My favorite tool is a tool within an app called SuperMemo know as plan. [1]. It’s pretty great but lacks mobile support and syncing so I’m interested in knowing what other people use.
Every week a new piece of paper, the main todo list of the week on the right, I push the items on each specific day, I put the calls/family stuff I have on each day. I use the paper from the previous week to start the week. I have a stupidly simple LibreOffice template I print every week.
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 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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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)
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.)
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.
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.
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).
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.
[+] [-] Loic|4 years ago|reply
My "master" Todo list in a simple text file.
[+] [-] afarrell|4 years ago|reply
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...
[+] [-] TheFreim|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] kushan2020|4 years ago|reply
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
[+] [-] pelayjesus|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] flyingchipmann|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] trykondev|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jcuenod|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Ecstatify|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] usrme|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] fscheu|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] btkramer9|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] darkteflon|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] scythmic_waves|4 years ago|reply
- Their free service is fantastic (though I've upgraded)
- My wife and I coordinate tasks easily with it
[+] [-] stevage|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] spacelamb|4 years ago|reply
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...
[+] [-] carnitas|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ipnon|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] klntsky|4 years ago|reply
[0] https://organice.200ok.ch/
[+] [-] BiteCode_dev|4 years ago|reply
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.
[+] [-] solarkraft|4 years ago|reply
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.
[+] [-] gauchojs|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] erikerikson|4 years ago|reply
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.
[+] [-] brezelgoring|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] immnn|4 years ago|reply
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.
[+] [-] mellosouls|4 years ago|reply
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/
[+] [-] zeruch|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] nicbou|4 years ago|reply
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.
[+] [-] themodelplumber|4 years ago|reply
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.
[+] [-] prox|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] harrisonjackson|4 years ago|reply
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.
[+] [-] slindz|4 years ago|reply
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.
[+] [-] fmorrison42|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] satvikpendem|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] aviditas|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] aljgz|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] vnglst|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] spacelamb|4 years ago|reply
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
[+] [-] bluewalt|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] dasil003|4 years ago|reply
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.
[+] [-] LeoPanthera|4 years ago|reply
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.)
[+] [-] hawaiianbrah|4 years ago|reply
I also use slack reminders a lot for work primarily.
[+] [-] hummerbliss|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] aamederen|4 years ago|reply
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
[+] [-] whelton|4 years ago|reply
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
[+] [-] jointpdf|4 years ago|reply
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.