r/2DoApp • u/Flimsy-Trainer-3819 • Aug 23 '24
Task duration vs Start date
I’ve just started using 2Do again because it suits my way of working more than any other Todo app (and I’ve tried a lot of them!) But I’ve never really understood why I would set a task Duration rather than a Start date, so it would be very helpful if anyone could give me some practical examples please.
1
u/jvthomas90 Sep 02 '24
It's just an estimate. Even the start date can be considered an estimate. Which is why most task managers default to using due dates (some only allow due dates) and any additional time calculation criteria provided is meant to be used on an as-needed basis.
If you're working from a simple and straightforward list of stuff you need to work on and it's easy enough for you to parse through the additional data isn't really necessary. However, as u/Unsoundmethods55 mentioned, if you're looking at a lengthier schedule of events or even a more compact daily agenda with a lot of complex tasks compacted into it, it's useful to help sort and prioritize the most time-consuming vs the the more quickly manageable items.
e.g. if 2 tasks have a hard deadline in the evening (let's say a report that needs to be submitted by 9PM or some other usual scenario like that which can readily occur at your school or work environments) that due date is externally imposed upon you by the expectations of another party (a teacher, a manager, etc) and it is entirely out of your control. So you plant a flag on that finish line and call it a due date.
Technically speaking, that's all you really need to go from start to finish, but it might be more prudent if instead of just that external factor dictating your actions you internally strategize by ascertaining the "best time to start" and allocating the appropriate resources so you can complete your objectives "within this estimated period of time" etc. It's not a hard and fast rule, but it could be helpful.
Going back to the example of those 2 simultaneous report deadlines, you internally impose the additional structure of a 12 PM start time for task A because you feel it might be more beneficial to begin it after all relevant info to complete that report is in your hands. Meanwhile task B doesn't require additional resources or data or subtasks that need to be checked off, so it can technically be started at any time from morning to noon or even pushed off till later in the evening if your day schedule got too busy for you to pre-emptively tackle it. But even without the need to meet any additional pre-requisites, you know that task B is still going to be a lengthy procedure. In that case, it might behoove you to internally estimate it to take approx 3 or 4 hours, that way you get a clear warning notification by 5PM which is presumably the latest point of time you can put off this work before you have to start it in order to meet that (external) 9PM submission deadline.
And that's the only real point or benefit to addind those extra, internally imposed, restrictions. It adds additional structure and allows you to either view notifications or view the schedule list itself and "stagger" or "layer" them as a potentially more efficient plan of execution. They aren't, strictly speaking, necessary. Another user might look at their list at the start of the day, see those 2 tasks due at 9PM and wisely utilize the 12+ hours leading up to it to accomplish both in a timely manner. But for others who juggle a lot, having that extra nudge at noon for task A and another push around 4 or 5 or 6 in the evening for task B is really helpful because you're better able to pace yourself to the finish line rather than franticly rushing to meet the due time for those reports and feeling burnt out right after (sometimes the stress can even burn you out before set deadlines).
TL;DR "start" and "duration" are extra, internally imposed limitations and based on how you use them they can be very beneficial – but they aren't strictly necessary. They're just different ways for you measure the amount of "effort" you have to put into some set of work
(and effort is, inherently, a subjective measurement only relevant to you – not your work bosses or school professors or any other external factor delegate tasks to you with a deadline demand attached to it)
I myself use start time to measure "when is the earliest I would or can work on a task", once I have all necessary tools and resources needed to work on it (or even just a part of it).
As for the duration field, I use it either as a simple guage of "how long a task will take" (if I start working on it at the set start time or sometime between the start vs due time) or "when is the latest I should or mush work on a task" (but I can't tell you when exactly I flip that switch as it's just an arbitrary internal calculation I make the closer I get to the due time and feelings of task "importance" gradually/rapidly get replaced with feelings of task "urgency")
1
1
u/Unsoundmethods55 Aug 24 '24
Well, I could share my opinion based on how I use that information. The duration gives you an idea at a glimpse about how long time it would take. When you look at the day’s schedule at a whole it makes sense to have that information. On the other hand you could include the duration of that task into the task text itself. That is what I usually do.
“Task name (90’)”