I tried every todo app and ended up with a .txt file • Hacker News Board

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

#421

Post by don_neufeld » Mon, Aug 11, 2025, 9:01 PM UTC

btilly wrote: post #278

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…

It sounds like your life requires a manager's schedule. Lots and lots of things to fit into a busy day. Likely without a lot of big blocks of focus time. Most programmers are far better off with a maker's schedule. Far fewer things in a day. Each with a significant block of time associated with it. An absolutely minimal productivity system is perfect for anyone on a maker's schedule. You're right that it wouldn't wor…

100% - I read that when it came out, and I point others to it too.

The thing about Maker's schedule for me is that it's easy to get so into what I'm doing that other things in my life don't get the attention they need.

Having a reminder system helps make sure that doesn't happen.

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

#422

Post by pkilgore » Mon, Aug 11, 2025, 9:07 PM UTC

me, too, then https://godspeedapp.com/, and it finally stuck.

Still very sad about no Android, but it's good enough from my computers that I've managed to work around it with a few cloudflare-worker based mobile affordances.

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

#423

Post by skydhash » Mon, Aug 11, 2025, 9:11 PM UTC

ralferoo wrote: post #316

skydhash wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The only issue with paper is links. Hyperlinks are nice and makes notes (and task list) a true knowledge base.

If there's really a hyperlink I need, I might e-mail it to myself, add it to a text file in an appropriate place in the appropriate project, leave the tab open in my browser, or just do the task now. But IMHO none of that is related to the todo list, which is stuff like "7 · Fred's birthday". It's about remembering things that I need/want to do, and in a way that's tactile and I can reflect on it whether I'm using th…

For me, it’s not about remembering what I have to do. It’s mostly about capturing the context and track what I have done.

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

#424

Post by soorya3 » Mon, Aug 11, 2025, 9:12 PM UTC

Very true. I never got used to any of the todo apps

You just need these three things.

- A Text Editor - A Calendar - A Cloud Sync for easy access

If you need to history just backup to any cloud drives or git or home backup.

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

#425

Post by kown7 » Mon, Aug 11, 2025, 9:15 PM UTC

WhyNotHugo wrote: post #151

Did you try todoman (which I wrote, like a decade ago)? It stores todos in icalendar files, so it’s easy to sync onto a CalDav server and onto your phone.

I like Tasks.org for Android and I think it syncs with CalDAV that comes with my e-mail provider. That should just about do the trick, even with Thunderbird.

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

#426

Post by Otek » Mon, Aug 11, 2025, 9:15 PM UTC

Havoc wrote: post #369

It's challenging. I struggle with the mismatch between work and personal in particular. They run both on different software stack and different cadence. On work side I'm constrained by whatever corporate thingie they give us, and on personal side I prefer selfhost FOSS...so fundamentally incompatible No idea except knowing if I can crack this my life would be better

Personally I like that my work and personal life is being clearly separated. Some device ale work only, some are personal only. Same with software

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

#427

Post by hkdobrev » Mon, Aug 11, 2025, 9:19 PM UTC

I've created a very rudimentary bash tool for extracting todos out of markdown (GFM) files. People might like it and contribute: https://github.com/hkdobrev/notetaker

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

#428

Post by Otek » Mon, Aug 11, 2025, 9:20 PM UTC

AstroBen wrote: post #76

I strongly believe using just a plain text files or overly basic tools makes your life more complicated, not less. I get a tonne of value out of OmniFocus > “But what about mobile?” - The file syncs through Dropbox Yup now you have to handle conflicts, or keep in mind which device you last edited on > I use my calendar for time-specific stuff Cool, the app I use just has a due date field that reminds me. I don't want…

> Kept forgetting to check Things? How does a plain text file solve that?

This. It just doesn’t. My bet is that some people just need to change their tools from time to time. And tbh I think it’s totally fine, no need to explain yourself. Just buy another todo list app and don’t feel bad about it. Or this expensive paper notebook. Or this “dumb phone” that will make you productive. Maybe just don’t try to find a deeper meaning in it or try to convince everyone that you finally solved some big mistery

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

#429

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Aug 11, 2025, 9:20 PM UTC

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

#430

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Aug 11, 2025, 9:23 PM UTC

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