Managing Project Priorities
rmcmullan says:
I've recently restructured my RMilk system to allow me to dynamically manage project priorities and quickly reassign them during my Weekly Review.
Basically, I use tags with three parts:
[prefix] [Area of Responsibility] [Project]
Example: ---prof_dev-gtd
Translation:
[---] = current project
[prof_dev] = professional development area
[gtd] = implement GTD project
The Prefixes are one of three options:
--- = current work projects
-- = on deck work projects
- = someday/maybe work projects
(I use a similar prefix with periods for personal projects).
Then, during my weekly review, I go to Settings > Tags and can rename a tag from "--prof_dev-gtd" to "---prof_dev-gtd" to change it's priority from "on deck" to "current". Using a Smart List with the search parameter "tagContains: ---" I can search for just the tasks associated with my current projects.
To make it more visually useful, I've set up the Tag Cloud Restructurer to display a hierarchical list divided by the three categories, though this is not necessary for this trick to work.
This accomplishes my long-desired goal of keeping my Someday/Maybe Projects associated with my Areas of Responsibility rather than in a big amorphous list. It also lets me change focus very quickly should my job require it. And it lets me dynamically create new project tags without going through a List creating process.
Basically, I use tags with three parts:
[prefix] [Area of Responsibility] [Project]
Example: ---prof_dev-gtd
Translation:
[---] = current project
[prof_dev] = professional development area
[gtd] = implement GTD project
The Prefixes are one of three options:
--- = current work projects
-- = on deck work projects
- = someday/maybe work projects
(I use a similar prefix with periods for personal projects).
Then, during my weekly review, I go to Settings > Tags and can rename a tag from "--prof_dev-gtd" to "---prof_dev-gtd" to change it's priority from "on deck" to "current". Using a Smart List with the search parameter "tagContains: ---" I can search for just the tasks associated with my current projects.
To make it more visually useful, I've set up the Tag Cloud Restructurer to display a hierarchical list divided by the three categories, though this is not necessary for this trick to work.
This accomplishes my long-desired goal of keeping my Someday/Maybe Projects associated with my Areas of Responsibility rather than in a big amorphous list. It also lets me change focus very quickly should my job require it. And it lets me dynamically create new project tags without going through a List creating process.
rmcmullan says:
Here's my Smart List query for current work projects (numbers added for forum posting to help parsing below):
1) (location:@work OR location:@anywhere OR location:@internet OR location:@calls)
2) AND tagContains:"---"
3) AND ( (tag:na AND NOT tag:wait)
3.a) OR ( (dueWithin:"1 week of tomorrow" or dueBefore:tomorrow)
3.b) AND NOT tag:tickler ))
Basically,
1) groups all of the Contexts I can work on while at work
2) refers only to my projects that are work-related and "active" (basically, not "someday/maybe" or "on deck")
3) This last bit shows me my next actions or anything due in the next week or past due (while leaving out waiting-for and ticklers, which are grouped into other Smart Lists)
I change 2) to tagContains:"--" to show both "on deck" and "active" (useful for Weekly Reviews).
1) (location:@work OR location:@anywhere OR location:@internet OR location:@calls)
2) AND tagContains:"---"
3) AND ( (tag:na AND NOT tag:wait)
3.a) OR ( (dueWithin:"1 week of tomorrow" or dueBefore:tomorrow)
3.b) AND NOT tag:tickler ))
Basically,
1) groups all of the Contexts I can work on while at work
2) refers only to my projects that are work-related and "active" (basically, not "someday/maybe" or "on deck")
3) This last bit shows me my next actions or anything due in the next week or past due (while leaving out waiting-for and ticklers, which are grouped into other Smart Lists)
I change 2) to tagContains:"--" to show both "on deck" and "active" (useful for Weekly Reviews).
rmcmullan says:
Update: Three levels of project status was too much (when entering a new task, I couldn't remember whether to use 2 or 3 dashes), so I've taken it down to two levels:
-- = on deck work projects
- = someday/maybe work projects
The active projects are decided as part of the weekly review by assigning priorities to the appropriate tasks in an on deck project.
-- = on deck work projects
- = someday/maybe work projects
The active projects are decided as part of the weekly review by assigning priorities to the appropriate tasks in an on deck project.
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