Your Next Action
It's no good just listing your tasks. You have to do them! You can only do one at a time. So which one is it going to be?
Scanning your entire task list can be overwhelming, so organize tasks into Folders and perhaps assigning them to Goals, Contexts or Tags. The next step is to identify which of them are 'next-actions.'
The Next Action is the next physical task that needs to be done, to move forward. Each of your folders should have a next-action. On your entire Task List, you will usually have several of them.
To identify a next-action, click the Next Action icon in the task editor, or set its Status to Next Action. If you click on the icon again, Next Action is turned off, and the Status becomes None.
To list only your next actions, click on the Next Action filter. This is an excellent way to narrow down your choice of what you are going to do next. It's a great procrastination beater!
Filtering
Use the filter list to filter your tasks according to their properties. For example, Due in 1 week, or in Tax folder, or Completed, or Starred.
There is a wide variety of filters for you to explore. Each one of them is designed to cut through your to-do list and get you to the shortlist of tasks you are interested in right now.
On Windows, the Custom Filters feature lets you define your personal filters using any combination of the built-in ones.
Searching
The search box gives you another quick way to cut through your list. Just type some text into the search box, and you immediately get a list of tasks that contain that text.
On iPhone and iPad, the search looks not only at the titles but also into the notes inside your tasks. This type of search is known as a Deep Search. On Windows, you can choose between a deep search and a restricted one that looks only at the titles of your tasks.
Sorting
On iPhone and iPad, TaskAngel always sorts your lists automatically. On Windows, you have an additional level of control. You can choose up to three different properties to use for sorting.
The Hotlist
Sometimes a task comes in that is so important that everything else takes a step back. The hotlist helps you keep a focus on those immediate tasks.
The hotlist is automatic. A task gets onto the hotlist if you give it Top Priority, or if it is due today or tomorrow.
Remember you should only set a due date on a task if you have promised to someone else it will be done by that date, or if you need to do it to keep a plan on track. If you have a lot of bogus due dates in your task list, your hotlist will lose focus.
On iPhone and iPad, there is a setting that lets you fine-tune the rules for getting onto the hotlist. On Windows, you can get the same result by using a custom filter.