Getting Started
Action Lists is designed to be easy to use, but there are a few things that you may want to do before getting started with the app:
Create an Account with Toodledo
If you want to synchronize your tasks to Toodledo, you'll need to create a Toodledo account. There's no charge for an account, and it allows you to view, modify, and share your tasks online. You can also use Toodledo to synchronize your data to other applications like Microsoft Outlook. For more information on using Toodledo, see their help pages.
Learn the Language
While Action Lists is flexible enough to fit a number of different systems, it was designed to be used with the Getting Things Done® system created by David Allen. Because Action Lists was designed to be used with GTD®, a lot of the terminology used in Action Lists is based on that used in GTD®. If you're not familiar with with GTD®, the best source is probably David Allen's book Getting Things Done, but there are many resources available on the Internet as well. In particular, I suggest this Wikipedia article as a good place to start. In the meantime, you should at least take a look at some of the more important terms that are used in Action Lists.
Take the Tour
Open Action Lists and get familiar with its interface. As you do so, use these descriptions to help orient you to the purpose of each list.
Configure Action Lists
Use these instructions to help you find the settings (hint: exit Action Lists and look in the Settings app), and configure Action Lists to your liking. Action Lists is already set to reasonable defaults, but some features (like Toodledo synchronization) cannot be used until they are configured.
Definitions
Before explaining how to use Action Lists, there are a few terms that you need to understand:
- Context
- A context is simply a location or a tool that you have to have at hand in order to complete a particular task. Once a context is defined, tasks can be assigned to a context to indicate which tool or location is needed in order to complete the task. For example, you may have a context of "Home" which you've assigned to the task "Mow the lawn", or you may have a context of "Telephone" which you've assigned to the task "Call Mom".
- Project
- A project is anything that must be done, but requires more than one task to complete. As tasks are identified that further the project, they can be assigned to the project. Projects can also have subprojects which group tasks within a project. A subproject is nothing more than a project that has had a parent project defined for it. Once a project has been created it can become a subproject by editing it and adding a parent. Likewise, a subproject can be promoted to the top level by editing it and setting it's parent to "None".
- Status
- Each task has a status assigned to it. Tasks with a status of "Inbox" have yet to be processed and appear in the Inbox. Tasks with a status of "Next Action" are ready to be worked on as soon as possible. Tasks with a status of "Next Action" appear in the action list for the task's assigned context. Tasks with a status of "Active" will need to be completed eventually, but not yet. Since "Active" tasks are used to plan the future tasks for a project, a task can only have its status set to "Active" if it is assigned to a project. A task has a status of "Someday" assigned to it when the task represents something that you might want to do in the future, but that you're not yet committed to. Finally, a task might also have a status of "Waiting", which indicates that you have to wait for someone else to do something before you can begin work on the task.
The Lists
After opening Action Lists, the first thing that you will notice is the tab bar at the bottom of the screen. The tab bar gives you quick access to all of your essential lists. In the tab bar, you'll find:
Inbox
As you go about your day, you'll undoubtedly be faced with new obligations that you'll want to record. When you're on the go, you often don't have time to immediately give these obligations the thought that is required to fully flesh out how you want to handle them. The Inbox is the list for these new tasks. When you have a new task, create it with a status of "Inbox" and then it will be collected in the Inbox for later processing. When you get time to process your Inbox, you can add additional details to the tasks that it holds, assign them a context and project, and change their status to "Next Action" to indicate that the task is ready to be worked on. On the other hand, if you discover that one of your Inbox items is too large in scope, and really represents more that one action, you can covert the task to a project.
Action Lists
As the name suggests, Action Lists contains all of your action lists — the lists that contain all the tasks that can be completed in the different contexts that you have defined. As you go through your day and have time to do work, you can tap the Action Lists tab, and look at the action lists for the contexts that you are currently in. In those lists are all the tasks that you can complete right now. By collecting and displaying in one place the tasks that can be completed in each context, Action Lists helps to focus you on what can be done, rather than distract you with tasks that can't currently be completed.
Projects
The Projects tab allows you to view your tasks grouped by the project that they help complete. Unlike the Action Lists tab, the Projects tab collects all tasks for each project regardless of the task's status. This is a tab that is really useful for planning and reviewing your projects.
Waiting
In the Waiting tab, you will find the tasks that have been temporarily stalled while you wait for someone else to complete an action. For example, you might have a task under this tab titled "Complete Tax Forms", which you can't work on until you receive tax information from your employer. The key thing is that these tasks represent things that cannot yet be done. By keeping them in their own list, you can refer to them as needed without being distracted by them when you're trying to get things done.
