negative, but I have used both RTM and Toodledo and it was such a relief to come to Nirvana (and now Doit) and not have to set up saved filters for everything :-)

But I do agree with you that versatility and alternatives are indeed useful, and saved filters sometimes can be a very good complement, especially for workarounds.

May I ask you what it is you were trying to achieve with the sorting? Maybe there are alternative ways to use the built-in features (tags, contexts, priorities, goals, projects etc) that will help you accomplish the same thing?
lisa_alway post on 01/02/2014 15:21#4

PRO

Hi Folke, I am just now looking at the many posts with brilliant suggestions in the groups area. Until now i've been just muddling through. I really like your way of working and approaches in your posts I've read.

I'm trying to step back from what I am doing currently and overhaul how I use doit as it's a bit overwhelming for me right now and I am not prioritizing things well. I also have adhd and need this to work to help keep me on track. I like the idea of using projects like you have suggested etc.

Just wondering instead of wading through all your great posts, could you list out some suggestions of if first setting up in doit.im, you would do things, ie how to use, not use each section etc? How you do your weekly, daily reviews, etc? If not no worries, I just seem to get off on tangents and keep starting down different paths, I thought you may have this all in your thoughts and could quickly share.

Thanks in advance if so. lisa
lisa_alway post on 01/03/2014 11:20#5

PRO

@Folke

Hello, thanks for your reply on this. I have compiled I think a list of actions I can follow to use your method correctly, would it be okay if I post it here and you could have a look to see if I have it right? I have put together an evernote note with the steps I could work out in order to use what I can interepret as your overall organizing method.

thanks