Tasklist manager: Difference between revisions

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''Tasklist manager'' available from '''[[Tools menu | Tools]] : Tasklist''' (e.g. by pressing ''F4'') can be used to edit, prioritize and sort tasklists:
''Tasklist manager'' available from '''[[Tools menu | Tools]] : Tasklist''' (e.g. by pressing ''F4'') can be used to edit, prioritize and sort tasklists:


[[Image:Tasklist.jpg|center|SuperMemo: Tasklist manager displaying the SuperMemo 2008 implementation list where individual to-do tasks are sorted by their priority as determined by the ratio of the value of a given task divided by the time necessary to complete it]]
[[Image:Tasklist.jpg|589px|center|SuperMemo: Tasklist manager displaying the SuperMemo 2008 implementation list where individual to-do tasks are sorted by their priority as determined by the ratio of the value of a given task divided by the time necessary to complete it]]


To edit a selected field, click it, type in a new value and press ''Enter''.
To edit a selected field, click it, type in a new value and press ''Enter''.
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'''<span id="FAQ">FAQ</span>'''
'''<span id="FAQ">FAQ</span>'''


[[#Instinctive | Determining tasklist valuation becomes instinctive in time]]<br /> [[#502-2102 | Tasks can be scheduled on a specific date]]<br /> [[#5946-6123 | Estimating task value is up to the user]]<br /> [[#20811-5689 | Deadlines in tasklists are not impassable]]<br /> [[#Reading list | Reading lists]]<br /> [[#6534-1004 | Virtual knowledge market can help you with tasklists]]<br /> [[#6261-1449 | Do not use the numbering column in the task manager to double-click tasks]]  
[[#Instinctive | Determining tasklist valuation becomes instinctive in time]]<br />[[#502-2102 | Tasks can be scheduled on a specific date]]<br />[[#5946-6123 | Estimating task value is up to the user]]<br />[[#20811-5689 | Deadlines in tasklists are not impassable]]<br />[[#Reading list | Reading lists]]<br />[[#6534-1004 | Virtual knowledge market can help you with tasklists]]<br />[[#6261-1449 | Do not use the numbering column in the task manager to double-click tasks]]  


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Revision as of 06:04, 24 April 2009

Tasklist manager available from Tools : Tasklist (e.g. by pressing F4) can be used to edit, prioritize and sort tasklists:

SuperMemo: Tasklist manager displaying the SuperMemo 2008 implementation list where individual to-do tasks are sorted by their priority as determined by the ratio of the value of a given task divided by the time necessary to complete it

To edit a selected field, click it, type in a new value and press Enter.

To sort the tasklist choose Ctrl+S.

To edit all parameters of a task, choose Ctrl+Shift+P in the same way as you do it in the element window.

Here are the most important controls on the tasklist manager toolbar:

  • Tasklist combo box - list of available tasklists. If you select another tasklist, it will be displayed in the tasklist manager and ready for editing
  • Menu - tasklist manager menu (see below)
  • Add task - add a new task to the current tasklist
  • Sort tasks - sort the tasklist by priority
  • Jump - close the tasklist manager and view the selected task in the element window
  • Find task - find a task containing a given string
  • Delete task - delete the currently selected task
  • Export - export tasklist into an HTML file
  • Home - go to the first element in the tasklist
  • End - go to the last element in the tasklist
  • Close - close the tasklist manager

The tasklist manager menu provides the following options:

  • View (Ctrl+Enter) - view the selected task in the element window
  • Jump (Shift+Ctrl+Enter) - close the tasklist manager and view the selected task in the element window
  • Dismiss task (Ctrl+D) - dismiss the selected task and move it to the tasklist archive (as defined in Search : Tasklists in the Archive field)
  • Memorize task (Ctrl+M) - introduce the selected task into the learning process
  • Edit parameters (Shift+Ctrl+P) - edit task parameters (value, time, priority, deadline, etc.)
  • Add task (Ctrl+Alt+A) - add a new task to the current tasklist
  • Sort (Ctrl+S) - sort the tasklist by priority
  • Find task (Ctrl+F) - find a task containing a given string
  • Find next (F3) - repeat the last search initiated with Find task
  • Select tasklist (Ctrl+Alt+T) - select another tasklist for viewing, editing, sorting, etc. and display it in the tasklist manager
  • Go to - select another element in the tasklist
    • Random jump (F11) - jump to a randomly selected task (e.g. for fast tasklist review)
    • Selected row (Ctrl+G) - jump to a selected row in the tasklist manager
  • Tools
    • Open in browser (Shift+Ctrl+B) - put all tasks from the currently opened tasklist in the browser
    • Export as HTML - export the tasklist as an HTML file
    • Export as text - export the tasklist as a text file
    • Import text - import a text file tasklist exported with Export as text
    • Transfer task (Ctrl+T) - transfer task to another tasklist. First time you transfer a task, SuperMemo will ask you to select a new tasklist from the tasklist combo box. Next time, SuperMemo will ask if the task should be transferred to the tasklist that was the last target of a task transfer
    • Transfer tasklist - transfer the entire tasklist to another tasklist (for the purpose of tasklist merging)
    • Verify tasklist - verify the integrity of the tasklist
  • Close (Esc) - close the tasklist manager

