I agree, adding due dates to tasks just because you would like them done by a certain date isn't what due dates are for. Adding a priority seems like an easy way to highlight important tasks without adding a fake due date.

Hi kylir,

Nice Smart List. :)

I just wanted to let you know that you're this week's Tips & Tricks Tuesday winner. We've upgraded your Remember The Milk account to have a free year of Pro. :)

Great idea! I have one problem with this smart list. If I have it open and decide to change the priority of a task (e.g., 2->1) then that item disappears. I have to refresh the smart list to see it with the new priority. Is this a bug or a feature? :-)

Hi sssimon,
Would you be able to contact us so we can get some details on the behavior you're seeing?

Thanks!

I use a "Horizon" list that ensures I'm never caught off guard by tasks coming due. Even if you don't use due dates as religiously as I do, you might find the "postponed more than N times" heuristic useful.

dueBefore:today OR (dueWithin:"5 days of today" AND status:incomplete) OR priority:1 OR postponed:"> 3"

Who-hoo! Thank you Emily. This "Today" smart list works really well with recurring tasks (like take out the trash, mow the lawn, etc.) as well. It has cut down a lot on "list maintenance" for me.

@sssimon - I haven't experienced any of the problems you've had because I almost never change the priority after it has been set.

@kylir
Great tip, which I've copied - but it didn't quite work for me.

I have some high priority repeating tasks that are monthly (such as checking my financial accounts, renewing travel arrangements for my commute, etc.) and these show up in this list too. Which is awkward, as I don't need to know about renewing something in a month's time - that's much too far away for this Smart List!

So I refined your search like this:
dueBefore:tomorrow OR NOT (priority:None OR dueAfter:tomorrow)

That fixes this problem, and allows me to keep assigning priorities to long-term repeating to-dos yet also use your Smart List suggestion. :-)

I love this smartlist idea... but as sssimon has reported "If I have it open and decide to change the priority of a task (e.g., 2->1) then that item disappears. I have to refresh the smart list to see it with the new priority." I am experiencing the same issue.

Is there a fix?

Tom

Hi Tom,
Would you be able to contact us as well so we can gather some additional details on this?

Thanks!

This sounds perfect for what I need, very new to RTM and have no idea how to implement a smart list!

Any tutorials anywhere please _

Hi steve3005,

You might be interested in our Getting Started Guide which covers the basics of the web app, including searching and Smart Lists.

Hope that helps!

@philip.storry: You could look into the Sleeper tag method described in the blog, it addresses this very problem, repeating tasks re-appearing in your lists the second you complete them.

Link: http://blog.rememberthemilk.com/2009/04/tips-tricks-tuesday-using-sleeper-tags/

Thanks Brendan.