ForumsQuestionsHow do you use Folders/Contexts/Tags?
How do you use Folders/Contexts/Tags?
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tommy.kelly |
In some ways, Folders, Contexts and Tags are just filtering tags. However, there are some differences (e.g. a task can have more than one tag).
So, I'd be interested in hearing how people put the three things to use in their setups. So far, I've been using only Folders, and those are to group my tasks into broad areas (Finance, Engineering, etc). |
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PeterW |
@tommy.kelly:
Good question, but perhaps difficult to answer. I would say that it depends on your personal workflow. The answer therefore will be different for each individual. I started out using Toodledo similarly to what you've described, e.g. folders representing different aspects of my work life (e.g. finance, administration, operations, etc). I was never really satisfied with this arrangement but didn't really know what else to do. Prior to Toodledo, I'd tried Outlook and various handheld device-based solutions. None of them really worked for me. It wasn't until I read "Getting Things Done" by Dave Allen and reading a bunch of threads in this forum and elsewhere that the concept of workflow began to gel for me. Following is how I have setup Toodledo: Folders: -Next -Projects -Waiting For -Someday Contexts: -Work -Home -Online -Phone -Errands Tags: -Business -Personal -Family -GTD So rather than using folders to categorize tasks, the folders become the task's status. For example: * Next - is a list of tasks that can be done next * Projects - is for multi-step tasks (tasks with subtasks) * Waiting For - is for tasks that are waiting on someone else to respond or do something * Someday - is for tasks that don't need to be done, but would be nice to do at some point This provides a neat way of looking at what you need to do, what you need to follow up on, and what you'd like to do one day when time or energy permits. I don't use Toodledo's status field because folders do it for me, and moving a task from one folder to another changes its status. Contexts are normally used to define either a location or resource. For example, there are some tasks I can only do at work, others I can only do at home, some can be done online (so anywhere I have access) etc. Contexts can be quite powerful - you simply select your context to see the subset of tasks you can work on at that time. Tags can be used to categorize tasks in any other way and you can assign more than one tag if you wish so they are quite flexible. I've used very broad categories but you might find more granular tags work for you. I found that categorising my work into areas like finance, admin, etc really didn't do anything because in reality, I don't segment my day by discipline - I jump from task to task as needs dictate. This is just one way of using Toodledo and there's lots more that could be said about this particular method. Others will no doubt chime in with other ways of using Toodledo that work really well for them. So as I said, it depends upon your personal workflow, or at least what you want it to be. This message was edited Jul 28, 2010. |
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Salgud |
Sounds like a worthwhile question. I enjoyed reading Peter's schema, very GTD. Looking forward to seeing how others have implemented TD for their workflow.
Mine is very different, partly because I'm not a GTDer. My folders consist of a series that are based on various Work Groups I'm involved with at work, so I track my activities with each one. In addition, I have folders for Phone, Personal, Home, Bio (a personal video biography project I'm doing), and Templates. I just started my 7 day trial for a pro account to see if the extra features are useful. I've created templates for some of the regular projects I do at home and at work, like weekend housecleaning at home. I only have 3 contexts, Home, Work, Out. Since I have a phone everywhere I go now, I don't need a "phone" context. (I have the Phone folder so I can look to see what calls I have to make when I have a minute or two free, which I could probably do with a context.) And I know I have a computer at home and work, but not when I'm "out". I'm still sorting out my tagging schema. After years of working with various kinds of software with tagging capabilities, I have a standard approach to figuring out how best to use them in any new app. I just randomly tag everything I can think of for a while. Usually, some of the tags are redundant with other features, like folders, contexts, etc. After a few weeks, it becomes obvious to me which ones are useful and which ones aren't, and delete the useless ones. I know, pretty shotgun approach, but just like a shotgun, it gets the birds. So I'm still playing with that. So far, I'm using tags to break down one of the folders that contains a lot of tasks of various types. For example, I track Action Items for a huge project we're doing right now, the one involving the various Work Groups I mentioned that I have folders for. So any activity involved in tracking those Action Items is tagged "AI" so I can see where I am on those easily. This is very important to my boss, so I stay on top of it, and give these tasks top priority. So basically, I'm using tags to track my various areas of responsibility here at work. Will take a bit longer to figure out how to use them in my personal life, but I imagine they'll out themselves as I get more comfortable with TD. I hope others chime in here with their systems - I learn something every time I read how someone else is using TD. It may or may not directly relate to what I'm doing, but you never know when some adaptation of one of those ideas becomes very useful in my system. |
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greg |
I use Folders to separaate my areas of responsibilty or to group a really big project- e.g. Fun, Chores, Cricket Club, Big Work Project 1, Big Work Project 2, Big Work Project 3, House Move, Wedding. This helps me to know what area to focus on, when there's lots of contexts I could do and is a good stress reliever. This is based on the TRO method from priacta.com - they use a "Strategic Calendar" that allows you to map out your regular week showing a realistic spread of your areas of responsibility to ensure it only gets covered, and they have a unique algorithm for weighing your next actions against this. I really miss that now I use ToodleDo, but it was Windows/Outlook based and I don't have access here any more.
For contexts its all, where I can do it. E.g. home, work, errands, phone, online, blah blah. For tags it's either people, e.g. "Simon Jones" or a regular meeting @TMS. Therefore if I bump into Simon Jones I can look up everything to do with him, or at my regular TMS update meeting I can see all the actions I want to discuss. I also use the status. A project is Planning until I come up with the actual next actions, at which point it is Active. If it's a project I'm interested in but not actively involved it is Delegated (with the person's name in the tag). Next actions are Next Actions. If I'm waiting on someone else (name in tag) I use Waiting. Oh and I use Someday for things I think of but don't want to actually do yet. |
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