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An Updated To Do List

ashley.banks says:
Several years ago, I shared a smart list for capturing upcoming events without deadlines, along with other near future to-dos. Now I'm back, with a few tweaks to share!

The new search terms I'm using are:

((status:incomplete) AND (due:never OR due:today OR dueBefore:now OR (dueWithin:"1 week" AND NOT tag:recur))) AND (startBefore:tomorrow OR start:never)

This captures all stray items that either have no due date, or a nearby (or overdue) due date. I'm not caught by surprise on upcoming deadlines and I also don't let smaller things that don't have strict due dates fall through the cracks. Adding NOTtag:recur allows me to use tagging to filter out recurring events that I don't want to keep track of (like submitting my timesheet, which is unlikely to take me by surprise), but makes sure I still capture recurring events that may need to be on my radar, like seasonal events.

Similarly, the start exclusions help me filter out tasks which are small and need doing but simply can't be done until a specific time. These combine to ensure the list is clear of any tasks that you can't take immediate action on or at least begin preparation for.

Note that you could also add a location or list parameter to the search terms, allowing you to have a filtered to do list for work, one for home, and so on!
Posted at 9:51pm on August 23, 2019
ranbarton Power Poster says:
Pretty darn handy. Thanks!
Posted 4 years ago
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