
Ask HN: Best to-to list, outliner, task manager - owkaye
I'm seeking a simple to-to list, outliner, or task manager to help me list individual tasks -- and to sub-list in priority order the steps needed to accomplish each task.<p>I think a tool like this was posted here some time in the past, but I cannot remember its name.<p>If you have any suggestions for a tool that can handle this in a simple, effective interface please post it in this thread -- and let's discuss the pros and cons of each so I can figure out which is the best tool for my needs.<p>I seem to have a huge number of tasks to accomplish in the new responsibility I've taken on as a manager of a small farm property, and in between programming projects I would love to be able to go to a simple online tool and immediately see a complete list of all the tasks I need to accomplish -- along with the required steps needed to complete each task -- so I can focus on what I NEED to focus on and therefore become more productive.<p>Thanks.
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gwy
I've tried about a million, and have found Todoist.com and Workflowy.com to be
the most aligned with how I manage to-dos.

They both allow hierarchal task lists like you want, and both have extremely
clean interfaces.

Workflowy is particularly useful for focus, as it allows you to sort of "zoom
in" on one task so you see only that task and its subtasks.

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owkaye
I will start by looking at workflowy since you like its ability to focus on a
single task when that's all you care about at that time. Thanks. (edit: I
think workflowy may be the one I heard about here a while back, the name
sounds somewhat familiar.)

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rmah
I use a notebook and a pen. Very cheap, highly portable, super high
resolution, infinite battery life.

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owkaye
Please do not post time-wasting comments like this. I asked a serious question
and I would appreciate a thoughtful and useful answer.

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rmah
My answer was serious. I've tried computer "to do lists" many times. None are
as fast, convenient, accessible, or inexpensive as a simple notebook and a
pen. Sometimes the best solution does not involve a computer.

I rewrite my tasks each day. This tends to have the side effect of making me
complete those nagging little ones that sometimes seem stay forever.

To prioritize, I just put a little star next to the important tasks. I tried
using different color inks and annotating with categories in the past but
found this to be a waste of time.

It is a permanent record that I don't have to worry about backing up. I've got
notebooks going back over 20 years now.

I guess one down side is that one cannot data mine it, I question the actual
usefulness of such an activity.

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owkaye
I've tried pen and paper and it doesn't work well for me.

I have no time or desire to rewrite my tasks every day. There are literally
hundreds of them, each with tens or hundreds of sub-tasks needing to be
finished before the main task is considered complete.

Basically I want to use a computerized system because I believe that it will
be far faster, easier and more flexible for me.

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owkaye
I think this thread has served its purpose. Workflowy appears to be the ideal
tool for what I need. If someone has a better suggestion please email me, my
email address is in my profile. Thanks.

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ramynassar
THings is a pretty good one, available on many platforms

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owkaye
If you can post a URL and/or provide some reasons why you say this is a good
one, that would be helpful. (edit: I found a program called "Getting Things
GNOME!" that is probably similar to the one you referred to as "things".
Thanks.)

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subsection1h
<http://orgmode.org/>

