
Life ToDo - joeyespo
http://blog.alexmaccaw.com/life-todo
======
jmduke
I don't mean to be pointlessly negative, but this is the kind of post that
makes me chuckle a bit at the idea of Svbtle being 'the future of journalism',
and a hallmark for posts of a superior quality. There's nothing particularly
actionable or novel, which would be excusable if it were at least interesting.

I don't mean to disparage Alex -- a lot of his posts have been incredible,
such as how he implemented asynchronous image uploading
(<http://blog.alexmaccaw.com/svbtle-image-uploading>) -- but this would
benefit from showing it to an editor and asking for advice.

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edw519
This is the opposite of what I do. My TODO list has exactly one item on it:
the most important thing. Once that's done, I will then pick the new most
important thing and it will become the only item on my TODO list.

I do this for 2 main reasons:

If I have too many items on my TODO list and I get tired or lazy (which
happens too often), then I will gravitate to those items which are easiest or
the most gratifying at that moment without regard to importance. The problem
is that I don't realize that I'm working on a lower priority until it's too
late and my time has been lost.

The other reason is that I believe I really don't know what the second most
important thing to do is until _after_ I've done the first most important
thing. I have discovered that I learn a lot through both the process and the
result of doing the first item. That learning often reveals what to do next.
(Ex: Now that I understand what the process must be, I have to redo the
database schema.)

OP's description of his system was very interesting. It made me wonder if I'm
missing something.

Alex, would it invade your privacy too much to see an example of your TODO
list? (An example's worth a thousand words.)

~~~
hackerpolicy
Not to mention that by sharing it, he would be 33% more likely to accomplish
whatever is on the list.

~~~
tjoff
Or more likely to not accomplish whatever is on the list. I read a study that
claimed that the act of sharing what you intend to do makes you believe you
are making progress before you even started - and making it more likely that
you will not accomplish whatever you had intended.

This most likely varies a lot depending on the person. For me, telling someone
what I intend to do is a good motivator (although I'm sure it would loose its
value if I abused it).

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natural219
I _just_ started doing this two weeks ago, and I can't emphasize enough how
much this has changed my life. Keep in mind, this is going from _absolutely
zero_ organization to at least a basic system, so if you're already a
structural person, YMMV.

I use Workflowy for this, and it's nearly perfect for the job. If you've been
thinking of doing something like this, I recommend you try this out. It's
_extremely_ fast and I feel like it has greatly improved my life.

My workflowy layout looks like this:

    
    
      Goals
        - Weekly
        - Monthly
        - Yearly
      
      Todo
        - Today
        - Tomorrow
        - etc
      
      Backlog
        - These are proposals for things to fold into my todo list.  They include current projects, things I want to learn, hobbies I want to start, etc.
      
      Roadblocked / not ready
        - Items that cannot be accomplished yet due to another person or event
      Projects
        - This is a repository for notes about my current projects.  I use workflowy's @ and # tags for this, and link specific labels to items / groups in my Todo list.  (This is one of the cool things about   Workflowy)
      
      Ideas for applications
        - I have a large repository of ideas I've had.  These range from half-baked "in the shower" ideas, to fully flushed out business models with market research, presentation text, etc.  
        - This is a very subtle but extremely useful way to record your thoughts.  There's almost no friction between typing "ctrl + t, w, return, @ideas" any time I'm using a web browser with a keyboard.
      
      Random thoughts
        - Other things I'm thinking

~~~
lefnire
Glad I'm not the only one to use Workflowy for that. It's perfect for the job!
My lists are _much_ deeper, and categorized _within_ life goals. So I have a
top-level item called "Move to Europe" with nested TODOs representing all that
needs to get done for that to happen. The deepest item in that list is my
current contract project's tasks. Seems unrelated, but I'm not moving to
Europe until I finish my current project. From time to time navigating up and
down my lists, I "accidentally" stumble upon the whole point of all this -
moving to Europe. It's a wonderful workflow, and keeps me in tune with what
matters in my goals. Seriously, I may be overselling - but Workflowy has
changed my life :)

After that, I use my own <https://habitrpg.com> to keep me on task with my
Workflowy.

~~~
mtgx
HabitRPG may be exactly what I was looking for. Do you know any other likes
that, or is that the best you know of?

~~~
lefnire
I made that site _because_ I couldn't find anything quite like it. Since
making it though, I've found Beeminder, which is pretty flipping cool.
Additionally, there's EpicWin - but that's only an iPhone app, no website or
Android. I'm biased :) (PS, there are few Android equivalents out there, but
meh).

