TASKERStep 3 of 5 · 3 min read
Organize: a place for everything
Dmytro Sokolnikov, maker of Tasker ·
The calendar is only for things with their own day
Only what has to happen on that day or at that hour goes on the calendar: a doctor’s appointment, a call at 3 pm, a birthday greeting. Add things like “would be nice on Wednesday”, and the calendar stops being honest — and you start ignoring it.
A task with no fixed day that you want to do soon is better off on a list for the week.
The lists you really need
- Next actions — what you can do right now, as soon as you have time.
- Projects — everything that takes several steps, each with one next action.
- Waiting for — what you handed to others or asked of them and want to keep an eye on.
- Someday / maybe — ideas and plans you will come back to.
- Reference — information that asks for nothing but will come in handy: a policy number, a tire size, a recipe.
Every new list is a few more minutes of review. Start with these and add new ones only when you really miss them.
Contexts: where you can do it
Classic GTD also splits next actions by place or tool: “@home”, “@computer”, “@phone”, “@errands”. The idea is simple: at the store, see only shopping; at the computer, only computer tasks.
Today most things get done from a phone, so not everyone needs contexts. When lists are short, you can see them whole without splitting them.
What to do with waiting
You asked a colleague for a report, left the car at the garage, you are waiting for a parcel — these are tasks too, even if someone else does them. Write down what you are waiting for and from whom, and look through the list at least once a week: then you follow up in time, not when it is already urgent.
How to tell it is organized
- you know where every task lives;
- the calendar for today holds only what is really for today;
- every project shows its next action;
- you trust your lists and keep nothing in your head “just in case”.
The calendar is only for things with their own day!
How it works in Tasker
In Tasker a date or a list decides where a task lives:
- “Today”, “Tomorrow” or a date with a time — the task shows up on the calendar on its day;
- “This week”, or a week, month or year in the date window — for tasks without an exact day;
- “Keep track of” — what you need to keep an eye on: what you are waiting for from others, what to check;
- “Remember” — what to keep in sight with no action: agreements, requests, important little things;
- “Sort later” — the lower block of the Inbox, for ideas you will come back to;
- projects and folders — for tasks with several steps; reference fits well in a note — an item with text and no date.
“Keep track of” and “Remember” are set in the menu on a record’s icon — tap the icon left of the name. Both lists are on the Today page: the first at the top, the second at the bottom.
Tasker has no contexts like “@home” or “@computer”: tasks are grouped by days, lists and projects.
The “Keep track of” and “Remember” lists, the Inbox, projects, folders and notes are part of advanced mode. In basic mode the date decides: a day is in Calendar, a week, month or year is in Plans.
All Tasker features →