Ask HN: What’s your favorite tool for planning your day?
125 comments
A simple A4 piece of paper:
My "master" Todo list in a simple text file.
+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| Mon.| Thu.| Todo|
| | | |
| | | |
+-------------+-------------+ |
| Tue.| Fri.| |
| | | |
| | | |
+-------------+-------------+ |
| Wen.| Sat.| |
| +-------------+ |
| | Sun.| |
+-------------+-------------+-------------+
My "master" Todo list in a simple text file.
I also, after having used all the systems out there, keep coming back to paper.
Specifically dotted paper is a good balance of structure and freedom.
justan A4 dot grid pad: 120 Dotted Notebook Pages (5mm dot matrix) - A4 (8.27" x 11.69") Green https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08TQ7DSLY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_gl...
Specifically dotted paper is a good balance of structure and freedom.
justan A4 dot grid pad: 120 Dotted Notebook Pages (5mm dot matrix) - A4 (8.27" x 11.69") Green https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08TQ7DSLY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_gl...
I use this handy website if I need some grid paper in a pinch: http://www.gridzzly.com/
I love seyes (french ruled) paper.
I you don't have it at hand (life happens), there is this file in the wikipedia to print on demand:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Page_blanche_A5_reglure_S...
I you don't have it at hand (life happens), there is this file in the wikipedia to print on demand:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Page_blanche_A5_reglure_S...
I also prefer a paper approach. I use a Hobonichi Techo in a leather cover to plan what I need to do, then supplement with phone reminders. Works well for where I am at in life.
I do too. Slightly different template:
Left half of page: "work stuff." Right half of page "personal stuff." Bottom two inches of page: "long term goals for the week."
I use one sheet per week, adding bullet points to the relevant column. I created a template for printing on the office printer, then realized it was ecofriendlier to just recycle one-sided scrap paper (every office had tons of it), and draw my own lines. I use the To-Do app for tracking things from week to week, but when I put down my coffee cup and set down in front of my computer, thinking about what needs to get done, the notebook/pen combo somehow works best for me.
Edit: exchanged diagram for text since the diagram got mangled.
Left half of page: "work stuff." Right half of page "personal stuff." Bottom two inches of page: "long term goals for the week."
I use one sheet per week, adding bullet points to the relevant column. I created a template for printing on the office printer, then realized it was ecofriendlier to just recycle one-sided scrap paper (every office had tons of it), and draw my own lines. I use the To-Do app for tracking things from week to week, but when I put down my coffee cup and set down in front of my computer, thinking about what needs to get done, the notebook/pen combo somehow works best for me.
Edit: exchanged diagram for text since the diagram got mangled.
I read a comment somewhere in hacker news about a guy managing their daily planning on a locally saved plain text file. I started doing it and _loved_ it. But after a while I was missing some of that nice WYSIWYG UI interface. I couldn't find an existing tool which allows me to continue to use that local text file and also have a nice pretty interface.
One thing led to another and I ended up scratching my own itch by creating a web app [1] which lets you edit a locally saved text file. It is a simple tool with some niceties of tabbed browsing, `#tags` and `[[backlinks]]`.
Before someone in the comment asks if I have tried xyz tool and the answer is - yes I have, but I wanted a fast web app that allows local file editing and is also fun to build as a side project.
[1] https://bangle.io
One thing led to another and I ended up scratching my own itch by creating a web app [1] which lets you edit a locally saved text file. It is a simple tool with some niceties of tabbed browsing, `#tags` and `[[backlinks]]`.
Before someone in the comment asks if I have tried xyz tool and the answer is - yes I have, but I wanted a fast web app that allows local file editing and is also fun to build as a side project.
[1] https://bangle.io
You should try Typora, a markdown editor that looks really nice.https://typora.io/
+1 for Typora. I've been using it for maybe 5 years (it feels like that at least) and it hasn't let me down.
Like others, I have single file and a section for each week containing all my tasks. Then I move the unfinished ones down to the next week at the end.
It's easy to sync those files in git of course.
Like others, I have single file and a section for each week containing all my tasks. Then I move the unfinished ones down to the next week at the end.
It's easy to sync those files in git of course.
Ya you can do that in bangle too, plus you can have a split screen.
I just write markdown and put it in a private repo. Simplest I can do with the most of the functionalities I wanted.
just out of curiosity, why don't you want to also manager your todos from your phone? the mobile github markdown editor is pretty clunky compared to a native todo app.
Personally I only use my phone to read. Most of the non-serious stuff are fine without write. If I need to write something I would use my laptop.
Wow, this looks great -- I normally use a local plaintext file but this seems like a must-try. Will be using it this week, thanks for sharing!
This looks pretty cool. Any plans to add support for images?
You can drop images to the editor and it will automatically save in an `assets` folder in your notes directory.
Is that what you were asking for?
Is that what you were asking for?
Looks really nice. A+
For task management I use Todoist and couldn't be happier! Knowing they never allow themselves to be bought brings peace of mind that's unrivaled: https://blog.doist.com/no-exit-strategy/
+1 for ToDoist! I've using for two years. I'm building a dashboard and weekly review space to understand better how is my productivity. Check it out at https://todolytics.com/
+1
I started using this to keep track of university assignments. 8 years later it's still my go to for personal things. It serves a different purpose then a calendar but the two together solve everything I need
My brother and I have both been paying Todoist customers for as long as I can remember. No idea what we’d do without it. It just nails the core elements without being overwhelming.
