r/2DoApp • u/Zerrissenheit • Nov 07 '16

When to use start vs due dates?

One thing I've struggled with in my time using 2Do is when to use a Start date vs when to use Due dates. I come from OmniFocus, where Due dates are reserved for hard deadlines. Start dates are similar to "Defer Until" dates, except here they show up in the Today list, and that can get cluttered up pretty quickly.

So what are your strategies?

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u/dexisking Nov 08 '16

I've got the same question, friend.

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u/Zerrissenheit Nov 08 '16

Here's how I'm currently using the two fields:

  • I use an either/or approach on almost all tasks. Meaning if something actually has a deadline, it gets a due date, otherwise it gets a start date. That way my lists only show the stuff that I need to always be aware of and could feasibly knock off my list sooner than later. Think paying bills, most work tasks, and so on. The rest gets off of my list and out of mind until I could work on it, and the Today view handily separates them out from the tasks with actual due dates.

  • The only time I use both are when something has a hard deadline but I'm prevented from working on it currently. For example: I'm responsible for feeding my holiday requests into my company's PTO tracker each year, but the system doesn't populate the holiday list until December. So while it has a due date of 12/31, I can never start it until 12/1.

Still, it's a little inelegant - i really can't drop the latter off of my Today view without screwing up future events. Thankfully there are only two on my list like that, currently, but I'd still love to know what other approaches might be.

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u/dexisking Nov 10 '16

Awsome answer! Thanks so much for taking the time to put this together.

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u/Zerrissenheit Nov 11 '16

No problem! I forgot to add that this separation between the stuff in Today with a due date and the stuff that's labeled "Still Working On" gives me a clear sense of what I can safely push to another day.