workflows

[Brian Bulkowski]

Hey. I am a n00b user and almost don't want to post my n00b questions, but, on the other hand, I'm about to start using MLO because I can't really find the workflow I want.

I have a lot of projects, and a lot of subtasks. I love the idea of that view, and the day's todo list.

In order to "sweep" from projects to a day's todo, I want to have time estimates for tasks. I find entering time estimates cumbersom. Min, max. I guess I have to look through the keyboard shortcuts to find the right way.

I mostly want to select the day's tasks from my big lists, and have it be a set of tasks that fits the amount of time. I'd like a view that shows the amount of I'm planning for the day.

I want my recurring tasks to auto-populate, and I want that task to show up in the next day's sweep, and those expired tasks I want to be removed (I saw a recent post asking how to have recurring tasks auto-close, there wasn't an answer).

I'm also discouraged about the Android interface. I spend a lot more time in the morning with my android tablet (with keyboard), and the interface is ... not super intuitive.

I'll go through the videos again, but I'm starting to think I"ll be better off with an agile planning tool (asana, monday) than this......

Any tips welcome! 

Thanks...

[Stéph]

Hello Brian,

Sorry for the late reply from me - This is the first time I've taken a look at this forum for a few months. 

I agree, it takes too much time and effort to estimate the duration of every task and then select a set of tasks to suit the amount of available time in the day. MLO isn't set up for time-blocking, although you might be able to synchronise task dates with Google Calendar and then drag and drop them into blocks in your calendar. 

There is quite a lot of guidance and YouTube videos out there which suggest that time blocking in a calendar is more effective than To-Do lists, by the way.

Here's one workaround: 

Rather than try to estimate exact durations for tasks, you could use flags or categories to categorise your task durations into: 

• All-day (8h)
• Half-day (4h)
• Quarter-day (2h)
• 1h
• <20 minutes. 

Generally, To-Do apps suggest that you plan your day each morning (or the evening before). They often have a system for you to click to select today's tasks. 

In MLO, the simplest way to do your plan for the day would be to use the Star property to select that day's tasks. If you set up a view with tasks grouped by flag, sorted into due date order within each group, it would be easy to make sure you star no more than 1 all-day task, or 2 half-day tasks, or 4 quarter-day tasks, or 8 1h tasks (or a combination of these... or actually fewer tasks, because there's no way most people can stick to a plan which fills an 8h working day, when 25 - 75% of the day will be filled with unplanned stuff like calls, emergencies, ad-hoc meetings, etc). Before choosing tasks, subtract the number of hours already allocated to scheduled activities (meetings, travel, site visits) and routine daily activities (lunch, 1/2 hour catching up on calls, daily team scrum meeting, gym, journaling 1/2 hour, whatever else).

Most of the rest of the day, you'll then be going through and checking off the list in your "starred" view.

I hope those thoughts are useful.

Stéphane

[Brian Bulkowski]

Thanks, Stephanie.

Here's what I have ended up doing for now. I agree that time blocking is effective. I have now pre-printed paper (schedule sheets) which I use in the morning. I transfer a small set of tasks from my general task list. This is a little slower than doing 100% electronic with stars and task lists, but I find it a pleasant way to consider my morning, my day, my coffee. During the day, I use my pad of paper to track progress, and at the end of the day (or the next morning) I cross items off my long term (electrical) system. This is a less advanced use, honestly, and I've transitioned to using Monday.Com for this. I'm not satisfied with Monday, fully, because I'm paying quite a bit for team and sharing features that I don't use, but their interface is simple. 

Good luck with MLO!

-brian

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[Stéph]

Ah yes. I've always tried to go fully paperless, but one of the blockers to that is that pen, paper and handwriting is known to be better for learning and memorising information. Here I am, at age 56, and I'm still dabbling with different ways to keep track of tasks and get in control of my day. I like the idea of your morning coffee, notebook planning system and maybe I'll have to try something similar.