Ask HN: How do you structure your to-do lists?
I'm curiuous on how you structure your to-do lists. For the past months I've been keeping two lists - high priority and low priority - but I'm still struggling since some tasks are larger and take more time vs. others that are completed quickly.
16 comments
I use Things[0]. My journey looks like Emacs Org Mode -> Omnifocus -> Journaling mode (Notion, Craft) -> Things, and I am happy with the current setup. Things supports Someday/Anytime flows for easy reviews, recently they implemented markdown support for notes within tasks (including subtasks), and I like the concept of Deadlines.
- Inbox is a regular trash bin for all the incoming things (I review them once in 2-3 days)
- Today list of tasks I have to accomplish today with strict deadlines. When I finish with the Today list, I scan the Upcoming view for something I can work on in advance and then switch to the Anytime list (I use tags as a context switcher, like @: Work, Personal, Hobby) to pick up the next one
- Areas are a helpful feature too where I store work or personal related projects. It is worth mentioning that Things hides Someday (postponed) tasks and projects from the overview by default, and it helps to stay focused.
- For example, I have a "Hobbies" area with projects like "Blogging", "Watching List", or "FFXIV".
In the morning, I plan my day. Validate the tasks assigned for Today, scan the active projects for open tasks and check the agenda. When I have the scope for today, I try to break down large tasks into smaller ones (for two reasons, it is easier to overcome all the distractions during the day with smaller tasks and to think about the scope once again).
It depends on the job, but priorities never work for me. They can change in an eye blink and sometimes give you a false feeling of control (you marked something as a high priority a month ago, and it bothers you. But the circumstances have changed, and now you have a dilemma: convince yourself that it is not necessary anymore and you made a mistake or blindly follow the priority tag. Both options are bad, by the way). If I need prioritisation, I am overwhelmed with projects and try to solve this problem first. Sometimes, I have many parallel projects that require prioritisation, that's true, but even in such cases, I prioritise weekly (usually, Monday's evening when it is more or less clear how the week goes).
Ah, and yes, the UX of the application is excellent. I can do everything with keyboard shortcuts; they use the "modal editing" paradigm, which allows features like "type to search" (you can start typing anywhere, and it instantly brings the search interface); etc.
[0] https://culturedcode.com/things/
- Inbox is a regular trash bin for all the incoming things (I review them once in 2-3 days)
- Today list of tasks I have to accomplish today with strict deadlines. When I finish with the Today list, I scan the Upcoming view for something I can work on in advance and then switch to the Anytime list (I use tags as a context switcher, like @: Work, Personal, Hobby) to pick up the next one
- Areas are a helpful feature too where I store work or personal related projects. It is worth mentioning that Things hides Someday (postponed) tasks and projects from the overview by default, and it helps to stay focused.
- For example, I have a "Hobbies" area with projects like "Blogging", "Watching List", or "FFXIV".
In the morning, I plan my day. Validate the tasks assigned for Today, scan the active projects for open tasks and check the agenda. When I have the scope for today, I try to break down large tasks into smaller ones (for two reasons, it is easier to overcome all the distractions during the day with smaller tasks and to think about the scope once again).
It depends on the job, but priorities never work for me. They can change in an eye blink and sometimes give you a false feeling of control (you marked something as a high priority a month ago, and it bothers you. But the circumstances have changed, and now you have a dilemma: convince yourself that it is not necessary anymore and you made a mistake or blindly follow the priority tag. Both options are bad, by the way). If I need prioritisation, I am overwhelmed with projects and try to solve this problem first. Sometimes, I have many parallel projects that require prioritisation, that's true, but even in such cases, I prioritise weekly (usually, Monday's evening when it is more or less clear how the week goes).
Ah, and yes, the UX of the application is excellent. I can do everything with keyboard shortcuts; they use the "modal editing" paradigm, which allows features like "type to search" (you can start typing anywhere, and it instantly brings the search interface); etc.
[0] https://culturedcode.com/things/
I love Things and made the switch from Todoist a few days ago. However, I really wish they offered more intuitive and robust natural language recognition of dates / times. Todoists' capture of fairly complex inputs (e.g. "Do X every other day starting Monday") saves quite a bit of time.
I use Apple Reminders. I have a few lists:
- To do: Tasks I’ve decided to do some day. They are specific and actionable. They may or may not have a due date. These are things like filing taxes or forms, selling an appliance I don’t need anymore, etc.
- Maybe: This is where I dump anything I may or may not want to do, so I don’t forget. They could be tasks, ideas, desires, anything.
- Goals: This list contains 2-3 goals I’m working towards. Like learning a language, or growing my business. These are not tasks, but high level reminders.
