Getting Things Done (GTD) method

[Amethyst]

If any of you have used/are using/are familiar with GTD method of stress-free productivity, please help me out.

I recently started a new job, very different from my old position. This job is administrative. When I moved into this new office, not only was the position new but there is no room for more stuff. Bookshelf is stuffed, 3 file cabinets are filled, file folders were on top of desk because I guess previous person had nowhere else to put them. But new “stuff” keeps coming at me (mental, physical, electronic). Every day. Every hour. I really want to get things under control and feel more productive and feel like I’m not just reacting to the loudest or most recent thing. 
 

I want to use GTD. I’ve recently downloaded Todoist because it seems like it would work well with GTD. But on Friday, I felt like all my to-do items were “hidden” in my project lists. So maybe I’m not setting up Todoist right. Maybe I don’t need “project lists” and instead there should be Next Actions lists. Or maybe the Inbox feature of Todoist is like the Next Action lists. 
 

Aaggh. I’m getting overwhelmed thinking of all of this, and it’s supposed to be stress-free. Any ideas for a newbie to both GTD and Todoist?

[Carol in Cal.]

I've read the book, and the biggest take away for me was that you need to pick a limited number of projects to focus on until they are done, and you need to figure out exactly what the next thing to do is for each project, and note that and do it and check it off.  Lather, rinse, repeat.

For me, this does not work as well as a matrix management kind of approach.  

I make a list of categories--board work, business, home, family responsibilities, church, decluttering, health--and that's my master list.  This is usually in a word doc because I can see that from whereever I am.  I have a separate list for each category, OR, a larger document that has the categories as major headings and the subcategories as sub bullets and the things to do as sub sub bullets.  Each day I glance through the master list, because the worst case scenario is that I might forget something crucial because I was missing thinking of a whole category.  Often this is enough to start the high priority stuff each day.  If anything comes to mind that is not in the large document, I add it, and then I go after things that are related to specific calendar deadlines and high to low priority items beyond that.  

I sleep better at night because I know everything is written down.  I find that I plan best in the afternoon, so I often go through the master list and star 'first thing in the morning' stuff so that I don't have to think about what to do in the morning when my planning brain is not really fully on yet.  

The flaw in this system is that I almost never get around to the 'my health' section.  Other than that, it's very effective.

[Scarlett]

I worked with a woman once who had a yellow legal pad on her desk. Each day she started a to do list.  At the top of that list was anything that had not gotten done the day before.  It is so so simple but very effective. 
 

Not sure about all the techie stuff….I still use  written lists and I too sleep better at night knowing I have my list to look at in the morning.  

[fraidycat]

There is a guide for setting up Todoist on the GTD site. It's $10, but might be worth it.

https://store.gettingthingsdone.com/Todoist-Setup-Guide-p/10484.htm

And you may have already seen this:

https://todoist.com/productivity-methods/getting-things-done, but it may have some little tidbits that will help you run the two systems more smoothly together.

I skimmed quickly through and it looks like you use labels to create the context lists for things like home, office, computer, errands, etc. So you have your projects with your next actions listed, then tag/label the action where it needs to happen. You should then be able to just pull up all the tasks that need to happen under the Computer label, or Home label and just have that one list in front of you when you are in that context.

I hope that helps. Good luck! 

Edited September 25, 2022 by fraidycat

[Harriet Vane]

I do a combo of what Carol in Cal and Scarlett mentioned.

I write a humongous master list in categories on graph paper. I like to use different colors for the categories. I use graph paper because it's easy to make blocks of text in whatever space makes sense for what's going on. I like being able to see the full scope all in one place. 

I make daily lists from the master list. The daily list gets only the things I intend to (try to) accomplish on that day. I carry over things from day to day as I rarely get everything on the list done on a given day.

When I've crossed off enough things from the master list that it starts looking icky, I write a new one.

I love writing by hand and I have an old-fashioned attachment to paper. However, you can do a version of this with apps and such. In the past I've used Excel spreadsheets. I keep returning to my pretty pens and paper, though. At least for this.

[fraidycat]

I also just want to offer you a huge pat on the back. You've currently got three - THREE! giant learning curves happening simultaneously with your new job, trying to learn GTD, then trying to learn the a techy's interpretation of GTD on top of it.

