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I tried every todo app and ended up with a .txt file

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Re: I tried every todo app and ended up with a .txt file

#261

Sounds to me like you need something simple and quick. If the current system works for you I would suggest to keep using it. If you ever feel like you need something better I would recommend trying microsoft todo or google tasks. Google Tasks syncs with your google calendar so it's a bit more powerful. Apart from them both a pretty simple. If you are looking for something even simpler take a look at google keep. This…

Especially for Android users, Google Tasks is dead simple to use and works seamlessly with voice prompting. The less I have to manually write or type out my reminders, the better.

Re: I tried every todo app and ended up with a .txt file

#262
I have a very simple todo list, it's essentially the same every day! - check mail - check calendar - check jira - check azure devops board - check Microsoft Tasks - check confluence - check Teams - check home calendar - check home e-mail - check signal - check whatsapp - check client e-mail - check client jira - renew prescription for benzos

Re: I tried every todo app and ended up with a .txt file

#263
post #92

Reading through the comments under this thread, there are many users who swear by a plain text file, but who then build quite a lot of snowflake software to regain functionality offered by more structured TODO applications. That includes: - having your computer alert you to things that come up - being able to tag notes - being able to add events to a calendar - being able to set priority of tasks - expecting prioriti…

"Copy-pasting tasks is laborious"

"I recommend people read this 30,000 word technical guide"

Re: I tried every todo app and ended up with a .txt file

#267
post #92

Reading through the comments under this thread, there are many users who swear by a plain text file, but who then build quite a lot of snowflake software to regain functionality offered by more structured TODO applications. That includes: - having your computer alert you to things that come up - being able to tag notes - being able to add events to a calendar - being able to set priority of tasks - expecting prioriti…

Im perfectly happy with markdown in vscode. Right next to my work and with a search function. I guess I could do txt but the syntax highlighting makes things a bit more readable.

I think it works for me because it's mostly just a working memory. I virtually never visit my notes again. It is not some personal knowledge base nor project tracker.

Re: I tried every todo app and ended up with a .txt file

#268
In a typical todo list, I expect the following features (explained with examples of a typical school timetable:

What, When, Where, Who, Color, Some Notes, Completion checkmark.

1. Name of the event/task e.g. Chemistry

2. Day/Date/Time of the task (can either be specific weekdays or a specific date with time) e.g. Monday at 9:30am, Thursday at 4pm.

3. Person who the task will be with (professor name) e.g. John Doe

4. Location of task e.g. McKenzie Hall Room 504

5. Color e.g. red or hex code #FF0000

6. Some extra notes

7. Maybe ability to add checkmark before the task when it's done. This can be done using the unicode character.

We also need nested tasks (think Lab for Chemistry or some Assignment due for Chemistry). This can be done by adding tabs or hyphens before the line.

The format which works best is a text file containing:

-------------

Chemistry on Monday at 9:30am, Thursday at 4pm #green @McKenzie Hall Room 504 by John Doe //this comment can be a note

- Lab on Wednesday at 2pm by 8am #blue //don't forget to bring lab coat

- Assignment on Mar 9 at 8am #red

Dentist appointment on April 5 at 11am

/* Full block comment which is multiline. Lorem ipsum is placeholder text commonly used in the graphic, print, and publishing industries for previewing layouts and visual mockups. */

Re: I tried every todo app and ended up with a .txt file

#270
I've been back and forth on that topic, going to paper and back to a todo manager of some sort.

For the past few years I've been using obsidian for all my note taking, and none of the extensions I tried did what I wanted, so I built myself one[^1]. The initial goal was to take todos right within my notes, so I could keep the context of what the todo was about. Then I started adding stuff like planification and tagging. So it's entirely text based, but with a planner UI on top of it that makes it easy to drag and drop stuff to when I want to do them, and plan my day accordingly.

I think the more you go, the more you get set in your own ways, the harder it is to tag along on someone else's implementation of a system.

Low tech like paper and text files are good because they're maleable, and dont embed stuff you don't actually need.

^1: https://obsidian.md/plugins?id=proletarian-wizard

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