- Habits: This list contains 5-10 things I want to do every day. Such as workout, swim, eat less oil, etc. these are not tasks, but high level reminders.
- Project-specific lists: These are multi-step projects I’m working on. Projects have a specific due date and deliverable, but usually multiple reminders or tasks I want to write down.
Each morning I review my lists to commit to 1-2 tasks I will accomplish for the day. Each week I review the lists and make adjustments, such as removing things from “Maybe” I don’t want to do, etc.
- To do: Tasks I’ve decided to do some day. They are specific and actionable. They may or may not have a due date. These are things like filing taxes or forms, selling an appliance I don’t need anymore, etc.
- Maybe: This is where I dump anything I may or may not want to do, so I don’t forget. They could be tasks, ideas, desires, anything.
- Goals: This list contains 2-3 goals I’m working towards. Like learning a language, or growing my business. These are not tasks, but high level reminders.
- Habits: This list contains 5-10 things I want to do every day. Such as workout, swim, eat less oil, etc. these are not tasks, but high level reminders.
- Project-specific lists: These are multi-step projects I’m working on. Projects have a specific due date and deliverable, but usually multiple reminders or tasks I want to write down.
Each morning I review my lists to commit to 1-2 tasks I will accomplish for the day. Each week I review the lists and make adjustments, such as removing things from “Maybe” I don’t want to do, etc.
A bullet journal style thing. I have a list of goals for the year that I rewrite on the top of ever page (page a day).
Then I have a break down of tasks that will bring those goals to life.
From there I make my daily todo-list. It's paper based, and I've been doing it for about 10 years.
I built a habit to do it while I have my morning coffee, and I review the list a few times a day.
Then I have a break down of tasks that will bring those goals to life.
From there I make my daily todo-list. It's paper based, and I've been doing it for about 10 years.
I built a habit to do it while I have my morning coffee, and I review the list a few times a day.
This is interesting. Can I ask approx how many yearly goals you rewrite each day?
For me personally what I found is having too much to write or set up at the start of the day leads to my abandoning of that attempted plan (ie, why I gave up on my bullet journal attempt last year).
For me personally what I found is having too much to write or set up at the start of the day leads to my abandoning of that attempted plan (ie, why I gave up on my bullet journal attempt last year).
I tried many software tools, but none satisfied me.
Nowadays I use pen and paper: I write down at most 5 or so items I need to work on. At most 5 so that I can remember them later on. Then immediately after I write them down, I throw the paper to the bin. The whole point of writing my list down is that writing has a different effect on me than just thinking.
Nowadays I use pen and paper: I write down at most 5 or so items I need to work on. At most 5 so that I can remember them later on. Then immediately after I write them down, I throw the paper to the bin. The whole point of writing my list down is that writing has a different effect on me than just thinking.
- My to do list lives in a single text file.
- There is a dashed line below the items that have been completed.
-----------------------------------------------
- Below that line are the remaining tasks
- in the order I want to tackle them.
- I spend a lot of time looking at these items.
- I keep reordering the items while trying to think of ways to solve them.
- When a task is finished, it moves up above the line.
- Over time, the line is slowly bubbling down.
- Yet, the list below keeps growing.
- There is a dashed line below the items that have been completed.
-----------------------------------------------
- Below that line are the remaining tasks
- in the order I want to tackle them.
- I spend a lot of time looking at these items.
- I keep reordering the items while trying to think of ways to solve them.
- When a task is finished, it moves up above the line.
- Over time, the line is slowly bubbling down.
- Yet, the list below keeps growing.
[deleted]
I keep two lists but organized slightly different:
- a global todo with things ordered by topic (no particular order of importance) which I go over regularly
- a daily Todo which consists of items I've 'checked out' for the day, which is the things I want to get done today - I try to keep the daily Todo doable by factoring in the time things will take. I also try to keep this daily todo achievable and not overly optimistic
Every morning I'll define my daily todo and merge back to the global one at the end of the day - I can always adjust on the fly the daily todo (even if I try to avoid that, barring emergencies) or can also always add stuff for later to the global one of course as things pop up
- a global todo with things ordered by topic (no particular order of importance) which I go over regularly
- a daily Todo which consists of items I've 'checked out' for the day, which is the things I want to get done today - I try to keep the daily Todo doable by factoring in the time things will take. I also try to keep this daily todo achievable and not overly optimistic
Every morning I'll define my daily todo and merge back to the global one at the end of the day - I can always adjust on the fly the daily todo (even if I try to avoid that, barring emergencies) or can also always add stuff for later to the global one of course as things pop up
That's neat! Do you use a specific tool/app? Or is it just plaintext is even read paper?
