Our brain is an amazingly intelligent tool capable of rationally prioritizing tasks. However, even the most organized of us sometimes get bo...



Our brain is an amazingly intelligent tool capable of rationally prioritizing tasks. However, even the most organized of us sometimes get bogged down in the details. The built-in smart to-do list system in MyLifeOrganized can be your great assistant, calculating priorities for you. Let's see how it works.


Importance in MyLifeOrganized

The concept of importance is familiar to most people from the Eisenhower Matrix, where all tasks are divided into important and urgent. When applied to simple linear lists, this approach can be used and it will show correct results.


But what if there are many projects with subtasks, goals, recurring and one-time tasks? When all this is structured in a task tree with unlimited levels of nesting?

In this case, an effective way to determine priority tasks can be the approach used in the task management app for Windows.

The essence of this approach is that the importance of each task is determined directly for the "parent" task, project, or folder in which this task is located. In the case of using a large number of nesting levels, the importance for the final task, like a snowball, either accumulates or decreases along the chain. See the example below.

Suppose, we have a project called "Mountain Trip". In order to go on this trip, we need to buy tickets, get insurance, and pack our things. At this level, the most important task will be to buy tickets.

The task "Packing" will have the lowest priority. This is not because we don't need to pack our things. It's because even if we forget something, the trip will still happen.

However, “Packing” can have a subtask with the highest priority. For example, "Take glasses" is really important if you have poor eyesight and can't see without glasses.


If we switch to the To-Do tab, we will see the tasks in this order:

  • "Book tickets" is at the top of the list because the task itself has a max priority + its parent has a high priority.
  • Next come tasks from the "Bookings & Documents" branch, which have normal priority, but the parent task has a high priority.
  • then the important task "Take glasses" from the not so important task branch "Packing".
  • and so on.
     

As you can see, the importance property affects the order in which the task will be displayed in To-Do. This way you can see which task needs to be done first.

 

Tip. To set a round value for importance/urgency in the app for Windows, activate the slider and press 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 on the keyboard, which corresponds to the values 0, 50, 100, 150, and 200. 

Alternatively: Right-click on the slider and select a value from the drop-down list.


Other factors that affect priority

The overall priority of a task depends on many factors, such as Weekly Goal, Due and Start dates, Importance, and Urgency. Among these parameters, Importance takes the leading position.


In the menu Tools -> Options, you can find settings to set the influence of Weekly Goal, Due and Start dates, Importance, and Urgency factors individually. The higher you set the weight of the dates factors, the more the dates will affect the ordering of the list.




Give it a try and keep in mind that the key to high productivity is to consistently focus on your priority tasks.

MLO 6 task organizer for Windows just got better with a fresh minor update. It's nothing too flashy, just a bunch of tweaks based on yo...



MLO 6 task organizer for Windows just got better with a fresh minor update. It's nothing too flashy, just a bunch of tweaks based on your suggestions to make things work smoother. We're all ears for your feedback, so don't hesitate to let us know what you think! 


Here's a glimpse at the latest update.

New sorting options

We’ve added sorting for the following columns: Context, Project Completion %, Parent, Path, Folder Name, Top Level Folder, Top Level Project, Time, Last Reviewed.


As before, you can click the column header and sort tasks by the selected property.


Or, apply sorting to the view in the filtering options: bring up the Filter pane > Group&Sort > Sort… > Sort tasks by.

 

Tip: If you accidentally mess up the order, don’t fret! To revert to the original order, bring up the Filter pane on the left > Group&Sort > Sort > Sort tasks by:  (None). Or hit "Discard changes'' to reset everything.

Change the Project Status in the task tree column

Now you can change the project status directly in the task area.



Plus, "In progress" and "Suspended" statuses got different colors.


Quick access to Recurrence

Following the same idea, now when you click under Recurrence column, the recurrence setup window pops up. No need to go digging in the properties pane anymore to tweak your task recurrence settings.




Edit Next Review Date

Right-click in the Next Review Date column to edit the date - just like you do with Start and Due Dates.



Hotkeys for Dashboards

Assign hotkeys for "Manage Dashboard" and "Hide/Show recent dashboards" for quick and easy access. Open menu Tools > Options > Hotkeys




Other improvements

The change log also includes:

  • improved hotkeys behavior in Rapid Task Entry dialog
  • hotkeys for "Underline" and "Highlight" commands added to the list for customization
  • added tooltip for a long task name in the Reminders window
  • added Spanish tutorial
  • fixed an issue where the TopLevelProject column used TopLevelParent in error when sorting
  • fixed an issue where the search result did not retain the current sorting when the search parameters were changed
  • fixed an issue with spaces in links for markdown
  • fixed an issue with Outlook sync when custom view used to sync tasks
  • fixed an issue with Google Calendar sync sometimes when port is locked

 

We hope you find the latest update to be a positive addition! Your feedback is crucial in making your favorite to-do app even better, so please keep sharing your thoughts. You can reach out to us via email to support@mylifeorganized.net or drop a review on social media. As a little thank you, your first review gets you a free month of Cloud

 

Cheers!

When managing tasks, it's crucial to ensure that all relevant details are assigned and nothing falls through the cracks. Checklist is a...


When managing tasks, it's crucial to ensure that all relevant details are assigned and nothing falls through the cracks. Checklist is a good tool for achieving this level of organization in the task manager MyLifeOrganized.


A checklist helps to make sure that:

  • all delegated tasks have a due date
  • all active tasks have context
  • all big tasks are broken down into next actions.
  • etc.

