On using to-do lists efficiently

On using to-do lists efficiently

[Bastien]

Slightly offtopic but I sat down this week-end trying to grasp with
very few words what I learned on how to use to-do lists efficiently
over the years, and here it is:

https://bzg.fr/en/on-using-to-do-lists-efficiently/

Posted it on HN: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26944239

I'm curious if this resonates with your experience.

It took me quite long to appease this love-hate relationship I have
with my to-do lists.

As usual: enjoy!

Re: On using to-do lists efficiently

[Ihor Radchenko]

Bastien <bzg@gnu.org> writes:

> Slightly offtopic but I sat down this week-end trying to grasp with
> very few words what I learned on how to use to-do lists efficiently
> over the years, and here it is:

I am wondering if we can incorporate such or similar tips into Org mode
manual. Similar to Elisp manual section info:elisp#tips, Org mode may
introduce recommended usage of Agenda, TODO-lists, and other major Org
mode components.

Similar idea was also discussed in
https://orgmode.org/list/X9e%2Ffv%2F9Hd4BLHRM@protected.rcdrun.com/ 

> I'm curious if this resonates with your experience.

I have very similar experience, though I have several subtle comments on
some points you raise.

> Write less to-do items and more notes.

Having less TODO items is really helpful. At some point, I found myself
cherry-picking tasks that are easy to do, but not important in place of
tasks that I really needed to do. Moving "wish to" tasks away from
visibility really helps to focus as the size of todo-lists grows to
thousands of tasks.

Yet, I found it helpful to have few "wish to" notes as actual tasks. When
you want to take a short break or have some free time it is handy to
have some "light" task within reach. Otherwise, social media tends to
fill all the free time slots.
I have a setup to quickly move groups of "wish to" tasks between notes
and tasks depending on my workload.

> Your to-do list should be a list of things to do, not to remember

While I generally agree with this, removing things to remember from
visibility most often results in forgetting them, especially as the
number remember notes grows to thousands. Thousands of notes are hard to
review regularly. I find it useful to bring such notes to my attention
from time to time using spaced repetition.

> don't mix notes and tasks

I agree with one exception - notes on literature/articles. For my work,
I need to deal with a lot of reading. It is common that some book may
need to be read multiple times looking for different kinds of
information. Having common summary notes right in the "reading" task is
quite helpful to get started, especially if the previous reading time
was months ago.

> Write precise, concise, atomic tasks

This is a great suggestion. Vague tasks tends to be ignored or
postponed. Having a very concrete action as a task makes it easy to do.
Yet, assigning concrete action to some tasks may itself take significant
time, especially for complex tasks requiring some research. For such
tasks, I often add one simple action required to get started on the
task. This does not require spending much time on planning each step to
complete the task, yet making complex tasks look less intimidating.

Best,
Ihor

Re: On using to-do lists efficiently

[tbanelwebmin]

 Todo lists...

 Of course it resonates. You describe the errors I do.
 I keep moving from to-do-list, to agenda, to notes, and back again.
 
 You say it is not about a tool or a process,
 but rather about discipline.
 Right!
 
 Discipline may be connected to habits.
 From 8:00 to 8:30 I (should) review my to-do-list
 Unfortunately, our lives are full of perturbations
 which invalidate our habits.
 
 Even though it is not about tools,
 I spent years looking for the right tool:
 - pen & paper
 - postit
 - electronic postit
 - note-pads, paper or electronic
 - countless PC & phone applications
 
 Eventually I settled on Emacs Org Mode.
 It was a refreshment when I discovered it.
 
 Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
 
 Note to my future self: enhance my to-do-list


Le 26/04/2021 à 18:18, Bastien a écrit :
> Slightly offtopic but I sat down this week-end trying to grasp with
> very few words what I learned on how to use to-do lists efficiently
> over the years, and here it is:
>
> https://bzg.fr/en/on-using-to-do-lists-efficiently/
>
> Posted it on HN: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26944239
>
> I'm curious if this resonates with your experience.
>
> It took me quite long to appease this love-hate relationship I have
> with my to-do lists.
>
> As usual: enjoy!
>
>
>

Re: On using to-do lists efficiently

[Eric S Fraga]

On Monday, 26 Apr 2021 at 16:18, Bastien wrote:
> Slightly offtopic but I sat down this week-end trying to grasp with
> very few words what I learned on how to use to-do lists efficiently
> over the years, and here it is:
>
> https://bzg.fr/en/on-using-to-do-lists-efficiently/

Thank you for this.  I pretty much follow what you advise.  I also
recommend watching a video by Marcin Swickzkowski from EmacsConf2019:

     https://media.emacsconf.org/2019/09.html 

And I combine all of this with a Zero Inbox approach, not ever using my
inbox as a todo list!

-- 
: Eric S Fraga via Emacs 28.0.50, Org release_9.4.5-337-g29d4cc.dirty