I’m trying to understand why it is possible to set a due date that is earlier than a defer date.
For example, I had several items marked to be due yesterday on 2/23. The day rolls by and I’m can’t finish those tasks so I hit the defer button and mark the defer date to 2/24, yet the due date remains 2/23.
Am I misunderstanding something here? One would think if I hit the defer date to 2/24, the due date (if set) would automatically move to at least 2/24 forwards. Maybe I’m missing something?
No one has a reply? :) Perhaps I am mistaken in how I understand the two dates??
I think we agree that you generally don’t want a defer date after the due date. However, it’s less clear what the corrective action should be. As you suggest, it could move the due date as well, perhaps to defer date + duration. Or maybe it should move by as much as the defer date did. Or OmniFocus could display some sort of violation, as OmniPlan does.
From another point of view, those actions have a due date. Whether you defer them or not, the actions are still overdue. Some actions become more urgent when overdue (file taxes). Others become no longer worth doing (make New Year’s plans). If you can just defer a task past its due date without consequences (filing a tax extension, or at least apologizing to your boss?) consider whether the action really had a due date.
Thanks for the thoughtful response!
From another point of view, those actions have a due date. Whether you defer them or not, the actions are still overdue.
True, but it’s not always necessary to record that an item is overdue. Some items one might prefer to have it done by date x, but when that rolls along and it can’t happen (contingency, etc.) then new due date y is noted.
Some actions become more urgent when overdue (file taxes). Others become no longer worth doing (make New Year’s plans). If you can just defer a task past its due date without consequences (filing a tax extension, or at least apologizing to your boss?) consider whether the action really had a due date.
Interesting question. Well, sometimes we’d like to put an item with a due date because the intention is to have it due by then, even if there are not other consequences besides guilt. :) So, unless I’m misunderstanding how to use OmniFocus, it seems that it does make sense to have a due date for items when one sets an internal deadline that doesn’t have other consequences attached if the deadline isn’t met.
You can absolutely use OmniFocus due dates to track internal dates. Some folks find that recording too many internal due dates lead us to start treating all due dates as not having consequences.
Here’s a couple essays that touch on the topic:
http://inside.omnifocus.com/David-Sparks
http://learnomnifocus.com/tutorials/best-practice-due-dates/
My rule of thumb has always been that if I find myself tempted to start moving due dates on a task, then perhaps I shouldn’t have assigned them to that task at all.
We all have different definitions of what an immutable “hard landscape” is for each of us, and in some cases I set due dates for things that I definitely know I want to get done on that date, even if the consequences are little more than a sense of personal failure :)
It’s also worth keeping in mind that Due Dates are the only real way to get reminders and have things appear in the “Today” view, so I’ll often use a due date (and time) simply to reflect when I want to be reminded to do something. Many things in my daily routine have due dates for the express purpose of firing off reminders, but these are also things that, by very nature of being routine, actually get done on a daily basis. The only consequences to missing many of these items, however, is throwing off my routine.
Speaking to the original point, however, I think OmniFocus is doing the only thing it can when adjusting a Defer Date – leave the “Due Date” alone and let the user make the call. As @lizard pointed out initially, I don’t think there’s any single corrective action that would appeal to every user, and OmniFocus has always (correctly, IMHO) refused to automatically mess with “Due Dates” to prevent the risks of throwing off actual deadlines.
Great, will check out these posts.
It’s also worth keeping in mind that Due Dates are the only real way to get reminders and have things appear in the “Today” view, so I’ll often use a due date (and time) simply to reflect when I want to be reminded to do something. Many things in my daily routine have due dates for the express purpose of firing off reminders, but these are also things that, by very nature of being routine, actually get done on a daily basis. The only consequences to missing many of these items, however, is throwing off my routine.
Exactly.
But, perhaps with the way OmniFocus is designed, maybe Perspectives is the way to get an overview of what needs to be done rather than the more simplistic view of “Today” from Notifications. This is just a guess because I’m just starting to use OmniFocus and haven’t quite figured out how to use Perspectives yet.
Perspectives is definitely the better and more powerful way to do this, at least in principle. Unfortunately, you currently can’t customize the “Today” view in OS X or iOS to show anything other than the Forecast version of “Today” – I’m pretty sure Omni is already working on adding support for custom perspectives in the widget, and I know that I and several others have sent in feature requests for it.
In the meantime, I do almost everything from my “Hotlist” perspective, which is configured to show Available “Due or Flagged” items, sorted with “Due” items at the top:
I still use the “Today” widget, particularly on iOS, as it’s more accessible and it’s a useful way to see and deal with those high-priority items. While a custom perspective would still be nice, I’ve started to think that I wouldn’t use my “Hotlist” perspective in the widget anyway… In my system, many flagged items will float for a day or two before they get done – the flag is a reminder to keep the item top of mind, but not necessarily jump on it today.
I’ve often wished I could have a separate “soft due date” field alongside the existing “hard due date”. My ideal task management app would have unlimited user-configurable custom attribute columns… But that probably means I’m weird.
I don’t think that’s so weird. I think we often want to keep track of hard-deadlines (e.g., when a print production must be submitted to the printers) versus our ideal deadline which could be weeks ahead.
