Alex Rivera | Logout

todo.txt and task management

Asked 2008-11-03T14:16:08.000
11

Apologies if this has been covered frequently, but I was wondering about how other people approach personal task management.

I've read (parts of) GTD, proceeded to get excited, installed a tonne of plug-ins all over the place, then let it all fall by the wayside. I've used todoist, outlook, google calendar, project. I've tried writing lists in a notepad, in 'notebook', on post-it-notes and in spreadsheets etc. None of it lasts.

Why is a simple and effective todo application so difficult to find? Because the application is so frequently used, I find that any small niggles with the application become overly exaggerated after a few days use.

So far, my favourite application is a variation of todo.txt called task

What do you use?

task scheduling
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2 Answers

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I'm echoing the above comment to some degree. For me, the tool is pretty much secondary to establishing the mindset and habits that would allow me to incorporate GTD principles in a consistent fashion. I really do love it, when I can get it to go. There's a nice sense of control and direction that comes when I can be disciplined about doing the small stuff - weekly sweeps, periodic reviews and all that.

My next GTD challenge is to get out of the trees so I can see the forest. :-) David Allen talks about the 50,000 foot, 30,000 foot, 10,000 foot views relating to goals. It's all very high-minded, but I have to get above 500 feet yet.

If you're familiar with GTD, there's a nice summary deck PDF over at DIY Planner:

http://www.diyplanner.com/diyp_official/diyp3cl/diyp3_gtdref_cl_2up.pdf

If you're a paper planner junkie (I am) the site's like crack :D

Hope it helps.

answered 2008-11-03T15:10:50.807
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I use myLifeOrganized. The bottom line is you just need to start documenting the next thing you have to do on each task. MLO lets you easily and quickly do that.

It has a handy rapid task entry dialog and you can quickly enter data into it. You can document as much or as little as you want. This software, because of the ease of adding stuff to it, has saved my butt many times. It has helped me remember things that I had forgotten. I now wonder how many things I've forgotten over the years and didn't realize it.

I run it off a usb stick and I have it on my phone. I even use it to help me outline code.

answered 2008-11-03T15:30:25.370

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