How I manage projects in Tana

[@lefrax762]

Man I really like your mindset and the view you seem to have on life (as seen in some of your chunks/projects).

[@CombiningMindsPKM]

Thanks 🙏🏼 🙂

[@azannos]

Happy to watch your videos. It is a validation for me that I am not the only one struggling to make sense of this crazy world. Best regards!!!

[@CombiningMindsPKM]

Indeed, we're all trying to make sense of the crazyness. Some are better at managing / hiding it then others 🙈

[@Etnoosfera]

Darío, as always you explain complex things in a very simple way 😊. Wonderful video, thanks dude.

[@CombiningMindsPKM]

Thanks for the kind feedback 🙏🏼

[@OtRatsaphong]

Thanks! Dario. I have been following your Logseq tutorials for a few years and have bought one of your early courses. I am embarking on a property development project and was looking for a good project management app. Tana looks like it is going to fit my requirements as a solopreneur for the moment. 🙏👍

[@CombiningMindsPKM]

Hi Ot. Thanks so much for your generosity, and I'm glad you've been finding the Tana content useful too :)

[@alastairbailey3547]

Dario - great video. Thank you for your unique (and refreshing) approach to sharing information like this. I also find the term "sprint" a bit yuck...how about switching out for "focus"? Seems a better fit for the way you work - still connotes a period of sustained intensity but one that isn't necessarily bound to time/stress/hustle/etc...

[@CombiningMindsPKM]

Thanks Alastair - "focus" is a great suggestion! Will probably incorporate it as "focus period"

[@planttheseed2129]

Great presentation. :). Does your Unlock Tana course include this approach and the template? Also, a suggestion. I'm not a big fan of the Agile term "Sprint." To my mind, it implies that we need to literally sprint and are in a hurry. I suggest an alternate phrase such as "Intermediate Milestone" or "Milestone".

[@CombiningMindsPKM]

Thanks for the suggestion - I have since updated the template to use the terminology "focus period", because I'm also not a fan of the term "sprint". The course breaks down the Tana functionality that facilitates the template, but does not include the template itself. There's a separate video here which breaks down how the template works: kzbin.info/www/bejne/n4Cah4p9mM9ofLM

[@planttheseed2129]

@@CombiningMindsPKM I purchased both of them. Thank you.

[@JimSmoot]

Dario, I'm curious about your using both Tana and Logseq. What does Logseq offer that you aren't getting in Tana? I've been struggling with my own decision of separating notes and projects, but at times there feels like there's enough overlap between my worlds that it draws me into the "one app to rule them all" mindset.

[@CombiningMindsPKM]

Hi Jim - Logseq is much easier for me to enter unstructured thoughts, particularly in a journal or scratchpad sense. The ability to add backlinks on the fly and easily filter those backlinks is very handy. I do a lot of 'random' writing, in the sense that it's not related to any project in particular, and I find that it's easier for me to use Logseq for that. On another note, the thought that I would need to keep a subscription to an app to access my private thoughts is also a strange mental leap for me. I'm not 100% opposed to it, but there it does leave a funny feeling somewhere inside :)

[@shimblypibbins]

Do you have any videos or resources on this? I use Notion currently and have been exploring Tana as this place to enter unstructured thoughts/links/whatever but haven't considered Logseq yet.@@CombiningMindsPKM

[@mattural20]

Dario, thanks for this! Could you go into more detail how you set up (in your case) Work Units, Tasks, Person, etc. using COMPONENTS_REC? This video solved a major issue I was having with tana: I also sometimes need to compartmentalize my domains, initiatives, projects, areas, chunks, etc. in different ways, so the general "work unit" is brilliant as it allows me to access anything in that "base supertag" using the semantic function and I don't have to worry too much about the actual hierarchy, if that makes sense. But do you then make your tasks supertag a semantic "part of" the #work units or #relationship? And how does that help you? Thank you for this (non-fluffy 🤣) video and explanation of how you're setting this great app up for yourself.

[@CombiningMindsPKM]

Hi Matthew. I believe you would have seen this in the template, but my #tasks supertag extends the #relationship supertag. It just means that I can also add tasks in any of the "Relates to" fields, or any field that is an instance of #relationship. The actual building of the COMPONENTS_REC is a whole topic in itself which will probably require another video 😬.

[@RobertPrigge]

Thanks!

[@CombiningMindsPKM]

Thanks so much Robert :)

[@magicmarcell]

This is genius

[@CombiningMindsPKM]

Thanks for the feedback :)

[@andypassion5787]

You are genius 👍🤓

[@CombiningMindsPKM]

Thanks for the compliment :)

[@The.BlackJackal]

Has your course been updated to reflect the Tana Core updates?