That is a LOT. A lot, a lot, to take on at one time. I hope you are giving yourself a a little bit of grace and space to take a few deep breaths.

I am willing to help in any way that I can.

 

Edited September 25, 2022 by fraidycat

[Amethyst]

21 hours ago, fraidycat said:

There is a guide for setting up Todoist on the GTD site. It's $10, but might be worth it.

https://store.gettingthingsdone.com/Todoist-Setup-Guide-p/10484.htm

And you may have already seen this:

https://todoist.com/productivity-methods/getting-things-done, but it may have some little tidbits that will help you run the two systems more smoothly together.

I skimmed quickly through and it looks like you use labels to create the context lists for things like home, office, computer, errands, etc. So you have your projects with your next actions listed, then tag/label the action where it needs to happen. You should then be able to just pull up all the tasks that need to happen under the Computer label, or Home label and just have that one list in front of you when you are in that context.

I hope that helps. Good luck! 

I did see the $10 guide, and I an sorely tempted. But then I found some Youtube videos. 
 

I figured out how to use tags/labels, but maybe I’m not using them correctly because my Calls list and Someday/Maybe lists etc are not on the home page. I have to remember to go look for my Calls list. Hmm

None of the videos I’m watching seem to use GTD exactly as I’ve been hearing on podcast, which I guess is normal that everyone comes up with their own way after a while. But podcast seems to really emphasize processing and I’m not seeing people do that so much. I’ll keep trying to find my way. 

[Amethyst]

21 hours ago, Scarlett said:

I worked with a woman once who had a yellow legal pad on her desk. Each day she started a to do list.  At the top of that list was anything that had not gotten done the day before.  It is so so simple but very effective. 
  

This is very very similar to how I started out doing this job!! My paper wasn’t legal sized though. Eventually I got too many papers all over my desk, and I’d really like to switch to digital, so when people walk in my office it will at least *seem* like I have my act together. Lol. 

[Amethyst]

I feel as though I need to have a Next Action list and this is what I would do all day. Is that list a tag or a label? Or just the inbox. I feel like the Next Action is really important 

[Amethyst]

22 hours ago, Carol in Cal. said:

I've read the book, and the biggest take away for me was that you need to pick a limited number of projects to focus on until they are done, and you need to figure out exactly what the next thing to do is for each project, and note that and do it and check it off.  Lather, rinse, repeat.

For me, this does not work as well as a matrix management kind of approach.  

I make a list of categories--board work, business, home, family responsibilities, church, decluttering, health--and that's my master list.  This is usually in a word doc because I can see that from whereever I am.  I have a separate list for each category, OR, a larger document that has the categories as major headings and the subcategories as sub bullets and the things to do as sub sub bullets.  Each day I glance through the master list, because the worst case scenario is that I might forget something crucial because I was missing thinking of a whole category.  Often this is enough to start the high priority stuff each day.  If anything comes to mind that is not in the large document, I add it, and then I go after things that are related to specific calendar deadlines and high to low priority items beyond that.  

I sleep better at night because I know everything is written down.  I find that I plan best in the afternoon, so I often go through the master list and star 'first thing in the morning' stuff so that I don't have to think about what to do in the morning when my planning brain is not really fully on yet.  

The flaw in this system is that I almost never get around to the 'my health' section.  Other than that, it's very effective.

I love the idea of a Word document. But there are my Word documents at work computer. My Word document on my personal laptop is separate. And I want access to my list at hand everywhere so I don't know how that would work. 

[Amethyst]

20 hours ago, fraidycat said:

I also just want to offer you a huge pat on the back. You've currently got three - THREE! giant learning curves happening simultaneously with your new job, trying to learn GTD, then trying to learn the a techy's interpretation of GTD on top of it.

That is a LOT. A lot, a lot, to take on at one time. I hope you are giving yourself a a little bit of grace and space to take a few deep breaths.

I am willing to help in any way that I can.

 

Thank you. It is A LOT! I wish I had a week just to get my office and paperwork under control! But of course the work keeps coming at me. There are always new things to deal with every day. I’d love to get to the point where *some* things were on cruise control. I do try to keep reminding myself that this is all very new. I will learn. It will take a full academic year to have experienced everything! Well, at least the things that occur regularly. Accreditation only happens every seven years. And then there are the unknown unknowns, like pandemics and the school shuts down! Thanks for the reminder to give myself some grace!

