Don't get me wrong, this is probably great software, but there is a big field of tasks like reminder apps, calendar, note taking apps etc. for which I just use a plain free form text editor. I don't quite see what these tools offer, other than pretty user interfaces. And after taking the time to learn the new tools, there will still be cases when I won't have access to them, while plain text works everywhere
Same here. I've been using "todo.txt" for years (decade?) now. It's hardly more than a very loosely defined format to present TODOs. Lot's of tools, apps, GUIs and whatnot developed around it.
The format is so easy that anything that can edit txt allows to manage it without hassle, so even if MyFavoriteTool is abandoned in a year, I can continue with my todo system. And synching a text file is a no-brainer too. I now just use dropbox. But used git, rsync and some more in the past.
The only downside I've constantly run against, is that I cannot "share" this with my spouse or colleagues. Guess "team" function could easily be invented, but so far no one has, that I know, and I'm not going to put that task on this todo.txt file either.
I think i read some where (or maybe i heard it on a podcast?) about a user of todo.txt who maintained a separate todo.txt like shared-todos.txt or something which basically was a file which was shared with others to track , well, shared tasks. I think they also incorporated a shared calendar, but can't recall if the calendar and the shared text file were connected manually or automatically (through some bash script). I don't recall any more of the details. But, i guess it is possible, and at least one person does employ this tactic. My assumption there is that any sharing of such a text file would necesitate that all collaborators are text file-centric users too.
This approach is not something that would work for my family...but, maybe i have a friend or 2 (at most!) who could collaborate this way (that is, sharing a text file of ToDos). But, i wonder how annoying it would be to track such a separete file for this? Hmmm. I think at some point the need for multi-person collaboration might break down with only a single text file...and since things likely need to get at least a little more sophisticated, might necesitate more tooling. I guess.
For me it's dependencies and automatic urgency ordering. Greys out whatever I can't do yet without actually hiding it, helps decide what's most important to do next, and automatically adjusts all of it when a task is completed.
I did only use a text file before fiddling with those two features and finding they did actually help me. Nowadays I use taskwarrior for anything that will last longer than a day, and a temporary text file for only the things I plan to do that day.
For me personally, timed reminder is a must have. Being able to give some task a date and then forget about it until its due and gives me proactive reminder. As far as I know, no text-based system is capable of that.
I was going to say something similar. Is it ever the case that a single app or something tiny piece of technology has revolutionised a persons discipline and ability to stay on top of things?
While apps might make things easier, unless the individual develops a personal system and follows it in a disciplined fashion, none of these things are going to make a difference.
Tools are just that, tools. 150 years ago someone might have said the same thing about a pocket watch or a paper calendar.
The question is, whether the form of task keeping the tool encourages fits to your practice. E.g. if you have a well ordered software engineering life, thst thing might be perfect, if you are a mother of three that works as a alpine guide a paper based system might work better. Or you might just not like the choices they made — which is a perfectly fine reason not to use it.
What I have learned is that procrastinators will hunt for the perfect tool to manage their backlog, especially when it means they can avoid tackling their backlog.
One thing tho: time tracking can be an eye opener. Many people do 30 minutes of effective work a day, while (understandably) feeling stressed for not getting shit done. Task Warrior has a great time tracking extension. So depending on your life and needs it might be well worth figuring out where you spend your time.
I am with you, as of now I use a paper notebook for all that.
But in a previous (more predictable) life I was using task warrior and time warrior and was very happy with it. Especially since it also runs on android and you can just sync the data.
If you like Command line applications and need something that is good for many tasks in nested projects and time tracking capabilities (e.g. as happens in software world) it is worth checking out.
