Todo List/Organization Options

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testonej

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Nov 12, 2006
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Austin, Tx.
Hey Guys,
I was wondering if you could help me out. I am trying to get more organized in life and am looking for some suggestions for online web-based todo lists or organization systems. I work between a desktop and laptop and don't want to have to carry a usb drive or anything between them so am looking for something in the cloud.

I have tried Evernote, don't forget the milk, and some others. I need something that can handle categorized todo lists like "home", "work", etc.

Anyone care to share how they keep it all sorted out?
 


If I were serious about this type of project i would whip up something using google docs: Set up a spreadsheet that will hold all your data neatly and use it to create a form for setting up new tasks rapidly. Then you can set up some additional tabs for filtering and symbolizing your data. If you have any coding skills it wouldn't be too tough to build a google gadget that implements your exact needs and interacts with the spreadsheet on the backend.
 
Dude download MyLifeOrganized has rapid task entry it's amazing let's you quickly enter what's on your mind and you can even have it set a reminder. So for example you're doing something and the thought that you have to call someone pops into your head you can go ahead and enter your hot key and type: "Remind me to Call Bob in 25mins" sure enough in 25mins you'll get a reminder to call Bob... wow! In all seriousness it's a great program check it out.
 
amanda11 said:
Try this:

Zen To Done (ZTD): The Ultimate Simple Productivity System | Zen Habits
Click to expand...

Just printed this out. Looks promising.

cassell said:
Dude download MyLifeOrganized has rapid task entry it's amazing let's you quickly enter what's on your mind and you can even have it set a reminder. So for example you're doing something and the thought that you have to call someone pops into your head you can go ahead and enter your hot key and type: "Remind me to Call Bob in 25mins" sure enough in 25mins you'll get a reminder to call Bob... wow! In all seriousness it's a great program check it out.
Click to expand...

^^ Obviously a troll from MyLifeOrganized.
 
It probably depends on what all you're looking to capture. If it's more to manage productivity while at your desk, then by all means go with a web solution.

I've tried a bunch though and never found an all-in-one solution that really kept me comprehensive and honestly disciplined about it.

I've since gone with the following:
-I carry a Moleskine Cahier with me *everywhere* and keep a good stock of them at home. Perfect for jotting down random thoughts, tasks, ideas, quotes, directions, whatever.
-For projects, I use Evernote, and just tag everything appropriately. This works for individual projects and also for larger scope to-do lists. So in my "ToDo" tag, I have notes called home, work, online, financial, campaigns, reading.
-For anything that i need to record permanently and also keep organized, I've set up a personal hosted wiki (using TiddlyWiki, which is easy as hell). I've found that there's much less that I truly need to keep forever than I anticipated, so this is less work than I expected.

None of this I adopted all at once. I started with just the moleskine notebook and tried to be really good about writing everything down. The rest just evolved from there based on my personal needs and tendencies. I think that's the best way to approach it - start with something really simple & easy just to get the habit ingrained. Then modify, adapt, or switch tools as you need.

also, I'll echo the Zen To Done rec, it's a good approach that seems far less intimidating than the overengineered GTD.
 
One thing I am working on is finalizing some worksheets for my business process mapping. For instance, I distilled my assembling line (if you will) down to a little saying, K.D.C.W.L.:

Keywords-->Domains--->Content-->Website---> Links

For each stage of the process I have written down the work flow. I haven't totally finished it but I am close. The best thing about this process is being able to sit back and really find out what your "highest ROI" activities are. Then you can get software/hire out the lowest ROI activities. I learned this from a mentor.

The funny thing is that once you do this, you'll see how much time you waste, esp. on lower ROI activities (like visiting WF, lol). But the silver lining is like "planned" bullshit time.

Once you've mapped out your process, always start the day with getting a few of the high ROI activities done (i.e. the 20% that produces 80% of the results). The cool thing is once the 20% is done, you can go back to wasting effing time on WF! Why? Because you'll know you've done the things that really mattered, so the rest of the stuff NOT getting done won't affect your business nearly as much. But if you don't know precisely what those activities are (the ones with the highest ROI), how do you know how to prioritize them?
But seriously, it really does help. Also, with a process map, should you have to delegate tasks to an assistant, it's alot easier to do so. By each task, try to brainstorm what kind of technology can save you time/money completing it. If not software, than affordable labor....

You still end of wasting time, but the trick I've found is that having daily goals (that you can scratch off) keeps you focused and gives you a 50,000 ft view of where you are and where you need to be.

Happy planning...
 
darbsllim said:
Drop Box is a great program I just started using.

Dropbox - Home - Secure backup, sync and sharing made easy.

freakin sweet for organizing a few GB worth of files that you use between your laptop and your computer - and it's also good for collaboration and file sharing if you are working on projects with otehrs.
Click to expand...

I've been using dropbox since invite-only beta and it's the shit. In fact, I should really look back through my gmail archive and see who it was that sent the invite... because it was someone on this board and the deserve a huge + rep. That shit has been really helpful.

I also think I got my Evernote invite from someone on here. There again is another program I use the fuck out of.

As far as organizing my workflow... I decided to say fuck it and subscribe to backpack & basecamp. I have to force myself to use them, but I'm better for it.
 
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