Feature Request: Add label at given time

[dchirst]

Problem

I currently follow GTD, which recommends to only add due dates if absolutely necessary. However, I often have tasks that can only be completed after a certain date, but do not need to be completed on that date exactly. e.g. if I want to book a dentist appointment in 3 months, I would like to add it to a next actions list, but not give it a due date that means it needs to be done on that date

Proposal/Solution

Add a new symbol for tasks, which will add a @next_action label on a given date, maybe set by a reminder.

Example workflow:

1. I add a task "| Book the dentist"
2. I add a reminder for "3 months time at 9am"
3. At 9am in 3 months, Autodoist adds @next_action label

Does this sound like a worthwhile addition? I'd be happy to write this feature, but wanted to check that this is sensible first!

[erauner12]

I could be wrong, but I think this can be accomplished by hiding the task until it is within a certain range of time, [can be found here](https://github.com/Hoffelhas/autodoist#additional-arguments).

so in this case, you would set number of days to something like 3 or 4 which would effectively ignore this task that is due in 3 months from being picked up.

ex:

python autodoist.py --hf <NUMBER_OF_DAYS>

[erauner12]

I would like to add that, that the only issue I've found with this approach is that currently, if the task that would be assigned @next_action is one that is greater than <NUMBER_OF_DAYS>. It kind of disrupts certain workflows because, in my experience, the program does not seem to continue to the next task in the  project Project --- if this one is at the top of the list. It seems to  assume everything below it is not necessary to look through once it finds this task with a due date that is far out.

what I've done to combat this is to actively look through my projects for these cases and move them manually to a different section within the project. So they do not cause a blockage again.

[dchirst]

First, thanks for responding!

Second, that's an interesting way of doing it, but I'd quite like a way to not use the "due date" feature in Todoist at all.

Personally, I'd like for a task to be quietly placed into the list at a certain time for me to complete at my leisure, rather than have Todoist yell at me if I didn't complete the task exactly on the due date.

I'd also prefer to not hide upcoming tasks that actually have to be completed on a certain date, which is what I'd use due dates for. Does the -hf tag remove tasks entirely, or does it just not make any changes until before the task is due?

It is totally possible that I'm misunderstanding the -hf functionality, so would appreciate any clarification if I'm off the mark.

[erauner12]

No problem! It does not remove the task, it only ignores it in my experience.

I'll try and add the flag again and test to see if this issue is still prevalent in v2.0. Because if it is not, the I think it would meet your requirements.

You should give it a shot as well 🙂