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How I Use Things by Goldencrisp87

Jul 08, 2018

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  • 8/19/2019 How I Use Things by Goldencrisp87

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    How I Use Things

    goldencrisp87

    Updated 4/12/2013

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    Table of Contents

    Introduction 1

    Focus Lists 2

    Overview 2

    Inbox 2

    Next 3

    Today 3

    Scheduled 4

    Someday 4

    Projects 5

    What is a Project? 5

    Dependencies / Sequential Projects 5

    Projects marked as Today 6

    Project Templates 6

    Repeating Projects 6

    Areas 7

    What is an Area? 7

    Area or Project? 7

    Repeating Items 8

    Structure: Template & Iterations 8

    How to Repeat? 8Repeating Projects 9

    Due Repeating Items 9

    Tags 10

    Tag Types 10

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    Tag Tips 10

    Other Things Stuff 12

    Due Dates 12

    Due vs Scheduled 12

    Contacts / Waiting For 13

    Reminders Sync 14

    Trash 15

    AppleScript 15

    Related Topics & Other Rants 16

    Weekly Review 16

    Calendar vs Task Manager 17

    Potential Feature: Automatically Checking Off Projects 17

    Potential Feature: Time in Scheduled 18

    Potential Feature: Time in Due Dates 18

    Conclusion 19

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    Introduction

    This is not a Things manual. I haven’t included explicit instructions on how to do stuff

    that you’ve figured out how to do by playing around with the application (e.g.

    creating a new task), but I've gone into a bit of detail for less obvious tricks (e.g.

    creating a repeating project). The other stuff I've included is how I've optimized

    Things for my workflow.

    Why bother writing this, you ask? First, I'd like to share what I've learned about

    Things. It can be overwhelming at first, and even after you’ve gotten used to it, there

    are features that you never discovered.

    Second, writing this out has helped me clarify how I use Things. I’ve developedvarious habits, both good and bad, and this document has helped me understand why I

    do things the way I do. I’ve learned a lot from explaining what I do. As my 11th grade

    math teacher said, “You haven’t learned something until you can teach it.”

    Important: Each person is different. Each person will have their own way of

    optimizing Things for how they work. The following is what I've found to be best for

    me. While I'll be flattered if you take on some of these practices, by no means will I

    be offended if you don't.

    I find myself regularly writing much of this guide in the Things forums. They’re a great

    place to get answers and bounce ideas of each other, but it's not a place of

    consolidated or organized knowledge. I hope this document can fill some of that void.

    If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, or just want to chat, just post on

    the Things forums. I'm sure to reply.

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    Focus Lists

    These lists are the core of Things. I'll explain them out of order, because that works

    out to be most efficient.

    Overview

    Inbox is for collecting thoughts for later. At least once a week, I go through my Inbox

    and sort items into the appropriate list (Next, Today, etc.).

    Next is for stuff that there's a good chance I'll be doing this week. Each morning, I'll

    check through this list and put items in Today, as appropriate.

    Today is a subset of Next. I use it for tasks I plan on doing today. It also shows theDaily Review section, which shows items that are due or scheduled for today.

    Scheduled is for anything I can’t (or don’t want) to start before a certain date.

    (Repeating items are also filed under Scheduled.)

    Someday is for everything that I want to hang on to, but I don't plan to act on in the

    next week. About once a week, I'll move a batch of items from Someday to Next.

    Inbox

    Inbox is for collecting any thought or idea that pops into my head during the day that

    I might want to think about later. At least once a week (but usually every day), I'll

    review the Inbox, clarifying the meaning of the item with myself and figuring out how

    it's going to fit into my system. Most of these thoughts end up in Things as tasks or

    projects, some go into 1Password, Evernote or BusyCal, and some I just delete.

    NB: When processing the Inbox, I am NOT doing all the tasks in there. If the task willtake me less than two minutes, I'll do it right then, but if it takes longer, I just make a

    task/project for it and drag it to Next, Today, etc.

