Task management is difficult. Whatever system you use, getting the right reminder at the right time is a pain. There's been a slow evolution in sophistication, but I can't wait for it to get better and better.
We started with the humble list - at the very least tasks didn't have to reside in our fallible memories.
Then we found ways to let us sort and order and group our tasks (thank you task management software) - making it easier to see the right tasks at the right time - a bit.
Then came reminders, a way to make certain tasks jump up and shout 'notice me' at roughly the right time...and yet, and yet....choosing that time and getting it right still seems so hard to do.
Now, you can have location-based reminders - an important step forward. You get reminded of things when you are in a position to act on them...handy....and yet so many tasks need to be done in anticipation of being in a particular environment.
all together, we are starting to get somewhere: organisation, priority, time and location awareness....getting closer...
Some steps I'd love to see to move us another step along...
1) action-based tasks - there are many work situations where I'd like to be reminded of a task when I'm actually doing something. When I open a document, when I read an email, when i go to a particular folder on the network, etc, etc
2) intelligent tasks - it would be nice to find a way for tasks to have an understanding of their context. The link between tasks, how one relies on another, how they rely on other actions being completed in the overall computing environment, how they become redundant after a time has passed or another task has been completed, and so on...
need to develop this more when have more time....
