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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

#291

Post by dennisthemenace »

OhioMan2943 wrote: post #23

things 3 is fantastic and access to it is an actual factor in what devices i buy

Things3 has also worked incredibly well for me for the past 4 years. My only wish is that they would roll out a version for Windows. I have been in the Apple ecosystem for quite some time so it was never a problem until I built a gaming PC that I also started using for work. As a result of this switch, I have to rely heavily on my phone to manage tasks. I still think this beats a todo.txt file that I would have to put quite a bit of effort in to manage every day and set up exactly how I want it, but is a big pain point for sure.

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

#292

Post by [deleted] »

1970-01-01 wrote: post #167

I host my own wall calendar. There is an annual subscription cost, but it's so cheap I don't notice. I hacked it together with thumbtack 1.0 and Bic Crystal a very long time ago. Others have used it and find the interface extremely intuitive. Localization is supported. I even have pencil support. If things become tentative, we can switch over to it seamlessly. When I have a todo item, I input it onto the day and time…

[deleted]

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

#293

Post by mbonnet »

Igrom wrote: 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…

how exactly is a .txt not greppable?

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

#294

Post by ivanjermakov »

Other benefits of plain text notetaking: perfect versioning, using favorite text editor (therefore spell checking and various tools), amazing integration with unix programs, support on any platform/device.

Two shortcomings are: figure out cross-device sync (ssh/nfs are good options), reinventing the wheel for rich text (tags, references, data tables, etc.)

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

#295

Post by tra3 »

1970-01-01 wrote: post #167

I host my own wall calendar. There is an annual subscription cost, but it's so cheap I don't notice. I hacked it together with thumbtack 1.0 and Bic Crystal a very long time ago. Others have used it and find the interface extremely intuitive. Localization is supported. I even have pencil support. If things become tentative, we can switch over to it seamlessly. When I have a todo item, I input it onto the day and time…

How do you deal with multi tenancy? What's your back up strategy?

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

#297

Post by miroljub »

pancakemouse wrote: post #198
Igrom wrote: 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…

What this shows to me, as someone who has committed some of the unholy crimes above, is that people want their system, however esoteric, to come naturally to them. I think reading docs, understanding a new system which someone else has designed, and fitting one's brain into _their_ organisational structure is the hard part. Harder than designing one's own system. It's the reason many don't stick with an off-the-shelf…

The whole point of org-mode is that it's so malleable, that you can extend it to be whatever you want it to be, much easier than writing your own, ad-hoc, bug-ridden reimplementation of org-mode.

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

#298

Post by datameta »

potatolicious wrote: post #236
pancakemouse wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What this shows to me, as someone who has committed some of the unholy crimes above, is that people want their system, however esoteric, to come naturally to them. I think reading docs, understanding a new system which someone else has designed, and fitting one's brain into _their_ organisational structure is the hard part. Harder than designing one's own system. It's the reason many don't stick with an off-the-shelf…

The term that comes to mind, and one of my favorite concepts, is "progressive disclosure", which is a concept we really ought to be more mindful of. One of the perks of just-a-text-file-with-a-bunch-of-addons is that it enables progressive disclosure - it takes no learning curve to just get in and use the tool on a basic level, but additional complexity (and power) can be introduced over time. The problem with a purp…

Right, instead of fomo over not using the extra features of utilizing the right flow - people tend to experience the want/need to incrementally increase complexity when using roll-your-own software

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

#299

Post by gwbas1c »

I've found that a lot of apps try to micromanage me, my workflow, or how I use my computer.

I've grown to appreciate using simple tools, (spreadsheet, document) without the structure of an app.

I manage my 10-house HOA with spreadsheets, because the tools cost so much that I'd have to raise HOA rates.

Shopping lists are on whatever document app I'm using. (Currently Word, used to be Google Drive, used to be iPhone notes.)

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

#300

Post by anzumitsu »

don_neufeld wrote: post #150

sigh I've done the text file thing, and it’s fine. Up to a (very small) point. What the author describes as their “workload” barely registers. For context, for me, Things on any given day has over 100 individual actions, most of which are recurring. By doing this, I can stay on top of an extremely broad surface area. There is no way a text file can handle the number of parallel work streams my (or really many) people…

Can you give some examples of your 100 daily actions? I’m struggling to understand how you’re scheduling so many things, like I’m sure I complete 100 actions in a day but most are going to be things like “brush my teeth” or “clean up the dinner dishes”, which I personally wouldn’t schedule.
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