A Things-like workflow for RTM
(closed account) says:
WARNING: This tip is fairly lengthy and assumes you've had a little exposure to GTD.
If like me you've used both RTM and Things (by Cultured Code), chances are you've found yourself torn between these two excellent products/services. Things offers a beautiful design, smart workflow, and is just plain fun to use. RTM offers a central repository for your tasks, makes them accessible from every conceivable device/platform, has an extensive reminder system, great integration, and is extremely flexible.
Ultimately for me, RTM's model works best. But it wasn't easy to walk away from Things! I've therefore tried to recreate some of those concepts in RTM. What follows is my Things-flavoured interpretation of a GTD system in RTM. Whew :)
ACTIONS VS REMINDERS
RTM tasks can be used to implement two GTD concepts: actions and reminders. An action is defined as the smallest unit of work required to move a project forward. It is inherently "doable", meaning that what has to be done is not vague, you've already done the "thinking about what must be done" part, now you just have to do it. A reminder, on the other hand, is something that'll jump out at you at a specified point in the future, and most likely cause actions to be generated at that point.
We can distinguish an action from a reminder by assigning an @-prefixed tag to all actions. In GTD-speak, we assign a 'context' to our action, where a context is a particular mode of operation or a required resource, for example, @errand (which requires us being out and about), or @call (which requires a telephone).
We can then filter out actions by using the search expression tagContains:@
PROJECTS
A project is a collection of actions required to achieve a particular goal. A list is a good way to implement a project in RTM. I use #-prefixed lists for projects, so as to distinguish them from reminder lists. I also have a list called ##Single to contain single actions which don't belong to any specific project.
NEXT ACTIONS
A project can contain actions which aren't doable *yet*. An action might only be doable after a particular date, for example, or after some other action is completed. GTD calls actions which can be done now 'next actions'.
A neat trick I use to mark an action as a next action is to assign it a priority. I take this a step further and assign it priority of 1 if it's doable and I'd like to *try* to do it today. This brings the Things concept of the 'Today Star' into RTM. Note that this differs from assigning a due date of today, which means it *must* be done today.
We can filter out next actions by using the search expression tagContains:@ NOT priority:none
Note that we could easily use tags of 'next' and 'today' to achieve similar results, thus leaving priority to mean simply priority. The advantage of using priority though is that you can sort project lists by priority to get things listed in roughly the order in which they should be done. You also benefit from the keyboards shortcuts: just press 1 to mark for Today.
SCHEDULED ACTIONS VS ACTIONS WITH DUE DATES
RTM offers only a due date field -- not a start date/scheduled date field. Not a problem. We simply interpret the due date differently depending on whether or not the action is a 'next action'. If it is a next action (has priority assigned), then it is doable right now and the presence of a due date is taken to mean the date this action *must* be completed by. If the action is not doable right now, then the presence of a due date is taken to mean the date this action becomes available for doing. On this date, the 'scheduled action' becomes a 'next action'. We remove the date and assign a priority.
We can filter out scheduled actions by using the search expression tagContains:@ AND priority:none NOT due:never
CONTEXT LISTS
If you've read David Allen's "Getting Things Done", you'll have come across the phrase: Plan in projects, act in contexts. Or something like that :) Basically, when you're thinking about what needs to be done to complete a project, then the list you want handy is the list of actions for that project. We have this in the form of our #-prefixed RTM lists.
When it's time to act though, we don't want to fiddle around in our project lists. We want to be able to say "I'm going to make phone calls now. Show me the list of all potential phones calls I could make at this moment".
In RTM, we need to make a smart list for each context we've identified. I tag using lower-case singular words, and name the smart lists using capitalised plurals. For example, @call as the tag, @Calls as the smart list name. The definition for this smart list would be:
tag:@call NOT priority:none
THE TODAY LIST
A big part of Things' usefulness is the very smart Today list. It shows not only those things due for completion today, but also things you've marked to try to do today, things that are overdue, and scheduled things that have become available from today. The good news for us is that we can achieve a very similar Today list in RTM by creating the following smart list:
(dueBefore:today or due:today or priority:1)
And this includes both actions and reminders.
THE COMPLETE SMART LISTS
I've described the most important parts of my Things-ish system above. For completeness, here are my Things to RTM mappings:
Inbox -> RTM's built-in Inbox list
Today -> dueBefore:today OR due:today OR priority:1
Next -> tagContains:@ NOT priority:none
Scheduled -> tagContains:@ AND priority:none NOT due:never
Projects -> not a RTM list -- simply the collection of #-prefixed lists
Someday -> RTM non-smart list named 'Someday'
Logbook -> status:completed
WHAT'S MISSING?
