(2022-03-14) Boyd Taskidian

Stowe Boyd on his "Taskidian" process. [Wonkish] This post is oriented for Obsidian users with a familiarity with the Dataview plugin.

For years, I have argued that markdown needs a richer set of states for tasks. (ToDo-List)

The idea that tasks have only two states — open and closed — is nothing like how we think about tasks

Many work management tools have offered a wider range of options for tasks, either through explicit task states or through task attributes

Prior to migrating to Obsidian for my 'workings' -- the tools we use to think, write, and remember -- I had relied on Typora, a wonderful markdown editor platform.

starting point for the task management system I am using now on Obsidian, which I call Taskidian

Taskidian is a parasitic task management model, in that it builds upon and extends the base task model of markdown, and incorporates other plugins of great power on Obsidian, most notably Dataview.

In my project management approach, I rely on journaling.

Subtasks are a native Obsidian capability: tasks nested under the parent task.

May update: Taskidian [Unwonked]

Back in March, I wrote a post called Taskidian [Wonkish] in which I laid out the {excrutiating] details of a task and project management system I had been evolving

Because of several advances — most specifically because of innovation in the Dataview plugin for Obsidian — I have been able to dramatically simplify my approach.

Dataview now supports multi-state tasks.

now, Minimal (and other themes) support a long list of alternative task states.

Tasks can have other Dataview attributes, such as due dates, and any arbitrary inline YAML values.

I rely on a variety of YAML inline attributes on tasks. For example, I use the convention of naming projects in this way

For each major project I create a top-level folder in my vault — like 00 work futures, and within that folder a file for status: work futures status. In that file I have a dataview code block

I occasionally use the Kanban plugin for Obsidian, but not much with regard to organizing tasks that I have defined in my daily note or other working files. I do use it as a planning tool for projects, when thinking about staging phases or the like

do use the Kanban plugin to organize writing long-form pieces, which I have written about in Card-Based Writing in Obsidian Using Kanban.

My personal context has shaped Taskidian: this approach to task and project management is a direct reflection of the way I work and the sort of work I do.

I find that I have arrived at a point in my task and project management that is much like what Andy Matuschak wrote about in Close Open Notes: Tasks left undone, observations left unrecorded, replies yet to be written—these swirl about our minds

I expect that the delegation of tasks in the Obsidian context will have to wait for a general model of sharing — including cooperative editing a la Google docs, and task assignment — and that will likely be the time when I will next revamp Taskidian. But for now, I am closing those open loops.