Tell HN: I can't stick with a to-do list manager for more than 3 weeks. | Hacker News Reader

Tell HN: I can't stick with a to-do list manager for more than 3 weeks.

8 pointskevinburke8 comments

I'm starting a new semester at college and my to-do list just got really long. I've tried using OmniFocus, Notes on my iPhone, paper planners, index cards, but I can't get anything to stick for longer than about three weeks. How do you organize your to-do lists, and if you have one you've stuck with for a long time how do you manage that? Is my inability to keep a to-do list more about my personality or about not finding the right system?

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Like you, I've been searching for a solution that works for a long, long time (and also a college student). For some reason, to-do lists never felt right to me. I'm not sure if it has to do with the inherent structure or design of to-do lists (and similar web-based concepts), but they just never clicked. When searching for the perfect solution I always ended up resorting to scribbling thoughts in tiny notebooks and on whiteboards - something that felt more natural and unstructured than to-do lists. As I would get things done, I would scratch them off. The things I wrote down were usually just thoughts (as opposed to "tasks") and never had associated numbering systems (for priority) or deadlines.

Eventually, I decided to scratch this itch with my first web-based app, Pocket. I released an MVP a few days ago and it gained quite a bit of traction here on HN, receiving thousands of hits and nothing but positive feedback. While building Pocket, I translated much of my experiences with physical note-taking to make the app feel as natural as possible, and I'm really pleased with what I have accomplished thus far. Over the past month or so, I've recorded hundreds of thoughts - everything from new Pocket features to songs I want to download to little miscellaneous reminders, etc. If you're interested, check it out at http://letspocket.com. I'd love to hear what you think and whether or not it suits your needs.

Looks neat, I'll give it a go. Dude, you should add it to https://chrome.google.com/webstore

It is both: if you find yourself abandoning systems after 3 weeks, then something about the way the system fits you is wrong. Perhaps it's too complex. Maybe it isn't flexible enough. Maybe it inherently creates too much guilt so you get frustrated and give up.

It may help to think of the number one goal of a todo list as a place to get onto paper (or bytes, whatever) all the things you have in your head that you think you need to do, NOT as something which will help you get more done. The primary benefit is to remove your anxiety about having to remember everything you need to do. Once it's all out of your head and in one place, you can easily determine what it is you need to be doing right now, and forget everything else.

Complicated GTD or todo systems just bog you down and take too much fiddling and constant review/maintenance. I use two lists: a "dump" list where I put anything/everything that I need/want to do, and an "action" list where I move a few things from the dump that I'm going to focus on for the day or very immediate future. It's a simple matter to go through the dump and pick out the highest priorities and move them to action.

If you're struggling, I'd advocate trying something simple like this and forgetting more complicated systems. Google Tasks is perfect for something like this.

Forget dates and times. Don't set dates to get something done.

That's what worked for me and that's why I love Workflowy, I can set the to-do on my way and rearrange the best way at anytime.

http://workflowy.com/

It's both. You need to personally believe it's important for it to stick, and you have to train yourself to keep it in mind. It has to become like a demanding girlfriend you have to remember to txt or call. You can't dump her because she's loaded and you work for her dad.

The right system is totally secondary. It can be as simple as a note in your front pocket. In fact, a written note is good because you have to continually rewrite it, and that makes the tasks stick in your head. It also becomes a huge hassle to keep writing down the same things instead of getting them off the list. When I have to kill my list I do this.

Day to day I use google tasks (iphone-dock and firefox-sidebar) and it stays in my face all day between those two.

A long list is good. There's nothing that guarantees failure in todo world like having tasks like: "Profit". You have to break everything down to the smallest particle you can, then you knock off more things more often and you get used to using your system.

Determination is the most valuable skill in the world, stick with whatever you do and it will pay off in every aspect of your life.

Your to-do list, what sort of items they contain? If it is about when the certain homeworks and when the finals are, then the best for you is to use a calendar system. I use Mozilla Sunbird. Here is image of what my calendar looked like last semester: http://peri.me/albums/aDemoUzer/1/original/Calendar-F10.png - I color-code all of my items, so I can visually tell when homeworks due, the midterms are and so on. - On the left, you can see what various colors mean. - In the task panel, I usually add in items to plan out what I should be doing for this and next week. This gives me some idea as to what I should work on now and next. If I get bored of working on what I am doing right now, I start on something else I need to do.

During the final's week, I added in to-do things like what I would be studying and when in order to prepare for all of those exams: http://peri.me/albums/aDemoUzer/1/original/FIanl%20week-F10....

Here is my advice. Review all the planner systems and make a list pro/con and how it fits with how you think/work. Pick one and stick to it for the whole semester. At the end it won't matter as long as you have some kind of system to keep tabs on your goals, plans and values. Once you are acclimated to using a planning system only then should you consider switching or trying other systems.

I used 3M's Digital Post-it notes. Look like virtual post-its on your desktop. Super simple for me.

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