I’m curious how others are using the forecast tag now that planned dates have been introduced in version 4.7. Previously, I used a combination of the defer date and forecast tags as a workaround for planned dates.
Now that we have a dedicated planned date field, what would be a meaningful use case for the forecast tag?
One concern I have is that if I fall behind on my workflow, I risk losing track of items with planned dates - especially since they continue to roll forward with the forecast tag, potentially slipping through the cracks.
I’ve stopped using the Forecast tag now that I’m using Planned Dates.
For me, the Forecast tag was a way to put something in today’s Forecast without giving it a false due date. Now that we have planned dates, I can use those to add something to today’s Forecast. Or tomorrow’s. Or next week’s. I just find planned dates to be more expressive than a single tag.
If you miss having a quick keyboard shortcut to assign an item to today, you might be interested in this plug-in (which you can assign to any key you choose):
Perhaps a forecast tag could be used for tasks where you haven’t thought through any scheduling for it. I’ve used an errands tag in the forecast which will bring up various tasks I haven’t planned for a specific date.
Interesting! I’m still using OF 4.6, but I imagine that when I move to 4.7, I will differentiate Planned Dates from Forecast Tags. I’ll use the former for things I would like to get done on a specific date, for various reasons (not much else scheduled, needing lead time for feedback, etc. I think I’ll continue to use the Forecast Tag for things that I think I should get done soon, especially those things I don’t enjoy doing but that need to get done, but for which I don’t think any specific date is best.
But who knows, after I get the new feature, my approach might change. I wasn’t initially a big fan of turning single contexts into multiple tags, but I find them useful now.