Someday
The Someday list is a "wish list" of things that you might want to do someday, but which you're not yet committed to. For instance, you might see a hot air balloon and realize that you'd like to ride in one someday. Although you don't have time to look into it anytime soon, you want to record the idea so that you don't forget about it. You might put that item in your Someday list.
Toodledo Synchronization
If you plan to synchronize your tasks with Toodledo, it will be useful to understand how objects in Action Lists map to objects in Toodledo.
Tasks
Tasks in Action lists are synchronized to Toodledo as task objects. Each row in the table below matches a task property in Action Lists with the cooresponding task property in Toodledo.
| Action Lists | Toodledo | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| task title | task name | |
| project | folder | |
| context | context | |
| status | status | The Inbox status in Action Lists corresponds to a status of "None" in Toodledo. Only the Toodledo statuses of "None", Next Action, Active, Waiting, and Someday are used in Action Lists. Tasks with other statuses are ignored by Action Lists. |
| start date | start date | |
| due date | due date | |
| repeat | repeat / repeat from | |
| notes | note |
Projects and Subprojects
Projects and subprojects in Action lists are synchronized to Toodledo as folders. Because Toodledo does not support subfolders or a hierarchy of folders, information about subproject hierarchies is lost on the Toodledo side of the synchronization. That information is stored locally in the Action Lists database. In Toodledo, all projects and subprojects will appear as folders in the same level. Likewise, any folder created in Toodledo will be synchronized to Action lists as a top level project.
Contexts
Contexts in Action Lists are synchronized to Toodledo as context objects.
Settings
The options for Actions Lists are available through the Settings App. To access the settings, do the following:
- Start at the iPhone home screen by pressing the home button on your iPhone. (The round button with a square on it towards the bottom of the phone.
- Tap the Settings icon (the gray one with gears on it), to open the Settings app.
- In the Settings app, scroll down to the bottom of the page and you'll find the table grouping that contains settings for individual apps.
- Tap on the Action Lists icon to open the settings for Action Lists.
Toodledo
The options listed under the Toodledo heading control the synchronization of your tasks with Toodledo. (Creating an account with Toodledo is free.) Through Toodledo, the tasks that you enter into Action Lists can be viewed, modified, completed and shared with others. And if you prefer to enter your tasks using a full keyboard and your computer, tasks entered into Toodledo can be synchronized back to Action Lists
- Synchronization
- Controls whether Action Lists attempts to synchronize data to Toodledo. Default: OFF
- Email Login
- The email login for your Toodledo account. No default.
- Password
- The password for your Toodledo account. No default.
General
The options listed under the General heading control basic functions of Action Lists.
- Allow Landscape Mode
- Controls whether Action Lists will go to landscape mode when the iPhone or iPod Touch is rotated to the landscape orientation. If this option is ON, Action Lists will rotate when the iPhone or iPod Touch detects that it has been rotated. This gives more room for long titles and makes a larger landscape mode keyboard available, which can be helpful for those with larger fingers. If this option is OFF, Action Lists will be locked into portrait mode, making it easier to use one-handed. Default: ON
- Tab Bar Badges
- Controls whether to show badges on the Inbox, Waiting, and Someday tabs. These badges represent
the number of incomplete tasks that are visible in each list. This option can be set individually
for the Inbox, Waiting, and Someday tabs. Turning the option ON displays a badge over that tab
(if the value would be greater than zero). Turning the option OFF hides the badge for that tab.
- Inbox Default: ON
- Waiting Default: ON
- Someday Default: ON
- Project Badges
- Controls what types of tasks are counted by project badges. If set to "Any Status", project badges will contain a count of the total number of tasks in the cooresponding project and its subprojects. If set to "Next Actions", project badges will only count tasks with a status of "Next Action". This setting can be useful for quickly scanning projects to look for projects that have stalled due to having no Next Action assigned. Default: "Any Status"
- Due Soon
- Controls which tasks to count as "due soon". Tasks that are due soon have their due date displayed in orange, and any project or context that contains a task that is due soon has its badge displayed in orange. Default: "Due in 2 days"
- Change Inbox Item Status
- Controls whether a task in the Inbox should have its status automatically changed when
its context or project is changed. When turned on for Contexts, a task in the Inbox
has its status changed to "Next Action" when its
context is set from a blank value. When turned on for Projects, a task in the Inbox has its
status changed to "Active" when its project is set from a blank value. This
option can be a useful shortcut for those that usually want to change the status when assigning
a project or context while processing Inbox items.
- Contexts Default: OFF
- Projects Default: OFF
Default List Settings
The options listed under Default List Settings control the default behavior for newly created contexts and projects. If you would later like to change the the list settings for a particular project or context, you can do so while viewing that list.
