TASKERGTD in practice · 3 min read
Projects and next actions
Dmytro Sokolnikov, maker of Tasker ·
What counts as a project
A project doesn’t have to be big. “Mom’s birthday gift” is a project too: think of it, order it, pick it up, wrap it. If it can’t be done in one go, it is a project.
Most people end up with a few dozen — and that is normal. What matters is that they are all written down.
The name is the outcome
Name a project after what you are heading for: “New kitchen”, “August holiday”, “Visa documents submitted”. Then it is clear when the project is finished.
The next action moves the project
You can’t do a project itself — only its next step. So keep a next action in every project: “call Serhii the builder”, “agree on holiday dates with my husband”.
You don’t have to write out every step in advance. The next one is enough — when it is done, decide what comes after.
A project with no next action is a stuck project. They are easy to spot during the weekly review.
When you do need a plan
For complex things — a move, a wedding, a renovation — it helps to sketch the steps in advance: what depends on what, what to order early. Put them into the project as separate tasks, but give a date only to those really tied to a day.
The project’s deadline is separate from the steps’ dates: it is the day everything must be ready by.
How not to lose projects
- keep all projects in one place, not in scattered notes;
- go through them once a week during the review;
- close what is finished so the list doesn’t grow;
- move what you won’t touch in the coming months to “someday / maybe”.
No next action — the project stands still!
How it works in Tasker
In Tasker a project is its own type of item. Open the project and type a step into the last line, “Add item”. The icon left of the line is the type of the new item: a task, a checklist, a project, a folder or a note.
A checklist is a task with its own list of points: “Pack the suitcase”, “Buy everything for the renovation”.
Tasks inside a project can have no date — give a date only to the step tied to a day. Tasks with a date show up both on the calendar and on Today.
A project with no open task inside has a pale icon — you see at once that there is no next action.
A project has a “Target date” — the day everything must be ready by; Tasker warns you in advance.
An item can move to another project: “Pick up” in the item’s “⋮” menu, then “Move here” in the menu of the project you need.
Projects, folders and checklists are part of advanced mode. They live in Areas — that is the next article.
All Tasker features →