How to Manage a TODO List
This is a totally subjective post, I will write down how I’m handling todos. What works for me doesn’t have to work for you, but if you check it out, test my method you maybe find that it’s very effective.
As with all the daily tasks I have a few rules for todo lists too.
- Don’t categorize the items into dates, weeks, months.
- Give each todo item a priority.
First of all, back to basics. My todo list is as simple as possible. I don’t use any fancy software to handle my todo list, just a simple text file.
I’m mainly coding in TextMate (code editor), so I write my todo items in a separate text file, that is always open when TextMate is, or when I’m working in another program.
In the early days I categorized my todo items into dates, what should I do today, what tomorrow and what next week. I found that it doesn’t help me do the tasks quickly. I don’t use dates anymore, I just make a big list of todos.
When I add another task, I prioritize the whole list again, because the items in the list are not isolated from each other, each item affect other items, regarding my available time to work on them.
The lowest priority is actually the number of todo items. If I have 12 items in the list the last task that I will work on will have a priority number of 12, but I don’t number the items. I just place it on the list according to the priority, the last task will be on the bottom of the list. I found that numbering many todo items is a tedious work, so I skipped it.
Every day when I start working on the list from top to bottom, finishing the tasks in order.
It’s simple. I hope it will work for you too, if you decide to try out this method, please let me know how it goes.
Comments
November 10th, 2008
for those who would like to compare different todo/task/project management software I have created a list of them here: http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pNzDN2mIRqnb81JK1LRxdFA
November 11th, 2008
There’s one problem with this kind of thing - rot.
I know for a fact that if I tried keeping a TODO list as one large list of entries in a text file it would quite soon rot, become obsolete and be more of a burden to maintain than it’s worth.
This is why I use issue tracking systems, the online kind. It automatically organises my TODO and gives me gratification to click “issue resolved” and then have it turn green, show up in a different list and so on. Very rewarding although simple.
Issue tracking systems have an added advantage of others being able to add to your TODO and prioritising their requests if they deem it needed.
November 11th, 2008
Maybe your right, as I wrote in the post, this is a subjective matter.
This method works for me, but this doesn’t necessarily have to work for you too. If you favor issue tracking over simple text files, than it’s maybe better for you.
You have to use those tools what works for you.
November 11th, 2008
I’m using todoist.com for my todo list. It’s very simple, you can use it even as you described in your post. Yo can categorize, prioritize and what’s the most important to me since I work on 2-3 computers is that it’s online - so I can access it anywhere anytime.
November 12th, 2008
Swizec,
I agree there is a value to identifying tasks as complete and what works for me provides that and still works in a single file. Basically I have only two permanent todo lists, one for work and one for home. I follow a similar method to Gyorgy, except that the top of the file is always the tasks to be done and the rest of the file are the tasks that have been completed organized by week. I use a minimal wiki format to allow me to run the file through a command called ‘parsewiki’ to generate html output that I then ssh to my home server so the list(s) can be viewed via the web. In my mind it is very important to keep track of completed tasks by week, it allows me to reference them for generating reports (for work) and gives me that sense of satisfaction that taking an item off the todo list provides. Every weekend I create the next week’s location and allow it to fill up as I complete tasks throughout the week. Here’s an example file with formatting:
= Scheduled =
* here is task 1
* task 2 is not as important
* task 3 is yet another item
= Completed =
== 20081109 - 20081115 ==
* completed task 1
* completed task 2
== 20081102 - 20081108 ==
* another completed task
November 12th, 2008
Hmmm….keep in mind there is a little bit of white space lines between the tasks and the headers in my example above, mainly for readability. Those lines were stripped from my comment above.
November 12th, 2008
Yep, this theme sh**. Hopefully you will see a new one today
December 16th, 2009
Also, I just started using Gmail’s built in Task list. it’s ultra simple to use, but if you want you can add due dates, a hierarchy of tasks, different folders for tasks (work, personal, etc..). I liked the way you can just type “buy milk” and enter and it’s there, or you can type “buy milk” and put a date, a folder, a note, etc…