- Contexts
- Controls how new contexts are displayed. The Sorting option controls how contexts are
initially sorted. Contexts can be sorted alphabetically, by due
date, or manually. The Show Future Tasks option controls whether future
tasks are initially displayed for new contexts. When a task has a start date set
to the future, the assumption is that you cannot begin working on that task until the start
date is reached. Turning this option OFF will hide future tasks and prevent them from cluttering
your view. Turning this option ON will make Action Lists disregard the start date when deciding
whether to display a task.
- Sorting Default: "Alphabetical"
- Show Future Tasks Default: "OFF"
- Projects
- Controls how new projects are displayed. The Sorting option controls how projects are
initially sorted. Projects can be sorted alphabetically, by due
date, or manually. The Show Future Tasks option controls whether future
tasks are initially displayed for new projects. When a task has a start date set
to the future, the assumption is that you cannot begin working on that task until the start
date is reached. Turning this option OFF will hide future tasks and prevent them from cluttering
your view. Turning this option ON will make Action Lists disregard the start date when deciding
whether to display a task.
- Sorting Default: "Alphabetical"
- Show Future Tasks Default: "OFF"
Future Tasks
The options listed under the Future Tasks heading control how Action Lists handles tasks that have a start date that is in the future.
- Appear in Inbox
- Controls whether future tasks will appear in the Inbox when their start date is reached. Turning this option ON helps to ensure that future tasks are obvious, and do not "sneak in" to your action lists or other lists. If this option is ON, you will not be able to create future tasks with any status other than Inbox. Additionally, any task that is created in Toodledo with a start date in the future will have its status changed to Inbox upon synchronization to Action Lists. Once a task exists in Action Lists, however, its status can be changed to any status you choose, thus overriding this option for that task. When this option is turned ON, all future tasks in Action Lists will have their status changed to Inbox. When this option is turned OFF, the status of all future tasks will revert to the status they had prior to using this option. This option works particularly well with repeating tasks that have start dates. When the start date of the repeating task is reached it will automatically show up in the Inbox (if this option is ON), where it is most conspicuous. This is a great replacement for a "tickler file". Default: ON
- Grayed Out
- Controls whether future tasks that are shown are displayed in gray text. This can be a useful option when you want to show future tasks for a particular list, but want to be able to easily differentiate future tasks from those that can be worked on at the present time. Default: ON
Completed Tasks
The options listed under the Completed Tasks heading control how Action Lists handles tasks that have been completed.
- Show
- Controls which completed tasks should be displayed in task lists. Setting this option to "None" will hide tasks as soon as they are completed. Setting this option to "Today's" will only show tasks that were completed today. Setting this option to "One Week's" will only show tasks that were completed in the last seven days. Setting this option to "All" will show tasks regardless of when they were completed. Default: "Today's"
- Move to Bottom
- Controls whether a newly completed task should be moved to the bottom of the list that contains it. Setting this option to "ON" will animate the move of newly completed tasks to the bottom of the list. It will also force all completed tasks to remain at the bottom of the list, even when the list is being manually sorted. Setting this option to "OFF" will allow completed tasks to become intermingled with uncompleted tasks. Default: "ON"
- Delete
- Controls how long completed tasks should be kept in the Action Lists database. When a task has been completed for the specified amount of time, it will automatically be deleted from Action Lists and cannot be recovered. (Note that this will also affect Toodledo if synchronization has been turned ON.) Default: "After 6 Months"
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I edit a project/context?
To edit a project or a context, go to the project or context list and tap the blue circle with the white arrow next to the project/context name. This will take you to a screen where you can edit the name of the project/context.
In addition to its name, a project has a few other options that can be set from this screen. A project's parent can be set, and a project can be set to "Queue Next Actions." When you assign a parent to the edited project, the edited project becomes a subproject of the parent project. When you set a project to "Queue Next Actions," the project will automatically transition the next "Active" task to the "Next Action" status whenever you complete a task. This helps ensure that there is always a fresh supply of next actions to be completed, and that the project doesn't stall.
How do I configure Action Lists?
All options for Actions Lists (including Toodledo synchronization) are available through the Settings App. To access the settings, do the following:
- Start at the iPhone home screen by pressing the home button on your iPhone. (The round button with a square on it towards the bottom of the phone.
- Tap the Settings icon (the gray one with gears on it), to open the Settings app.
- In the Settings app, scroll down to the bottom of the page and you'll find the table grouping that contains settings for individual apps.
- Tap on the Action Lists icon to open the settings for Action Lists.
For detailed instructions on what each setting does, please see the Settings section.
