ForumsQuestionsBulk changing due-dates
Bulk changing due-dates
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RC-DC |
I'm just re-entering work (easing in) after the birth of our second child, and my todo list is a mess. I was wondering if there was a way to mass-change due dates. Probably the best way is to export the list to CSV, edit in Excel, and re-import.
Any thoughts or suggestions are welcome! |
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Linden |
If you're trying to do something like "every task due day X should now by day Y", then you can use a custom search and then multi-edit the due date that way.
If each task will need a separate due date decided on a case-by-case basis, my suggestion would be to view all tasks, turn off all your filters, and just work your way down the page. |
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RC-DC |
Thanks - I'll give that a shot. Actually, I just want to make all dates X to no due date, (then work my way through the holding-pen again) so the first option should work.
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saskia.x |
I regularly do this, as I have a rather hectic life & am not the most naturally organised & focussed person, so I end up missing the due date for a lot of tasks. I have a saved search called "reschedule?" that searches for all overdue tasks that fit certain criteria.
One important thing to consider, if you haven't already done this, is to ensure you don't reschedule some important repeating task with a fixed deadline (like a birthday), or an important task that you've already missed but still have the chance to catch up on (if you just reschedule this to the same date as everything else there's more chance you'll lose it amongst the other tasks). There are ways you can exclude things like these from your search, although the exact details partly depend on how you have organised your tasks. At minimum, it's probably worth adding "repeat is not yearly" to your search so you don't reschedule an annual fixed date task like a birthday. And before doing a bulk reschedule it's probably a good idea to glance at your high priority tasks and reschedule some of those individually so there's less risk of them getting lost amongst the other tasks. |
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Qrystal |
Great tips, saskia.x.
I too am prone to missing due dates for a lot of things, but never thought to have a saved search to help me reschedule things in bulk. I generally just don't set many due dates. Unfortunately, the result of this is that most of my tasks don't ever get considered because I end up only looking at the ones that are due. Maybe with your advice (plus some kind of weekly-ish review) I'd be able to put due dates on more things I really want to do, instead of just the things I have to do. It would be so nice if it was easy to shift the due dates when life gets in the way of my lofty ideas! :) This message was edited Mar 15, 2010. |
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saskia.x |
@Qrystal: I used to avoid due dates for tasks that don't have a "real" due date, but found that I wanted to be able to include some measure of when I wanted to do tasks rather than relying on priority alone (I also found that repeating tasks messed up my lists as they had to have due dates; now you can use the start date field so that's not such a problem anymore).
After a lot of trial & error I came up with a system that involves using the priority field to indicate how important the due date is (3=real due date, 2=want to do by that date, 1=would be nice to do by that date), and the star to give the more important things a little extra "bump" up the list. Using this system, and sorting by importance, I get a very nicely sorted task list that reflects my real priorities. |
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RC-DC |
Great ideas - thanks for the feedback. What's the saying... goals without deadlines are only dreams?
I use a version of the Franklin Covey system: tasks for this month, then break out by day. But I suffer from hectic-life too, but even more so add-a-task syndrome. I create way too much for myself to do! And Toodledo just feeds that addiction. But I'll definitely try the saved-search idea. |
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