[@CombiningMindsPKM]

Not yet, in the process :)

[@fynn8195]

When you are in the >relates to field (minute 21) it shows all your instances but not just the „name“ of the node but also the information where it is stored and the tag assigned to the node. It doesn`t do that for me. I just get the name of all the nodes as a list within my >relates to field. What`s different on your end?

[@CombiningMindsPKM]

Hmmm, that's interesting - I thought that was just the default 🤔 I haven't activated anything special in settings. Is your field type also "Instance"?

[@salamander5077]

Dario, "that half our flew away"..... The "sub" function is verry useful, do I think. With the branches structure... That's making order/structure a bit easier. But as someone with a science background.... "Projects" in the titel is to mutch a "container word". Yeah for people that know Tana, they can link it.... But fore the people that doesn't, it's more variabel management or dynamic structure. (This is just feedback, so ..... Not criticism)

[@CombiningMindsPKM]

Finding universal naming conventions is tricky :)

[@HanZuyderwijk]

Tana is great for inputting and retrieving information. However, you cannot (easily) export for publication on another platform. You cannot even copy the text of nodes, to paste it into a website, social media post or text editor. It is a great tool for project management, but not for research and publishing.

[@rudolfnn]

For the moment, yes. But export and API functionalities will likely improve in future Tana versions.

[@Han_Zuyderwijk]

@@rudolfnn Until then, I cannot really consider it. I need my data for content creation and reports. I need a tool that easily integrates with publishing tools. Unfortunately, Tana does not provide that. Over the last 25 years I have worked with so many different systems. One more feature rich and shinier than the other. What i have learned is: 1) I will always be attracted to newer and better apps; 2) I ask myself do I really want to put all my data in one app:; and 3) when I am ready to leave, will I be able to get my data out easily?

[@rudolfnn]

@@Han_Zuyderwijk Out of curiosity, what are your most used published tools?

[@marcellc6833]

@@Han_Zuyderwijk what do you use instead of tana?

[@HanZuyderwijk]

@@marcellc6833 I currently use Logseq.

[@agentlibre5803]

Does it mean you are not using logseq any longer?

[@CombiningMindsPKM]

I'm still using Logseq extensively. I'm just not using it to manage my projects.

[@yaaqoubeliyyahu5783]

Why Tana vs Omnifocus? Please let me know & thank you

[@CombiningMindsPKM]

I haven't used Omnifocus. Although it does have a web-app, it seems more focused on the Apple ecosystem.

[@ppp3812]

Is there a way to embed draw io into tana?

[@CombiningMindsPKM]

I don't think so. Just had a look on the forum and couldn't find anything there either.

[@ppp3812]

@@CombiningMindsPKM Cool! Thanks for replying man! I found Tana to be super powerful but lacking huge community (like Notion) and API.

[@matthewthomaslabelle590]

what is the #workstreams used for in your system?

[@CombiningMindsPKM]

It's similar to areas in some senses. If I have a long term project, I tend to break it down into workstreams. Also helpful if you have a team setup, where different teams are responsible for different workstreams.

[@matthewthomaslabelle590]

@@CombiningMindsPKM Thanks for the reply, great video!

[@richardneil4651]

it's all cool, but no usable while it no have mobile version and (ideal situation) offline clients :D

[@CombiningMindsPKM]

Somewhat restricted, indeed. These are things they're working on though.

[@edjwise]

As I understand it. as Logseq matures, it will start to have Supertags, and views like Tana does.

[@CombiningMindsPKM]

Holding thumbs 👍🏼 There's talk about a 'database version' that will not use Markdown. But remains to be seen how well they can impelemtn it.

[@edjwise]

@@CombiningMindsPKMif you dig around, you will see mentions of properties 2.0 and views.

[@jimchapman4579]

I'm sorry. I could not finish watching this. I was not learning anything. Actually all I learned is that you have a very complex life. IMHO - maybe more complex than it needs to be. Is your life really that complex? Or is this tool making your life complex? Does it really make things easier for you? I don't see that.

[@CombiningMindsPKM]

Don't be sorry, you're entitled to your opinion. It helps me. You don't have to believe me.

[@lefrax762]

Of course all tools add complexity, and the less adjusted they are, the more complexity they add. As gifted AND ADHD adult, complexity is central to my life and I can't prevent myself from seeing the world in a complex way. There is this movie, "Everything, everywhere, all at once", and it's a pretty good description of how I perceive things, all the time. It's as much a blessing than a curse. Tana is a tool that can help me organize, remember, prioritize, differentiate or plan things. So it deserves I give it a shot and I that's probably why the author uses it.

[@hardworksmart]

Yeah, now I'm sure: Tana is way, WAY too complicated.

[@CombiningMindsPKM]

Haha, glad I could confirm 😁

[@josephs1732]

This video can easily be done in 5min instead of 34min. Bro, please reduce the fluff.🙏

[@CombiningMindsPKM]

Not my style unfortunately.