Why do my repeating tasks keep showing up as soon as I complete them?
This is by design, and was done to mimic the behavior of Toodledo. If you would like to hide a repeating task for a while, you can use a start date for the task in conjunction with the setting that hides future tasks. For example, if you wanted to set a daily task to exercise, you could create a task with a start date of today that repeats every day. Then go into the Action Lists settings and turn OFF the "Show Future Tasks" option. When you check off the repeating task, it's start date will be incremented to be tomorrow. And since you have your settings set to hide future tasks, you'll get the satisfaction of watching your incomplete count decrease. The new task that reminds you to exercise tomorrow will show up in your task lists tomorrow.
How do I use Action Lists as a tickler file?
A "tickler file" is traditionally a set of file folders into which time-senstive documents are filed. The file folders are arranged in a way to help guarantee that the documents will be seen on the date they are needed. The system has been around for a long time, but it was popularized by David Allen in his book Getting Things Done.
Action Lists can also be used as a tickler file if there are tasks that must be completed on a repeating basis. Suppose that you wanted to set up a monthly task to pay your bills. You want to be reminded to pay your bills starting on the 1st of the month, but the bills don't need to be paid until the 8th. To set up this reminder in Action Lists, follow the steps below.
- Set these settings under the Action Lists menu in the Settings app:
- Future Tasks: Appear in Inbox: ON
- General: Tab Bar Badges -> Inbox: ON
- Set the Inbox to hide future tasks:
- Launch Action Lists and tap the Inbox tab button.
- While viewing the Inbox, tap the List Settings icon in the toolbar. (It looks like a gear.)
- In the List Settings screen, turn the "Show Future Tasks" setting OFF.
- Create a new task with these settings:
- Title: Pay bills
- Context: Home
- Status: Inbox
- Start Date: October 1, 2009 (or whatever the first of the next month is)
- Due Date: October 8, 2009 (or whatever the 8th of the next month is)
- Repeat: Every 1 Month, Repeat from Due Date
Once you get this all set up, here's how it will work. On the first of the month, your "Pay bills" task will appear in your Inbox, and the tab bar badge for the Inbox will either appear or increase by one to alert you that you have a new item in your inbox. Then when you next process your Inbox, you'll see the task and think "Oh yeah! Time to pay the bills." You can then change its status to Next Action so that it appears in your @Home context list. Next time you're at home looking for something to do you'll see the task and pay your bills. If you don't see it, the task's due date and the task counter for the @Home context will turn red to get your attention.
The neat thing is that once you set it up, the task is on autopilot. When you check off the task for October, Action Lists will automatically create a new task for November with a start date of Nov 1, and a due date of Nov 8. It will also create the new task with a status of Inbox (since you turned on that setting in the Settings app). The November task will be hidden until November 1 rolls around, when it will again appear in your Inbox. And these "Pay bills" tasks will keep appearing every month until you delete the task.
How do I manually sort a list?
To sort a list manually, follow these steps:
- Browse to the list that you want to sort.
- Configure the list to be manually sorted:
- Tap the List Settings button in the toolbar at the bottom of the screen. (It looks like a gear.) This will bring up the List Settings screen.
- Select "Manual" as the sorting option, and then tap the "Done" button to return to your list.
- Tap the "Edit" button at the top of the screen. When you tap the button, you should notice that red circles appear on the left side of screen. On the right side of the screen, you will notice that three gray bars appear in each row. These gray bars are "handles" that you can use to sort the list.
- Touch one of the gray bars and drag it up and down to move the row within the list. Repeat as needed with other rows.
- When you have finished re-ordering the list, tap the "Done" button at the top of the screen.
How can I search a list?
You can search a list by scrolling all the way to the top of the list and revealing the search bar. Note that the search bar is scrolled off the top of the list when you first access a list. To reveal the search bar you have to scroll up, past the first list item.
How can I create tasks from the clipboard?
Imagine this scenario: You're at work and your spouse sends you an email with a list of a dozen things that you need to add to your "honey do" list. You could enter each one individually, or you could let Action Lists automatically enter them for you. If you copy text to the clipboard, Action Lists will parse the text and create a new task for each line in the copied text.
To access this feature, first copy the text that contains your tasks from an email, the web, or anywhere else. Then, tap the Quick Task button at the bottom of a task list to open the Quick Task screen. Tap the clipboard button below the textbox to have tasks created from the text on the clipboard. After the tasks have been created, an alert box will be displayed detailing the number of tasks that were created.
My question isn't in here. How can I get more help?
If you can't find the answer to your question in these web pages, please post your question in the forums for Daze End Software. I monitor the forums and do my best to respond to questions within 24 hours.
