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The Search for the Perfect To-do List

steveworsley.com

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Re: The Search for the Perfect To-do List

#71

Post by walterbell »

Chris2048 wrote: post #64
Chris2048 wrote: post #28

I haven't found a decent ToDo list with this killer feature: dependencies. I want to mark a task as dependant on another being done. I want to add time estimates to those tasks, and see a gantt chart. I want tasks to show the sum of their dependencies estimates next to their own estimates. I want priorities to also flow through dependency chains in this manner - if a high priority task is dependant on a low priority…

Actually, Just found a thoughtstream item I dumped a bunch of Todo list manager features I'd like to see, obviously I've thought too much about this o_o; https://thoughtstreams.io/Chris2048/design-ideas/5907/

> time decriptions; 'in an hour', 'every tuesday', 'third day of each week every third month of a leap year', 'within a day of easter, midnight' - some of these might be impossible/impractical - but make it easy to specify a date concept.

Fantastical does this.

Re: The Search for the Perfect To-do List

#73

Post by jackgavigan »

To-Do Lists is one of those things that bugs me a lot. There are hundreds of apps out there but none of them seem to do them particularly well.

I think the perfect To-Do list would have

- the ability create (and allow others to create, subject to black/white-listing) a task by sending an email to my list

- the ability to delegate tasks to others (whether they're users of the app/service or not)

- order in a way that takes urgency, importance and deadlines into account

- an intray, so I can accept/reject tasks sent/delegated to me

- Mailbox app-style swiping to snooze tasks or mark them as Done

- shared To-Do lists (e.g. for teams)

- support for sharing tasks with others so they can comment on them

- API integration

- dependencies and workflows

I created some mock-ups a few months back to illustrate my thinking: http://jackgavigan.com/1tray-concept/

Re: The Search for the Perfect To-do List

#75

Post by kbd »

iamgopal wrote: post #42
Chris2048 wrote: post #28

I haven't found a decent ToDo list with this killer feature: dependencies. I want to mark a task as dependant on another being done. I want to add time estimates to those tasks, and see a gantt chart. I want tasks to show the sum of their dependencies estimates next to their own estimates. I want priorities to also flow through dependency chains in this manner - if a high priority task is dependant on a low priority…

Once I made a todo list web app with tons of excel like features and unlimited hierarchy and could do any kind of automation with it with built in python script subset. Could be even used as database for other apps. Ultimately features pile on. It gets Harder to maintain, nobody really bought the concept. ( imagine seeing excel for the first time. ) had to give up ultimately. Guess I should clean up and open source i…

> Guess I should clean up and open source it for the interested.

I'd definitely be interested, at least in some screenshots to see what you mean by having both excel-like features and hierarchy. It sounds somewhat similar to Smartsheet[1], are you familiar?

[1] https://www.smartsheet.com/

Re: The Search for the Perfect To-do List

#76

Post by lfowles »

jasim wrote: post #19

Most todos are meant to be recorded and discarded. They are just a psychological mechanism to cope with the anxiety of an overly complex world. The todo-list of an average home-maker today would be more complex than that of the princes from a few centuries ago. My todo lists are fluid. I keep them in a big text file, tag them with a date, and keep them there. Once something is recorded, it is off my mind. I'll keep c…

> The todo-list of an average home-maker today would be more complex than that of the princes from a few centuries ago.

Well yes, they had other people to manage their todos :)

Re: The Search for the Perfect To-do List

#77

Post by lfowles »

miguelrochefort wrote: post #68

The perfect to-do list will be a semantic marketplace of outcomes. You describe the outcomes you want in life using a formal semantic language, and broadcast them for the world to see. Then, anyone who has the ability to satisfy the expected outcome (i.e., "I'm at work at 8AM") - bet it yourself, a friend, or a taxi driver - can engage in a contract where the conditions of all parties are described and agreed upon. T…

So, the ideal to-do list will be defined in prolog?

Re: The Search for the Perfect To-do List

#78

Post by krembo »

glaberficken wrote: post #15

What works for me For work: Outlook Tasks list on the right hand pane Killer features: - Single click to flag any email as a task - Drag and Drop to reorder - Set custom date/time folow up reminders For personal life: For things with no deadline - A gmail thread with my wife where we just keep "replying all"; For things with dates / deadlines - A Shared google calendar with my wife I guess its a highly personal choic…

I think what makes Outlook Tasks list work for you is the fact that it's there in-your-face all the time, already embedded into the mail app you use. This little step of saving you the need to open a different app in a different window makes the real difference for most people.

Actually, this was the main reason I've used Sortd & Yanado (highly recommended) a while.

Re: The Search for the Perfect To-do List

#79

Post by krembo »

Unless the todo list app is fully integrated into your daily routine/one of the apps you use at least 20% of your time, they just end up a a brain-dump tools, which is not a bad practice by the way for making your mind more organized. Having said that, I would repeat and emphasize a recommendation I wrote to another user in this thread-> check apps which DO integrate into one of your existing tools and doesn't require you to open a new window. Actually, I find this extra click on a new tab or an icon in the system tray is a REAL barrier to adopting those endless lists.

Re: The Search for the Perfect To-do List

#80

Post by andrewflnr »

julianpye wrote: post #40
Chris2048 wrote: post #28

I haven't found a decent ToDo list with this killer feature: dependencies. I want to mark a task as dependant on another being done. I want to add time estimates to those tasks, and see a gantt chart. I want tasks to show the sum of their dependencies estimates next to their own estimates. I want priorities to also flow through dependency chains in this manner - if a high priority task is dependant on a low priority…

This is key for any ADDers - chains of dependencies to ensure that not only raisins are picked off your ToDo List and you get to only see next steps and not all steps. For the past three years I have been working on this in an app sideproject and planned to launch the beta this winter, but I keep getting distracted :) Android alpha testers can get in touch with me.

I'd be interested in trying this out. My email is my HN username on google's email service.
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