My to do list process changes frequently. Sometimes as i find a new tool or method and sometimes just because i want a clean start. A few months ago i started a new job and decided that this was the opportunity for a new start. I had been keeping my to do list in evernote but found it annoying to manage. So my new start was to go to an old tried and trusted method…index cards.
So the index card continued for about two months but became unwieldy as my duties and responsibilities increased at work and i found myself rewriting my card pack too often. The limitations of cards are obvious, no backup, limited space, no formatting, few opportunities to sort the work, constant rewriting.
My next move was to use a text file. Plain text edited in notepad++. One line per entry, top priority at the top of the list. Complpeted entries at the bottom. Then i started synchronising it using dropbox. Then i started to format the lines more using the python language in notepad++ as it uses indenting as the key to outlining.
So the index card continued for about two months but became unwieldy as my duties and responsibilities increased at work and i found myself rewriting my card pack too often. The limitations of cards are obvious, no backup, limited space, no formatting, few opportunities to sort the work, constant rewriting.
My next move was to use a text file. Plain text edited in notepad++. One line per entry, top priority at the top of the list. Complpeted entries at the bottom. Then i started synchronising it using dropbox. Then i started to format the lines more using the python language in notepad++ as it uses indenting as the key to outlining.
This grew until it got unwieldly (took about four weeks) and I started looking for another method. So about a week ago I went back to my long abandoned todo.txt method originally developed by Gina Trapani. It is still based around a plain txt file that is stored on dropbox and accessed on whatever system I am using. That means the excellent todo.txt android application on my phone and tablet but what to do on my office desktop and home laptop?
Currently I am trying sublime text editor on the home laptop and still using notepad++ on the office desktop.
I have tried the CLI (command line interface) applications and some of the more visual Windows front ends for todo.txt but they do not allow me either the visibility or the flexibility of a text editor.
The search continues but I am relatively happy at the moment with my setup. A future post will look at the differences and benefits of sublime text versus notepad++. Another post will look at using index cards and another one will discuss prioritising work
Links to:
todo.txt http://todotxt.com/
notepad++ http://notepad-plus-plus.org/
sublime text http://www.sublimetext.com/
ideasandmethods 