+1
- Their free service is fantastic (though I've upgraded)
- My wife and I coordinate tasks easily with it
- Their free service is fantastic (though I've upgraded)
- My wife and I coordinate tasks easily with it
Oh man, using Mark Zuckerberg as an example of virtue.
The Daily Activity Schedule by psychiatrist Dr. David Burns in his book Feeling Good is the main technique I use, and the current software I use to type it out is OneNote. The main idea is to create a three-column table with the time of day in the left-most column; an hourly schedule as the middle “Prospective” column; and an hourly log of what you actually did in the right-hand “Retrospective” column with a score of 1-5 of how you rate your feelings of “Mastery” or “Pleasure” with the task.
The main benefits I’ve found are that I know when my meetings are; I can visualize the time requirements of certain activities on the rest of the schedule (so it’s harder to put a hard task vaguely off until the evening, as it requires a fixed number of blocks); and I can improve motivation of doing challenging tasks (associating the mastery score with enjoyment of completing challenging tasks). The original technique is described in Burns’s book “Feeling Good,” and a summary found via Google search is here (visualization of the table is at the bottom of the article) [0].
I found OneNote better than Excel for implementing this, as the application feels easier to use for quick reference and edits (the table opens up in large font, without needing to Zoom in for Excel as not too many cells are used). I keep copies of past schedules in Excel though, in case I want to analyze it in the future. For capturing tasks, I use Things 3 for to-dos and Google Calendar for events.
I actually did try Plan in SuperMemo software, mentioned by the original post. While I liked the concept, I found it unwieldy to open and edit (as SuperMemo is primarily a flashcard, or more formally spaced repetition, app), and the program is only developed for Windows PCs (though it looks like there is some support for Linux).
[0] https://sourcesofinsight.com/how-to-use-a-daily-activity-sch...
The main benefits I’ve found are that I know when my meetings are; I can visualize the time requirements of certain activities on the rest of the schedule (so it’s harder to put a hard task vaguely off until the evening, as it requires a fixed number of blocks); and I can improve motivation of doing challenging tasks (associating the mastery score with enjoyment of completing challenging tasks). The original technique is described in Burns’s book “Feeling Good,” and a summary found via Google search is here (visualization of the table is at the bottom of the article) [0].
I found OneNote better than Excel for implementing this, as the application feels easier to use for quick reference and edits (the table opens up in large font, without needing to Zoom in for Excel as not too many cells are used). I keep copies of past schedules in Excel though, in case I want to analyze it in the future. For capturing tasks, I use Things 3 for to-dos and Google Calendar for events.
I actually did try Plan in SuperMemo software, mentioned by the original post. While I liked the concept, I found it unwieldy to open and edit (as SuperMemo is primarily a flashcard, or more formally spaced repetition, app), and the program is only developed for Windows PCs (though it looks like there is some support for Linux).
[0] https://sourcesofinsight.com/how-to-use-a-daily-activity-sch...
Logged in to say this is an excellent mind blowing book if you are feeling bad or dealing with depression. The key is to do the “stupid exercises”. Reprogram your mind.
Org mode has been simple and adaptible for me. I can write plaintext if need be, it's easy to organize tasks and hide superfluous or outdated information. Org mode isn't the end all of personal organization, but its 10x alternative would require a sophisticated UI.
Organice[0] is also worth a mention as a mobile UI.
[0] https://organice.200ok.ch/
[0] https://organice.200ok.ch/
Looks really cool. Could be a nice competitor to “beorg”.
http://dynalist.io
Proprietary freemium, but I love it. It works offline, it works on linux and windows, it works on my phone...
It's basically a hierarchical set of todo trees, with a nice IU, sync, dates, hilightning, checkboxes, titles and tags. They recently added templates.
The search is excellent as it can filter by color, tag, dates... And you can favorite anything into the menu, including a search.
The keyboard shortcuts are are lacking, so I complement it with autokey.
Proprietary freemium, but I love it. It works offline, it works on linux and windows, it works on my phone...
It's basically a hierarchical set of todo trees, with a nice IU, sync, dates, hilightning, checkboxes, titles and tags. They recently added templates.
The search is excellent as it can filter by color, tag, dates... And you can favorite anything into the menu, including a search.
The keyboard shortcuts are are lacking, so I complement it with autokey.
> They recently added templates
Woah! Maybe I have to have another look. I thought they left it for Obsidian and don’t like that it’s proprietary so I switched to Athens (faster but generally fewer features), but this is a big deal.
Woah! Maybe I have to have another look. I thought they left it for Obsidian and don’t like that it’s proprietary so I switched to Athens (faster but generally fewer features), but this is a big deal.
Love Dynalist too - using the "native" app on MacOS today. Have you tried checkvist ? Not as good looking but great Vim-inspired shortcuts.
I don't see any download button. Does it have a desktop client that works offline ?
It's a requirement for me.
It's a requirement for me.
My brain.
I consider what I care most about and do that.
Everyone should be able to do what's most effective for them so keep using those tools if they are working well sure you. Personally, I have been frustrated by a world that forces me to accept friction and do the extra work of bookkeeping.
