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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

#701

Post by popoflojo »

Aurornis wrote: post #253
pancakemouse wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What this shows to me, as someone who has committed some of the unholy crimes above, is that people want their system, however esoteric, to come naturally to them. I think reading docs, understanding a new system which someone else has designed, and fitting one's brain into _their_ organisational structure is the hard part. Harder than designing one's own system. It's the reason many don't stick with an off-the-shelf…

> What this shows to me, as someone who has committed some of the unholy crimes above, is that people want their system, however esoteric, to come naturally to them I think this is a vocal minority. Outside of internet comment sections, most everyone I know doesn’t care that much about their todo list software. The most productive people I ever worked with all had really minimal productivity software. For one person…

The real takeaway from your story is that it's easy to stay on task when you're interested in the task. Your coworker just didn't care about his work. But if his work was creating a productivity tool then he'd probably love his work and be productive.

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

#702

Post by billfruit »

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…

I think using org mode is way overkill. If someone wants to do pros tastination dressed up as emacs-gardening, it may be a good option.

The best todo app ideally should be a smartphone app, which you'd have always with you. I think Microsoft Todo is a good choice for Android. It is mostly functional, free of cost and does not have any ads.

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

#703

Post by bojle »

I found todo apps to be clunky and bloated. I decided to use github issues (of a private repository) as my notes. I even made a little script around it (via gh-cli) to edit it from the command line [1]. I don't update TODO very often from my phone, but in case I want to, I use the Github mobile app. I am finally content with this solution (although I don't know for how long).

[1] https://github.com/bojle/note.py

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

#705

Post by kenanfyi »

I tried plain-text task management too since I use plain-text formats for various things in my life anyway, but I could not get it working as good as a to-do app. My final outcomes are: - capturing tasks/todos on the go is a huge problem with plain-text. - never syncs properly. - proprietary apps (unfortunately) works out of the box and without a hassle or personal infrastructure concerns. - being able to capture using a web browser makes things very easy because sometimes you are not even allowed to install some kind of syncing solution to company PCs.

Maybe I'm dumb but another thing I never understand is how the hell you think org-mode is the best way to do this? An org document is one of the worst things I have seen in my life in terms of readability. How do you read this and properly interact with that mess? I am really eager to understand...

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

#706

Post by Kuyawa »

I'll share with the world my own txt todo list:

  ! important thing to do
  ~ something already started but not finished
  - thing to do
  - another thing to do
  x something done
  x already done
  ? needs more thought
Been using it for the past 35 years, once I start a project I create a todo.txt file and start adding items, create logo, create database, etc

* Don't forget to add your todo.txt to .gitignore

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

#709

Post by brainlessdev »

Kuyawa wrote: post #706

I'll share with the world my own txt todo list: ! important thing to do ~ something already started but not finished - thing to do - another thing to do x something done x already done ? needs more thought Been using it for the past 35 years, once I start a project I create a todo.txt file and start adding items, create logo, create database, etc * Don't forget to add your todo.txt to .gitignore

  - add todo.txt to global gitignore
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