The tasklist manager can be used to edit and sort all sorts of to-do lists. For example, your prioritized shopping list can be kept in SuperMemo as a tasklist. To be sure that you go on with your major investments starting with those of highest benefit, you might list your planned purchases using price of the purchase in the Time field and, for example, daily time savings in minutes in Value. You could also use other measures of value. For example: degree of satisfaction from the purchase, the maximum price you would be ready to pay, or annual return on investment, etc. This approach would make sure that you never waste your time or money on petty impulse purchases. With tasklists, you can always be sure that you proceed methodically starting from the most valuable investments.

If you plan to use more than one tasklist in one collection, you should also learn about using categories. Here are the steps to keep your shopping list in SuperMemo (as a separate category):

  1. Choose File : New collection to create a new collection. Name it Shopping
  2. Choose Edit : Create tasklist
  3. Choose the location in the knowledge tree where you want to store your tasklist and click Next
  4. Name your tasklist category (e.g. Shopping) and click Next
  5. Click Finish
  6. Note that at this point your current category is Shopping and your current tasklist is Shopping. You can see it on the Tools toolbar
  7. Press F4 to open the tasklist manager
  8. Choose Add task (Ctrl+Alt+A) to add your first item on the shopping list
  9. Type New computer in the Description field
  10. Type 30 in the Value field. Let us assume that your new computer will save you 30 minutes per day on average
  11. Type 1.5 in the Time field. We will assume that your computer will cost you $1500
  12. Press Enter and note that the Priority field is now set to 20. As priority=value/time, you will know that every thousand dollars spent on your new computer will earn you 20 minutes per day. Note also that strangely we assigned time to value and value (price) to time. This is to express the fact that the interpretation of the Value field is as profit while the interpretation of the Time field is as cost
  13. Add more items that you want to purchase with Add task and sort the list with Sort tasks

If this is your first experience with the approach based on priority=value/time, the order of your shopping list may be a surprise!

For exemplary tasklists and their use, see: Break free from work overload!

Trivia: implementation of new features in SuperMemo for Windows proceeds in a sequence optimized by tasklists (as in the picture above).


FAQ

Determining tasklist valuation becomes instinctive in time
Tasks can be scheduled on a specific date
Estimating task value is up to the user
Deadlines in tasklists are not impassable
Reading lists
Virtual knowledge market can help you with tasklists
Do not use the numbering column in the task manager to double-click tasks


Deadlines in tasklists are not impassable
(MM, Netherlands, Monday, February 09, 2004 11:39 PM)
Question:
I would like to see a possibility of giving an alarm message when the deadline of a certain task in the tasklist has been reached
Answer:
Your proposition would quarrel with the concept of a tasklist. The underlying principle is that you never do things if there are things with a higher efficiency tab (i.e. value/time). Tasklists should ideally be deadline-less. What deadlines do in the present implementation is to reduce the value of tasks before a certain moment in time. For example, if a task makes little sense before a certain date (e.g. assembling software modules before all individual components arrive), the deadline will degrade the position of a task on the tasklist. If the deadline is reached and the task still does not come top on the list, by definition, the tasks of higher priority should be executed. Naturally, some projects may be strongly time-dependent and as such not suitable for being managed via tasklists. Tasklists are primarily suitable for handling massive numbers of deadline-less and independent tasks. See also: Scheduling tasks with incremental reading