I consider what I care most about and do that.
Everyone should be able to do what's most effective for them so keep using those tools if they are working well sure you. Personally, I have been frustrated by a world that forces me to accept friction and do the extra work of bookkeeping.
I used to do this but as I take on more tasks involving more names/faces and in an effort to separate my work and personal lives, I embraced the effort of 'book-keeping' as a way to braindump, a task written is a task I don't have to remember.
Pen and paper.
There’s nothing better than just a piece of paper. It’s responsive, suits every pocket, supports text, drawings, graphs and doesn’t get destroyed when it touches coffee. Also there is a psychologically effect: Turning away from the computer and checking a task using a pen gives you the feeling of having something finally completed/done.
I tried to digitalize it so often using Todoist, Wunderlist, MS Tasks, recently release MS Lists aaaand so on. But nothing really suits all the needs. And relying on many tools for task management will burn you out.
There’s nothing better than just a piece of paper. It’s responsive, suits every pocket, supports text, drawings, graphs and doesn’t get destroyed when it touches coffee. Also there is a psychologically effect: Turning away from the computer and checking a task using a pen gives you the feeling of having something finally completed/done.
I tried to digitalize it so often using Todoist, Wunderlist, MS Tasks, recently release MS Lists aaaand so on. But nothing really suits all the needs. And relying on many tools for task management will burn you out.
I use Trello.
It's simple in essence but expandable as required, and a great UX (though perhaps trending a little towards busyness as it grows commercially unfortunately).
https://trello.com/
It's simple in essence but expandable as required, and a great UX (though perhaps trending a little towards busyness as it grows commercially unfortunately).
https://trello.com/
I've done the same for quite some time, but since the Atlasian acquisition and the the last few rounds of changes, I'm seriously looking at alternatives (from Obsidian to Laverna to Focalboard to going back to paper)
Breakfast
It's not a cleverly named app. I'm talking about literal breakfast. Just having a slow breakfast on the balcony gives me a bit of idle time to think about the day ahead, and it helps a lot.
I used to have a notebook. One page per day, one task per line. In the morning, I'd transfer the unfinished tasks to the next page. It would give me quick feedback on tasks that don't progress, and prevent me from overcommitting. It worked surprisingly well.
It's not a cleverly named app. I'm talking about literal breakfast. Just having a slow breakfast on the balcony gives me a bit of idle time to think about the day ahead, and it helps a lot.
I used to have a notebook. One page per day, one task per line. In the morning, I'd transfer the unfinished tasks to the next page. It would give me quick feedback on tasks that don't progress, and prevent me from overcommitting. It worked surprisingly well.
I like to hack on my own modular planning system called Task BATL. It was specifically started to deal with issues around workaholism, burnout, procrastination, and lack of values-oriented planning.
It works on paper or in digital format...I generally use markdown and a syncing service, along with fsearch and some editor tools/snippets. But sometimes it's nice to move to paper especially for the Rebasing activity, as well as the Debriefing and Anarchy modules.
https://www.friendlyskies.net/intj/the-balance-first-approac...
Good post idea op, and thanks for sharing your favorite.
It works on paper or in digital format...I generally use markdown and a syncing service, along with fsearch and some editor tools/snippets. But sometimes it's nice to move to paper especially for the Rebasing activity, as well as the Debriefing and Anarchy modules.
https://www.friendlyskies.net/intj/the-balance-first-approac...
Good post idea op, and thanks for sharing your favorite.
Interesting idea’s on that link. I eventually did away with todo lists. I do have points written down, but usually I just have one big item I need to tackle for the day but takes 2-4 hours to do, one small one (1 hour usually) , and the rest is optional. This allows for more flexibility depending on my energy levels.
That sounds like a pretty nicely balanced state of productivity to me. Congratulations.
I have a single large text document (currently in notion so I can access it easily across devices and offline) which I named "Today"
Each morning I add 5 or so tasks at the top of it with some breaklines separating today's from yesterday's.
Most days I don't even reference it, but it is helpful to get focused in the AM and make sure I am intentional about my focus across the past few days.
Each morning I add 5 or so tasks at the top of it with some breaklines separating today's from yesterday's.
Most days I don't even reference it, but it is helpful to get focused in the AM and make sure I am intentional about my focus across the past few days.
I've been building my own thing for a while.
It blends the hierarchical navigation of Workflowy (to figure out your priorities) with task management and routine building.
Throughout this process, I discovered a whole lot about ADHD. It turns out that's why I've chased this with such reckless abandon.
Between the internal pressure and balancing the side effects of medication, I burnt out. I'm _slowly_ climbing my way out of that hole.
Three days ago, I found a handful of test users by leaving a Reddit comment; I figured I could build on that by trying again here.
If you're interested to try/test the software I call 'My Second Brain' (the one that works), lemme know.
It blends the hierarchical navigation of Workflowy (to figure out your priorities) with task management and routine building.
Throughout this process, I discovered a whole lot about ADHD. It turns out that's why I've chased this with such reckless abandon.
Between the internal pressure and balancing the side effects of medication, I burnt out. I'm _slowly_ climbing my way out of that hole.
Three days ago, I found a handful of test users by leaving a Reddit comment; I figured I could build on that by trying again here.
