
Ask HN: How do you prioritise your daily tasks and to-dos? - mahringer_a
Any models, routines or hacks that you use and can highly recommend?
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tosh
Don't do Inbox Zero.

I forgot the quote but it is very spot on imho: your inbox is someone elses
todo list. Especially starting the day with email is one of the worst things
you can do imho. It puts you into reactive mode.

You want to stay pro-active and actively chose the things you need to be on
top of.

I keep a few tabs open on email threads that are important to me and for
people I'm close to I usually tell them to reach out to me via facebook
(white-list opt-in vs opt-out).

I can not emphasize enough how big of a game changer that was. People think
about handling email and inbox zero all the time and obsess about it as if
processing all emails in a day was the key to getting stuff done. I think
that's too narrow of a pov.

Disclaimer: CEO & Product @ blossom.io

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sdrothrock
I practice Inbox Zero. Every e-mail I get is a task and once I finish it, I
archive it. Things that I need to prioritize get a star or a label.

The nice thing about this is that I can add to the task list easily by
e-mailing myself and check on past things by just looking through things I've
sent to myself. :)

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devarist
I also practise Inbox Zero. The other thing I do is make a daily list of
things I MUST do that day in Devarist (www.devarist.com), everything else is
in long term storage, jira, email etc. If I find my mind wandering I review
the list and get back on point.

Disclaimer: I built Devarist.

~~~
cableshaft
Devarist looks pretty cool. I signed up for the free account and if it works
well I'll probably upgrade. I've been keeping track of this stuff on a paper
notebook but I think this will be more useful.

I'm a little worried that there seems to be a lack of searching through notes.
I understand that might just be a feature that's not enabled for the free
version, but personally I'd like to see how every feature of the site would
work, if possible, before upgrading (even if the search is only for the limit
of the past 10 notes).

~~~
devarist
Thanks @cableshaft, glad you like it!

Search is near the top of my Trello board, it's coming soon.

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spike021
I've been trying to get into using Trello more often. Usually I'll set up
checklists for subsets of tasks and cards for larger projects or meetings (so
I can add separate notes, files, etc.). It works pretty well. Just drag
'finished' cards into a 'Completed' pile or similar, check off items on a
list, etc. Also easy to add people in to a board as collaborators, for
instance if you need a manager overlooking your progress or teammates to vote
on X task (maybe prioritize bug-fix, etc.).

~~~
mahringer_a
Have you tried blossom.io? I find it so much cleaner and usable compared to
trello, helped boost our productivity big time!

~~~
spike021
Nope, haven't heard of it before. I'll have to check it out. Thanks for the
tip!

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Gustomaximus
I started using Outlook Tasks. Combined with the calendar this is a very
efficient system if you stay disciplined and take the extra couple seconds to
manage this. Part of this is keeping a clean inbox but rather than doing
everything as it comes through I use this criteria:

-Do it

-Decide When

-Delegate It

-Delete

Everything email gets responded, forwarded, allocated to a task with dates or
placed in the calendar with time booked. I try and limit this review to the
morning/lunch and afternoon. Otherwise I turn of all email notifications (with
a few VIP's set up) and crack on with the day.

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zhte415
I, simply, remember them.

Inbox Zero seriously depreciates my effectiveness. Not every email is a task,
some are echos of tasks and some are simply OK to let sit.

By becoming task-based, a lot of the people-based stuff can be left behind.
And making people-stuff tasks, well, the people part that has just become a
task, and is not a check-off and not a meaningful interaction.

I recommend taking a look at the relationships and tasks you with to
garner/complete and go from there. Managing yourself is not managing day-to-
day tasks, but is.

~~~
tosh
Spot on. Tools like RelateIQ that put a releationship layer on top of email
communication can help here.

You don't want to miss an email from your team or from your investors but at
the same time it is perfectly fine to not chase inbox zero, that's a very
menial and time-consuming effort if not busy-work.

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jason_slack
I use old fashioned pen and paper.

I have a weekly calendar, one column for each day and it is 8.5x11 landscape.
I plot out my week with things like errands, standard weekly things like "put
out the garbage", "pick up co-op share", etc. Add in work tasks, etc. Cross
off when done. Circle when not finished.

I also have a "shit list" as it is entitled. Tasks here need to get completed
or bad things happen :-)

So I carry around a few pieces of paper and my trusty pen.

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mhoad
I have a relatively strict Omnifocus workflow that I use to manage everything.
It genuinely was such a relief to get everything out of my head and into a
system that I could 100% rely on if I just followed a couple of simple rules
consistently. There is no way I could go back to trying to mentally manage
everything again.

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mahringer_a
Anyone got experience w. the Eisenhower Box?

[http://jamesclear.com/wp-
content/uploads/2014/04/eisenhower-...](http://jamesclear.com/wp-
content/uploads/2014/04/eisenhower-box.jpg)

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eecks
I've tried countless todo apps for Android, Windows and in browsers. I've
stopped using them all. I just keep everything in my mind now.

~~~
dotnick
As the developer of a mobile todo app, I would love to know why. Was there
something missing?

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eecks
I think it might be "todo overload". When I get an app, I write down some
immediate todos and then get them done. But I also write down future todos and
after a while I just get bogged down in the list.

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walkingolof
Emacs org-mode, look no further

[http://orgmode.org/](http://orgmode.org/)

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atmosx
I have a personalized, really awesome looking notebook (Stamford made) and the
OSX + mac 2Do app.

