[FarmGrrl]

I'm very new to Bonsai. I am a registered user of ShadowPlan, but it doesn't work well for me visually. I'm visually impaired, and need alternating row colors (which only works on the Clie in hires, which makes the fonts too small), and I also need Keyword icons, as visual cues. So I'm going to go with Bonsai.

Right now the only Category I am using in Bonsai is @NA, for next actions.

For Keywords, I have @Work, @Home, etc.

When an item becomes the NA, I change its category. It seems easier than doing that with keywords.

Right now I'm just starting with the filters, but I have filters like:
Keyword: @Work
Status: Incomplete
Category: @NA

Same for home, same for @Errands, etc. I don't have a lot of filters yet.

I also have some recurring highly-structured tasks in @Work. The huge one is "Server Maintenance". It goes like:
Server Maintenance (simple)
--Daily (task) (linked to Datebk6 to-do, which sets it to repeat daily M-F, give me an alarm at 2PM to remind me if it isn't done yet, etc)
----Item 1 (to-do)
----Item 2 (to-do)
----Check-off in Datebk6 (here I would follow the link to Datebk6 and check it off there, so it will repeat the next day)
--Weekly (task, see above)
----Item1
----Item2
----Check-off in Datebk6
--Monthly (task, see above)
----Server1
------Task1
------Task2
------Task99
----Server2 through Server99
------blahblah
----Check-off in Datebk6

The fact that Bonsai lets me do things in a rigid structure like that makes it great for the sysadmin! I don't procrastinate (Oh I'll run the updates next month) because it's sitting there just begging for a check-mark! I don't clutter up the view in Datebk6 because I link to the daily / weekly / monthly and can get back to it from Datebk6. I finally found a way to repeat these -- that was the huge stumbling block for me.

I'll flesh this out some more as I play with it. I think my next step is I need a "Procedures" outline separate with my rigid work tasks, with a link from the main outline, and I probably need to have level 1 items with Work and Home. I haven't decided yet, as it's so easy to just use views for this kind of separation.

I am sure there are holes in my system as I am just starting. If any veterans see some huge problems that will bite me in the butt later, please point them out. i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif

[TMDH]

Hmmm. I'd dump the keywords and set up categories @work, @home, etc. Manage urgency using priority field and due dates. Use Flat filters to narrow your views to what you want to focus on. They can be set to react to your changes, thus when you check an item complete it will drop from the filtered view (assuming you wish to see incomplete items only).
Also, I'd keep your server Branch in your main outline, but since it repeats, I'd consider keeping a copy in another outline to function as a template. Just copy the branch from your Template outline into your primary outline.
You've got some experimentation ahead of you, so you may want to make a duplicate Outline using your current data, but call the Outline "practice" and have a ball without hurting anything.

[FarmGrrl]

Thanks for your feedback, Dave!

I don't think urgency is part of GTD so I haven't used it.

I'm using keywords for the contexts because an item can have more than one context (@Work @PC, or @Home @Call, for instance) and I don't think you can have more than one category.

I did drop the NA category in favor of using Bonsai's "Next Action" calculated by sibling. That way as long as my outline is in the right order, the NA for each branch shows up easily.

So far I don't like the flat view, because I like to see what project an action relates to. I will play around with it though.

I'm really in a quandary about the server tasks. It turns out that Datebk6 doesn't repeat them correctly, so I keep having to delete and put back the link. Kind of a bummer. I wouldn't mind just linking them to the Datebook (no checking off in Datebk6) but I think I'd then have to specify a time. Just not sure.

So to sum up, I'm no longer using categories at all, and I figured out how to use Bonsai's "Next Action" in filters.

One other thing I'd like to do is sort completed items to the bottom. In all of my filters, I have "Incomplete only", but in the filter-less view, I can see how it will get cluttered really fast with all of the completed items, but I can't seem to find a setting for this. I did change the completed color to grey though.

[Daryn]

Thanks for your story, Please let me know how it goes
I'm about 4 weeks behind you in the development of my system

Daryn

[FarmGrrl]

Hi Daryn!

Of course, I've changed things a bit already.

1. Categories: Work, Home, HomeBiz, Inbox
I have no need to artificially blur work and home. I don't work from home (usually) and I hardly ever do home tasks from work, unless it's during lunch time. I actually have Work and Home as level-1 'Simple' items. That's just as a visual cue for me. It's not necessary. HomeBiz is for the soap-making business I run from home. Inbox contains things from brain-storms, things that haven't been filed, etc.

2. Keywords: @PC, @Call, @Errands, Someday, WaitingFor, Deliverable, Maintenance, Housework (so far)
The context keywords are used in my filters (the first 5). The others are mostly just to give the item an icon, as a visual cue. Deliverable is a project that has a due-date.

General Hierarchy:
Inbox
--Task1
--Task2
Work
--Projects
----Project1
------Subtask 1
----Project2
--Task1
--Task2
Home
--Task1
--Task2
Homebiz
--Task1
--Task2
Complete
--Completed branch 1
--Completed Item 1

Of course I have filters to show me @Work NA, @Home NA, @Work All, @Home All, etc etc etc. I'm using the "Parent of Next Action" quite heavily especially for my Projects branch at work. I didn't know about it when I first wrote this post.

I'm doing most planning / entry on the PC but using the PDA to check thnings off. Children inherit both categories and keywords from their parents, so it's not a pain to use them. I only have to edit a specific task to add or take away keywords. Since my categories are so broad, the inheritance is always correct.

[Daryn]

very interesting.
so you are using the Priorities pretty heavily I assume?

I'm going to have to play with that "Parent of Next Action" option.
I can understand the words, but as a setting that is greek to me.

[StuGib]

Quote

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Originally posted by: DarynI'm going to have to play with that "Parent of Next Action" option.
I can understand the words, but as a setting that is greek to me.

---

Think of it as 'complete my children in order' (where order is defined in the filter). You'll then only get the first (based on the order you choose) item in your filters that filter for next actions only.

p.s. if your first child of a 'parent of next action' item is also a 'parent of...' item, its first child will be chosen:

ProjectA [Parent=True]
...ProjectB [Parent=True]
......TaskA

will give you TaskA if filtering for next actions and it matches the other filter criteria.

[FarmGrrl]

I'm not using priorities at all. I use the 'Sibling order' along with the 'Parent of next action.' Like Stu, if I have a choice of multiple tasks which are independent of each other, they all go on the same level and I can work on each one as I see fit.