If you're interested to try/test the software I call 'My Second Brain' (the one that works), lemme know.
I have struggled with ADHD and keeping on track for years. I would love to try out your app and provide any feedback I can.
I've discovered something similar, I also noticed ADHD type behaviors which led me to build my own thing as well: https://getartemis.app. I'd love to test out yours as well though, maybe we can give mutual feedback?
Just sent you an email!
I like to try your solution as well. Thanks
Would love to have you take a look but I couldn't find any contact info for you.
I've been nudging test users towards my Discord server for ongoing support.
Consider this an open invite to anybody (for now); I'll disable this link if/when I need to.
https://discord.gg/TcMHrtxanh
I've been nudging test users towards my Discord server for ongoing support.
Consider this an open invite to anybody (for now); I'll disable this link if/when I need to.
https://discord.gg/TcMHrtxanh
A Leuchtturm notebook and the Bullet Journal method!
Another pen and paper method I used for a while was inspired by a previous HN submission (Using Paper for Everyday Tasks) [0]. I used it for a solid couple of months (filling up two notebooks with about 30 sheets/60 pages, one per month).
It was the most enjoyable daily to-do method I used, though I found it lacking in task capture for long-term tasks and scheduling (pocket notebook pages typically weren’t big enough for every hour in one column, and adding a second column felt cramped). I’ve shifted approaches from a daily to-do list to a daily hourly schedule with a table in OneNote, so I no longer handwrite a to-do list (as it’s included in the schedule). However, I still use paper sometimes for breaking big tasks into small steps, and large numbers of miscellaneous one-time tasks.
[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27639875
It was the most enjoyable daily to-do method I used, though I found it lacking in task capture for long-term tasks and scheduling (pocket notebook pages typically weren’t big enough for every hour in one column, and adding a second column felt cramped). I’ve shifted approaches from a daily to-do list to a daily hourly schedule with a table in OneNote, so I no longer handwrite a to-do list (as it’s included in the schedule). However, I still use paper sometimes for breaking big tasks into small steps, and large numbers of miscellaneous one-time tasks.
[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27639875
Beat me to it, though for me it's a Black n' Red notebook and fountain pens.
The ultimate open standards - pen and paper.
I find writing it down helps me remember the tasks or things needed, and a fountain pen is just a joy to use plus you get to take mini breaks from the digital world.
I find writing it down helps me remember the tasks or things needed, and a fountain pen is just a joy to use plus you get to take mini breaks from the digital world.
There are at least two very deep rabbit holes with fountain pens: inks, and vintage pens.
Writing with an ink the color of Crimson Glory Vine, for example, is a meditation all on its own (Pilot Iroshizuku Yama-Budo).
The vintage pens rabbit hole tends to force you toward inks that are "safe" for vintage pens (Waterman Serenity Blue, for example).
But either way, what you write with them, and what system you use is constrained only by imagination.
Writing with an ink the color of Crimson Glory Vine, for example, is a meditation all on its own (Pilot Iroshizuku Yama-Budo).
The vintage pens rabbit hole tends to force you toward inks that are "safe" for vintage pens (Waterman Serenity Blue, for example).
But either way, what you write with them, and what system you use is constrained only by imagination.
Can you elaborate on this? I am interested in how this works
https://bulletjournal.com/
It's a technique for manual note-keeping that is intended to drive awareness and thought about priorities. You don't have to buy notebooks set up for the technique, all you really need is pen and paper. But stationers are standing buy with merch.
It's a technique for manual note-keeping that is intended to drive awareness and thought about priorities. You don't have to buy notebooks set up for the technique, all you really need is pen and paper. But stationers are standing buy with merch.
https://noteplan.co/ -> Calendar, notes, and todo in the same place. Very convenient to me.
Love noteplan!
I used to have more complex systems for tracking projects and tasks, and I would keep this separate from notes. However over time I realized that the overhead wasn't worth it—more fine-grained planning can give a feeling of progress as you check things off, but it pales in comparison to entering a flow state on a hard problem. On the other hand notes turn out to be super valuable over time, even if they are rough and incomplete. So in order to minimize overhead, I flipped the script and optimized for note-taking with todos tacked on in the lightest weight possible.
Today I use Workflowy for this system, both professional and personal. Being able to zoom into an infinitely nested list for focus and then search broadly with the hierarchy fully visible in the results makes for a very potent combination. Action planning then falls out of the system naturally without significant extra effort.
At the top level I keep major life category buckets (work, family, finances, etc) which never overlap. Within each category I make entries in a reverse chronological fashion, with explicit dates if they represent a discrete event like a meeting, or without dates if it represents ongoing work or brainstorming. At the bottom of each category is an "Archive" entry, where I will periodically sweep old items from the bottom of each category. These swept items are also maintained in reverse chronological and bucketed monthly/quarterly so the lists never get too long. Within that structure, whenever a concrete action needs to be taken I tag it #action and then cross off when it's done. My planning is now just to search for #action, and one every week or two audit the list for actions I no longer wish to complete.
The beauty of this system is it's super lightweight and flexes really well to IC, management or personal task.
Today I use Workflowy for this system, both professional and personal. Being able to zoom into an infinitely nested list for focus and then search broadly with the hierarchy fully visible in the results makes for a very potent combination. Action planning then falls out of the system naturally without significant extra effort.
