Dispensing with non-smart lists
(closed account) says:
I have been considering dispensing with any lists I have that are not smart. Why? Because if I build smart lists based on tags, then they will automatically contain the correct tasks according to tags I assign. So, I would essentially be using tags to drive RTM categories. This would save my having to manually move tasks into lists. The only problem is that then everything seems to stay in my in box. I can get around that by creating another smart list for untagged tasks. Then when I add a new task, I can easily locate it in that list and tag it correctly.
Has anyone else tried this?
Has anyone else tried this?
Short answer, yes.
When tags were first introduced, I moved to a system where I have one dumb list, called | to be as narrow as possible. All my tasks live in I, unless they are in the inbox, and then I have many smart lists that slice and dice my tasks as I need. Tags and smart lists are, in my opinion, the source of RTM's greatest strengths.
When tags were first introduced, I moved to a system where I have one dumb list, called | to be as narrow as possible. All my tasks live in I, unless they are in the inbox, and then I have many smart lists that slice and dice my tasks as I need. Tags and smart lists are, in my opinion, the source of RTM's greatest strengths.
(closed account) says:
Is | set up as a conventional list? Do you add tasks to it manually?
Yes, it is. I have some check list smart lists that I use to ensure all of my tasks are giving the appropriate attributes (e.g., tags), and then when I am in the inbox, I select all and move everything there to | in bulk. That way my inbox is essentially empty and all my tasks live in | which I never view.
(closed account) says:
I see. I decided to give up the inbox as a usable list and set up a smartlist called | (thank you for the good idea), and it is populated with any untagged tasks. In effect, it has become my inbox. I don't share RTM with anyone, so no one sends me tasks that might be lost due to incorrect tagging. If I did, then I would have to do something else. But this seems to be working. I add new tasks in | and then they are automatically moved to the correct lists after I tag them. That was I never have to manually move a task to a list.