Questions and Answers for Absolute Beginners

1

Good evening,

I am making progress with learning Checkvist. My goal is to be able to use the Checkvist software instead of Omnifocus, both for daily tasks and any other planning.

Just as mastering Omnifocus can take up to two years at an advanced level with lots of practice, understanding Checkvist at a high level also requires time and lots of practice.

In order for me to use the Checkvist software instead of Omnifocus, I have many questions, and I would like to receive answers to these questions. Here, from those of you who are ahead of me. I kindly ask for your help.

I have read many forum categories, from which I have learned a lot. I have already practiced many things in the Checkvist software, but I see that Checkvist is simple yet holds a lot of deep potential. This raises many questions for me.

To summarize what I know, if anyone sees any room for improvement, please let me know. My goal is a well-organized project management.

Let’s start from the beginning: The element, i.e., TASK, can be prioritized. This is useful because with filtering, I can immediately see what is most important. To do this, I enter the word PRIORITY in the search field.

Question: If I have multiple lists, how can I filter by PRIORITY to see them simultaneously from multiple lists?

TAGS: can be used even with multiple LISTS, this is one of its advantages. Moreover, it works well during filtering. For example: PRIORITY 1 #test_tag. TASK can also be assigned priority. I don’t fully understand the importance of this yet.

Question: Where is it advisable to use TAG priorities?

DUE: Checkvist lists tasks due today with the due date, but this can also be achieved through filtering: due: today.

Recurring tasks: I still need to practice a lot here because there is a lot of chaos, but I found a simple solution that helped me as a beginner.

This is filtering. I enter: due: today. This way, the task that I have already completed today cannot appear, as I have already marked it as done.

I thank you in advance for your ideas, your observations, and your corrections.

3 Likes
2

Hello @christianhodek ,

Thanks for sharing :slight_smile: I’ll try to answer some of your questions below.

You can use global search for that. If you filter one list by priority: 3 or priority: any and press Enter key twice, Checkvist will open global search page with corresponding results. Unfortunately, results of such search are updated not instantly, but once per 15 minutes.

I’m not sure what do you mean as tag priorities. We allow to set colors on tags, but they are not priorities and serve only for visual distinction of tags.

There are also due:now, due:overdue, due:2023-12-31 and other filters.

Filters and Search in Checkvist are rather powerful. Please check this reference for more syntax variations.

Hope, this was helpful :slight_smile:

All the best,
KIR

1 Like
3

Dear KIR,

Due to my work, I have worked with professional music softwares (Pro Tools, Sibelius, etc) for many years. In my office, I have also worked with graphic design, planning, and video editing software, even extending to animations. In my business established since 2001, I have dealt with numerous service providers, software manufacturers, and support teams. In the last few years, I have even worked with more online subscription-based software.

I mention this to you so that you know: to understand what and why I am writing to you now.

You have been the first since 2001 and since then the only one in whom there is humanity, excellent business value, who has created an excellent software, but you know all of this is secondary because only one thing matters.

You are a reliable person.

Therefore, I say to you: since 2001, since I have been an entrepreneur, you are the first entrepreneur, software developer who is reliable. This is a great treasure, the greatest treasure in life, as long-term collaboration is built on trust.

It is an honor that I have come to know you as a person, because a trustworthy, honest person in their business remains a trustworthy, honest person.

You and Sashika have both done excellent work as entrepreneurs, and it is a particular joy that Sashika also possesses the most valuable human trait: being a trustworthy person.

Thank you for allowing me to get to know both of you.

4 Likes
4

Dear Christian, that’s embarrassing to hear :slightly_smiling_face:

We are just doing our work - but we love what we do and value the feedback you give us about our tool.

Your questions about Repeating due have
helped us to see some serious usability problems and we’re working on improvements now.

You wrote us how you were going to use Checkvist, and we became aware of a scenario we never used Checkvist for. And we try improving it too.

So thank you for helping us with Checkvist. We rely on our customers and know that they have excellent ideas more often than we do :wink:

Best,
KIR

2 Likes
5

Good evening,

Returning to what you wrote in your email today. I understand what you’re saying, that you’re just working. If it had been elsewhere, I would be there now. A good software isn’t worth much without support. Here, everything that’s important is present. That’s why I want to learn to use it.

Due task: the picture is clearing up. But not completely yet. That’s why I’m going to describe a scenario to you. From that, you’ll see how I could use the Checkvist software more easily.

Let’s consider a simple example. Regarding everyday tasks. For example: brushing teeth, taking a shower, washing hair, cutting hair, trimming beard, manicure, pedicure.

IMG_0859
IMG_08592732×2048 253 KB

There will be various time frames here: morning, evening, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly. In this scenario, I’m basing it on a minimalist hygiene routine. The one that I follow. Let’s see how this will look for me.

IMG_0860
IMG_08602732×2048 332 KB

Morning: brushing teeth, taking a shower, heel skincare, heel moisturizing, face moisturizing, elbow moisturizing, and hand moisturizing. Evening: the same routine. Weekly hygiene tasks: washing hair, pedicure, manicure, trimming beard. Bi-weekly tasks: haircut.