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    Next

    Next is for the tasks and projects that I could potentially work on now. I keep this list

    very slim by only keeping in it what I would like to work on this week. (All other tasks

    and projects go into Scheduled or Someday.)

    The order of tasks in the Next list is

    1) Tasks not assigned to a project or area;

    2) Tasks in projects. Projects are listed in the same order as they are in the

    sidebar;

    3) Tasks assigned to areas, but no project.

    Today

    The Today list is broken into two sections: Daily Review (yellow, top section) and the

    main section.

    The Daily Review shows two categories of tasks: those scheduled for today, and those

    which are due today (or are set to ‘Show in Today’). While in the Daily Review, items

    remain in their list (e.g. Scheduled) until you manually move them to Today, Next,

    etc. NB: This section does NOT show due items which are in Someday.

    The main section of Today is a subset of Next. Tasks that are marked in Today show up

    as yellow wherever else you might see them (e.g. their Area). Each morning, I go

    through my Daily Review and Next lists and mark as Today all the tasks I think I'll do

    today.

    Once I fill up my Today list, I'll order it based on how I expect my day to go. This extra

    bit of processing in the morning greatly reduces the time I take between tasks. I canjust move on from one to the next without having to reprocess my entire Today list.

    Sometimes I need to break up Today for ease of visualization. For example, if it's clear

    I have multiple sections of my day (e.g. I'm flying home), I'll put a “-------Fly Home

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    -------” task to visually break up the day. Admittedly this isn't pure GTD, but during

    the day it helps me see how I'm progressing. (See Calendar vs Task Manager section.)

    Other times I do the opposite. For example, with Spring Break, I'll just have my Today

    list represent the entire week. That’s because I often see breaks like that as one long

    relaxing day (and my break’s task list is usually short enough not to be

    overwhelming!).

    In short, my Today list contains items that I'm planning to do before my next mini-

    review session, which I typically do daily.

    Scheduled

    I think of scheduling a task as setting a start date. (NB: Start date does not need to be

    the same as a due date! See ‘Due vs Scheduled’ section.) If there's a task/project I

    can't do (or don't want to think about) until a certain day, then I schedule it. This

    method keeps it out of my Next list, which is what I look at when looking for stuff to

    do after I've finished my Today list. The less clutter in Next, the better. Why bother

    reviewing a task/project, only to realize that you can't act on it yet? That's what

    Scheduled is for.

    Someday

    Someday is for anything and everything that I want to hang on to, but I don't plan to

    act on in the next week (before my next big Review). Each week, I review this list for

    tasks to put into Next for the week.

    If you have a ton of items in Someday, using tags like "Review weekly" and "Review

    monthly" can help with tasks that you only want to look at every so often. See Tags

    section.

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    Projects

    What is a Project?

    A Project is a list of tasks. That's it. Nothing complicated. It's how you use them that

    can make them complicated. (To turn a task into a project, drag it to the Projects

    focus in the sidebar.(

    For me, a project represents a goal/result that I want to achieve that will take

    multiple actions to complete. Usually, I will brain dump all the potential tasks of a

    project into that project. However, if you don't feel the need to list out all the steps,

    then don't. The objective is to get stuff off your mind. You should write out as much

    detail as you need to accomplish this, but no more.

    I don't use projects for lists of items related by type, such as “Phone calls”. I use tags

    for those. (See Tags section.)

    Projects are needed for some workarounds. For example, if you use Things as a list

    manager (e.g. “Inspirational Quotes”), you could make this list a project (with each

    quote as a task) and keep it in Someday.

    Dependencies / Sequential Projects

    If the tasks in a Project must be performed in a certain order, I leave the first one in

    Next (or Today, as appropriate). All the others I put in Someday. (If I can do multiple

    actions now, I have all of them in Next. I leave the ones I can't do yet in Someday.)

