I tried every todo app and ended up with a .txt file
788 comments
·August 11, 2025Igrom
pancakemouse
What this shows to me, as someone who has committed some of the unholy crimes above, is that people want their system, however esoteric, to come naturally to them.
I think reading docs, understanding a new system which someone else has designed, and fitting one's brain into _their_ organisational structure is the hard part. Harder than designing one's own system. It's the reason many don't stick with an off-the-shelf app. Including Org mode.
Aurornis
> What this shows to me, as someone who has committed some of the unholy crimes above, is that people want their system, however esoteric, to come naturally to them
I think this is a vocal minority. Outside of internet comment sections, most everyone I know doesn’t care that much about their todo list software.
The most productive people I ever worked with all had really minimal productivity software. For one person it was a Google doc with nested lists. I know several people who preferred physical sticky notes or 3x5 note cards.
A lot of the people I’ve worked with who built elaborate productivity systems and custom software weren’t all that productive. They seemingly spent as much time doing productivity rituals and rearranging their productivity software stack as they did doing actual work. I count the really heavy Notion users in this category because I’ve recently been pulling my hair out dealing with a couple PMs who think “reorganizing Notion” and adding more rules for Notion is a good use of their time each week.
The most extreme example I remember was the eccentric coworker who was building an AI-powered productivity tool that was supposed to optimize his todo lists and schedule them according to his daily rhythms. He spent so much time working on it that our manager had to remind him daily to stay on track with his real work. He was obsessed with “productivity tooling” but the productivity was secondary.
Not everyone is like this, but it happens a lot.
kilroy123
I strongly agree. I think it's a form of procrastinating.
I read about all these complex systems for notes and second brains and whatnot.
All procrastinating imho.
hhmc
There’s a now quite dated comment from Merlin Mann: "Joining a Facebook group about productivity is like buying a chair about jogging.”
It’s fuzzy - but my recollection was Mann was a fairly renown productivity influencer (although I guess we wouldn’t have called it that then), who had an apostasy about it all.
viraptor
On managers side the equivalent is making fancy JIRA workflows with all the fancy fields so that everyone is informed. Makes people annoyed with extra work and that time could be spent just talking to people to understand what's actually happening.
popoflojo
The real takeaway from your story is that it's easy to stay on task when you're interested in the task. Your coworker just didn't care about his work. But if his work was creating a productivity tool then he'd probably love his work and be productive.
_mu
So much of it is empty productivity, all prepping for the work but never actually doing it.
Like the old joke about the programmers spouse who died a virgin because every night all the programmer did was sit at the edge of the bed talking about how awesome it was going to be when they finally did it.
zxexz
I’m very guilty of trying all sorts of productivity software as a form of procrastination. The best one did, in fact, turn out to be index cards and a pencil.
bluGill
The phhsical copy served an important purpose: it forces you to admit you will never do something and so give up on is. until I die it is safe to assume I will eat 3 meals per day. (It won't be 100% because of sickness but close enough) thus if I'm out of some food I will need a todo list to replace it. However if I never finish the ukuele I've started it won't matter and it is reasonable for me to give up on it.
potatolicious
The term that comes to mind, and one of my favorite concepts, is "progressive disclosure", which is a concept we really ought to be more mindful of.
One of the perks of just-a-text-file-with-a-bunch-of-addons is that it enables progressive disclosure - it takes no learning curve to just get in and use the tool on a basic level, but additional complexity (and power) can be introduced over time.
The problem with a purpose-built app is that there's a minimum level of new concepts to learn before the tool is even minimally useful, and that's a barrier to adoption.
A good example of this in action is something like Markdown. It's just text and will show up fine without you learning anything, but as you pick up more syntax it builds on top - and if you learn some markup syntax but not others, it doesn't prevent you from using the subset you know. There is a clear path to adding new knowledge and ability.
datameta
Right, instead of fomo over not using the extra features of utilizing the right flow - people tend to experience the want/need to incrementally increase complexity when using roll-your-own software
BrtByte
Markdown is a perfect analogy
basch
What I gather is people really like the blank whiteboard. There’s something about Notepad and Excel, the freedom, the linitlessness, of having a blank canvas and being able to do anything.