Most obviously, Things projects can have attributes too. So, for example, a project can have a due date, tags, etc. etc. I guess this is theoretically possible in RTM using a complex set of tags and smart lists, but not a big deal for me personally. I do like the idea of scheduled projects though, so I have a standard RTM list called 'Pending'. This differs from Someday in that I *am* going to do these things, but just not right now. You can assign a due date to each item in the list to make it a 'scheduled project', or just leave it there dateless to get picked up in a weekly review.
I hope this has been useful to some of you. Look forward to any comments/suggestions!
If like me you've used both RTM and Things (by Cultured Code), chances are you've found yourself torn between these two excellent products/services. Things offers a beautiful design, smart workflow, and is just plain fun to use. RTM offers a central repository for your tasks, makes them accessible from every conceivable device/platform, has an extensive reminder system, great integration, and is extremely flexible.
Ultimately for me, RTM's model works best. But it wasn't easy to walk away from Things! I've therefore tried to recreate some of those concepts in RTM. What follows is my Things-flavoured interpretation of a GTD system in RTM. Whew :)
ACTIONS VS REMINDERS
RTM tasks can be used to implement two GTD concepts: actions and reminders. An action is defined as the smallest unit of work required to move a project forward. It is inherently "doable", meaning that what has to be done is not vague, you've already done the "thinking about what must be done" part, now you just have to do it. A reminder, on the other hand, is something that'll jump out at you at a specified point in the future, and most likely cause actions to be generated at that point.
We can distinguish an action from a reminder by assigning an @-prefixed tag to all actions. In GTD-speak, we assign a 'context' to our action, where a context is a particular mode of operation or a required resource, for example, @errand (which requires us being out and about), or @call (which requires a telephone).
We can then filter out actions by using the search expression tagContains:@
PROJECTS
A project is a collection of actions required to achieve a particular goal. A list is a good way to implement a project in RTM. I use #-prefixed lists for projects, so as to distinguish them from reminder lists. I also have a list called ##Single to contain single actions which don't belong to any specific project.
NEXT ACTIONS
A project can contain actions which aren't doable *yet*. An action might only be doable after a particular date, for example, or after some other action is completed. GTD calls actions which can be done now 'next actions'.
A neat trick I use to mark an action as a next action is to assign it a priority. I take this a step further and assign it priority of 1 if it's doable and I'd like to *try* to do it today. This brings the Things concept of the 'Today Star' into RTM. Note that this differs from assigning a due date of today, which means it *must* be done today.
We can filter out next actions by using the search expression tagContains:@ NOT priority:none
Note that we could easily use tags of 'next' and 'today' to achieve similar results, thus leaving priority to mean simply priority. The advantage of using priority though is that you can sort project lists by priority to get things listed in roughly the order in which they should be done. You also benefit from the keyboards shortcuts: just press 1 to mark for Today.
SCHEDULED ACTIONS VS ACTIONS WITH DUE DATES
RTM offers only a due date field -- not a start date/scheduled date field. Not a problem. We simply interpret the due date differently depending on whether or not the action is a 'next action'. If it is a next action (has priority assigned), then it is doable right now and the presence of a due date is taken to mean the date this action *must* be completed by. If the action is not doable right now, then the presence of a due date is taken to mean the date this action becomes available for doing. On this date, the 'scheduled action' becomes a 'next action'. We remove the date and assign a priority.
We can filter out scheduled actions by using the search expression tagContains:@ AND priority:none NOT due:never
CONTEXT LISTS
If you've read David Allen's "Getting Things Done", you'll have come across the phrase: Plan in projects, act in contexts. Or something like that :) Basically, when you're thinking about what needs to be done to complete a project, then the list you want handy is the list of actions for that project. We have this in the form of our #-prefixed RTM lists.
When it's time to act though, we don't want to fiddle around in our project lists. We want to be able to say "I'm going to make phone calls now. Show me the list of all potential phones calls I could make at this moment".
In RTM, we need to make a smart list for each context we've identified. I tag using lower-case singular words, and name the smart lists using capitalised plurals. For example, @call as the tag, @Calls as the smart list name. The definition for this smart list would be:
tag:@call NOT priority:none
THE TODAY LIST
A big part of Things' usefulness is the very smart Today list. It shows not only those things due for completion today, but also things you've marked to try to do today, things that are overdue, and scheduled things that have become available from today. The good news for us is that we can achieve a very similar Today list in RTM by creating the following smart list:
(dueBefore:today or due:today or priority:1)
And this includes both actions and reminders.