    This will greatly reduce the clutter in your Next list. When I check off that first item,

    I do a quick check to see what's the next task in the sequence, and promote it to

    Next. Unfortunately, there's no way to automatically do this, as of yet.

    Other users have Things display only one next action in Next view (View>Next Action

    Steps>1). With this method, when you have a sequential project, you collapse it so

    that you only see the first available action. Parallel projects are left uncollapsed, so

    that you can see all available tasks of the projects. Personally, I find this method

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    limiting because there's no way to show two next actions of a ten-step project, for

    example. It might work for your needs though.

    Projects marked as Today

    You can mark a project for Today just as you would a task (e.g. dragging it to ‘Today’

    in the sidebar). NB: I'll often have some of that project's tasks in Today as well

    (especially if I'm working on that project a lot that day).

    Obviously, one can't "do" a project, just the tasks associated with it. However, when a

    project is in Today, I know that to clear my Today list, I'm gonna have to take a look at

    that project again. In order to move the project out of the Today list, I first make

    myself do a mini-review of that project (check off old tasks, process notes for next

    actions, promote inactive tasks, etc.).

    Because projects at my work rapidly change priority, gain/lose tasks, etc., I find this

    method to be a good way to make sure I'm current on a project before going home for

    the day.

    Project Templates

    Many people want project templates that they can easily recall for future use (e.g.“Setup New Client X” project). What I do is have copy sitting of the project in

    Someday (as to not clutter my Next list). When I need a copy of the project, I just

    duplicate the template, and drag to wherever I need it. NB: You cannot duplicate

    items in Things for iPhone or iPad.

    For some, an Area devoted only to templates might be needed to de-clutter their

    other areas. Others might like to leave the template in its appropriate Area. Yet

    others might want to have a “template” tag. (I keep template projects in their Area,

    but I haven't found one method to be far more efficient than the others.)

    Repeating Projects

    See “Repeating Projects” section under the “Repeating Items” chapter.

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    Areas

    What is an Area?

    I think of Areas as the different hats that I wear in life. For example, “Gardening” and

    “Finance Manager at XYZ Corp” are typical examples of Areas. Within areas, you can

    store associated projects and tasks. This adds a layer of sortability to Things. If you

    want to see all the stuff associated with “Religion”, it's easy to view with Areas.

    Some people use a “Miscellaneous” area for all the tasks that otherwise would just

    “float”. For me, I don't bother. I see these unassociated tasks in their appropriate lists

    (e.g. Next) anyways.

    Area or Project?

    An oft-asked question is whether something is an area or a project. For me, the

    distinction lies in accomplishability. If there's a goal or result you'd like to see, it's

    probably a project. If it's an ongoing realm of your life, it's probably an area.

    Typically, my areas change no more often than a couple times per year.

    Because projects can't be placed within projects, some find that larger projects end

    up working better as areas. That way, you can have another layer in theorganizational system. I prefer not to do this because it tends to clutter my Areas list.

    Instead, I have placeholder tasks within the main project for sub-projects. For

    example, If the main project is “Open new office building”, I would include tasks for

    “buy furniture” and “update contact info with clients”. I would then have projects for

    both of these, each with their own sub-tasks.

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    Repeating Items

    Structure: Template & Iterations

    Things lists repeating items under the Scheduled focus. Each item listed is a template.

    When the trigger date comes about, a standalone copy of the template as it exists at

    that moment is placed in Today. Updating these copies (iterations) will NOT  affect the

    template. You can check off an iteration, but not a template.

    I’d prefer to have a separate focus for Repeating items. Repeating and Scheduled

    tasks have nothing to do with each other, except that they’re both setting items up

    for the future.

    NB: You can schedule an iteration for a future date. You’ll end up with both listed

    under Scheduled, but you can tell the difference because the iteration will have a

    checkbox, and the template will have a loop icon.

    How to Repeat?

    There are three kinds of repeating: Every X, After Completion, and For iCal Events.