Estimating task value is up to the user
(Reinhard, Germany, Thursday, July 26, 2001 12:06 PM)
Question:
You mention the value of tasks. How do I know how much a task is worth?
Answer:
Estimating value of tasks is entirely up to you. The simplest approach is to ask yourself a question: How much would I be ready to pay for having this task done? For example, how much would I be ready to pay to have this article read and processed? Value estimation is a skill that is worth developing independent of SuperMemo. Is your time valuable enough not to pick up a nickel? Or perhaps not? Is the value of comfort high enough to justify a bus fare or should you just walk two bus stops? Or perhaps the walk has an added health value? We must make similar estimations on a daily basis to function efficiently. This is why a little training with SuperMemo will probably not be wasted time


Do not use the numbering column in the task manager to double-click tasks ( #6261)
(Zoran Maksimovic, Fri, Aug 31, 2001 19:47)
Question:
Double-clicking on the number of an individual task results in opening the selected task instead of the one I have clicked on
Answer:
Yes. As the number column does not change the selection, you should rather double-click anywhere else on the task to ensure the clicked task gets opened


Determining tasklist valuation becomes instinctive in time
(Prof. Chris Houser, Japan, March 16, 2000)
Question:
In reference to How to break free from work overload: It seems to me that the greatest difficulty in the presented approach is in assigning values. For example, in case of SuperMemo features, you could value each feature as the number of email messages requesting the feature. This is comfortingly exact. But it's wildly inaccurate! I believe that Time Management authors have recognized this difficulty of pinning down exact numbers, and so recommend the A B C prioritization scheme
Answer:
The process of assigning values becomes quick and intuitive with a dose of training. If it is not accurate, it is still more accurate than the A B C scheme. For example, in choosing the value of a given feature in SuperMemo, many criteria will be taken into account with the overall intent to maximize the benefit to the user. Very often, new features are introduced without customer requests (e.g. tasklists!). Others, despite significant customer pressure, will not be included (e.g. many repetition rescheduling options have been proposed and rejected due to their potentially harmful effects on the results in learning). An average man in the street often takes similar multicriterial decisions without much effort. For example, if you would like to take a week vacation on Hawaii, you will quickly make an overall valuation of benefits and reject offers that seem too pricey. Valuating tasks, with some training, is equally automatic and straightforward


Tasks can be scheduled on a specific date
(hudson, Poland, Monday, October 16, 2000 10:14 PM)
Question:
Some tasks need to be executed on certain dates. Giving the tasks higher priority or using the deadline option may be a substitute, but this makes it impossible to see the tasks in a weekly table, etc. I would like SuperMemo to take care of this
Answer:
You can combine tasklists with incremental reading. Tasks can be scheduled in the learning process. If you keep tasks in a separate collection, you can also view the number of tasks scheduled on a given day or month. You can prioritize individual tasks via incremental reading, via tasklist or using both mechanisms. For example, you can use incremental reading to back up the tasklist mechanism. This way you can execute tasks down the list of priority, but still take time to review some lower priority tasks. Those selectively reviewed tasks may then have their priority upgraded, be deleted, be built upon (e.g. if tasks take part in a creative process) or simply be executed


Reading list
(Luis Gustavo Neves da Silva, Brazil, Sep 17, 1999)
Question:
What is the difference between a reading list and a tasklist?
Answer:
Reading list is a special case of a tasklist. All tasklists are sorted sets of tasks. Each task is composed of: title/description, priority and task body. In reading list, the body of the task has a form of a single article (e.g. imported from the Internet). You can use tasklist in the management of to-do lists. A reading list is your prioritized to-do sequence of most important articles you want to read. However, with the advent of incremental reading, the role of reading lists is declining. Incremental reading eliminates the greatest weakness of reading lists: difficulty in estimating the value of articles before actually reading them. Incremental reading makes it possible to continually update article valuations as reading progresses


Virtual knowledge market can help you with tasklists
(Reinhard K. Koehler (neusob), Germany, Saturday, August 11, 2001 1:06 PM)
Question:
You suggest that tasklist valuations can be used to prioritize material for learning. But for categorizing the material in a exam there is no market! So how do I evaluate the prices?
Answer:
You can create a virtual market in your mind. Imagine that you use your spending power for shopping for knowledge. You go to individual shops offering "Biology at $X" or "Mathematics at $Y". You must answer the question: "How much money would I be ready to pay for instantly memorizing this piece of learning material?" Would you pay $100,000 for a 5-page article on cancer? Or would it rather only be $0.1? In most cases the answer will fall in-between. With time you will hone your valuation skills and assign values effortlessly. Clearly, one buyer is enough to make a market. Virtual knowledge sellers will adapt prices to your demand. The demand is up to you. It is determined by your spending power and your need for new knowledge