~~~
mtgx
There's something wrong in Chrome with the login button. It works on Firefox,
but it stays disabled in Chrome. I think I had the same problem when I
registered too, and I have to use Firefox. And could you add Google sign-in
integration, too?

~~~
dreeves
Uh oh, are you referring to Beeminder here?

PS: Thanks so much to lefnire of <http://HabitRPG.com> for the kind words!

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socmoth
> were 33% more likely to achieve them than those that merely formulated
> goals.

I've heard this before and I've also heard the exact opposite. That telling
other people your goals reduces the chances of finishing them. The theory I
remember (I google but was unable to find a good link) was that telling
someone a goal feels 60% as good as actually doing the goal itself. So it is
easier to just tell everyone your goals and then invent new goals.

I'm not trying to contradict Alex Maccaw. I've just noticed this dichotomy
before and been curious how people reconcile the two theories.

Has anyone else noticed these two recommendations or know what I'm referring
to?

~~~
charliepark
I can't speak to the accuracy of the studies he's quoting here, but Derek
Sivers talks about this in a post on his blog (<https://sivers.org/zipit>).
Central quotes:

"Once you've told people of your intentions, it gives you a “premature sense
of completeness.”"

"You have “identity symbols” in your brain that make your self-image. Since
both actions and talk create symbols in your brain, talking satisfies the
brain enough that it “neglects the pursuit of further symbols.”"

But, as others have pointed out, what Alex is talking about is (I believe)
more of a list for your own benefit, rather than a publicly-shared list.

~~~
mbudde
He has also done a TED talk:
[http://www.ted.com/talks/derek_sivers_keep_your_goals_to_you...](http://www.ted.com/talks/derek_sivers_keep_your_goals_to_yourself.html).

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joshdotsmith
This is an interesting concept and I once tried to build a company around it.
Productizing the concept led to me understand some of the problems inherent
with goal setting, and what you can do to counter them.

Most people share a similar set of vague goals. "Eat healthier." "Make more
money." "Do what I love." "Fall in love." But very few want to take the time
to break down how they would accomplish it. The more time you spend on this
step, the closer you'll get to understanding challenges you might face and
learning how to overcome them.

The act of sharing your goal makes you put less effort into achieving it[0].
We get a kind of high from imagining ourselves completing it, and this
partially satisfies the urge to complete it.

How do you set a time limit for your harder goals? And what happens when you
don't achieve them within your established timeframe? For many people, failure
can be depressing. Know in advance that timelines are fluid and that missing a
milestone is okay.

It's hard to group daily life tasks under your broader, overarching goals.
Take time out daily (ideally at the start of the day) to remind yourself why
you're doing what you're doing. At the end of the day, review whether what you
did helped or hindered your stated long-term goals.

Just a few suggestions from a year's worth of seeing how 20,000 people try to
accomplish their goals.

[0]
[http://www.ted.com/talks/derek_sivers_keep_your_goals_to_you...](http://www.ted.com/talks/derek_sivers_keep_your_goals_to_yourself.html)

~~~
ebertx
I recently read The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg which from my perspective
goes in line with some of the things you stated. It's changed how I view
setting goals. I still will decide on some specific result I want, but I focus
most of my energy on deciding on and trying to inculcate habits that will move
me toward the desired result.

Anyway, the book is good. I think it covers an important aspect of goal-
setting that can easily be overlooked.

------
brador
This style of todo list quickly gets out of hand, leading to more time
required for maintaining a spreadsheet than actually completing tasks, leading
to eventual abandonment. Stick with a pad of sticky notes and or notepad.
Nothing else comes close.

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scrrr
I have multiple todo-lists in the iOS Reminders-app. They are labeled after
things like the app I am currently working on (where I use it like a poor
man's ticketing system), private life, and even a shopping list.

I write down things as they come up and check regularly. Some lists get
checked each time it makes sense (when I go to the store or open up XCode for
a few hours of coding), others get checked every day or every week.

Things that are obsolete, done or no longer important, get checked off or
deleted. I am ruthless about it. The fewer items, the better.

I think the secret of success is to have ONE place where every task, idea or
project goes. If you have that then putting things there becomes almost an
automatic reflex.

And I neither store things like big life goals in my todo-lists, nor do I
write down all the steps required for each task. I can think of the steps when
I start working on an item.

Also, it is nice that the Reminders-app is simple and clean, but at the same
time that it syncs between all my devices. If I was using different systems I
might try a service like Catch or Evernote to share my lists.

My recommendation for everyone is to come up with a system for themselves and
stick to it. It becomes easy after a while.

Most of all, it gives you peace of mind. Because if you write something down,
you can forget about it. Until you check your list again that is.

------
graue
So here's a silly idea HN might appreciate. After reading some protocol specs
I thought of using the key words from RFC 2119[1] to organize my todo list.

There are tasks I MUST do, which are an absolute requirement. There are tasks
I SHOULD do: there may exist valid reasons to postpone or skip them, but the
full implications should be carefully weighed first. And there are tasks I MAY
do, things that aren't essential at all, although they would be neat if I have
time.

This helps because before, I would typically clutter my todo list with every
random cool idea that came to mind, then get overwhelmed and never do most of
it. Or spend all day on fun yet unimportant stuff. Now the priority C, or
"MAY", items are clearly marked and I prune any that cease to interest me,
while gravitating to priority A, or "MUST", items to complete first.