[fraidycat]

1 hour ago, Amethyst said:

I did see the $10 guide, and I an sorely tempted. But then I found some Youtube videos. 
 

I figured out how to use tags/labels, but maybe I’m not using them correctly because my Calls list and Someday/Maybe lists etc are not on the home page. I have to remember to go look for my Calls list. Hmm

None of the videos I’m watching seem to use GTD exactly as I’ve been hearing on podcast, which I guess is normal that everyone comes up with their own way after a while. But podcast seems to really emphasize processing and I’m not seeing people do that so much. I’ll keep trying to find my way. 

The processing part is the hard and boring part. Lol That is probably why most people don't show it on videos. They show the "results" of the processing when they plug it into whatever system they are using to hold their lists. 
 

I can recommend a youtuber, or at least a few of their videos that go a little bit more into the processing parts, BUT she is showing how she uses it on a particular system that is Not Todoist, so it might overwhelm you more and I will not link them if you feel like it will just be frustrating to try to "convert" to your chosen system.

Later this week, I can type up my "processing checklist" that I use and email it to you if you want. It would be closer to next weekend before I am probably able to get to it. It is currently just handwritten sticky notes on my desktop. Lol

1 hour ago, Amethyst said:

I feel as though I need to have a Next Action list and this is what I would do all day. Is that list a tag or a label? Or just the inbox. I feel like the Next Action is really important 

I have re-downloaded the app and will try to play with it a bit this week and see if I can figure out what you're currently experiencing and how to make it work the way you want.

One idea I have for the meantime, is maybe you could keep most of your project lists and stuff digital, but as your final action list, could you have one notebook sheet with 5-6 sections with your Next Actions on it that you work from day to day. That would keep the mess off your desk, and you'd only have to keep track of one paper or notebook.

[Carol in Cal.]

2 hours ago, Amethyst said:

I love the idea of a Word document. But there are my Word documents at work computer. My Word document on my personal laptop is separate. And I want access to my list at hand everywhere so I don't know how that would work. 

Yes. 
 

I email mine back and forth as an attachment sometimes.  Mostly I keep it at work.  Forgot to mention that sometimes I put all the next actions and urgent matters on a separate page like a to do list, and sometimes I print just that page out to carry around in my purse for reference anywhere.  I do have both work and have me emails set up on my big iPad Pro.  And that often travels with me .

[Carrie12345]

9 hours ago, Amethyst said:

I did see the $10 guide, and I an sorely tempted. But then I found some Youtube videos. 
 

I figured out how to use tags/labels, but maybe I’m not using them correctly because my Calls list and Someday/Maybe lists etc are not on the home page. I have to remember to go look for my Calls list. Hmm

None of the videos I’m watching seem to use GTD exactly as I’ve been hearing on podcast, which I guess is normal that everyone comes up with their own way after a while. But podcast seems to really emphasize processing and I’m not seeing people do that so much. I’ll keep trying to find my way. 

Yeah, I only use the basic principles in my own style, and it all needs to be on paper! (For me.). Handwriting helps me remember more without looking every 5 minutes. And every day I make a one page list that includes all categories, so I’m not flipping pages unless it’s to add to a longer term list.

But I also don’t have very many hard deadlines, so I don’t have to be as rigid as I might otherwise. 

[Laura Corin]

7 hours ago, Carol in Cal. said:

Yes. 
 

I email mine back and forth as an attachment sometimes.  Mostly I keep it at work.  Forgot to mention that sometimes I put all the next actions and urgent matters on a separate page like a to do list, and sometimes I print just that page out to carry around in my purse for reference anywhere.  I do have both work and have me emails set up on my big iPad Pro.  And that often travels with me .

I have all my documents stored on OneDrive, so I can view on whatever platform (including phone).

[Amethyst]

54 minutes ago, Laura Corin said:

I have all my documents stored on OneDrive, so I can view on whatever platform (including phone).

I started doing that. Briefly. I have One Drive through work. But then I got paranoid that work would be able to see my personal lists (clean garage etc). 