    Every X - If you need to do something every Monday, or the last Thursday of every

    month, this is the option for you. This will create an iteration in Today on the days

    you listed. Note, under every option except “daily”, you can click the + icon to get

    another row. This is useful for when you need to do something every Tuesday and

    Friday, for example.

    After Completion - If you want to do something every so often, this is the option for

    you! Things will create the next iteration X days/weeks/etc. after the previous one

    was checked off (or cancelled or deleted). For example, I have “Get haircut” a

    repeating task that shows up 5 weeks after completion. If I wait an extra week to get

    my haircut, the next iteration will still show up 5 weeks after I get my haircut (not 4

    weeks). This is useful for when you don't want iterations stacking up in Next.

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    For iCal Events - This option creates an item based on iCal events of a particular

    calendar. This is useful when potentially irregular activities require stuff to be done.

    For example, if you’ve got your kids’ soccer schedule and you want an “Organize

    carpool” task for each practice and game, set up a repeating task for that calendar.

    Repeating Projects

    Projects can repeat, too. To make a project repeating, go to the Projects focus in the

    sidebar (not the Active Projects list!), find the project, then Items>Make Repeating...

    (Command-Option-R). Seemingly few users have discovered this functionality because

    it's so tucked away.

    Due Repeating Items

    One option for repeating items is auto-including due dates on the iterations. The

    dialog box for this is rather confusing, so I'll explain it. After you’ve set up your

    schedule of repeating, you decide whether you want the item to be created or due on

    the days in that schedule.

    I don't have due dates for any ‘after completion’ repeating tasks/projects. Frankly, it

    doesn't really make sense to me how you could have a due ‘after completion’ item. If

    the “deadline” is movable (because it's after completion), then it's not really due, is

    it? Beware of due date inflation! (See ‘Due Dates’ section.) (The only exception I can

    think of is getting a multi-stage vaccination. That's pretty rare, though.)

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    Tags

    Tag Types

    Tags are incredibly versatile. You can use them for practically anything. Tags can be

    assigned to any task, project and area. Set up the tags in the tags window (Command-

    Shift-T). You can filter by tags from the top of any screen within Things. (Note:

    there’s no Boolean filtering (e.g. Or, Not) yet, just “And”-type filtering.) For me, tags

    fall into two main categories: Contextual and Organizational.

    Contextual - What do I need and where do I need to be in order to complete this task?

    At the office? My spouse? 30 minutes? These types of tags come in handy when you

    want to see what you're able to do right now. Just filter down with what you have

    (e.g. Office & 30min) and you'll see what you have to do!

    Organizational - How might I like to filter these tasks? For example, I have a ‘Money’

    tag that allows me to see all my upcoming financial transactions. I also have ‘Email’

    and ‘Phone’ tags, because I find myself wanting to do these kinds of tasks in a clump.

    Tag Tips

    • If it takes two minutes or less to get to a new location, I just use one tag for thewhole place. No need to over-complicate things.

    • Delete tags of meaningless contexts. For example, if you always carry your wallet

    with you, there’s no need for a ‘Wallet’ tag on the task “Pay George $40”. Many

    people find ‘Online’ is becoming one of these meaningless contexts.

    • Delete unused tags. There's a big difference between assigning tags and filtering by

    them. If you never filter by a certain tag, it means you're not using it. Just get rid of

    it! (Thanks to salgud for this tip!)

    • When assigned to a project or area, the tag is auto-inherited to the project/area’s

    sub-items. This can save keystrokes if all the tasks in a certain project need to be

    done at the office, for example. Tagging areas can be nice if you’d like to filter your

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    focus lists by area, or if you have related Areas to which you'd like to assign the

    same tag .

    • Use tag hierarchy. In the tags window, you can organize your tags into folders. This

    will save space in the tag bar at the top of the main Things window.

