I understand the concept, but that seems too granular and tedious, given the task. The task is to write 20 pages and the number of pages one can write in any given day, is going to be variable given other things that must be done, e.g., unplanned interruptions, etc. For certain projects like writing a longform article it seems to me it is far more efficient to have it sitting there for the required number of days to complete it without the need to break it up into multiple subtasks unless they are genuinely discrete, for example, research. For some types of projects like the one I have described, the idea that one must break it down into discrete, smaller tasks, seems unnecessarily fiddly requiring more time to manage the task than warranted.
Can you screenshot the perspective settings?
This is a very late edit, but it seems important to say that you don’t need all this. I’ve also included Flagged items, items that are due soon (or overdue), and items that are tagged with my Forecast tag (Today). I just wanted vectors info any task I thought was important at some point. This is my “don’t let these slip through the cracks” view. I don’t think it works in OF3.
Have you considered using a calendar like BusyCal? I used it (and BusyContacts) to manage projects that took several months to complete.
“Tasks are integrated into your calendar, display on the date they are due, and carry forward until completed. And we’ve added support for Timed Tasks that occur at a specific time of day and appear inline with your calendar events.”
It’s interesting reading all the gyrations people are willing to go through because they don’t have a start date in their apps 
Heh. I was thinking earlier that maybe this was just supposed to be a thread for dunking on OmniFocus, but I replied anyway. Hopefully I can work my way off your list of fools.
use Things. Then just get on with doing things 
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I think perhaps we’re becoming bogged down in @Bmosbacker’s multi-day example. It could be a 20 minute task that you only spend 5 minutes a day on and the issue still holds and you can’t break it up.
How about some sort of “in progress” tag so you know that regardless of any date, you know it is something you are currently working on?
Of course one can “break it up”. That is the basis of the long-understood project mgmt technique of planning and if one wants to get analytical, critical path project planning/modelling for which there have been tools for this available for decades.
As a daily reminder until done, by all means put the small tasks in the ToDo list, but if a precursor to action having it required to be in the ToDo list to do something, esp if a 5 minute task, … well, not how I work my day.
I’m going to try to ignore this thread.
I would break it down to as small as needed but no smaller.
An example is brushing teeth. I could just title my task as
- Brush my teeth
Or I can have:
- Get toothbrush
- Get cup
- Fill cup with water
- Apply toothpaste to toothbrush
- Brush top teeth
- Brush bottom teeth
- Rinse mouth
- Put away toothbrush and cup
Yes, I don’t have to create a project every time I brush my teeth or start a writing project. I can always run through my checklist but I think, in certain cases, a simplified checklist will do.
- Brush teeth
- Use Mouthwash
- Floss
In most cases, I’ll just create a time block/appointment in my calendar to reserve time to write.
Just put a certain Tag, like “next” to it, and it will show up (if you set it in the Preferences!) on your Daily List within OF, even without any dates applied to it!
The best thing with GTD and all the other Methods in that directions, is, that you can use them right in the way they fit best for you!
But to stay with your example, I think you compare Apples with Pears, of course you don’t have to break it down in a way that you are going to end up with a single Task within your Task-Manager for every single Letter you type!
But you are also not Toothbrushing over several days (at least I hope). If you have “Brush my Teeth” in your Task Manager, then you can click it as done, after you are finished, and with the right setting it will show up on the next day.
If you have to write a Text over several Days, you will most probably also not sitting there for a week constantly without a break and keep typing. So, why should be there no breakdown of this Multi-Day Task into healthy daily doses, to finish with it?
Of course, if you don’t want to break it down, you don’t have to, but that remains within your private decision how you want to handle that, and has nothing to do with the methodology or how the developer are going to implement them with their software.
And again, you can set a Tag “next” with a Multi-Day-Task, and it will show up inside your “Daily” on Omnifocus, even without setting any dates to it!
I assume when using Today, you mean the forecast view?
No, but when using perspectives and filtering by tasks that are Available, any task which is not on hold or deferred after today can be seen (obviously depending on what other filters you add to the perspective. )
That’s the beauty of OF. You can slide and dice tasks however you wish.
He doesn’t want to break it up and that is his choice. Some people like having directional tasks that are more like projects because breaking it up is a waste of time for them.
That said, the to do apps that don’t have a start date must assume the tasks are single-sit tasks.
I love the “do” date as I don’t necessarily want to do that task on the day it is due, and such a date could be used as a “start” date for those that like having few tasks that are broad because it suits their workflow (read carefully: their workflow, not necessarily yours).
Yep, that’s how I use Things. There is a “do” date (call it a “start” date if you want, but a single date none the less), and a seperate “deadline” date.
KISS. I try to keep my workflow extremely simple so that a) don’t lose the “todo’s”, and b) leave maximum time to “do” things focusing on that. Just me
Essentially, that is how I’m using the flag in Apple reminders.
My post certainly was not. I’m asking what I believe is a legitimate question. Some apps choose to have a start date or the equivalent thereof, whereas others, such as Apple’s Reminders, do not. I’m curious as to the thinking behind the decision not to include the start date. As to OmniFocus, I’ve used OmniFocus for several years. I like several of its features, but I have to say I’m glad I’m using the default app given the recent $100/year cost for OmniFocus. Yes, I know you can buy a traditional license for essentially the same price and keep it for more than one year, but it is expensive and one would no doubt need to upgrade relatively frequently to keep up with new operating systems and features.
That’s not a bad idea, but I prefer to keep my calendar restricted to events and my task manager to tasks.
I could certainly do that, and I have used Things and like it a lot. That said, my question is not related to choosing a new task manager, as I have chosen to use the default Apple Reminders. My post was motivated out of interest as to why some developers have chosen not to include a start date, whereas others have, such as Things. It seems like a curious omission, and I think an unfortunate one. I’m not looking for a new task manager
Yes, that is what I meant.