At the top level I keep major life category buckets (work, family, finances, etc) which never overlap. Within each category I make entries in a reverse chronological fashion, with explicit dates if they represent a discrete event like a meeting, or without dates if it represents ongoing work or brainstorming. At the bottom of each category is an "Archive" entry, where I will periodically sweep old items from the bottom of each category. These swept items are also maintained in reverse chronological and bucketed monthly/quarterly so the lists never get too long. Within that structure, whenever a concrete action needs to be taken I tag it #action and then cross off when it's done. My planning is now just to search for #action, and one every week or two audit the list for actions I no longer wish to complete.
The beauty of this system is it's super lightweight and flexes really well to IC, management or personal task.
After reading the other comments I feel very low-tech but I'm using Apple's Calendar and Reminders apps, synced though iCloud.
I get notifications on my devices including my watch, I can manage entries via Siri when I'm driving, and it can detect appointments from my text messages and emails. I don't think I'd want to give any of that up.
(I also make intensive use of Apple Notes, which I really love.)
I get notifications on my devices including my watch, I can manage entries via Siri when I'm driving, and it can detect appointments from my text messages and emails. I don't think I'd want to give any of that up.
(I also make intensive use of Apple Notes, which I really love.)
Same! I live off my iOS calendar and reminder list (shared calendar with my spouse and a couple of either individual or shared reminder lists for things like grocery items), although reading through this thread I’m intrigued at the variety!
I also use slack reminders a lot for work primarily.
I also use slack reminders a lot for work primarily.
This is exactly mysetup !
Workflowy, alongside a regular email and calendar. Workflowy is very simple yet flexible and has the tools that make me operate without thinking much.
It allows me to quickly keep a GTD-ish list of stuff going on and action items needs to be taken and I can organize them as detailed as needed with labels, colors, etc. I find the simplicity/features ratio work well for me.
Getting Things Done method by David Allen
It allows me to quickly keep a GTD-ish list of stuff going on and action items needs to be taken and I can organize them as detailed as needed with labels, colors, etc. I find the simplicity/features ratio work well for me.
Getting Things Done method by David Allen
I use Conjure [1] on web and mobile for daily and weekly habits (particularly using the day view, set to show only remaining habits for the day). Disclaimer: I'm building Conjure.
I have a recurring task to create a weekly plan on a Monday (in Notion) and then review my progress on it on Wednesday and Friday, course correcting accordingly.
I do a day plan first thing most mornings. I plan my day in hourly blocks (9am → 10am: Call X, 10am → 11am: Project A, 11am → 12pm: Project A + Laundry, etc). I populate it with items from my calendar, task list, habits list and weekly goals (outcome based or time based, such as spending 10 hours on Project B).
I create the day plan, either line by line in a notebook (1 line per hour), or in the Mac OS Stickies app, or create events in my calendar, depending on how the mood takes me, and keep it visible all day (either open on a secondary monitor or having the notebook open on my desk).
[1] https://conjure.so
I have a recurring task to create a weekly plan on a Monday (in Notion) and then review my progress on it on Wednesday and Friday, course correcting accordingly.
I do a day plan first thing most mornings. I plan my day in hourly blocks (9am → 10am: Call X, 10am → 11am: Project A, 11am → 12pm: Project A + Laundry, etc). I populate it with items from my calendar, task list, habits list and weekly goals (outcome based or time based, such as spending 10 hours on Project B).
I create the day plan, either line by line in a notebook (1 line per hour), or in the Mac OS Stickies app, or create events in my calendar, depending on how the mood takes me, and keep it visible all day (either open on a secondary monitor or having the notebook open on my desk).
[1] https://conjure.so
As someone with ADD (+burnout and friends), this is the system I came up with for myself. It is moreso aimed at task management than day planning, but they are related:
I use colored post-it notes stuck to a whiteboard. One note per task, a rough time estimate to complete it, and the color of the note denotes the urgency (e.g. red = do today). I mark it with a ! if it is overdue/festering, and a ◆ if it is a difficult task (intellectually, emotionally, energetically, or otherwise).
The whiteboard has 6 rows: health, work, life/home, finance, education, projects. As I finish tasks, I put a big checkmark on them and leave them up for a bit (as proof to myself that I did something). When enough slain tasks accumulate, I crumple them up and Kobe them into the recycling bin.
There is not much of a planning phase—it’s just a continuous process of whack-a-mole-ing my tasks and generating new ones.
I use colored post-it notes stuck to a whiteboard. One note per task, a rough time estimate to complete it, and the color of the note denotes the urgency (e.g. red = do today). I mark it with a ! if it is overdue/festering, and a ◆ if it is a difficult task (intellectually, emotionally, energetically, or otherwise).
The whiteboard has 6 rows: health, work, life/home, finance, education, projects. As I finish tasks, I put a big checkmark on them and leave them up for a bit (as proof to myself that I did something). When enough slain tasks accumulate, I crumple them up and Kobe them into the recycling bin.
There is not much of a planning phase—it’s just a continuous process of whack-a-mole-ing my tasks and generating new ones.
Things (https://culturedcode.com/things/).
Google spreadsheet.
