Quote:
Originally Posted by squeff
This is easiest understood, I think, with some examples.
(1) Every Friday, I have to turn in a status report for the week. So, I create a repeating task called "Turn in status report" and have it set for every Friday. If I don't turn it in on a particular Friday (say I'm out sick), then the next one is still due the following Friday.
(2) Every 3 months, I'm supposed to change the oil in my car. However, if I wait 4 months to change the oil, the next change isn't due in 2 months. It's due 3 months from when I actually changed the oil. For example, suppose that the first time I change my oil is January 1. Completing this task will create another for 3 months in the future: April 1. Now, suppose I don't get the oil changed on April 1. In fact, I wait until June 30 to get the change. Using the approach described in #1, the "next" oil change after April 1 would be July 1. However, since I just got the oil changed on June 30, I'm not going to want to get it changed until September 30, at earliest.
The first one is well supported by TodoMatrix. When I complete a task, it creates the next on in the series as being one week from the original due date.
The second one is not supported.
There are actually several nuances here. For example, in #1, it's important to understand that the tasks are NOT generated from the get-go. One one task exists at a time. It requires the completion of a task for another to be generated. So, for example, if I totally miss wrtiing a status report one week, the next week's status report won't appear on my todo list until I go in say that I completed the one that I never really did. If I wait more than a week to do this, things get confusing, since the "next" one due is actually one in the past.
Bottom line is that most task programs that some recursion work this way. It works well for tasks that are regular and where you're expected to complete each occurrence on time.
Does this make sense?
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Awesome explanation, It seems that todomatrix will work well for things such as bill due dates, because those will not change. I put my oil change into todomatrix also but I automatically assumed that the software would be able to figure it out. I guess sometimes, people dont pay attention to the small things within a program. My best bet will be to try and get the oil changed on that exact day that it is do, lol. Can you answer the question of "Will PI have a solution for this? " Anyways, thanks for all of your info man, you have really been helpful.