    • Use keyboard shortcuts to assign tags. Set the keyboard shortcuts in the right part of

    the tags window. Then you can assign tags to tasks and projects without going into

    edit mode. Just select the item, then press the key combo. You can even do Shift-

    letters. For example, for me ‘e’ means email, and ‘E’ means Ernie.

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    Other Things Stuff 

    Due Dates

    A due date is when something is really really actually due. (i.e. Something bad will

    happen if I don't get the task/project done by then.) Being due means that Things

    turns the task/project red, so it really gets your attention.

    I am EXTREMELY strict with setting due dates. An "ooooh, I really should clean my

    room this weekend"-type task does not have a due date in my system. Sure, I'd like to

    get it done, but it's NOT actually due on Sunday. On the other hand, if my girlfriend is

    coming over for dinner Sunday, maybe cleaning my room is actually due. :)

    I add a "show in today" date when I still want to keep it in Next until a particular day,

    but also want to take action before the task is truly "due." For example, I must buy a

    birthday present for my brother by Saturday because that's when the party is. I set

    the due date as Saturday, but I really would like to buy the gift before the day of the

    party. In this case, I’d set the "show in today" field to 7 days before.

    During the day, I know I must hit all the red items in my Today list. I'm planning on

    getting all the yellow tasks done, but if I don't, oh well, it doesn't kill me. I know,

    however, that if I don't get a red task done, I'll have to renegotiate with myself.

    This red/yellow system also helps because if I start to run out of time in a day, I can

    look at all the red tasks to get a sense of what MUST be at least looked at /

    renegotiated with myself. This system only works for me because I'm very minimalistic

    about what I have as red. The vast majority of my Today list is yellow, so the red ones

    really stand out.

    Due vs Scheduled

    This is a topic that often confuses those who are new to Things. Scheduled is

    essentially setting a start date for an item. A due date is an end date (hopefully!). See

    the Scheduled and Due Dates sections for more info.

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    Contacts / Waiting For

    There are two Things features you can use to track your ‘Waiting For’ tasks.

    • Contact - You can add any task in any focus list (or project) to a person. Then you

    can filter all your tasks for that person by clicking their name in the sidebar. NB: You

    can assign a task to only one contact. NB: The iPhone or iPad versions of Things don't

    show Contacts in the menu, but you can view a task’s contact info by viewing that

    task’s info.

    • Tags - Very versatile and you can use them for just about anything. You can do a

    global search for all items with a particular tag from the bottom right search bar.

    Solution 1: Use one Contact for each person you want to track and a 'Waiting For' tag.

    When you meet with a person, you can just click on their name and see tasks/projects

    you've assigned to their name. You can filter down this list by clicking the 'Waiting For'

    tag.

    Solution 2: Use tags for each person and a Contact named 'Waiting For'. (Set this up by

    making a dummy Address Book entry, importing it into Things, then deleting it.) You

    can do a global tag search to find tasks for a specific person. You can also include the

    name of the person you're waiting for in the task title.

    1 is nice because you've got your list of people right there, but the list can take a

    huge bite out of your sidebar (it's collapsable, though). 2 could be of benefit if you

    want a 1-click way to see all the things you're waiting for, and use people-context

    tags. Also, 2 allows you to "wait for' anyone, without setting them up as a Contact.

    I actually use method 2 and add people's names into the title of the tasks. I also have

    tags for the most common people I deal with: boss, girlfriend, parents, etc. As always,each person’s situation will lead them to a different solution. (e.g. If you have

    constant people you’re working with (and waiting for), method 1 might be better.)

    I also keep my Waiting Fors out of Next as much as possible. I put them in either

    Scheduled or Someday, depending on how urgent they are. If I don't care when it gets

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    back to me, it goes in Someday, which I review weekly. If there's a specific date I want

    to follow up, I'll use Scheduled. I also will put in due dates, as appropriate.

    When I need to follow up with someone, I often don't bother making a 'follow up' task. 