Swithing between the two periodically every month. I think you just get tired of looking in many tasks in the same interface, that's when I do the switch :)
Swithing between the two periodically every month. I think you just get tired of looking in many tasks in the same interface, that's when I do the switch :)
I tried several tools and ended up writing my own personal Kanban tool:
https://gitlab.com/moasda/task-organizer
It has an Outlook integration so I can see my tasks for today in the Outlook calendar.
Runs on Windows and Linux.
It has an Outlook integration so I can see my tasks for today in the Outlook calendar.
Runs on Windows and Linux.
A (physical) sticky note or two and a gel pen.
I'll mark down meetings with times on one, and a todo list on another. Stuff gets crossed off as I go. Anything not done gets recopied to a new todo sticky. If I can't fit my todo list onto a single normal-sized sticky with smallish handwriting, I'm trying to do too much.
(Aside: I find writing these out by hand to be a nice break for reflection and crossing them off to be much more satisfying than clicking a checkbox or other electronic equivalents.)
I'll mark down meetings with times on one, and a todo list on another. Stuff gets crossed off as I go. Anything not done gets recopied to a new todo sticky. If I can't fit my todo list onto a single normal-sized sticky with smallish handwriting, I'm trying to do too much.
(Aside: I find writing these out by hand to be a nice break for reflection and crossing them off to be much more satisfying than clicking a checkbox or other electronic equivalents.)
I'm biased but I'm building my own here: https://getartemis.app
It combines a todo list and calendar. Currently though I'm working on a mobile version which you can see on my Twitter: https://twitter.com/satvikpendem/status/1446697663479562242?...
It combines a todo list and calendar. Currently though I'm working on a mobile version which you can see on my Twitter: https://twitter.com/satvikpendem/status/1446697663479562242?...
This looks exactly like something I’m looking for (and have indeed already starred), but the repo still looks very empty. So: How much of it is actually done?
That's an old repo, I originally started it as open source but it's not open source anymore. I'm making it mobile first and doing the web version (the mockup video on the landing page) after the mobile version. The mobile version is coming along well, you can follow my Twitter or sign up your email address on the landing page for updates.
Oh, bummer, that reduces my enthusiasm. I might still have a look. Does it work on local data?
To some extent but due to wanting to make the mobile and web versions sync, I'm using a cloud database so it won't be fully local.
This is something I might be looking for. Will check it out
Awesome, it's still developing right now but I should have the initial mobile version out in a few weeks or so. The web version doesn't exist yet just FYI, I haven't updated the landing page but I'm going mobile first then desktop.
That’s okay. Followed you on twitter.
I think all planning apps just end up by using the exact same format (calendar format, which is quite limited) to store information, so in terms of usability they are all kind of the same.
I use nextcloud's lists, as it is free, it syncs across all devices and it's easy to do modifications if you want
I use nextcloud's lists, as it is free, it syncs across all devices and it's easy to do modifications if you want
I created my own web app for it - https://easylists.app
My biggest issue with other apps is that I would create an industry of creating plans or todos. I would have massive backlogs and then never look at any of the tasks for months or even years. I spent more time planning than doing.
Using EasyLists, I create lists like 'Monday', 'Tuesday', 'Shopping tomorrow' or 'Now' and use them in a short time frame and _delete_ the list completely.. the same as I would if I was using a pen and paper.
Other points to note if anyone wants to use it:
* No signup or accounts
* It saves locally against your local storage
* It has no tracking or analytics
* It currently has one known bug that I will get around to fixing eventually - it doesn't affect functionality.
* It is _not_ mobile friendly (yet)
My biggest issue with other apps is that I would create an industry of creating plans or todos. I would have massive backlogs and then never look at any of the tasks for months or even years. I spent more time planning than doing.
Using EasyLists, I create lists like 'Monday', 'Tuesday', 'Shopping tomorrow' or 'Now' and use them in a short time frame and _delete_ the list completely.. the same as I would if I was using a pen and paper.
Other points to note if anyone wants to use it:
* No signup or accounts
* It saves locally against your local storage
* It has no tracking or analytics
* It currently has one known bug that I will get around to fixing eventually - it doesn't affect functionality.
* It is _not_ mobile friendly (yet)
My own thing.
https://github.com/andrey-utkin/taskdb/wiki/Live-demo
I can manage items in calendaring apps and in SQL editor, and visualize various diagrams.
I can manage items in calendaring apps and in SQL editor, and visualize various diagrams.
Built Homechart for this, mostly on the household/personal side of things. Budgets, calendars, meals, to dos, etc all in one app. Works on mobile and offline.
https://about.homechart.app
https://about.homechart.app
I use Restyaboard to plan and organize my personal life and work projects. It comes with an intuitive, drag-and-drop interface that makes it easy for teams to plan and track projects. Another great feature is Offline sync - use without internet.
I use obsidian.md
There's a plugin that creates a daily note every morning.
This single daily note is a combination of Todo list, journal and collection of loose thoughts.
This works great for me since I am a heavy obsidian user anyway and use it to to organize all of my more permanent notes, so the integration with that is pretty nice.
The plain text format works a lot better for me than any other opinionated way of organizing todos in an app that I have ever tried and being able to easily reference other things I'm working on is pretty nice.