[Amethyst]

9 hours ago, fraidycat said:

 

Later this week, I can type up my "processing checklist" that I use and email it to you if you want. It would be closer to next weekend before I am probably able to get to it. It is currently just handwritten sticky notes on my desktop. Lol

I have re-downloaded the app and will try to play with it a bit this week and see if I can figure out what you're currently experiencing and how to make it work the .

That is so nice of you @fraidycat to offer. I’ll PM you. 

[Laura Corin]

35 minutes ago, Amethyst said:

I started doing that. Briefly. I have One Drive through work. But then I got paranoid that work would be able to see my personal lists (clean garage etc). 

Ah, yes.  I keep my personal lists separately, on Keep Notes.

[Wheres Toto]

I have any documents I want to be able to see in multiple places/devices on Google Drive.   I have an email for my business where I share things that I want all my teachers to be able to access.  I put them in a specific folder and have to give them access and can choose to give it to anyone with the link or just a specific list.  I have another personal email and that's where I put things that I don't want to share, although I also have one or two documents on the business one that I kept out of the shared folder so only I can see them.  

I have my Weekly to-do list as a Google Doc, my Google Calendar and a Google Sheets for tracking eating habits as three pages that open up automatically when I open the internet on my computer so they are always in my face first thing.  

[Carol in Cal.]

5 hours ago, Laura Corin said:

I have all my documents stored on OneDrive, so I can view on whatever platform (including phone).

I have two OneDrives, one for work and one for home.  They don’t talk to each other, by design, for confidentiality reasons.  

[Kanin]

15 hours ago, Amethyst said:

I love the idea of a Word document. But there are my Word documents at work computer. My Word document on my personal laptop is separate. And I want access to my list at hand everywhere so I don't know how that would work. 

How about a Google Doc? That way, you can access it online on any device. 

[Kanin]

Just now, Kanin said:

How about a Google Doc? That way, you can access it online on any device. 

I have a Google doc set up with a few categories (it's just a long list with different categories, nothing fancy). My categories are Today, This Week, This Month, and Long-Term. 

 

[fraidycat]

On 9/24/2022 at 5:57 PM, Amethyst said:
 

I want to use GTD. I’ve recently downloaded Todoist because it seems like it would work well with GTD. But on Friday, I felt like all my to-do items were “hidden” in my project lists. So maybe I’m not setting up Todoist right. Maybe I don’t need “project lists” and instead there should be Next Actions lists. Or maybe the Inbox feature of Todoist is like the Next Action lists. 
 

Aaggh. I’m getting overwhelmed thinking of all of this, and it’s supposed to be stress-free. Any ideas for a newbie to both GTD and Todoist?

I'vd had a little bit of time here at work to play with the Todoist app and refamiliarize myself.
 

The inbox is where you dump everything that is coming at you until you can process it and decide what it is and what to do with it. It should be emptied regularly as you process it.

If I were you, for every next action task I would use 2 labels, one of them would simply be "Next", and the other would be by context, such as home, computer, phone, errands, etc.

That way, you can pull up your actions by project, by context, or simply by Next that you could use as your to-do list. The key will be making sure you have processed your inbox to make sure everything on your "next" list is up-to-date every day.

[WendyLady]

I started to reply to your last thread about todoist and then saw this thread. 
 

Todoist is both simple and hard!! The more you play with it the better it goes. I have used some tips from “the art of manliness” for basic todoist planning. He mentions getting things done, too. Super simple explanation:

https://www.artofmanliness.com/character/behavior/todoist-productivity-tips/
 

I generally fill the inbox with things I need to do as they pop in my head or come up in a meeting - if I’m too busy to add dates or sort into projects then I just leave it in the inbox until I have time.

I keep my projects really simple. I have a couple large projects a year that get their own project, but most of my work todos just go into the “work” project.  I don’t generally rate how important something is, but I should do that… 
 

I like to use deadlines so I can look at “today” and see things across all the projects that are due today. It’s easy to move to tomorrow if it didn’t get done today.

