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Is there such a thing as a sustainable todo system?

ryanwaggoner.com

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

#31

Post by Figs »

I use a whiteboard in my room. I write down the things I have to get done over the next week or so, and erase them when I finish them. I can't forget about it, or misplace it, or forget my login since it's right in front of my bed. I don't write every little task down, but rather general things like "CS Assignment #2", "Time Card", "Call " and due dates, if relevant.

A more extended version, if you want to take the time to do it, could include sending yourself an email at the end of the week with what you did, what you plan to do, and your problems. That way you can keep track of what you've accomplished, and your plans. It's pretty helpful if you need to go back and figure out when you did something or where your time's going.

But if you're having trouble with planners and stuff already, just try using a whiteboard.

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

#32

Post by runjake »

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)…

The GTD book is a boring read, but I do refer to it occasionally.

I mostly grokked the process from Allen's flow chart that's around the web, and the Wikipedia article. I stay pretty close to the true GTD way.

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

#33

Post by jorleif »

philwelch wrote: post #7

In GTD, anything that requires more than 1 action is a project, so implementing a minor feature for a client that takes an hour might actually be a project, because it has multiple steps. When I say “high-level project”, I mean collections of GTD-projects around a related node, like building a web application for a client, or learning iOS. This "feature" of GTD is what finally got me off of it after years as a religi…

I've had this experience as well doing research. GTD is great for doing many small tasks that are hard to remember, but I always seem to have tasks that are hard to break up. Something like "Make machine learning method X work for data Y". Sure there are lots of mechanical things like importing/exporting data that are easily tracked GTD style, but then there is the core problem, that is very difficult to break up ahead of time.

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

#34

Post by jorleif »

nzjames wrote: post #18

My issue with GTD and trying to use a todo system is there seems to be an assumption that you are able to quantify the time/effort to do each of your daily tasks. Developing software and solving problems all day I can't often gauge by looking at a list how long different tasks are going to take or how much they'll make my head hurt. I can do the straight forward things quickly, I try to stay on top of things I need t…

Exactly, there would need to be something like GTD for problem-solving. E.g. similar to the two-minute rule, one would have something like the two hour rule: "If you can't solve the core problem in two hours, ask someone for help".

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

#35

Post by jorleif »

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?

I think it has to do with more work being "creative", in the Richard Florida sense, of being problem-solving oriented. It is much easier to estimate the time needing to complete tasks such as "milk the cows" or "build a shed", because 1) You do them repeatedly and can learn, and 2) The bottleneck is not thinking, but the manual labor, or the time it takes to use a given machine.

I might be irrational, but I always estimate problem solving time to be much smaller than what will actually be needed. Even afterwards, I will usually consider much of the problem solving time as time wasted, because I should have been able to do the task much faster.

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

#37

Post by ChristianMarks »

I use a hosts file of ad site domains aliased to localhost. A web server on my machine redirects the default page at localhost to my to-do list on http://rememberthemilk.com. In addition, I use OpenDNS to block distracting sites, and redirect block.opendns.com to localhost, which is then redirected to my to-do list.

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

#39

Post by toast76 »

prawn wrote: post #9
toast76 wrote: post #2

This is a really interesting problem. Here is my solution: I've resorted to sticky notes placed semi-organised on my wall next to my computer. They're roughly organised by priority, and roughly by project. There are a few reasons why this system is awesome: 1. High priority tasks cannot be easily "shifted down" to put something else above them. This forces me to deal with oldest first. 2. The only way to make somethi…

Number 3 is awesome. (Half seriously) you should pad out your approach, make it an ebook and try selling it to people. It's novel enough that it just might work.

I'll write it if you promise to buy it :P

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

#40

Post by AndrewS »

I've tried a number of methods (mostly for work-related todos) and nothing really worked perfectly. I find that I go through phases of needing a list versus doing what is on my mind. Each phase can last a week or a month.

My solution is to use a spreadsheet like Excel (or your choice of GoogleDocs, OpenOffice or other equivalent). I put a cross next to items as I complete them. When I lose interest in my list it tends to atrophy, but at least my tasks and accomplishments are still recorded.

If I come back to my spreadsheet after an extended break and it has atrophied substantially (as in I've completed many tasks without marking them off, priorities have moved away from uncompleted tasks to new unrecorded tasks etc), I simply create a new page and copy across old tasks that I still need to do.

It seems to work quite well for me; it keeps a record of what I've been up to and what I need to do (when I need it to), and works somewhat like agile development iterations without me worrying too much about whether I'm doing it 'correctly'.

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