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The to-do list problem

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Re: The to-do list problem

#21

Post by nmcfarl »

Just last night I was thinking that Reminders needed a "remind me at sunset" option to remind me to round up the animals. As it is I have to change the time of that reminder every month.

There are probably a ton of triggers that could be useful. Off the top of my head: time, location, weather, the people you are currently with (4sq checkins), current call, recent texts, or emails. I'm sure a bunch more.

I'm not sure that I'd call this a todo list, but it does sound like a GTD support system.

Re: The to-do list problem

#22

Post by ed209 »

tsahyt wrote: post #6

Slightly off-topic, but never auto-play video (or audio) content on a website. If I want it to be played, I click on it, otherwise it's just annoying.

that's a bit of a sweeping statement. I would agree with you if the autoplayed video has audio or is instructional in some way. In the article I agree it should not auto-play

However, auto-play can be nice in the right setting. Lots of car manufacturers auto-play video as part of the design. Or some product shots like the MackBook page where the laptop opens and spins is nice.

Re: The to-do list problem

#23

Post by dkrich »

I agree that one needs motivation and ability to complete a task. I'm not sure any app or electronic service is going to supply that. If it did, you'd find a lot of people out of work.

As for this quote:

"How about having a reminder showing up when you get an email from a relevant person that can help you accomplish your task, or a reminder showing up when a relevant person is calling [through vox.io of course]."

I think you're falling into the trap that most tool-builders fall into- over-thinking the problem. Most people are pretty simple. That's why we still keep pads of paper and post-it notes next to our $1500 workstations. For a lot of tasks speed and simplicity provide far greater benefit than any expertly-engineered web service ever could. In any case, why would I want a reminder to complete a task if I am getting emailed by somebody related to that task? In that regard I hate to say it, but email will win out over an integrated task list. Why? Because the email itself is serving as your reminder. A secondary service nudging you to complete the task after the email seems superfluous.

Re: The to-do list problem

#24

Post by dkrich »

tsahyt wrote: post #6

Slightly off-topic, but never auto-play video (or audio) content on a website. If I want it to be played, I click on it, otherwise it's just annoying.

I completely disagree. I thought that was pretty cool actually. I rarely view videos embedded in articles unless they autoplay.

Re: The to-do list problem

#25

Post by dpcx »

MatthewPhillips wrote: post #15
roel_v wrote: post #14

Primitive version of GTD. GTD solves the issues raised in this post and more. Many todo apps work with a GTD workflow. I use Toodledo (web app) and Due Today (Android), they sync perfectly. Re-reading the GTD book every 6 months or so helps to be consistent with applying it, because the devil is in thinking 'oh I'm just going to skip this or that task for now', or not being diligent in e.g. assigning contexts. For GT…

I'm really glad that this works for you, but it sounds like hell.

It is. But once you slog through hell long enough, it's not so bad anymore.

Re: The to-do list problem

#26

Post by dkrich »

bluetidepro wrote: post #20
tsahyt wrote: post #6

Slightly off-topic, but never auto-play video (or audio) content on a website. If I want it to be played, I click on it, otherwise it's just annoying.

I'm glad someone beat me to this. This is the first thing I thought when I went to the post. It soured my opinion of the whole article before I even read it because of that small usability mistake.

"It soured my opinion of the whole article before I even read it"

Seriously? The fact that an embedded video started playing soured your opinion of the article? Maybe you guys should chill out a bit. Sometimes comments like this lead me to believe the author wants recognition at somebody else's expense.

Re: The to-do list problem

#27

Post by diggan »

tsahyt wrote: post #6

Slightly off-topic, but never auto-play video (or audio) content on a website. If I want it to be played, I click on it, otherwise it's just annoying.

Agree. Since I tend to skimread the frontpage and open all links I think is interesting in new tabs, autoplay leads to a closed tab without even looking.

Re: The to-do list problem

#28

Post by bluetidepro »

dkrich wrote: post #26
bluetidepro wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm glad someone beat me to this. This is the first thing I thought when I went to the post. It soured my opinion of the whole article before I even read it because of that small usability mistake.

"It soured my opinion of the whole article before I even read it" Seriously? The fact that an embedded video started playing soured your opinion of the article? Maybe you guys should chill out a bit. Sometimes comments like this lead me to believe the author wants recognition at somebody else's expense.

I'm not saying I didn't read the article because of it but it does just start the article off with a bit of annoyance. You can't argue that anywhere you enjoy going in the online or physical world is determined by emotional responses.

Imagine when you got to a restaurant that has music annoying loud. You may still enjoy the dinner food, but you had a bad experience eating the good food because you were annoyed with the music. That scenario similar to this article. You could still enjoy the article content but you were annoyed because of the bad experience. And after so many of those bad experiences you may just think "you know what, I'd rather eat somewhere not as good just because I won't be annoyed by loud music."

If you don't think that small things like this (that can easily add up over time) do change how your viewers see your site/company (regardless of the content), then you need to think again.

However, I could be wrong. I mean, everyone did love the animated images, colors, and sounds on GeoCities which lead to their industry takeover and incredible success. ;)

Re: The to-do list problem

#29

Post by nateberkopec »

Swizec wrote: post #2

> To build an intelligent to-do list it will take more than polished pixels, so please start putting more intelligence in your to-do tools. Your users will be thankful and will hopefully have much shorter to-do lists. After trying many things, I have now switched to Trello. Using it I've become convinced that "intelligent to-do lists" are a fallacy, what we need are dumb todo lists. Something not much smarter than a…

textphile.net may be up your alley

Re: The to-do list problem

#30

Post by dkrich »

bluetidepro wrote: post #28
dkrich wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"It soured my opinion of the whole article before I even read it" Seriously? The fact that an embedded video started playing soured your opinion of the article? Maybe you guys should chill out a bit. Sometimes comments like this lead me to believe the author wants recognition at somebody else's expense.

I'm not saying I didn't read the article because of it but it does just start the article off with a bit of annoyance. You can't argue that anywhere you enjoy going in the online or physical world is determined by emotional responses. Imagine when you got to a restaurant that has music annoying loud. You may still enjoy the dinner food, but you had a bad experience eating the good food because you were annoyed with t…

"However, I could be wrong. I mean, everyone did love the animated images, colors, and sounds on GeoCities which lead to their industry takeover and incredible success."

Let's not just assume that all annoyances are created equal. One is an integrally bad user experience, the only way out of which is to stop using the service wholesale. The other amounts to mousing-over a large area of the screen and clicking a button.

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