Is there such a thing as a sustainable todo system?

There's Org mode in Emacs, too: http://orgmode.org/

I work in an environment with unstable plans (computer vision research lab), so my TODO system has become very dynamic over time. The basics:

org-mode. org-mode is a wonderful TODO extension for Emacs. I add a new file to org-mode's global TODO list every day. I tried keeping individual project files, but using tags to separate projects ended up being the least-effort system.

Break up tasks. As with code, work can be decomposed into small, orthogonal tasks. Take a small amount of time to enter a TODO item for each one. I'm only human - I'd much rather start a small task than a large one. If I discover I finished something, but there's not a corresponding TODO item, I add it and close it. Why deprive myself the satisfaction?

Lazy update. Since I have several small tasks that represent a job to be done, I only revisit my TODO list every few hours for cleanup (and to ensure I haven't forgotten anything). Touching my TODO list whenever I do something is overkill.

Loose prioritizing. I track the importance of each line-item by Low, Medium, and High priority. 80% of items are Medium priority, and most of the rest are High. These are just suggestions: for instance, I pick short Medium tasks before starting long High priority tasks.

Relentlessly prune. Plans change. Just delete irrelevant or items from your list and move on. I tracked closing information on line-items for over a year until I realized that I had never needed to go back to look at the resolution information or start/end timestamps. Over a year after I stopped, I still haven't.

Know when to let go. When something needs to be done yesterday, someone asks every 30 minutes if you are finished. You don't need other reminders. Skip the TODO list and get to work.

That is very true, but I use GTD to handle all of the stuff that are not important to the big project I'm working on.

Groceries, household chores, personal finance, emails to random people, phone calls, car maitenance. Most of the things on my list I can't do right now anyway, but don't want to forget later.

The end result is that when you are working on the big project that matters, you aren't distracted by constantly thinking "oh crap, I have to remember to pickup bread tonight, and call the DMV and find out why they lost my title, and setup a dentist appointment" (all things on my todo for today), but you can sit there and focus with nothing random coming up in your head.

I was going to say the same thing. I tried org-mode (I'm a heavy Emacs user) and it didn't stick, I think the simplicity is what makes this doable. Also I have a nice history of tasks and it isn't tied to my computer or mobile device. I don't have to worry about syncing or backup or files piling up never to be read again or any of that garbage.

If you have tasks for managing your todo list on your todo list then it is too complicated.

I think paper-based is the best, which I find slightly odd given my heavy reliance on technology day to day. But it just works.

I create an updated list once a week or so, then I use a highlighter to highlight my next most important tasks (2 or 3), then work through them and cross them off the list. Combined with setting my one or two most critical goals for the day, this has worked out quite well.