A poor attempt at humour to introduce a subject that doesn't get discussed much here - to-do lists.

I've never been really happy with my to-do system and wondered what solutions people here might have found. I always seem to end up with massive lists that become largely irrelevant.

Do you use:

- a to-do list generated as part of a PIM (such as Outlook)
- a purpose designed to-do manager (there are any number around)
- other software solutions (such as Brainstorm) which are flexible enough to be used for multiple purposes.

TIA

Jack

Jack,

I am not sure my response will be of any service because I don't actually "maintain" a to-do list. I've tried that, of course, several times (and probably will again in the future) but I always found it completely overwhelming. Questions like "In how much detail do you parse a project?" or "Should I include every piece of my life on my to-do list?" hound me. I find that if I make a to-do list and then don't include every single thing the system falls apart... or maybe I fall apart. I do better when I don't have a to-do list, but just work a project one step at a time. Generaly, I am able to do this in my head, but when I can't, I find that Brainstorm is a great way to think through a project at the start. I usually don't chip it into tiny pieces, just steps or milestones. But sometimes I need more focus, and Brainstorm, of course, allows for that. I usually find that just the exercise of making the list is all I need, and I don't even have to refer back to it... though it is nice to know it is there if I need it.

If I'm creating a list of steps that need more detail, I will sometimes use ECCO Pro, which allows me to add meta data details and check things off as I go.

However, if I really, really wanted to create to-do lists and use them extensively, I would use ListPro (www.iliumsoft.com), which is one of the great list-building programs around... and has terrific Palm and PocketPC versions for taking your lists wherever you go.

Steve Z.

Jack

Thanks for bringing this issue up; I'm sure everyone can benefit from reading each other's approaches.

I personally take a similar route to Steve Z.'s in terms of planning a project, i.e. starting in Brainstorm or Freemind to note and roughly analyse the actions. However, as I work in several projects at the same time, I need some kind of in-context reminder system. For this I use Hyperclip, which is my carry-around general project infobase, containing descriptions, contacts, budgets, notes, etc.

Hyperclip is a regular two pane outliner, but benefits from a flat "Index" view, where all entries are sorted alphabetically; this can be filtered by type of entry, i.e. Contact, To-Do, Reminder, Diary, Information etc.

What I do is to create Reminder entries within the various projects I am working on, noting the next priority action; I start the Reminder titles with "!" so that they appear at the top of the list in both filtered and unfiltered Index views.

(In case the above sounds familiar, I've mentioned some of it before in http://www.outliners.com/discuss/msgReader$3095?mode=day )

The benefit of this approach is that I can review my tasks both as a flat list and within the specific project context.

alx

Two features are particularly important for todo management: an outline editor to decompose projects into manageable tasks and a list manager for those manageable lists of tasks. It is convenient if the two are integrated. A bare bones program that with these two features is ISTD Organizer (http://www.altstone.com

One problem with programs containing an outline editor is that the embedded outliner is far inferior to your dedicated outliner of choice. I am currently using a to do management system that integrates with my preferred outlining tool, Visual Mind.The do to manager is itself very capable and is oriented around projects instead of calendars--The MasterList (http://www.themasterlist.com It has a Legal version where projects are cases. In addition, to help with problems with indecision I sometimes use a comparison tool, TaskSorter which can be downloaded from http://tinyurl.com/a3l77

One decision about to do lists is the one Steve Zeoli mentions: do you organize your entire life, GTD style. I've found I don't like programs that require a lot of pre-organization. I suppose that's why I have never tried Zoot, although I download it every few months with the intent. But if one's problem is deciding what's important to do, then the prioritizing system of LifeBalance could be the ticket, in that it allows you to evaluate priorities relative to specific objectives, and then evaluate those specific objectives relative to more general ones, with any degree of granularity. Working in an outline yields a flat ordered list containing only ultimate tasks, in order of their importance to you, with significantly greater accuracy of determination than if you evaluated the tasks globally, without the intervening analysis. "My Life Organized" is also slated to get this feature soon.

Stephen R. Diamond

You may find the topic below relevant or not to the present situation but it's nevertheless very interesting; particularly when you read the last post in the thread.

http://www.outliners.com/discuss/msgReader$29?mode=topic

In any case, I think that Agenda-At-Once, combining a hierarchical task list with a regular calendar PIM is well worth a look as an alternative to bygones.

http://www.datalandsoftware.com/agenda/

alx

I am currently using Outlook with the Franklin-Covey addin, plus sync to the Palm of the TodoList and Daily Notes. The FC addin has a reputation of being buggy, but it seems to be working OK for me. Technical Support however, is amongst the worst I have experienced.

The main reason for the FC addin is that it allows you to plan projects as Outlines and then add them as a Todo/appointment when you want to drop them into your schedule. I also like the Master task list approach where you drop every to do into a master task list, and then at the weekly review, convert them as required, into scheduled task.

For the last 15 years or so I have used system which combines Covey and GTD, but I didn't actually know this until I read the Covey and GTD books, and I ma finding the FC add-in works well for me.

Before this I was using Above & Beyond which is a tremedous program that I keep on returning to. Before A&B it was Ecco, and that again was program I kept on returning to.

Graham

For the information of people interested in integrating time management in their outlining, the recent Release Candidates of Freemind include a "Time Plug-In" which enables one to assign reminder dates to entries. Reminders can be viewed in a separate list at any time; in addition, alarms can be set to sound on the due dates.

It is interesting to see how this Open Source tool has been evolving; a few days ago, a Freemind user appeared out of nowhere to contribute a Flash viewer which enables one to publish their maps without the need for Java. Most of the development though is very well coordinated and prioritised. Suffice it to say that Freemind hasn't yet reached version 1.0 but it is already extremely competent.

alx