The global Todo is actually two 'lists': email-based todo (managed with this system: https://dansilvestre.com/gtd-gmail/amp/#, slightly tweaked), and a OneNote page inside my main OneNote notebook for everything not coming from an email.
The daily Todo tends to be paper, as there's something really satisfying about physically checking off items through the day to complete the list.
I work across a couple of things, I found using one list or simpler approaches ultimately didn't suit me, so I built up an approach that works well for for me.
I have 4 main systems:
1. Personal Todos
- - I use a Omnifocus[0] like webapp I built for myself
- - Every item has a date (even if I have to push it back when time comes)
- - Certain ongoing items will have a link to a Roam[1] page with more details (which is great as can collapse blocks of text, embed files, etc)
- - I have a "Backlog"/"Some Day" list of items I want/need to do, but don't have a clear date yet, I review this once a week
- - This system provides my day plan
2. Recurring Daily & Weekly Habits
- - I use Conjure[2] (disclaimer I've built this)
- - This includes habits such as daily planning, weekly planning with 'Backlog' review on Mondays, or weekend planning on Wednesdays
3. Per Project Task System
- - Each project has it's own Linear or Trello project/board
- - I keep a separation between Personal and Work/Project tasks, but sometimes will reference Work items in my Personal tasks if important
4. Comms List
- - I keep a checklist of various comms channels (email, slack, whatsapp, twitter, etc) that I periodically work through 2 - 4 times a day, to ensure I didn't miss anything, or can close that 'loop' for a few hours
I generally triage and balance time across items based on expectations I've set with others and my own goals. I use time tracking (in Conjure) and blocking to understand if I'll deliver on time, and reprioritize accordingly.
Lot of the above is influenced by the book "Getting Things Done".
[0] https://www.omnigroup.com/omnifocus/ [1] https://roamresearch.com/ [2] https://conjure.so
1. Personal Todos
- - I use a Omnifocus[0] like webapp I built for myself
- - Every item has a date (even if I have to push it back when time comes)
- - Certain ongoing items will have a link to a Roam[1] page with more details (which is great as can collapse blocks of text, embed files, etc)
- - I have a "Backlog"/"Some Day" list of items I want/need to do, but don't have a clear date yet, I review this once a week
- - This system provides my day plan
2. Recurring Daily & Weekly Habits
- - I use Conjure[2] (disclaimer I've built this)
- - This includes habits such as daily planning, weekly planning with 'Backlog' review on Mondays, or weekend planning on Wednesdays
3. Per Project Task System
- - Each project has it's own Linear or Trello project/board
- - I keep a separation between Personal and Work/Project tasks, but sometimes will reference Work items in my Personal tasks if important
4. Comms List
- - I keep a checklist of various comms channels (email, slack, whatsapp, twitter, etc) that I periodically work through 2 - 4 times a day, to ensure I didn't miss anything, or can close that 'loop' for a few hours
I generally triage and balance time across items based on expectations I've set with others and my own goals. I use time tracking (in Conjure) and blocking to understand if I'll deliver on time, and reprioritize accordingly.
Lot of the above is influenced by the book "Getting Things Done".
[0] https://www.omnigroup.com/omnifocus/ [1] https://roamresearch.com/ [2] https://conjure.so
I use Todoist for lists in general, but for my daily todo list I increasingly use Notability, a paper note app for the iPad.
This lets me break from a programmed structure and add scribbles, colours and diagrams.
Every night, I write the next day's todo list. I just amend the bottom of the page, and see what's left over from today. Some tasks get moved to the next day and others get ignored.
This follows the paper system I kept at my old job: one page per day, on line per task. Every day, I decide what to do with the previous day's tasks. It forces you to acknowledge delays and blockers.
This lets me break from a programmed structure and add scribbles, colours and diagrams.
Every night, I write the next day's todo list. I just amend the bottom of the page, and see what's left over from today. Some tasks get moved to the next day and others get ignored.
This follows the paper system I kept at my old job: one page per day, on line per task. Every day, I decide what to do with the previous day's tasks. It forces you to acknowledge delays and blockers.
I use Trello with Kanban style columns: to-do (sort of my backlog), pending (waiting on someone else or other external factor), in progress and done. I try to keep to cards in some order of priority.
I've used a single Notion doc with toggles for the months, weeks, and days. I'm keeping it as a single doc to track my progress for the year.
- things to do (some with a by-date, some without)
- things to do today
- things to maybe do someday
- inbox for ideas and thoughts (some of these get sorted into todos)
- things to do today
- things to maybe do someday
- inbox for ideas and thoughts (some of these get sorted into todos)