I’m sure you know this, but as you type the todo item, it will auto set up dates “water plants every Sunday #home” will automatically set up a weekly item in my “home” project  

I am sure you are figuring all of this out! YouTube is great and I’ve also listened to a couple of different podcasts about productivity and todoist. I’m sorry that I don’t check this site as often as I should (you asked a couple questions in your previous post and I didn’t see them until today, sorry!!) 

 

[LaughingCat]

looking at that article got me to try todoist on web (vs app) -- and must say I like it visually a lot better on the big screen 😄

[Amethyst]

On 9/26/2022 at 2:51 PM, fraidycat said:

I'vd had a little bit of time here at work to play with the Todoist app and refamiliarize myself.
 

The inbox is where you dump everything that is coming at you until you can process it and decide what it is and what to do with it. It should be emptied regularly as you process it.

If I were you, for every next action task I would use 2 labels, one of them would simply be "Next", and the other would be by context, such as home, computer, phone, errands, etc.

That way, you can pull up your actions by project, by context, or simply by Next that you could use as your to-do list. The key will be making sure you have processed your inbox to make sure everything on your "next" list is up-to-date every day.

Thanks. One Of the things I’m confused by is the Inbox vs the Today sections. I’ve been adding ideas that come to me to Todoist and they show up in Inbox. When i get to work the next day, I never know whether to work off of Inbox or Today. 

[Amethyst]

On 9/26/2022 at 4:32 PM, WendyLady said:

I started to reply to your last thread about todoist and then saw this thread. 
 

Todoist is both simple and hard!! The more you play with it the better it goes. I have used some tips from “the art of manliness” for basic todoist planning. He mentions getting things done, too. Super simple explanation:

https://www.artofmanliness.com/character/behavior/todoist-productivity-tips/
 

I generally fill the inbox with things I need to do as they pop in my head or come up in a meeting - if I’m too busy to add dates or sort into projects then I just leave it in the inbox until I have time.

I keep my projects really simple. I have a couple large projects a year that get their own project, but most of my work todos just go into the “work” project.  I don’t generally rate how important something is, but I should do that… 
 

I like to use deadlines so I can look at “today” and see things across all the projects that are due today. It’s easy to move to tomorrow if it didn’t get done today.

I’m sure you know this, but as you type the todo item, it will auto set up dates “water plants every Sunday #home” will automatically set up a weekly item in my “home” project  

I am sure you are figuring all of this out! YouTube is great and I’ve also listened to a couple of different podcasts about productivity and todoist. I’m sorry that I don’t check this site as often as I should (you asked a couple questions in your previous post and I didn’t see them until today, sorry!!) 

 

I will check out the article you linked. Thank you. So, I see that you use both Today and Inbox. I’m assuming that some things I must be adding “Call Max tomorrow” and that’s why it’s in my Upcoming list. But if I just wrote Call Max, it would show up in Inbox. 
 

I think what I’m supposed to do is go thru my Inbox, and process. When I get to “call Max” I should decide if it will take less than two minutes. If yes, then make the call. If no, add to my @calls list. 
 

But now I have to remember to check my inbox, my Today list, my @calls list, my @email list, etc. Lots of different lists. Too many, maybe? Or I just have to get the knack of checking them all. 
 

And tomorrow is my first Weekly Review. And I also plan to check my Waiting For file (which for some reason I started using a hanging folder where I throw scraps of paper about who I’m waiting for what into). 

[fraidycat]

3 hours ago, Amethyst said:

Thanks. One Of the things I’m confused by is the Inbox vs the Today sections. I’ve been adding ideas that come to me to Todoist and they show up in Inbox. When i get to work the next day, I never know whether to work off of Inbox or Today. 

1) Process your inbox

2) Work from Today on things that must happen today - meetings, deadlines, phone calls that are scheduled for a certain time or date, etc. So, if you have a lot of time-sensitive work, you might spend a lot of time working from your today list.

3) Mostly you should be working from your context labels. When you're sitting at the computer, work from the list of things that have to happen on the @computer list. When you need a break from the screen, look at your list of @phone calls, @office etc. When you're at home, work from your @home list.

You only need to check those lists when you're in those contexts if you've got them all labeled really well. So, if you absolutely must send an email by 5 p.m. today, then put a due date on it. If you need to send an email whenever you have time to send an email, then you only need to look at the emails list when you have the email sending device + time. If you only send work emails from a work computer, you don't need to look at that list on a Saturday afternoon in your kitchen because you're not in that context. 
 