 

To implement this approach, consider creating views that check tasks based on different conditions. For instance, the following view displays tasks flagged 'Delegated' that are missing a due date:

 


 

Once the due date is assigned, the list automatically clears in this view, providing a visual cue that nothing has been overlooked.

 

How to set up the view

For the view from our example, you need to enable in the settings:

1. Filter by the flag "Delegated"
2. Additional filter: Due Date does not exist

 



 

For added convenience, consider enabling a counter for this view, counting all tasks with subtasks but without folders.



Tip. You can also add the "Control" tab, as illustrated above. In this tab, it is convenient to switch between control-related views. Activate the Show counter option for this tab, providing a quick overview of tasks requiring attention.


By following these steps, you'll streamline your planning process and ensure that no task slips through the cracks. Enjoy the peace of mind that comes with a well-organized and comprehensive task management system!

MLO 4 task manager for Android is getting even better! In our latest update, we have addressed several minor but impactful enhancements tha...


MLO 4 task manager for Android is getting even better! In our latest update, we have addressed several minor but impactful enhancements that you requested. We are always listening to your feedback, so please keep it coming! 

 

Here's a look at what's new.
 

Show Project prefix

This was one of the most popular requests. Now, you can show a project in the task name for the tasks in non-hierarchical views. You can find this option in Settings > Appearance >  Add project name to task title.



Improved Move To screen

When selecting where you want to move a task to, you can now open the view to easily find the destination task.



Multiselect toolbar configuration

You can now configure the actions available for multiselect. Go to Settings > General Settings > Toolbar menu configuration. 

 

Or, just enable multiselect mode and long tap a blank area - this will also bring you to the Multiselect toolbar configuration screen.




Review action for Multiselect toolbar

As you can see in the image above, we've added Collapse all, Expand all, and Review options to the multiselect. So now, you can mark several tasks as reviewed all at once.


Tip: Wondering how to use Review functionality? Check out the article.



Select all tasks in group in Multiselect mode

In views where tasks are grouped, you can now easily select all tasks in the group just by selecting the group.




Improved Nearby view

If you select a task in the Nearby view and switch to the map, you'll see the corresponding context selected. 



We’ve also added an option to choose distance units (km / miles) for the radius, you can find it here: Settings-> Nearby-> Distance Units.


Assigning contexts

If you need to create a new context, you no longer need to scroll to the very bottom of the context list. Simply pull down to open the search bar, enter your context, and click Save. The context will be created and assigned to the task. This is very handy, just try!

 



Improved Date selection

By long pressing the calendar icon, you can set both the start and end dates at once. Now the date picker also allows you to enter the start date of a task and press Ok without assigning a due date.


 

Tip: If you want to change the date without having to press Ok to confirm, disable this option in Settings> General Settings > Quick Date Selection > Changing dates requires Ok click.

 

Recurrence and Reminder on start/due screen

We've consolidated date-related properties on one screen for your convenience. Access recurrence and reminder settings for tasks directly from the Start/Due screen.

 


In this update we've also added support for the foldable Android devices.


We hope you enjoy the new update! Please keep sharing your feedback with us so we can continue to improve your favorite to-do app. You can share your thoughts and suggestions with us by emailing us or by leaving a review on the Google Play Store. And don’t forget that we offer a 1-mo free Cloud for your first review.

You can give your task tree a personal touch by changing standard ‘folder’ icons. With automatic formatting in MyLifeOrganized, you can vis...

You can give your task tree a personal touch by changing standard ‘folder’ icons. With automatic formatting in MyLifeOrganized, you can visually separate tasks from different areas of life like this:

 













 

Quick setup

To quickly apply the autoformatting from our example to your folders just import them in your task planner for Windows:

Step 1: Download our pre-made autoformatting rules from this link.


Step 2: Import the rules by navigating to Tools  Options  Automatic Formatting  Import


Step 3: Adjust the autoformatting rules to match your folder names.

Step 4: Click Ok  

 

VoilĂ ! Your folders are now more personalized with custom icons. 

 

Tip. You can import your own icons. To add icons, click Icon → Manage Icons → Add . The max size of an icon should be 72x72.

 

Note. Autoformatting is only available on desktop and cannot be synced to mobile. If you wish to see the same custom icons on both desktop and mobile, assign them to flags on desktop and sync to mobile  custom flags syncs perfectly with iOS and Android apps!

Question : I have a task that re-occurs every 4 days. Is there a way to set a reminder the day before each time and on the due date? ...

Question: I have a task that re-occurs every 4 days. Is there a way to set a reminder the day before each time and on the due date?


Solution: Reminder follows the recurrence pattern you set for the task. It works the same on desktop and mobile. It is most convenient to set it up on the desktop computer and synchronize the changes with the mobile app.

 

 

Adding a single reminder

For example, you set a recurrence every 4 days, starting tomorrow. For the reminder to go off the day before the recurrence, you need to set the reminder for today:



Tip: Enable "Next Alert Time" column to see when the next time the reminder will go off.


Once the reminder goes off, click to dismiss it. Tomorrow when you complete a task, you will see that the next reminder is updated to one day before the next occurrence.  


Adding a second reminder

There is no way to set multiple reminders for a task, but there is a workaround. You can add a subtask to the recurring task and set a reminder for it on the due date.

Also, for the parent recurring task enable "automatically recur when all subtasks are completed". Here is a screenshot of the settings:







The subtask is what you will see in To-Do. Once you complete it or its parent task, it will be switched to the next recurrence keeping the reminders: the first reminder one day before and the second on the due date.

Tip: Learn more about recurring tasks in task management app MyLifeOrganized