DonationCoder.com Software > The Getting Organized Experiment of 2009

My assignment: The ToDo List of Doom

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app103:
I have this list on my desktop, one of many todo lists I have. Nothing on it has a defined due date or set priority.

The problem is that once something goes on the list, it never seems to get done. It's more like a "don't do" list than a todo list.

My goal is to change that and clear everything off it by actually doing it.

The first thing I did was transfer the items to my Yahoo Notepad widget and remove the todo list widget from my desktop. (I feel better already!)

My next step will be to break down these items into smaller tasks in Post-it boards, and schedule them into my day (one at a time)..a sort of "do this now" approach, with an option to actually do it now, delay it for defined number of minutes (up to 1 hour), or dismiss it till tomorrow. If I manage to complete a task, I'll schedule another to take its place.

The reason why I am going to use the scheduled post-it note approach is because it pretty much works for me with small "do it now" types of tasks.

The way I see it, no matter what option I choose to use when the alarm rings for a task, instead of it being in a big list hidden behind a bunch of open windows and completely ignored all day every day, only seen when I reboot to a clean desktop (which I am rarely actually conscious of seeing the list), the items will be broken down into actionable tasks and brought to my conscious attention every day until they get done.

The list has lost a number of tasks during the transfer from the ToDo List widget to the notepad widget, mainly things that were on there so long that they don't matter any more and aren't even worth considering doing. I also removed the items that are so vague that I can't even begin to think about doing them in the near future, and are better off on my ideas list.

That leaves me with 9 tasks, 8 of which are very doable, and 1 which I may resist doing till death.

Let's see how many of the 8 I can get done, first, then I'll worry about the last one.

One thing you won't hear this year is the state of my home and how much I hate housework. I seem to have that under control now, with the tea approach.

mouser:
Just read the tea approach idea -- sounds like a good idea that might actually work.

As for a todo list ever present on your desktop/monitor -- i'm curious to hear how that works out for you.  I've concluded that I absolutely cannot have these todo items in front of me on my monitor constantly -- it's much too distressing and distracting.

One of the things i love about my index card approach is that i can simply pull out the ONE item i am going to work on at any given time and clear my entire workspace of everything else.  Much more calming and less stressful to know that i can just reach in and find 1 thing manageable if i feel like i need to be productive.

app103:
See, that's the problem...the big list wasn't working at all. Not only was I not doing anything that was on it, I became immune to the presence of it. Plus I usually don't see my desktop, and it was pinned there at the lowest level, covered by all the open windows. Pretty much out of sight, out of mind. The only time i was ever acutely aware of the list was if I rebooted and for some reason it didn't load. But even then, it was the list itself that I thought of and not anything on it.

The memo board with the post-its isn't on my screen all the time, and except for placing the notes on it and choosing the next to set an alarm on, I never have to see it again. I can fill it up and set an alarm on a note, that note appears on my task list in my alarm manager, and the focus of my attention is on whatever caused the alarm to go off at that moment. All I really see is a single task. I don't pay attention to the upper portion of the alarm manager where the whole alarm list is, because there are things there that I won't need to think about for months, like birthdays & stuff.


That's a reminder to grab the free stock photo of the day.

I can trash the note right from the alarm manager when I am finished with something, or click a button to dismiss that instance of it, for something with a repeating alarm.

I can also change the time something rings, if I find myself ignoring the task too often. (maybe I am just not picking the right time of day?)

This is the approach that seems to work well for me, for a lot of small tasks that need to be done or things I need to remember. I was pretty lost without it last year, when I couldn't run the software on the old PC. I felt like I had my brain stored in there and it couldn't work without it.

The index card thing would be great but I'd end up letting it sit there, gathering dust, possibly shoving it in a drawer to get it out of my way and not having it take up valuable space. Plus it doesn't make noise to remind me it exists and has things in it that need to be done.

mnemonic:
Great post - I'm also intrigued by the tea idea, as the little-and-often approach seems to work.

Being able to dismiss the item sounds like it would be good for when more important tasks appear.  Perhaps it would be good to have a retry limit theat does something else, rather than raise an alarm, when you meet it - maybe it flashes up in red every 5 minutes (with some kind of penalty to stop it - maybe entering a long string like one of DCs applications whose name I can't remember).  Hmm...a NANY perhaps?

Dormouse:
I'd have to say that Mark Forster's AutoFocus System works well for many, including me. The ideas underlying it help a lot of people overcome 'procrastination' - though that's not why I find it helpful. Emphasis on 'little and often', closed lists and dismissing stuff that will never get done.

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