If you feel like you might be dropping a few balls, I still recommend having one sheet or page in a notebook as your daily next actions list so you can see all of them at once. I scribbled out a quick example for you. 

 

Edited September 28, 2022 by fraidycat

[Amethyst]

Thanks @fraidycat. This is great. 
 

This next ine is more of a Todoist question than GTD question. I feel like I have a pretty good handle on how it’s *supposed to* work. But Todoist I’m struggling with at times. 
 

So, I was told by higher ups that I need to send an email to a group of people a week before an event. Not now. Later. So, I open Todoist and write Email soandso on Oct 5. So now it keeps showing up in my inbox. I don’t want it in my inbox though. I want my inbox at zero (ideally). Why is it showing up in my inbox?

[Amethyst]

Ugh. And I never got around to my Weekly Review today. And I know that’s critical or the whole thing falls apart. Too many unexpected urgencies. 

[Amethyst]

17 hours ago, fraidycat said:

1) Process your inbox

 

So when I open my inbox and it says “Add such-and-such to presentation” I should make a new note that says @computer? And do that for everything in my inbox, right? 
 

But what about the things that have a date attached to it? I don't want to keep seeing this reminder in my inbox every day until Oct 26!

[Amethyst]

Erg. And I just tried processing something by adding a context label, but now it’s still in my inbox but with a label!

[Amethyst]

Ok so I have everything with a label now. So I can start tomorrow by looking at my context lists. Fingers crossed. 

[LaughingCat]

i am trying out the method described in the linked article, so I put everything (so far -- long way to go for actual everything) into projects (including the routine ones he suggests) except.. I already know I struggle with using GTD's contexts and also with switching from project to project.  I want to see all my choices at once, so I made a filter that was today | no due date (| is or) so I can see everything I could be doing today at once and then ordered it by project (  I also ordered the projects by order of importance)

I know this method won't work once I get a serious number of to do's in the projects -- but I expect as I use it more I'll figure out other filters that will work  (maybe a tag like next action?)

Note: you can only make 5 projects on the free version -- went ahead and paid for now to give it a real try. 

[fraidycat]

16 hours ago, Amethyst said:

Thanks @fraidycat. This is great. 
 

This next ine is more of a Todoist question than GTD question. I feel like I have a pretty good handle on how it’s *supposed to* work. But Todoist I’m struggling with at times. 
 

So, I was told by higher ups that I need to send an email to a group of people a week before an event. Not now. Later. So, I open Todoist and write Email soandso on Oct 5. So now it keeps showing up in my inbox. I don’t want it in my inbox though. I want my inbox at zero (ideally). Why is it showing up in my inbox?

Because you haven't added it to a project. To get it out of your inbox, it needs a project list to live in for now. You can make a project for that individual event if there are more actions you need to do for that event, or you can just have a more broad "Work" project where you park it until it pops back into your Today list on Oct 5.

Hashtag all the things. 😂

Edited September 29, 2022 by fraidycat

[OH_Homeschooler]

On 9/24/2022 at 9:44 PM, Scarlett said:

I worked with a woman once who had a yellow legal pad on her desk. Each day she started a to do list.  At the top of that list was anything that had not gotten done the day before.  It is so so simple but very effective. 
 

Not sure about all the techie stuff….I still use  written lists and I too sleep better at night knowing I have my list to look at in the morning.  

This is how I end each work day-I write out my list for the next day, including whatever I didn't get done. It helps me shut down and get out of work mode. This is more important than ever because I work from home, and it helps me put a period on the work day. 

[Amethyst]

6 hours ago, fraidycat said:

Because you haven't added it to a project. To get it out of your inbox, it needs a project list to live in for now. You can make a project for that individual event if there are more actions you need to do for that event, or you can just have a more broad "Work" project where you park it until it pops back into your Today list on Oct 5.

Hashtag all the things. 😂

Ahhh. I would never have guessed that!

[Amethyst]

I worked today off my context lists today and that worked pretty well. (Of course starting the day out with a text from a faculty member telling me she tested positive - 3rd person this week - and having to work on a plan to handle that didn’t start the day out right). 
 