    I'll just put the waiting for task in Today. I know that it means "follow up".

    Reminders Sync

    Syncing with Reminders & Siri is pretty self-explanatory via Preferences. I've set it up

    so that it includes time-based reminders, but not location-based reminders. Time-

    based reminders are useful because you can add due dates with Siri.

    I don't sync location-based reminders because Things strips locations from reminders.

    If I want to still have that functionality, I would need to leave those items showing in

    the Things Inbox, which would clutter my system. I've found it's better to just leave

    those reminders only in the Reminders app.

    Logbook

    I log completed items daily (and automatically). I don’t like the log immediately

    option because if I accidentally check off a task, it'll disappear. I know I can just

    Undo, but if I'm only using the mouse, it can be a hassle. Sometimes I'll log manually

    throughout the day if it's cluttered with done tasks, but typicallyI like to see what I've

    accomplished.

    When I first started using Things, I just let my logbook grow and grow. It caused sync

    to take a long time, and it even corrupted my library a couple times. (CC was a great

    help in fixing those issues!) Since then, I've been using the Things Logbook Cleaner

    script (available on the wiki). I have a “Run Things Logbook Cleaner” repeating task

    set to 1 week after completion. I save the text files for reference.

    Try running the Things Logbook Cleaner script. http://culturedcode.com/things/wiki/

    index.php/AppleScript:_Tidying_up_Things%27_Logbook

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    http://culturedcode.com/things/wiki/index.php/AppleScript:_Tidying_up_Things%27_Logbookhttp://culturedcode.com/things/wiki/index.php/AppleScript:_Tidying_up_Things%27_Logbookhttp://culturedcode.com/things/wiki/index.php/AppleScript:_Tidying_up_Things%27_Logbookhttp://culturedcode.com/things/wiki/index.php/AppleScript:_Tidying_up_Things%27_Logbookhttp://culturedcode.com/things/wiki/index.php/AppleScript:_Tidying_up_Things%27_Logbook

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    It will archive your ancient logbook items to a text file, then move them to the Things

    Trash. (I also recommend emptying the trash afterwards.)

    It can take a few minutes, but it's well worth it. I used to run it each week to prevent

    slowdowns, but a release in mid-2010 seemed to alleviate the slowdowns, so I've

    stopped using the script.

    I don't use the Logbook Cleaner Script anymore. CC released an update last year that

    sped up Things when using a large database.

    After about 1.5 years, I cleared out my Logbook. Things’ search (especially on my

    Mac) is much faster now. Maybe I'll go back to using the script…

    Trash

    I empty the Trash every few weeks. No rhyme or reason to it.

    AppleScript

    I don't use it. I'm generally engaged enough in my task list that I just enter/edit things

    manually. There are plenty of Things users well-versed in AppleScript. As always, the

    forums are the best place for your questions.

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    Related Topics & Other Rants

    Weekly Review

    I'll be honest up-front: I don't do my big review weekly. I should. I know I should. I

    don't. So sue me. I find that with mini-reviews throughout the week, I'm able to stay

    on top of everything. I only end up needing to do a full review when I'm getting antsy

    about my task list, which works out to be about every couple of weeks.

    I've set up a repeating project (1 week after completion) with the following steps. I

    try to go over the entire GTD process: collect, process, organize, review. (Doing is

    done later, obviously.)

    During this process, sometimes I don't even bother doing tasks that will take 1-2

    minutes. I find that with keyboard shortcuts, I'm better off just adding these tasks to

    Things, and doing them in a bunch later.

    Here's the steps I have in my repeating project:

    • Review last 2 weeks. Looking back at my calendar, I catch follow-up type tasks. Into

    the Things inbox (via the quick entry panel) they go.

    • Review the next 6 weeks. Same idea, but looking at the future, I'll often notice

    events I need to prep for.

    • Process GMail inbox. I process each email, adding tasks to Things as I go. I love using

    the Quick Entry + Autofill for this.

