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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

#181

Post by hateful »

I also do the text file thing. I use EditPad Pro. The only additional thing I've done is create syntax coloring in any file named 'tasks-*.txt'.

I added simple things like: - Color anything ending in a ? green, so when looking at a list of notes, so I know where the questions were. - Any line beginning with an all caps word is highlighted (e.g. TODO: ) - Any line ending in a : is highlighted light blue (e.g. title) - Any Line Containing "Error" is red

I do suppose I could be using Markdown, but I've had this going for 20 years now.

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

#182

Post by dctoedt »

scotty79 wrote: post #148
douglee650 wrote: post #99

Then, finally you reach the last layer: a 4" x 6" notepad and pen that are always kept at your desk

I prefer scraps of paper that eventually get spontaneously disposed of, regardless of whether I crossed all of the items from them.

> scraps of paper that eventually get spontaneously disposed of

Where "spontaneously disposed of" is sometimes abbreviated L-O-S-T, right?

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

#183

Post by skydhash »

thewebguyd wrote: post #149
benchly wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's like Rumshpringa for TODO apps. Everyone wants to rebel from the old norms and go do something different, only to end up returning to the reliability, clarity and comfort of a good pen and pocket notebook. Big fan of the Rite-In-Rain notebooks, myself, and Fisher Space Pen's Cap-o-matic.

> Big fan of the Rite-In-Rain notebooks, myself, and Fisher Space Pen's Click-o-matic. I carry this combo everywhere I go. Way less friction than taking out my phone, unlocking, and suffering the horrible experience of typing something on a virtual keyboard. I do enjoy the looks I get from friends and family sometimes, as they all expect me to be high tech everywhere in my life but I'm probably one of the most low-te…

The only productivity I do from my phone is reminder alerts.

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

#184

Post by Lalabadie »

ChromaticPanic wrote: post #171
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…

Too many programmers think they have a unique use case without considering that maybe the existing projects are bloated for a reason. Then they end up just recreating the same bloat.

"Surely I can do it better in a few weeks than all preceding civilizational knowledge" is probably the most popular tech entrepreneur stereotype.

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

#185

Post by uludag »

hiq wrote: post #72
xz18r wrote: post #39

There is a format called todo.txt that works follows very readable syntax (like your own example) and has some minimal bells and whistles if you want it to: http://todotxt.org/ As an alternative: I started using org-mode 5 years ago and have never looked back. This is my workflow ( https://karelvo.com/blog/orgmode ) although I sync it via Git now, and have an iPhone where I use Plain Org ( https://xenodium.com/plain-…

Can you expand on which org-mode features you like for this use case? On the top of my head, among the useful features I'm familiar with, you can: * nest tasks * set deadlines * set priorities * filter ~arbitrarily * have as much content as you want per item (in comparison with todotxt with is one line per item), including non-text like images * have statuses other than todo and done (like waiting) What else do you u…

I too have used org-mode for a while and here are some additional features which may pique your interest:

- agenda views let me create custom pages of tasks with certain states or tags - a robust time tracking system. I use this for my freelancing work - very nice text tables that are programmable - a very customizable capturing system - a huge ecosystem of plugins - a programmable API: I'm currently working on an importer for the DayOne app as well as a fitness tracking package - PDF export with LaTeX. I can use this for printing out my weekly plan for example - in addition to deadlines, a scheduled property for when you intend to start a task - extensive linking system (https://orgmode.org/guide/Hyperlinks.html#External-Links-1) I often have todos linking to places in code

I think that org-mode could use better learning resources. There's pretty much the manual and blog posts by experienced users, neither are especially aimed towards new users.

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

#187

Post by leecarraher »

my slightly next gen todo is a notebook on my remarkable. added features are sharing between devices, and since it's eink its a good paper like alternative to sticky-notes. For me beating procrastination can be more important than organizing many subtasks.

FWIW, i only use this for work todos and differentiate todo with calendar(paper calendar and dry erase board for home, outlook for work calendar)

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

#188

Post by pydry »

skydhash wrote: post #162
brettermeier wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Alerts are most important, that's why paper doesn't work for me. I just write everything in my calender app in my phone.

Taks tracking is different from reminders. There’s actually few things that I want to be reminded of, and they either belongs to a calendar (collaborative items) or a reminder app. The separation is blurry and they can all fits within the agenda concept. As for tasks tracking, it’s all lists. And a daily/weekly/monthly review is enough for me.

They blur into each other enough that it's good to use one app/text file that can do all three.

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

#189

Post by picafrost »

happytoexplain wrote: post #143
picafrost wrote: post #140

To be honest, I have never understood the TODO "industry." Do people really have so many things to do, and is it really that difficult to keep track of them all? I do not know if it's just me but I feel completely alienated by these apps and articles.

>Do people really have so many things to do, and is it really that difficult to keep track of them all? I think you can find the answer to this question by looking at the comment thread of any TODO/notes/task-tracking submission on HN.

That's a fair point - but most of these threads focus on comparing systems rather than discussing whether they are necessary in the first place. I can see how folks with ADHD or similar challenges would benefit from a TODO app (or similar).

I'm more curious about a broader question: at what point does life complexity actually require a formal system versus just mental tracking? Tech people are, for the most part, the only people I encounter actively using and iterating on their TODO solutions, and I am skeptical that in general they lead more complex lives.

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

#190

Post by kkfx »

Me personally I'm very satisfied by org-mode, but the main point is not org-mode itself but Emacs, or an integrated, end-user programmable environment. Org-agenda handle todos, but in the same notes I handle attachments, runnable live code, links to mails/threads, ... because of that and that's the point: we have a single brain, we need systems who are integrated as well.

Not a gazillion of independent apps lacking also unix CLI IPCs (only cut&paste), but a single integrate, moldable one. Modern software have ERPs as best integrated solution, Emacs is the most integrated one still alive and kicking, Smalltalk workstations and LispM was the best from the past.

Maybe in some more decades, a step at a time, we will be back at such evolutive levels...

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