Checkvist workflow

  • I create a list.
  • I type in all the tasks. I don’t write anything for the tasks. I don’t assign any dates or labels to the tasks.
  • I create the following private TAGS: #HYGIENE_MORNING, #HYGIENE_EVENING, #HYGIENE_WEEKLY, #HYGIENE_BIWEEKLY, #HYGIENE_MONTHLY, #HYGIENE_INCOMPLETE_TASKS
  • Timeframes: This can be based on date and/or recurring tasks, or based on the length of time intervals and/or recurring tasks based on dates.
  • Tags: I attach the following private tags to the tasks:
  1. brushing teeth: #HYGIENE_MORNING #HYGIENE_EVENING
  2. showering: #HYGIENE_MORNING #HYGIENE_EVENING
  3. hair washing: #HYGIENE_WEEKLY
  4. pedicure: #HYGIENE_WEEKLY
  5. manicure: #HYGIENE_WEEKLY
  6. trimming beard: #HYGIENE_WEEKLY

Duration

  • I set the tasks to indicate how long it takes to complete each task:
  1. morning brushing: #15m
  2. morning shower: #15m
  3. evening brushing: #15m
  4. evening shower: #15m

IMG_0863
IMG_08632732×2048 349 KB

IMG_0869
IMG_08692732×2048 459 KB

IMG_0870
IMG_08702732×2048 364 KB

What do I already know so far?
I already know that I have a routine task in the morning and evening. This routine task takes 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the evening. This repeats every day.

IMG_0871
IMG_08712732×2048 260 KB

Once I complete the task, it receives a DONE status in Checkvist (SPACE on the computer keyboard).

IMG_0872
IMG_08722732×2048 239 KB

Based on the example, I create the weekly tasks. So in addition to the existing morning and evening tasks, additional tasks will be added. On the DUE page, I will see this together in the Checkvist software.

The issues: I mark in Checkvist that the task is done. For example, showering. In the afternoon, a few hours later, I already see that I’ll have another shower in the evening. This is visible in Checkvist.

Although I prefer filtering using the search field: DUE: TODAY. And I associate my #TAG labels with it. So I don’t use the DUE page because it’s easier for me to use just one thing. I prefer to memorize the keyboard shortcuts, but I don’t use the mouse.

Let’s consider a critical situation: what if there’s no water one morning? So I can’t take a morning shower. But how do I mark this in Checkvist? Like this:

Summary
  • What is the task? = showering
  • When was the shower supposed to happen? = this morning
  • Was there a shower this morning? = no

I STILL mark the task as done.

Why?
Because based on the time frame, the task happened. Specifically, based on the date, as there was morning, only there was no water. There certainly was morning because the sun rose. Did the action, i.e., the shower, take place? No, the action did not happen. Why? Because there was no water. That’s exactly why I created a label in advance for this situation. The TAG is named: #HYGIENE_INCOMPLETE_TASKS

Report
At the end of the month, I want to know how many times I took a shower. I know, this is a primitive example, but it’s not about showering. The focus here is the workflow, the protocol. The workflow is what matters. Instead of showering, it could be any task. The showering is just an example here.

So I want to know when I showered between December 1, 2023, and December 31, 2023. And I also want to know when I didn’t shower. I type this into the Checkvist search:

due: month XY, #HYGIENE_INCOMPLETE_TASKS

IMG_0876
IMG_08762732×2048 308 KB

Future
As a recurring task, I can set up something else as well. Let’s use the same example, hygiene. I don’t use liquid soap. I use handmade natural soap. Classic soap. I know I should use soap carefully due to the skin’s pH balance. I also know that one soap is sufficient for me for two weeks. So in Checkvist, I set up a recurring task to remind me to buy soap. Checkvist will remind me bi-weekly to buy soap. Moreover, two weeks in advance, Checkvist will remind me that I need to buy soap in two weeks.

Verdict
This is a simple workflow. If anyone has any ideas on how to do it better, please let me know. I appreciate everyone’s help.

IMG_0877
IMG_08772732×2048 289 KB

6

Hi,

How can I add a person to multiple tasks (for example: @Firstname_Lastname)?

I tried the following steps:

1.	I selected multiple tasks.
2.	I typed ‘tt’ on my keyboard.
3.	Checkvist added #@Firstname_Lastname.

This is not the right way.

IMG_0878
IMG_08782732×2048 485 KB

7

Hi,

@username assignees are set with ae keyboard shortcut, from assignee. Use multiple selection + ae. More on assignees in our help: Checkvist help/reference

Best,
KIR

8

Hi KIR,

It’s working fine, thanks.

9

Hello @christianhodek ,

I’m afraid it is not possible with our approach for the repeating task implementation, sorry. Because Checkvist re-opens an existing task, and it does not create a new one. So Checkvist cannot count instances of specific tasks for you. The only way to achieve something like this is to manually generate / duplicate tasks, set time tags (like #15m) and use progress counter to calculate summary.

Keyboard shortcut “Ctrl+d/Cmd+d” allows to duplicate a task (with subtasks, if they exist). There is also a shortcut to insert current date into the list item. For that, while editing, press “Ctrl+; or Cmd+;”, like in Excel.

As for using tags (and private tags) - basically, you don’t need private tags until you share your lists with someone else. You can use usual tags.

You can navigate to the due page with keyboard using ‘gd’ (go due) keyboard shortcut.

Instead of due:today, for filtering and global search, you can also use due:now which is a combination of “due:today or due:overdue or due:asap”.

Hope this was helpful,
KIR

1 Like
10

Hi KIR,

Thanks for your help.

1 Like