I’m surprised that the Projects are so predominant in Todoist, if I’m supposed to be working off my context lists. The context lists are sort of hidden but the Project lists are in your face. Hmm. Maybe I’m not doing it right. But working from the context lists really helped me focus when I had a breather to say “what’s next?”

[fraidycat]

8 hours ago, Amethyst said:

I worked today off my context lists today and that worked pretty well. (Of course starting the day out with a text from a faculty member telling me she tested positive - 3rd person this week - and having to work on a plan to handle that didn’t start the day out right). 
 

I’m surprised that the Projects are so predominant in Todoist, if I’m supposed to be working off my context lists. The context lists are sort of hidden but the Project lists are in your face. Hmm. Maybe I’m not doing it right. But working from the context lists really helped me focus when I had a breather to say “what’s next?”

I assume the project list is on the main page so after you do your one next action you can see the projects to prompt you go create new next actions until you complete the whole thing.

I could be totally wrong about that. 🤷🏻‍♀️ It may just be a totally random design choice.

Edited September 30, 2022 by fraidycat

[WendyLady]

16 hours ago, Amethyst said:

I worked today off my context lists today and that worked pretty well. (Of course starting the day out with a text from a faculty member telling me she tested positive - 3rd person this week - and having to work on a plan to handle that didn’t start the day out right). 
 

I’m surprised that the Projects are so predominant in Todoist, if I’m supposed to be working off my context lists. The context lists are sort of hidden but the Project lists are in your face. Hmm. Maybe I’m not doing it right. But working from the context lists really helped me focus when I had a breather to say “what’s next?”

I think you are doing great!! I’m impressed that you are finding a system that works for you!

I try to carefully add and use dates and work with my “today” list.  So as I add items I put in a date when I expect to work on it. A lot of that is for today or tomorrow. if those items come up in my today list and are no longer a priority, I push them to tomorrow or next week. I always like to have a date when I move an item out of the inbox and into a project or they can get lost for me. 
 

Thanks for starting this thread and asking questions. You’ve helped me think about todoist in new ways. There are a lot of ways to filter and prioritize that I had never used before!  I wish I could do a better job of explaining things!

[WendyLady]

On 9/27/2022 at 8:34 PM, Amethyst said:

Thanks. One Of the things I’m confused by is the Inbox vs the Today sections. I’ve been adding ideas that come to me to Todoist and they show up in Inbox. When i get to work the next day, I never know whether to work off of Inbox or Today. 

Everything stays in the inbox until you add it to a project, whether it has a date or not, or whether you have given it a priority or not.
 

I don’t mind having things sit in my inbox if I don’t have a clear project for it. I’m less likely to forget about if it’s just in the inbox. 
 

I like to use “today” as my main list - I specifically date things for when I need to do them, and if they come up of today and it’s not an actually priority for today, then I’ll add a new date. I also always check the inbox and I try to slide through each project, to just make sure I didn’t miss anything and see if I need to change any dates… 

I rarely use priorities, but I’ve been playing around with those this week and I can see that they could be helpful. 

[TechWife]

On 9/24/2022 at 9:31 PM, Carol in Cal. said:

 

I make a list of categories--board work, business, home, family responsibilities, church, decluttering, health--and that's my master list.  This is usually in a word doc because I can see that from whereever I am.  I have a separate list for each category, … Each day I glance through the master list, because the worst case scenario is that I might forget something crucial because I was missing thinking of a whole category.  Often this is enough to start the high priority stuff each day.  If anything comes to mind that is not in the large document, I add it, and then I go after things that are related to specific calendar deadlines and high to low priority items beyond that.  

I sleep better at night because I know everything is written down.  I find that I plan best in the afternoon, so I often go through the master list and star 'first thing in the morning' stuff so that I don't have to think about what to do in the morning when my planning brain is not really fully on yet.  

The flaw in this system is that I almost never get around to the 'my health' section.  Other than that, it's very effective.

This is almost identical to what I do. I use the Apple Reminders app. With the ability to create multiple lists, my master list is easy to see and then individual tasks are on the appropriate reminder list. Each role or responsibility has its own list. It’s easy to add tasks and check them off when they are done.