Give it a shot if you already use obsidian, otherwise there's probably better standalone tools out there.
This single daily note is a combination of Todo list, journal and collection of loose thoughts.
This works great for me since I am a heavy obsidian user anyway and use it to to organize all of my more permanent notes, so the integration with that is pretty nice.
The plain text format works a lot better for me than any other opinionated way of organizing todos in an app that I have ever tried and being able to easily reference other things I'm working on is pretty nice.
Give it a shot if you already use obsidian, otherwise there's probably better standalone tools out there.
I cannot recommend 'a' setup as I'm constantly exploring as well, but in case you're interested in trying out different approach for 'getting things done' then there are several solutions posted for addressing that on my problem validation platform[1].
It's one of the reasons I keep trying different solutions as well.
[1] https://needgap.com/problems/30-getting-things-done-at-indiv...
It's one of the reasons I keep trying different solutions as well.
[1] https://needgap.com/problems/30-getting-things-done-at-indiv...
TickTick works great for me
I've tried probably a couple of dozen methods, paper being a solid thing I go back to every couple of years. Complice (a web app) was interesting.
For the last couple of years, I've used free-format text in a new note in Bear app every day, an ever-evolving template (I generally copy the previous days' document, remove done items and stuff that's no longer important, and plan from there). I do something similar for weekly and quarterly plans, all free-format in my notes app of choice.
For the last couple of years, I've used free-format text in a new note in Bear app every day, an ever-evolving template (I generally copy the previous days' document, remove done items and stuff that's no longer important, and plan from there). I do something similar for weekly and quarterly plans, all free-format in my notes app of choice.
I do pretty much exactly this but with a different app (now Obsidian, previously Roam, Workflowy). Going on about 4 years with something like this system. This is mostly for work and side projects, personal stuff just goes on an index card that I rotate out when it fills up, doing the same rewriting for anything that didn’t get done.
I don't do intraday planning, but for TODOs I settled on a A5 paper with handwritten task list.
It's very satisfying to strike out completed tasks.
From time to time I rewrite pending tasks to new piece of paper. It is a physical reminder of repeatedly uncompledted tasks and somtimes I leave out a thing (I it was not done until now, I can safely not do it at all). Keeps me focused on important things (not to be confused with urgent things).
During the first part of your life you build yourself tooling often pretty complex with full integrations and stuff. During the second part of your life you have growing kids and a wife that nowadays only want to use their phone and often lack any technical skills like how to make a bookmark. So then the solution you need differs, which in some cases then also requires household organizational change management soft skills.
Google Calendar
Time blocking is a game changer.
Time blocking is a game changer.
Was going to say this, it works so well as you can plan your tasks around meetings. For example, you have a 30 mins spare slot between meetings, use it for some minor admin task. The big empty slots for some programming task where you want to get a good amount of focus on coding.
I organize my work tasks and notes in org-mode by Area>Project>Task in a loose GTD system. For personal tasks, I similarly use Things 3 on my iPhone.
I plan each work day on index cards, one task per card. This helps me to limit work in progress so I’m not all over the place. Using index cards, it’s easy to reprioritize tasks, modify processes, and absorb emergent tasks.
I plan each work day on index cards, one task per card. This helps me to limit work in progress so I’m not all over the place. Using index cards, it’s easy to reprioritize tasks, modify processes, and absorb emergent tasks.
Outlook (web) now has a built-in “Boards”/Kanban-style thing that lets you build custom Trello-like boards and works pretty well for me:
https://outlook.live.com/calendar/view/board (for consumers, similar link for O365).
https://outlook.live.com/calendar/view/board (for consumers, similar link for O365).
I’ve been building my own: https://akiflow.com.
Allows me to consolidates my tasks in the same place from multiple apps (notion, asana..), turn emails/slack messages into tasks, view all my calendars and drag&drop tasks to do time blocking.
Looks promising to me, but 15$ a month is too heavy, I find. 5 $ a month would be a no brainer to buy and switch to it personally.
But I mind apps giving them access to my email box only for comfort.
Try to merge this product with tutanota (or proton) and I would pay 25 per month!
But I mind apps giving them access to my email box only for comfort.
Try to merge this product with tutanota (or proton) and I would pay 25 per month!
Thanks for the feedback! At the moment your gsuite token is only stored on your machine and the synch happens between your device and google servers. We’ll may change this in the future to improve performances and multi-device support tho
I find that I don't need any app. I use Slack everyday so I just direct message to my own Slack. I started by writing a list of tasks that are needed to be done in the day. Important tasks are bold.
When I finish a task, I simply edit the message and put a success checkmark in front of the completed item.
When I finish a task, I simply edit the message and put a success checkmark in front of the completed item.
Google Calendar lets you create tasks scoped to a specific day. In the morning after doing email, I create 3-5 major tasks for the day.
The next day, I can easily see which tasks did not get completed - an important feedback loop signalling to modify workload or better scope individual tasks.
The next day, I can easily see which tasks did not get completed - an important feedback loop signalling to modify workload or better scope individual tasks.
I don't often plan my whole personal day, but I do plan out my task schedule when I get to work. I only use Org mode in Spacemacs. It single-handedly beats any other planning / task management / note taking software I've ever used.
