how i handle todo lists
[This is part of a series of posts on how I process information.]
I feel like a big part of my work and school life has been led by my todo list. I've tried a bunch of different ways.
In high school I used a planner. I stopped when I got to college, though. I don't remember why. I think perhaps I was able to keep track of which homeworks were due soonest in my head, since there were fewer of them in general.
general tasks
Still, when I started having longer projects, I ended up relying more and more on org-mode to manage my tasks.
A sample of my todo list in org-mode. I like the hierarchy and the fact that it's all text based.
org-mode calendar view. It's nice to see exactly what I need to do each day.
I've tried a bunch of different task managers (remember the milk, todoist, physical notecards, planner again), but I keep coming back to org-mode. I like that there's nice keyboard shortcuts for moving tasks around, marking them as done, and scheduling them. The calendar view helps a lot too.
I should qualify that I have months of time where I am using org-mode, and then months where I just rely on some project notes or my memory to guide me through my tasks. It helps most when I have a lot of tasks at the same time. Perhaps I like to work in seasons, like mei.
out and about lists
My lists of things to do on keep. These include: groceries, books to read1, movies and shows to watch, and ideas for writing.
I use Google Keep for my running lists of groceries, books to read, movies to watch, and things to write about. The biggest reason for using keep is that it's easy to read and edit from my phone. For instance, if I run out of something at home, I can just quickly stop and add it to my groceries list. If I'm hanging out with a friend and they mention a book they really enjoyed, I can add a short note on the book without interrupting the flow of the conversation.2
A list of places I've labeled as wanting to visit on Google Maps. It's fun to see markers accumulate in areas I've spent more time in.
I also mark recommendations for places to visit (like restaurants or museums) on Google Maps. It's particularly nice when I go out to an area I'm not familiar with. I can see all the recommendations from friends or from my discoveries and pick a place that way.
It is strangely intimate to post a portion of my to read list here... It feels as if you were a guest in my home, dear reader, and admired my odd collection of books in my bookshelf. Yet even there, it would be unclear which books I've yet to read and which I just had around. Here it is unambiguous. I got self-conscious and moved a book or two below the fold...↩
To be honest, I'm sometimes too anxious to take out my phone to jot down a note during a conversation. In that case, I just take a note when there is a break or after the conversation is over. I found that I usually remember the recommendations when I head home, but I often forget after a day or two. It always seems so clear in my mind when I first hear the recommendation, but alas it's so easy to forget I even got a recommendation after a night's sleep.↩