Ask HN: What do you use for notes + reminders + tasks

#1

Post by adrian_pop » Sun, Feb 17, 2019, 2:42 PM UTC

Recently, I came to the need of using a Note taking app + reminder + tasks. I've investigated multiple apps, but none of them does what I need entirely.

Apple Notes: notes, no tasks or reminders

Evernote: notes, no tasks or reminders (easy ones)

OneNote: crashed 5 times before even using it

Wunderlist: tasks + reminders, but the notes UI is poorly designed

Notion: cool concept, way too complicated

Todoist: tasks + reminders, no notes

Today I found 1 app that integrates with slack and I can write something like:

- /remind some task today at 5

- /remind some other task in 15 minutes ...but there's no easy way to get a big picture of what are the current tasks

I'm a heavy keyboard user, any action that would require clicking or scrolling is a loss of time.

Here comes my question: what do you use that proved to be useful?

Re: Ask HN: What do you use for notes + reminders + tasks

#2

Post by altern8 » Sun, Feb 17, 2019, 3:05 PM UTC

Google Keep, here.

Re: Ask HN: What do you use for notes + reminders + tasks

#3

Post by ColinWright » Sun, Feb 17, 2019, 3:41 PM UTC

I use Zim wiki for notes, with a suitable SOP for making sure things float to the top when needed. I also have a script that crawls over the pages searching for "REMIND" lines, and sets reminders.

So in essence, Zim for notes, and a couple of scripts that reads the underlying pages and takes appropriate actions.

Heavily tailored to be exactly and only what I want, but easily extensible when needed.

Re: Ask HN: What do you use for notes + reminders + tasks

#4

Post by sandwhichmole » Sun, Feb 17, 2019, 4:09 PM UTC

On iOS, Streaks for daily habit forming and Due for a to-do list with advanced recurrence rules and nlp for interpreting the timeframe when capturing to-do items. Use org-mode on spacemacs/emacs if you want a feature rich task planner and note taker.

Re: Ask HN: What do you use for notes + reminders + tasks

#5

Post by ibash » Sun, Feb 17, 2019, 4:32 PM UTC

Notion does what you want, and it’s not that complicated.

In notion type “/todo” for a todo list, “/page” for a sub page, and “@remind ” for a reminder.

Re: Ask HN: What do you use for notes + reminders + tasks

#6

Post by quietthrow » Sun, Feb 17, 2019, 4:40 PM UTC

Orgmode. It’s awesome. Only problem is mobile support sucks. Beorg app is trying to change it but it’s UI is ugly AF. It could use some help by a UX specialist

Re: Ask HN: What do you use for notes + reminders + tasks

#7

Post by my_mind » Sun, Feb 17, 2019, 6:18 PM UTC

My mind.

Re: Ask HN: What do you use for notes + reminders + tasks

#8

Post by peruvian » Sun, Feb 17, 2019, 6:32 PM UTC

Notes:

Apple Notes - it's on every device I use and online, so it has the lowest friction. I use Apple Notes for grocery lists (using checkboxes), semi-permanent notes, and sometimes as an inbox of things to process later.

Task Management:

Things (https://culturedcode.com) using the basic GTD framework. I add things to the Inbox through the day to get them out of my head. In the morning and when taking a break from work, I process the Inbox into projects/areas as well as defer them (give them a date to start/do them). Every Sunday I do a review/braindump of projects or anything still open.

By the way, you can use this GTD method with any tool. I know people who do it with Apple Reminders.

One extra thing I do at the beginning of each day is pick 3 tasks I absolutely need to do by the end of the day - a successful day is when I do at least those 3. I got this idea from Chris Bailey's book "The Productivity Project".

--

I don't keep "permanent" notes (book notes, personal wiki, etc.). I've tried before and I never looked at them again nor did they help my memory.

Re: Ask HN: What do you use for notes + reminders + tasks

#9

Post by FightingTaco » Sun, Feb 17, 2019, 6:45 PM UTC

I've found Notion satisfactory for notes, kanban boards, and simply having all things in one place. I use reminders in Slack as well.

Re: Ask HN: What do you use for notes + reminders + tasks

#10

Post by synapse0 » Sun, Feb 17, 2019, 7:02 PM UTC

Google keep Tags, reminders, checklists, etc