Any Sorted(3) Power Users

Hey everyone -

This is going to be a pretty long windup to get to the questions of: 1) are any of you using Sorted(3) 2) have you found any good guides/training resources for it? 3) what is your workflow?


Being stuck at home with COVID the past (and next) few days is perfect timing. I’m not normally one to work “on my system” by adding new tools, routines, etc. I’m usually pretty busy working or wasting time on new hardware setups :wink:

I’m really hoping to get a better tool in place for my block scheduling this year. I currently use Outlook + 2Do, which work well, but require a pretty manual process. I would love to find something in SetApp that does this well, but a brief search didn’t turn anything up.

Today
2Do (because of great quick entry on all devices) is my immediate dumping ground for everything that needs to be done (inbox). At the beginning and end of every day, I process my Inbox and add due dates and durations. Week of (or day of if sooner) the due date it goes in my Outlook calendar as a block of time - marked “Busy” if the time is essential or “Free” if I could move the task if I had to or wanted to. This step is key because I use Doodle, integrated with my O365 calendars, to allow people to easily book meetings. Free shows the time slot as still available and Busy blocks it out on Doodle.

I downloaded Sorted(3) and am trying it out based on the idea that it could remove a step in the process. It could be my dumping ground for tasks (with date and duration) and I can drag them around the block schedule as needed. This, in turn, would sync with my O365 calendars so that Doodle would continue to work.

In my initial pass, I’m just not seeing it. I have a lot of recurring tasks - I don’t see a place where those tasks live until I place them. The “recurring” event feature seems really basic - daily is an option, but not “weekdays only”? Is that correct?

What I Imagined
I click on a day and see the timeline of that day with items that are sync’d from my calendar or items I added and assigned that date to. I also see a list of “unassigned” items - both recurring to-dos as well as all to-dos in my “inbox.” I can drag-drop and move things around to block out the day. This workflow is available whether I’m looking at today or any day in the future.

I thought that’s what Sorted would do but, if it does, I’m having a hard time figuring it out.

Sorry if this isn’t a helpful answer…but I agree with your opening view that Sorted3 just didn’t seem to make anything easier at all. It just seemed to add another layer of complexity with un-fathomable gesture control. And I still need to move everything around so I might as well just do it in the calendar in the first place.

I really wanted it to work. I’ll be interested to hear also if I’m in the using it wrong camp. :+1:

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In a way this is what I wanted to hear! While I’d love it (more) if the tool did what I needed it to do, I’m very happy to hear that I’m neither crazy nor incompetent!

Automations need to make my workflow shorter / easier, not harder - and that includes setup, configuration, and learning curve time. I don’t see currently see hitting payback threshold on this in 2022.

Still, maybe we’re both wrong and there’s a Sorted wizard out there who can explain it…

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