    • Process physical inbox. Same as above. Project support documents get their own

    folder in my physical system.

    • Process Things Inbox. I define next actions, make projects, apply tags, move tasks totheir appropriate project/area, and create projects as needed. To do this, I first

    drag items from the Inbox to the Areas in which they belong. (This gives me a good

    opportunity to ask myself, “Why am I doing this?”) Then in each Area, I drag any

    tasks that need to be projects to Projects in the sidebar, add tags to tasks, and then

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    use the arrow keys to quickly navigate in/out of each project and review its

    contents.

    • Review the items in Scheduled set for the next couple days. Sometimes it turns out I

    can deal with these items sooner than expected.

    • Check for tasks & projects that aren’t in an area. I assign them to an area (by the

    same reasoning as above).

    • Review Next tasks/projects in each Area. Going through these tasks in detail, I often

    adjust, tag, move, delete, etc.

    • Review Someday. I move items to Next or Scheduled as needed.

    Calendar vs Task Manager

    In my garage, I have hammers for nails, screwdrivers for screws, etc. I have a similar

    breakdown for tools for my productivity: Things for tasks, BusyCal for timed items,

    Clock app for alarms...

    If something needs to be done at a particular time, I use my calendar. If it can be

    done at any time, it goes in Things. Search the forums for gobs of discussion on this

    topic.

    Potential Feature: Automatically Checking Off Projects

    I believe projects should not automatically be checked off. The reason I want to do it

    myself is that it's my last chance to ask myself, "Is this goal completed? Can I move

    past this project now?"

    Often times, it would be convenient for the project to be marked off automatically.

    However, in the cases in which I do have other tasks remaining before the project is

    complete, it's very very important that I have that chance to double-check the project

    before it gets automatically whisked away by Things. (I find this especially true for

    projects which I have only a bookmark-style next action, instead of having a list of

    every single item related to a project.)

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    Basically, I want to be the one who decides what gets deleted from my Next list and

    off my plate, not Things.

    Potential Feature: Time in Scheduled

    I would rather not have tasks popping up throughout the day telling me "I'm actionable

    now!" The reason I like having all my scheduled tasks show up at once is so that I can

    perform my mini-daily-review all at once, knowing that I'm planning out my whole

    next day. If Things was withholding information about my next day, I wouldn't be

    thrilled. (Yes I could check Scheduled, but then that defeats the purpose of never

    having to look in Scheduled.) I'm ok with leaving a task in Today in the morning even if

    I know I'm going to get to it til the afternoon.

    Potential Feature: Time in Due Dates

    I'm trying to visualize how I would use due times, and I think that having a task say

    "Due at 5pm" doesn't really do me a whole lot of good. Sure, it might be nice to have

    that information handy in a separate field (instead of notes or the title), but how will

    it change my workflow? I already have my Today list sorted by expected completion

    order (thanks to my mini-daily-review). I guess it could show "Due in 1 hour", etc.

    Because I so sparingly use due dates and red, though, a red "Due Today" is enough for

    me to recognize a task's urgency. (And because of my mini-daily-review, I'm well

    aware of a tasks due time, so that's not so much an issue.)

    Adding due times also opens another can of worms with the "Show in Today" option. If

    you add the granularity of "hours/minutes before", you get into the problem of tasks

    showing up in the middle of the day like I described above. This is certainly disruptive

    to my daily workflow because I'll have to be constantly reprocessing my list.

    I admit though, that it would be nifty if the task was already in my Today list, and

    turned from yellow to red at 4p if it's due at 5p, for example... That seems gimmicky

    though... I'm willing (and would love) to be wrong on this one. I just can't see how the

    minimal benefits would outweigh the consequences.

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    Conclusion

    Although a bit longwinded, I hope this document has helped you think about how you

    use Things and how you can optimize it for your life. I know it has for me!

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    This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-

    NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of the license, visit http://

    creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/legalcode

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