THE COMPLETE SMART LISTS
I've described the most important parts of my Things-ish system above. For completeness, here are my Things to RTM mappings:
Inbox -> RTM's built-in Inbox list
Today -> dueBefore:today OR due:today OR priority:1
Next -> tagContains:@ NOT priority:none
Scheduled -> tagContains:@ AND priority:none NOT due:never
Projects -> not a RTM list -- simply the collection of #-prefixed lists
Someday -> RTM non-smart list named 'Someday'
Logbook -> status:completed
WHAT'S MISSING?
Most obviously, Things projects can have attributes too. So, for example, a project can have a due date, tags, etc. etc. I guess this is theoretically possible in RTM using a complex set of tags and smart lists, but not a big deal for me personally. I do like the idea of scheduled projects though, so I have a standard RTM list called 'Pending'. This differs from Someday in that I *am* going to do these things, but just not right now. You can assign a due date to each item in the list to make it a 'scheduled project', or just leave it there dateless to get picked up in a weekly review.
I hope this has been useful to some of you. Look forward to any comments/suggestions!
(closed account) says:
Thanks for sharing your tips. After reading your post, I tweaked my GTD system.
Instead of "Logbook" I use "Weekly Review" using following for smartlist: completedWithin:"1 week of today"
Instead of "Logbook" I use "Weekly Review" using following for smartlist: completedWithin:"1 week of today"
chhansen says:
I too love Things. I had to change because I could not get reception with my iphone. I now have a crapberry. I have been trying desperately to find a replacement for Things and Things iphone. RTM is the closest I have found. Your Today list cinched it for me. Brilliant!! Thank you!!
(closed account) says:
rimkus - "Weekly Review" smartlist is a great idea - thanks! Have added it mine.
chhansen - Thanks! Really glad it was useful to you.
chhansen - Thanks! Really glad it was useful to you.
(closed account) says:
Some great ideas here! I too had to give up my iPhone (had it for one day) because of reception issues (don't get me started with AT&T and "more bars in more places"!) I also had issues with CC's culture of non-support.
I'll use some of your ideas to replicate Things functionality.
One small improvement: "dueBefore:Today OR due:Today" could be replaced with "dueBefore:tommorrow".
Thanks for the ideas!
I'll use some of your ideas to replicate Things functionality.
One small improvement: "dueBefore:Today OR due:Today" could be replaced with "dueBefore:tommorrow".
Thanks for the ideas!
(closed account) says:
If I plan a project as a sequence of tasks, how might I code these so that when I complete a task, it is easy to see the next one to be done? The sequence will not be related to specific dates.
dominicwwwong says:
I closed my RTM account in favour of Things for iPhone a couple of months ago. Things is an intuitive app, but lacks complete access to the information - particularly, I prefer managing tasks on a (any) computer than on the phone. As I gained a better understanding of my needs, I reopened the case for RTM and found your posting, which has helped me tremedously in making the transition to RTM that has the accessibility I was looking for, but maintaining that familiar Things feeling. It looks like, from the above posts, that RTM will allow me to manage the same tasks over different mobile platforms too!
Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for sharing!
brianknight10 says:
Thanks for your great ideas and for your time in enumerating them here. I love this forum - it's full of sincere folks who really want to help others. Thanks again!
mark.b.sawyer says:
I'm just now finding your post on how to marry implement GTD within RTM. It will take me a bit to digest and implement but great post.
Thanks!
Thanks!
spacevulture says:
thank you for sharing your setup/ideas - just jumped into RTM for GTD 2 days ago, found myself using very similar ideas to your, and will now complement/complete my system!
with the new feature of using # and @ for smartly adding tags/locations -did this currupt your use of @?
curious,
-juergen
with the new feature of using # and @ for smartly adding tags/locations -did this currupt your use of @?
curious,
-juergen
(closed account) says:
I've been using this setup for a while. Very helpful! Here are a few suggestions:
1. For areas feature, name your lists like this: #/area-name/project-name
2. In Things, I normally have a huge number of projects (categorized under areas) as Someday. So it is essential that many of those lists/projects are hidden from the main page. For this I use the 'Archive list' functionality (accessible from settings -> lists). If I want to archive a single task, I'd make it a list and then archive that list.
3. For Today and Logbook lists, I'd add " and includeArchived:true" to the search string.
1. For areas feature, name your lists like this: #/area-name/project-name
2. In Things, I normally have a huge number of projects (categorized under areas) as Someday. So it is essential that many of those lists/projects are hidden from the main page. For this I use the 'Archive list' functionality (accessible from settings -> lists). If I want to archive a single task, I'd make it a list and then archive that list.
3. For Today and Logbook lists, I'd add " and includeArchived:true" to the search string.
