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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

#641

Post by kgeist »

I've been using simple text files too, for 7 years now.

Except I create a new file for each new day, to have peace of mind (as opposed to having a million-line-long file). Instead of Ctrl+F, I use grep. The format is Markdown.

My typical TODO file has 3 sections: TODO, Pending, and DONE. If something is done for the day, I move it to the DONE section. When I create a new file for a new day, I copy over everything except the DONE section. The Pending section is for something I can't act on immediately (say, waiting for a coworker's response). I look there less often.

Every morning I also re-prioritize the items in the TODO section.

The only problem is that if I'm away from the work computer, I have to add items in a separate app on the phone (Notepad Free) and then manually copy them to the PC.

This system is something I naturally came to over those 7 years via trial and error, something that works well for me. I had other formats that didn't catch on.

Just my two cents.

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

#642

Post by lelanthran »

dngray wrote: post #574
lelanthran wrote: post #331

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> As a vim user, this is kind of what I have come to expect from emacs users. I'm a vim user, with two exceptions: 1. SLIME 2. Org mode There's a vim plugin for org mode that I used to use, but TBH, Emacs excels at org mode.

> There's a vim plugin for org mode that I used to use, but TBH, Emacs excels at org mode. Which one did you use? I use https://nvim-orgmode.github.io/ and am happy with it, it's fairly modern written as a lua script. I did see an older one https://github.com/jceb/vim-orgmode but i don't think that's maintained anymore.

Probably the one that is not maintained anymore. I stopped using the plugin in 2018 or thereabouts.

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

#643

Post by sgt »

alankarmisra wrote: post #239

Same. I use Apple Notes. I have a few notes pinned (regular work, creative work, self-education, travel, chores). I write tasks. Break them up into small tasks with indents. Pick a task from the pool and execute. "Regular Work" tasks get priority. But if I'm not feeling it, I move to the other ones. Once I finish a task, I delete it/replace it with next steps. Nothing fancy. No formatting except for indentation. Been…

Same as well, Apple Notes. It works really great. I've also fully adopted the smart notes now with tags so that I can more easily organize stuff. I give the folders names with emojis to make it a bit more "fun".

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

#644

Post by csvm »

mock-possum wrote: post #584
conductr wrote: post #570

At work, I use my calendar. At home, I have a wife. It's a joke but there's a lot of truth to it. She maintains our social calendar (which is mostly our kids social calendar and we tag along tbh) and I just ask what's happening tomorrow each night. For anything she's not telling me where to be, I have a Post It or just remember it. If there's something I want to do, I make sure she pencils it in well in advance or I…

That… sounds kind of fucked up. You’re saying you have an unpaid secretary? Surely there’s a better way you could present this?

This type of edgy Gen-Z sarcasm is turning HN into Reddit. Please don't bring it here.

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

#648

Post by rambambram »

makapuf wrote: post #237
rambambram wrote: post #230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not so fast my dear, just this year I finally adopted the default home-directory structure of my linux distro (Document, Pictures, Music, Video, etc.) in my workflow. I'm not ready for more big obvious changes like this. ;)

Am i the only one to generally find those directories getting in the way ? I have very few videos or music, or even images worth storing as images and not related to other documents. Downloads and documents might be useful but then, documents is almost everything that is not online so why not put it in $HOME. And I don't like capitalized folders but that's me.

I 'hated' this too for a long time, but I finally gave in. It now also matches my backup workflow perfectly. And now I don't have to tweak that much after installing a new distro. Sometimes my tools have to adapt to me, sometimes I adapt a little to my tools.

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

#649

Post by helloworlddd »

aidenn0 wrote: post #200
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.

What I have: Work projects: typically on the order of a dozen House projects: Probably over 20 distinct chores over the course of a week, plus currently two maintenance things that I can't do myself and have to call people repeatedly because 90% of contractors just don't show up unless you remind them to. Kids: most things can be handled immediately (e.g. sign a form), but there are always at least half-a-dozen thing…

You have too many things on the go at once. Do less at work, delegate all your chores to your wife, and send the kids to boriding school. Problem solved.

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

#650

Post by hs586 »

I have (re)discovered paper todo-lists, but not in a notebook but just a single A6 paper that I keep in my pocket the whole day.

Since it's always in my pocket, I see it spontaneously during the day, and as a result, I manage to focus on it more. Have tried apps, but the fact I had to click the app would make me easily forget it, and get distracted on other things on the phone.

I look at it every evening and write the one for the next day, and have the last few lying around near my bed. As one of the other comments mentioned, this ritual may be more important than the medium but I find keeping a ritual with paper has been easier.

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