ForumsQuestionsRequest: Treat Star as top-level Status


Request: Treat Star as top-level Status
Author Message
Ummagumma

Posted: Jun 20, 2016
Score: 0 Reference
The Star is typically used to designate a task to be done today / very next.

So logically, when grouping by status, I'd like to see Starred tasks above all others. At least as an option.
Jake

Toodledo Founder
Posted: Jun 20, 2016
Score: 0 Reference
No problem. Sort by "Status" first and then "star" second.
Ummagumma

Posted: Jun 20, 2016
Score: 0 Reference
Nope, that's not what I meant.

First, to achieve this I would have to sort by Star first and by Status second.

This will break the Status grouping.

What I am referring to is an option to permanently treat Starred tasks as having the highest status.

E.g. if I have

Next Action
Task 1
Task 2
Planned
Task 3
Task 4

And I star Task 3, the grouped status view should become

Starred
Task 3
Next Action
Task 1
Task 2
Planned
Task 4

To me, this is more logical than the current way which would show them like this

Next Action
Task 1
Task 2
Planned
* Task 3
Task 4

which is difficult to keep track of starred tasks if you have them beyond the edge of the screen.

To me, a Star is a way to quickly assign topmost status to a task without screwing around with changing status.

This is how Informant works, btw, and it makes perfect logical sense.


This message was edited Jun 20, 2016.
alexandremrj_2

Posted: Jun 21, 2016
Score: 0 Reference
Hello e20.09g,

I would recommend something simpler, and instead of using "Next Action" for all tasks, use "Active", and leave the "Next Action" status to all of those that are very important (the starred ones), because you can have Next Action items appear in your hotlist with your due tasks and so have a simple list with all the tasks that are very important to you.
Ummagumma

Posted: Jun 21, 2016
Score: 0 Reference
Posted by alexandremrj_2:
Hello e20.09g,

I would recommend something simpler, and instead of using "Next Action" for all tasks, use "Active", and leave the "Next Action" status to all of those that are very important (the starred ones), because you can have Next Action items appear in your hotlist with your due tasks and so have a simple list with all the tasks that are very important to you.


Well this is also a good approach, but it has a few drawbacks for me:

1) In any mobile app that supports Star feature, it's far quicker and easier to star an item than to change it's status. E.g. in Informant, it takes 2 taps to add a star (open task - click a star icon) and 4 taps to change Action type. In Toodledo app, it's 1 tap vs 3. I really don't like setups that slow me down and make me use more time managing my task list than working on tasks themselves. It's fun when you have spare time, but extremely frustrating when you're under the gun to meet the deadline & have much on your plate.

2) It's very easy to star a task when emailing it to Toodledo, far less typing than setting an Action.

3) When I work on multiple complex projects at the same time, plus have several meetings during the day, it's easy to get lost in the multitude of tasks all of which beg attention. The way that I fixed this is to utilize Informant's Focus view that basically lets you concentrate on appointments and tasks that are important today. I created two tiers of tasks that I show on today - the top tier is the tasks I will work on today (using the Star feature) and the second tier is the tasks that are Next Action. Each is limited to no more than 3-4 items, otherwise it gets all cluttered. (It's possible to use Informant's Smart Filter feature, but I've had some problems with it)

So basically my daily view looks like this (each item separated by a header):

Meetings

Starred tasks (3-4)

Next action tasks (3-4)

Due today tasks (usually empty or 1-3)

Starts today

Overdue tasks (usually empty, if there's anything in it I am forced to review that task)


Since Informant only supports showing Next Action in the Focus view, I can't use Active tasks in it and will lose one of my headers.


This message was edited Jun 21, 2016.
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