I have a physical notebook. Everyday (almost) I write a simple todo list and check yesterday's list if there is something I should work today. When I finish task I draw a line on top of it, it feels better than moving tickets on Trello :)
If you appreciate bullet journaling (and you should), gotta love the simplicity and effectiveness of https://rocketlog.app
The small vertical " things to do " booklets that you can buy in bulk at most shops also work very well for my own task management overview. Used these also for the past 20 years.
I usually just write it in Bear, but it doesn't matter what's on my plan, I've never found a way to get something done if I'm truely not interested in doing it.
OmniFocus on Mac. Works great for GTD, though that wasn't the focus of your question. Has mobile support and syncing.
It's a well thought out application, which I really appreciate.
It's a well thought out application, which I really appreciate.
I use markdown files that I edit with Visual Studio Code and for backup/synchronization I use Mega because the mobile app allows you to edit and create md files too...
A paper calendar. Specifically a Moleskine weekly calendar.
Anyone using Evernote, can share their opinions? I use it for saving text stuff and writing, but I'm curious if it works well for daily plans.
Our companies timesheet software (Kimai). It can do drag & drop. It's like Google Calendar, but keeps track of all employees time.
I create checklists using omnifocus. Sometimes they’re project specific. Other times, they’re just general todo lists of things on my plate.
For my top 3 items I am using the 5-minute journal.
For longer lists and more details, I use the Things3 app on my iPhone.
For longer lists and more details, I use the Things3 app on my iPhone.
Thanks for reminding me about this! Used to love it but got away from it a while back during a job change
What are you trying to plan ? I feel a calendar and Apple notes is plenty
Calendar.app for planning the day.
Trello and Reminders for planning the work.
Trello and Reminders for planning the work.
A dry-erase wall calendar. Can't recommend enough.
Org mode. Free in every sense.
amplenote - notes, todo, and calendar in one.
I have adapted the GTD (Getting Things Done) system as a filesystem, and use Total Commander to manage things on my phone (and dropbox+dropsync to keep it synced between devices).
Total Commander has a nice feature, which is that you can assign specific icons to files of a particular extension, and then sort in (descending) order by that extension. This means that, choosing intelligent extension names allows you to sort in a way that puts vital, urgent, important, actionable items etc in a useful order, with nice icons to match (I have chosen a simple 'traffic light' icon-set of my own design).
This works great for me, and I have been using it for years. One nice thing about it is the freedom to adapt it as time goes on and my needs change.
My current structure is something like this:
Once a task is completed, I rename it and place a 'dot' in front to mark it as 'done', which also makes it a hidden file and clears it from view of current tasks (unless I click the 'show hidden files button' in Total Commander). This also helps you check when istorical tasks were completed (at the resolution in which they were created - for finer control you could modify the file's date etc).
All in all, it's a system that would work anyway, but in combination with Total Commander on my phone, it makes it very appealing to use. To me it feels almost like I have a fully customizable tasks app. (and as a bonus, total commander is simply the best android file manager I've ever used).
Total Commander has a nice feature, which is that you can assign specific icons to files of a particular extension, and then sort in (descending) order by that extension. This means that, choosing intelligent extension names allows you to sort in a way that puts vital, urgent, important, actionable items etc in a useful order, with nice icons to match (I have chosen a simple 'traffic light' icon-set of my own design).
This works great for me, and I have been using it for years. One nice thing about it is the freedom to adapt it as time goes on and my needs change.
My current structure is something like this:
01. Actionable Tasks
02. Awaited - Delegated Tasks
03. Personal standards and rituals
04. Recurring - Ongoing Tasks and general Goals.
05. Future Ideas and other misc resources.
06. Archived (years up to 2020)
07. My 'Yay me' folder. (see: https://lifehacker.com/keep-a-file-of-your-accomplishments-302754)
08. General Resources (travel checklists, previous addresses, vaccination record, password zipped bank details, etc)
01. Actionable Tasks
├── 2021-[01-09] <-- archive of the year, to keep things unclutterred (this could have gone into folder '06.' directly, but I tend to only move these there annually.
├── 2021 ### <-- current year. Everything in this folder are 'year-span' tasks.
│ ├── 2021-[01-09] <-- archive of the previous months.
│ ├── 2021-10 ### <-- current month. '###' serves as a visual 'currentness' marker
│ │ ├── A task which is both important and urgent (in the month span sense).vital
│ │ ├── A task which is urgent but not important.urgent
│ │ ├── A task which is important but not urgent.important
│ │ └── A normal task which should simply be done as soon as possible.asap
│ └── 2021-11 <-- tasks already scheduled for next month
└── A tasks whose span is 'life-span'. Rare to put tasks here, since they most typically represent 'goals' and ideas instead, which go into other folders.
Once a task is completed, I rename it and place a 'dot' in front to mark it as 'done', which also makes it a hidden file and clears it from view of current tasks (unless I click the 'show hidden files button' in Total Commander). This also helps you check when istorical tasks were completed (at the resolution in which they were created - for finer control you could modify the file's date etc).
All in all, it's a system that would work anyway, but in combination with Total Commander on my phone, it makes it very appealing to use. To me it feels almost like I have a fully customizable tasks app. (and as a bonus, total commander is simply the best android file manager I've ever used).
My needs.
[1] https://help.supermemo.org/wiki/Plan