I’ve been using the same OneNote for like 20 years now. It is backed up, synced and available no matter what device I’m on. Hundreds of lists, notes, references, thoughts, all fully searchable and quick to access.
I tried every todo app and ended up with a .txt file
481–490 of 831 posts
Re: I tried every todo app and ended up with a .txt file
#482Google Keep is a nice concept. Text and available on all devices.
Re: I tried every todo app and ended up with a .txt file
#483sigh 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…
Folks are criticizing this as too much or coming from too much anxiety. I might have agreed before owning a home and having kids. But I totally get it. A typical week involves dozens of random tasks like those you mentioned. Then there's the long backlog of stuff that's important but not urgent.
I've used Todoist for the last few years. It's not perfect. But it's been game-changing in terms of reducing anxiety because I never worry that I'm forgetting something.
Like you, I don't know how folks in similar positions manage. I think a lot of people just drop the ball on a lot of stuff or wait for stuff to become suddenly urgent. I don't think that's a terrible approach -- I still drop a lot of balls because there's just too much. I just try to do it more intentionally.
I'm not knocking folks with other systems, text files or otherwise. Do what works for you!
Re: I tried every todo app and ended up with a .txt file
#484Taskwarrior is my go to Software if I'm not currently in the piece of paper mode. Its good for Automatic priotization and by using from terminal close enough to a text file
Re: I tried every todo app and ended up with a .txt file
#485Many years ago, I standardized on Journal in Microsoft Outlook.
Well guess what. Microsoft created Notes and Journal bceame a "legacy app." It was not possible to migrate. The deprecation of the .PST file in Exchange Server left me no way to transfer when I lease-rolled to a new laptop.
Enter Notes. As in, "notes.txt", which is exactly the same idea as todo.txt described here. Works. If this text file ever becomes machine unreadable, file compatibility will be the least of our worries.
Re: I tried every todo app and ended up with a .txt file
#486Earlier quoted context omitted.
> scraps of paper that eventually get spontaneously disposed of Where "spontaneously disposed of" is sometimes abbreviated L-O-S-T, right?
Even so, I feel that much of the point of writing things down in the first place is to put the information into the mind (where the subconscious mind can work with it and do its jobs) and, ultimately, so you won't need to be reminded about it later.
Yeah... that's really weird, I very rarely read what I wrote down on the TODO list ... I just write it there and cross it off later.
Re: I tried every todo app and ended up with a .txt file
#487I have a lot of longer term notes that are just ideas (a.k.a "genius ideas") but written in "to-do" format. I found using different solutions for different notes is the best IMO.
MS OneNote* for all longer term to-dos, or writings I wish to archive.
Paper or notepad.exe for ephemeral to-dos.
: one large synced notebook with folders, sub-folders, and w/e nested levels it offers, but I use search anyway.* *: this can totally be replicated with documents/files, folders, and a git repo. (and maybe some markdown editor)
Re: I tried every todo app and ended up with a .txt file
#488> Todoist: Great until I realized I was gaming the points system instead of doing actual work. Turns out completing “drink water” 8 times a day doesn’t make you productive.
This is such a strange conclusion. Just... stop using the points system? I've been using Todoist for years and I've never intentionally done anything with the points or looked at them. That said, I've learned about myself that checking things off is surprisingly motivating. Having a discrete task, even for a tiny thing, makes it much more likely that I will do it.
If a text file works for you, great! But it's strange for the bar to be "the tool must not have any features I find useless".
Re: I tried every todo app and ended up with a .txt file
#489[dead]
Re: I tried every todo app and ended up with a .txt file
#490Google Keep is a nice concept. Text and available on all devices.
I moved out of keep. It's an HTML backend.