Re: Task with NO end date

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From: John Beamish (JLBeamishAThotmailDOTcom)
Date: 05/23/04 

Date: Sun, 23 May 2004 13:48:05 -0400

Ahhhh. An interesting requirement (and one which I fully understand since
my father was also freelancing for much of his life).

I have no doubts that you can learn Project. Anybody who can discipline
himself to sit down in front of a blank screen and then not get up until 500
words (or is that drops of blood <grin>) have been recorded will be
successful at most things.

Having said that ... as I tell others: Project isn't a simple program like
Word or Excel. It is a far more complex and far richer environment. I post
here regularly but I'm still learning (often from my attempts to answer
someone's technical question).

It appears to me that you're basically using Project as a time-tracking
system. Although I wouldn't have chosen Project to do this, it will work.
As I said earlier, the definition of a task makes it impossible to do away
with durations and end dates. So here are some suggestions that you might
want to consider:

1. Give the task an end date months (or even years) into the future. To do
this
1a. View | Resource Sheet and create a resource entry (you!)
1b. View | Gantt chart and create a task. Set the Type to "Fixed
Duration", the duration to 400d, the work to 0 and yourself as the resource
assigned to the task.

Now, you can use the View | Resource Usage display to track when you
actually did work on this assignment in the Actual Work cells.

2. Do the opposite: create a milestone task which has a start date the
same as the end date and 0 hours of work and with a task type of Fixed
Units. Assign yourself as the resource and then track your hours in the
View | Resource Usage display by entering your hours in the Actual Work
cells.

Both of these will create a bar in the Gantt display. Don't use that
display. Instead, use the Network Diagram or Calendar display.

Good luck!

<spondee@cox.net> wrote in message
news:h4j0b0ld3rnrthd15n83k11f30cfqi3ofi@4ax.com...
> On Sat, 22 May 2004 23:30:15 -0400, "John Beamish"
> <JLBeamishAThotmailDOTcom> wrote:
>
> >What are you attempting to achieve? It's possible that another approach
may
> >give you the result you are looking for.
>
> I'm looking for 'flexibility' in those task schedules! I want to see
> WHEN I've worked and how much, rather than a 'due' date.
>
> I am a writer. Self-employed. Only me. No big company, No IT's to
> check with! Can't afford 'consultants' or 'classes'.
>
> Have multiple 'projects' ongoing, in various stages of completion..
> Most have extremely flexible, self-imposed deadlines. Even the
> sub-tasks may be months in the future.
>
> Many of these 'projects' I only work on sporadically (putting out
> fires elsewhere). Which is EXACTLY what I'm trying to correct in my
> work habits by using PROJECT.
>
> In the past few years, as I've taken on more work, I find I've 'lost
> track' of a small paying project while I deal w/a big pro bono
> project! Or I fail to set up the steps (research etc), necessary for
> the next PAYING job! Or I get the 'small' paying gigs done, but no
> work on some major long-term projects.
>
> I've always MET every assigned 'deadline' but hate them so much will
> even turn down an assignment because of 'em!
>
> I've never worked w/ fixed time lines before (too much like
> 'deadlines' to me!). Nor have I had to look at a realistic timeliness
> stretching years into the future! And I guess I'm trying to avoid
> them.
>
> OTOH, I use and have learned complicated software! Outlook & Office
> (I'm up to 2003), Win Xpro, Specialized writing software. MONEY.
> Lots of barely functioning share/freeware over the years.
>
> So I CAN learn and use Project2000. Don't know why I'm so hung-up
> with it! I just probably need to ask a whole bunch of stupid
> questions and run a bunch of 'trials'! (But I do think, compared to
> other software titles, the help files suck!).
>
> I think that if I could actually SEE various forms/styles/types of
> Project Files that the self-employed or VERY small business have set
> up, that it would be very helpful...
>
>
>

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