[1] <https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc2119>

~~~
joshdotsmith
You're right on the mark with this. There's a book for adults with ADHD that
recommends the exact same prioritization scheme. I've used it for years to
prioritize tasks as A, B, and C to great effect.

~~~
groby_b
There's also the "four quadrants" shtick - 7 Habits, IIRC.

Divide into Important/Not Important and Urgent/Not Urgent. (And then ditch all
"Not important, not urgent" tasks :)

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SonicSoul
I used to go with Brian Tracy's advice and write my goals out on a piece of
paper every morning. Then review with what I've put down in previous
days/weeks. It forces the creative muscle and also some goals reveal
themselves as less important when they get omitted enough times.

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koji
I'm always looking for ways to stay motivated and keep me focused. I've tried
the Todo list before, but it always seems to fall by the wayside when the
little things in life come up.

What have other's done that has worked for them personally?

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carlosaguayo
I used to have something similar but then my document became hard to maintain
and to keep it focused (short term goals vs long term goals). I switched to a
slightly different approach, I use Evernote and I have 3 tags for notes, a
"daily", "month" and "year". Which should be obvious, in "daily" I write down
the things that I know I want to get done that day. In month I have higher
level goals for that month, same with year. Helps a lot keep tracks in
perspective and organize the "day to day" stuff along with the higher picture
and longer term perspective.

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zerovox
I have a similar document, that I use to plan pretty much everything from
personal projects, to shopping lists, to restaurants I want to try out, etc. I
found google docs to be pretty unmaintainable, and have settled on using
<https://workflowy.com/> for this as a hierarchical bullet point style
TODO/Notes lists. I'd highly recommend it to anyone else like myself who have
tried 20 different TODO list applications but have never settled on a good
solution

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tjtrapp
I get the to-do list... I used to make them myself.

However, I found that I would stress over the list. I need to do this or I
need to do that... whatever! Stress sucks and my life is better w/out it.

Now, I follow the "whats the most important thing I should be doing right
now?" and do it.

<http://paulgraham.com/procrastination.html>

Not everyone is like me, so I suggest sticking with what works for you and
your life situation.

Cheers.

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ezYZ
I've kept a similar todo list in a Trello board since last year. It acts as an
indispensable reminder of priorities and progress — like an analytics
dashboard for life.

While it's somewhat useful as a reference and procrastination deterrent, I
find the real value comes from asking myself the big, fuzzy "What do I want
out of life?" questions more often.

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rwc
> Naturally this list is in constant flux, and as I grow older my priorities
> change.

I benefit tremendously from having a "Life TODO" list of my own, but my list
is designed to be in flux as little as possible. A constant state of flux for
true life goals sounds like a recipe for doing a lot of interesting things an
inch deep instead of a mile deep.

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oboizt
This article is a welcome reminder that I've been intending to do this.
Somehow, I usually remember all the things I want to do around 2am and then
forget them again by the morning. It would be nice to have a more frequent
reminder. And I love using Google docs for things like this. Things to do,
places I want to go, etc.

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jukkah
Those apps and google docs are all so waste of time! You should use
<http://www.trello.com> it has also apps for ios and android but normally runs
in locked chrome tab. Trello is like power boosting ur todo when u have many
projects and goals.

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mtgx
What are some good, easy to use progress tracking tools that encourage you to
keep working or "do one more"?

I've been using <http://www.joesgoals.com>, but it only really works for one
type of task only, as it counts everything together otherwise.

~~~
mise
Goalsontrack.com is one, it attempts to link your long-term goals with
everyday tasks.

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ehmuidifici
My 2013 resolution is: merge all my todo-lists in just one, with a very few
tasks, no more than 5 per day, that I really need to accomplish.

The reason is simple: the more I had fed them with tasks and didn't accomplish
them - hard working is a recurrent reason - the more I got frustrated.

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kyro
One thing I learned from reading _Switch_ (a great book, by the way) is to
write down tasks in much smaller and actionable steps. So instead of "finish
paper", you'd write "write introduction" and so forth. It's worked so far.

~~~
bonaldi
If I'm reading this right, he's talking about broader life goals, not just
tasks as such. A strategy todo list to keep you on the right track, if you
like.

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ericb
It seems like you might be better off keeping your goals to yourself.

[http://www.ted.com/talks/derek_sivers_keep_your_goals_to_you...](http://www.ted.com/talks/derek_sivers_keep_your_goals_to_yourself.html)

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joss82
Shameless plug: I built a small web app to manage and share your bucket list.

<http://www.challengelistcreator.com>

Any idea for improvement?

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_nato_
There's an app for that! -- actually, there are 1000 apps for that:
<http://chizzl.com/>

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jaredstenquist
I do the same with Trello. I have a "life" board. Easy to move things around
as priorities change.

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jonathanjaeger
Then there's those that think it's better to have an anti-todo list.

