Thanks again, your tip did make it possible for me to use Active by Context (which didn't work until I unhid the inbox). I guess first off, I should clarify that I don't have the desktop version, so there might be some things you've mentioned that I'm missing out on.
It seems like most of the people here have been using MLO long enough that it's very difficult for them to appreciate the potential problems a new user might run into. And even once they have been made aware of the problems, they choose to dismiss the problems as indicators of MLO's sheer awesomeness. Well, here I am, and I'm doing my best to inform you of all my difficulties as I encounter them. I do appreciate the other more advanced workflows that people use for adding as many layers of organization as desired. MLO is promoted first and foremost as a GTD tool, so I'm just coming from the perspective of the other GTD tools I've tried--namely, that the tool should permit you to rapidly do as much or as little organization as desired, then get out of the way. To answer your question about where a task would go after it's been processed, I've already made one suggestion--a catch-all "Active Tasks" folder. Or maybe it would be called "Unassigned Tasks." Or it could be configurable. The name doesn't really matter; only that it's not the Inbox, because the Inbox should not contain items that have already been processed. If I could really have my way, I would just rename the current inbox folder in the outline to "Unassigned." Then the actual Inbox would simply be the holding area for quickly-added items _before_ they go into the outline (and the Inbox itself would not need to be shown in the outline). As I mentioned in the other thread, there's nothing that would stop you from organizing your tasks as you do now; but just to be safe, I did suggest that the "remove from inbox after processing" feature be an option that can be configured from the main program settings (or elsewhere, as appropriate). There are other ways to implement the feature, as well--such as having a combobox at the top of the inbox that lets you select the parent folder for the next task(s) you are about to process, or just letting you select the parent folder/task from the Edit Task screen. (Personally, I found it very confusing that I couldn't set the parent folder/task from the Edit Task screen.) But getting back on topic, the only difference between the simplest implementation and the current behavior would be that new users like myself would have a much easier time picking up the app and using it without having to put their evaluation on hold while jumping through hoops--i.e, register on the discussion board, post questions, and hope someone from the community has a really great workaround. Other people I know would have tried it, assumed it was broken, and moved onto the next tool. I myself lost a lot of my enthusiasm for MLO while I was waiting for answers, and the first few that I got were good workarounds but also gave me the impression that MLO was going to be a hassle to use. I'm warming up to it again, but at this point I still can't say whether this is the tool I'm going to stick with. Users who are new to MLO should be able to start using it without having to learn all of its idiosyncrasies. A few final comments that might help other new users: it wasn't clear to me from the start that everything revolves around the Outline view. Although it doesn't seem very prominent in the main screen of the Android app, you can't use MLO without at least doing some configuration from the Outline view. Setting the default visibility of the Inbox to visible (i.e., long press the Inbox in the Outline, tap Edit Task, then uncheck "Hide the branch") as Lisa suggested does make it possible to use MLO without fiddling with the Outline view any further, if you just want to concentrate on organizing tasks by context at first. Third, I just now discovered the "new profile" templates. I think the Zoom4Focus template looks like a really good place for any new user to start. The notes on some of the folders are especially helpful. Also remember to go through the tutorial again after you've started using the app. A lot of things in the tutorial seem mundane at first glance, but there are a few points that will jump out once you've struggled with MLO for a little while. On Oct 31, 10:59 pm, Lisa Stroyan <[email protected]> wrote: > I don't believe this is a missing feature nor an issue, but a part of the > complex design that gives MLO it's power. > > The Outline task structure is completely independent from Contexts and > other attributes. Where would the task *go* when you set a Context? A > context isn't a place. Neither is whether a task is active, it's due-date, > it's Goal status, etc. > > There are many ways to set up your tree (your Outline which includes your > Inbox as one folder), and then the various lists (active actions is just > one) are slices on the data. For example, my tree has major life focus > areas as the main branches. Work, Health, Family, Self, etc. > > When I set a context, e.g., Phone Calls, there is just no way for MLO to > know whether that is a phone call regarding Family, or Work, or...whatever, > so how would it know where to move it to? Contexts are more powerful than > a tree structure so it would be counterproductive to try to set up the Tree > to mimic Contexts. (plus you can have multiple contexts, which I often do). > > There is a lot of power in keeping these separate. For example, I can > narrow my view to only the active Phone Calls regarding Work, or all Phone > Calls and Errands that are starred and have a Goal of Week. Those are just > slices on the data -- they don't actually change the permanent location of > the task. > > If you set a context, say, Phone Calls, and in your Todo tab on the > desktop, you define a view for only, say, Phone Calls, then, yes, adding > the context automatically places it in that list. But suppose you are > working out of a Weekly Goals list, like I am, you wouldn't want to > physically move the task to a Weekly Goals list and take it out of Phone > Calls list through the setting of the Goal field. They are independent > attributes. It's a Weekly Goal and a Phone Call. > > Sorry, I feel I'm not explaining this very well, hope that clarifies a bit. > > On Android, the views are pre-set. But you might take a look at Active by > Context, it might be what you are looking for. > > Lisa > > > There is a related issue in that the tasks are not removed from the > > inbox after processing. If anyone else thinks that feature would be > > worthwhile, you can vote for it on the MLO UserVoice site: > > >http://mlo.uservoice.com/forums/9235-general/suggestions/2357839-andr... > > -- > Lisa Stroyanwww.empathic-parenting.com -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MyLifeOrganized" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/mylifeorganized?hl=en.
