Is there such a thing as a sustainable todo system? • Hacker News Board

Re: Is there such a thing as a sustainable todo system?

#21

Post by nimms » Wed, Oct 27, 2010, 4:29 AM UTC

tarmstrong wrote: post #16

nimms wrote: post #12

I think the author is right about us taking too much on. It seems in this day and age, any extra time that comes from an increase in productivity is immediately filled with another task, which brings with it an increase in stress, and the first things to suffer are your ancillary tasks...like keeping todo lists.

What about "this day and age" is causing poor time management?

taking too much on due to technology allowing us to do more, getting stressed with it, not being able to stick to time management system.

Re: Is there such a thing as a sustainable todo system?

#22

Post by dgant » Wed, Oct 27, 2010, 4:42 AM UTC

I've been using Gmail Tasks for about a year now. Its advantages? * I'll always have it open * I can't help but see it many times per day * It syncs automatically

Re: Is there such a thing as a sustainable todo system?

#23

Post by robchez » Wed, Oct 27, 2010, 4:56 AM UTC

I have used nearly every todo system on the planet, but the best and easiest for me is the good old todo.txt

1) Place todo.txt into your dropbox folder. 2) Create a shortcut on your taskbar to the file. 3) Set the file to open on startup.

Re: Is there such a thing as a sustainable todo system?

#24

Post by stretchwithme » Wed, Oct 27, 2010, 5:09 AM UTC

What all these systems lack is an element of responsibility to another person. When a human calls me to remind me of something, I take it a lot more seriously than I do a computer or something written on a piece of paper.

What if a system combined the best elements of an automated system with some human responsibility? What if all of your reminders are text messages from human experts on the type of task you need to complete? And your replies actually go back to that person and they are notified of your failures to reply as well.

People really need help in breaking down goals in the smallest possible tasks, the approach GTD really encourages. That should be a strong element and human experts can help with this too.

And your experts can be anywhere in the world these days. Combine GTD and the Four Hour Work Week.

Re: Is there such a thing as a sustainable todo system?

#25

Post by eru » Wed, Oct 27, 2010, 5:31 AM UTC

chime wrote: post #19

runjake wrote: post #15

I use Notational Velocity ( http://notational.net ) and a single text note within it (I get to it by typing "todo"). I have sections for "this week", "next week", "this month", "next month", and "someday". If I weren't using NV, I'd use Notepad.exe or TextMate or TextEdit. I wouldn't use anything more complex than those. I adjust things on my (multiple times a) weekly review. Stuff that needs to be done on a specific…

I created http://untodos.com last year with similar groupings (today/soon/whenever). I used it for about a year but stopping using it because adding/removing tasks individually was too much work and I much preferred managing nested todo lists in a text-editor with code-collapse features (so I could hide entire sublists). Earlier this year I created http://bulletxt.com (text-editor like todo/outline app with collapse)…

I've been using untodos. It's nice. Thanks for creating untodos.

I also just got GTD, but the book. It seems quite sensible so far.

Re: Is there such a thing as a sustainable todo system?

#26

Post by eru » Wed, Oct 27, 2010, 5:31 AM UTC

jfb wrote: post #4

I know intellectually that people actually do good stuff with OmniFocus, but to me the point of keeping a to do list is to reduce friction. And OmniFocus seems about as bristly and rough a program as I've ever seen. I haven't looked at it in a while, so maybe it's gotten better, or maybe one really has to have bought into in the whole GTD mindset to grok it, but even after a week of trying to come to grips with it, I…

You can do GTD with org-mode, I heard.

Re: Is there such a thing as a sustainable todo system?

#27

Post by aiurtourist » Wed, Oct 27, 2010, 5:35 AM UTC

Hiveminder (http://www.hiveminder.com) is about the only thing I _can_ use anymore. It's killer feature is its nerd-friendly Braindump syntax for creating tasks — (Need to keep in contact with Paul? -> ping Paul [repeat 1 month] [hide 1 month]). Use as little or as many of the features you need — assigning tasks to people, the IM interface, command-line client, one of it's many APIs, task hiding, repeating, depedent tasks, groups, etc.

GTD is overkill. Just do a braindump with Braindump.

Re: Is there such a thing as a sustainable todo system?

#28

Post by seancron » Wed, Oct 27, 2010, 5:40 AM UTC

robchez wrote: post #23

I have used nearly every todo system on the planet, but the best and easiest for me is the good old todo.txt 1) Place todo.txt into your dropbox folder. 2) Create a shortcut on your taskbar to the file. 3) Set the file to open on startup.

And if you're looking for a command line tool to help manage your todo.txt, especially when if it's a large list, take at http://ginatrapani.github.com/todo.txt-cli/

Re: Is there such a thing as a sustainable todo system?

#29

Post by peter_severin » Wed, Oct 27, 2010, 5:42 AM UTC

I use Google Tasks. I use it both from my PC and my phone. I tried many solutions before and this is the one that worked the longest for me.

Re: Is there such a thing as a sustainable todo system?

#30

Post by peter_severin » Wed, Oct 27, 2010, 5:45 AM UTC

feral wrote: post #11

I just use Google Tasks, and have done so successfully for well over a year. The feature set is minimal, but improves occasionally. Its very fast to navigate around with the keyboard shortcuts, and it supports multiple lists. I tend to make long and short term lists in several categories (work, personal, hobby, reading). Most importantly, and I cannot stress this enough - it is always available to me. It doesn't go m…

This