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Frequently Asked Questions

general | design | sync
  • Why does Tudumo have no subtasks or subprojects?

    A lot of the power comes from simplicity of filtering a single list. Tree structures encourage fiddling.
    Fuller explanation here.

  • Any chance of multiple lists?

    Early versions had multiple lists, and there is no technical reason why not. The reason is conceptual, and data safety.

    • Conceptually, this version of Tudumo is aimed at managing the data for a single user, with projects of reasonably low complexity. I'd rather get that usability point nailed than worry about the issues of more complicated projects, sharing, etc.
    • To give you the best chance of finding your actions I'd prefer to have them all at hand, not potentially in files spread over multiple disks where they might not alert you to due dates, or be searchable. Tudumo data represents some of the most important data you have, and I'd rather be conservative in managing it.


  • How can I manage multiple projects in Tudumo?

    Some people use one heading per project, some prefer using a tag, with or without a prefix to indicate it's a project (e.g. "p:Fix carport").

    Both headings and tags can be hidden when actions that reference them are hidden, e.g. by using the state filter. One difference between tags and headings is that a heading can exist when all containing actions are gone, but a tag stops existing when no actions reference it anymore.

    What I do:
    I keep my action set manageable (rarely more than 100 active actions, and usually 10-ish NA's), and I focus more on the contexts than on the projects - meaning that it's more important to me to know what context an action is than to have a complicated project structure. I use headings for life areas (e.g. Personal) and big projects, and I use tags for contexts. To get a sub-project, I might use "ProjectX/SubprojectY" or if it's a quick'n dirty project I'll use a tag, e.g. "performance", to group the actions.
    To do a review, I just put the view on "All" and the filters on the relevant setting, depending on whether it's a daily/weekly/monthly review.

    If a couple of actions are sequential (do x, then y), I'll add the next action as I delete the current, or just promote an Action to a Next Action.

    Some rationale for the design of Tudumo:
    Tudumo's filters manipulate the visibility of actions, and the visibility of the headings map onto the visibility of the actions they contain. This keeps the visibility logic fairly easy to understand (if not always intuitive at first glance), and the application relatively clean.
    This simplicity seems to appeal strongly to many current users so I'd be foolish to dilute that, so I'm pretty cautious about making changes that could add complexity.

  • Why is Tudumo a desktop application? Why not a website?

    There are many great task/GTD web solutions, but I feel my actions must be right there, a hotkey away. I use Tudumo all day, so I can't wait around for an update, even an AJAXy one.
    I would like an online component to Tudumo, and sync, and portable...but desktop is currently my focus.

  • Why is it a .Net application?

    .Net is Microsoft's primary development platform, so it seems logical to use their tools - you're sure not to be left behind technologically. Also, I get the benefit of being able to move the app to a Windows Mobile phone far more easily - because I can write it in the same language. This means I can fix bugs in one place, and that means you get a better app.
    The latest versions will come with Vista anyway, so the problem of people not having the framework will drop.


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