Todo software is too opinionated. It’s not flexible enough to allow you to break rules. You can’t move things around in a way that allows you to control visual white space between entries. Everything “is something” (a task, an event) vs just being (text.)
miroljub
The whole point of org-mode is that it's so malleable, that you can extend it to be whatever you want it to be, much easier than writing your own, ad-hoc, bug-ridden reimplementation of org-mode.
reddit_clone
Org-mode is the most appropriate answer. It is as simple or as sophisticated as we want it to be.
Obviously one needs to be an Emacs user first
fmbb
Also, if you are a developer by trade a lot of these features are quick and easy to implement.
barbazoo
And might even be fun to implement and maintain.
russellbeattie
Exactly. Most people wish they could customize their Todo app or system to their specific preference or need, but have no way of making it happen. Devs can, so they do.
What's interesting is AI is going to change this. Entering a prompt for an app that has all the features you want is already pretty trivial, and will only get better.
conception
Note taking and task management are two things which everyone has a slightly different style and need. There is no one size fits all and in a group someone will always find some aspect lacking.
nottorp
When you start structuring your TODO list, you will miss adding stuff that isn't easy to fit into the structure to said list.
And possibly regret it 3 months later...
cwnyth
I think in part because larger systems aren't typically custom made to the user's exact workflow (especially because users don't typically have one single workflow anyway!). So not only do I have to get into someone else's mind, but it feels ill-fitted to my own mind. Thus, it's also more inefficient.
nosianu
> - having your computer alert you to things that come up
If my own experience is a valid example, alerts are overrated. They don't work for long. I hate getting interrupted by something that actually does not need my attention at that precise moment. I would disable those alerts in no time.
I prefer leaving physical cues in the real world. I think screens are bad UI unless you already spend way too much time in front of them.
The god old in- and out- baskets are great, for example. Or notes on a physical board.
Sometimes when I think of something I want to do in the morning, I just leave an object that does not belong in a place I will definitely have to use in the morning. Seeing that object will remind me of that thought I had just before going to bed. I don't even need to write down what it was.
Physical cues are wonderful! And THAT is what I would want from Augmented Reality (in addition to it no longer requiring cumbersome hardware to wear). A flexible recreation of former physical work places, but using the new flexibility of computer augmentation of what I see. To be able to place digital notes in the real world. To view and touch documents not fixed in a single place in front of me, but anywhere! I put some documents on the left, some on the right, some on the wall, and I move my body around to view and use them.
A purely screen-based app, when I already hate having to stare straight ahead for hours every day just doesn't cut it for me. I want my digital world to be in the real world, and use my entire body, not just very limited arm and hand movements while barely moving the head because the viewport is just one small two-dimensional rectangle in my large reality.
Okay, that went slightly OT, but I made that point because it is relevant for TODOs and most interactions with computers. I think they are much better when tied to our real world, not inside a tiny screen where a lot of stuff is already squeezed in and waiting for our attention, and everything can only be used like a surgeon doing keyhole surgery - indirectly through a tiny port and tools, instead of ones hands. Place TODO hints in the real world on or near appropriate places.
spauldo
I think the key part is to use alerts for stuff you can't ignore. Time to pick up the kids, fifteen minutes to get ready for a meeting, your compile just failed, etc.
Unfortunately every piece of software seems to think its message about some new feature you don't care about and will never use is worth crapping all the main premise of what alerts are for.
jh00ker
> Physical cues are wonderful!
You would love this project! https://littlesignals.withgoogle.com/
"Little Signals considers new patterns for technology in our daily lives. The six objects in the series keep us in the loop, but softly, moving from the background to foreground as needed.
Each object has its own communication method, like puffs of air or ambient sounds. Additionally, their simple movements and controls bring them to life and respond to changing surroundings and needs."
I've been wanting to build these since the project came out, but never found the time. Has anyone else here built them with success? I'd love to hear your story about how you used them!
codazoda
I geeked out a bit, after reading another blog post, and used my thermal printer for this. I've been using it for a few weeks now. The little sticky notes it makes are great.
https://joeldare.com/trying-to-stop-procrastination-with-my-...
I am starting to collect too many of them though. I kinda like the idea of ops text-file because it is renewed from day to day. I'm still not quite sure how to deal with the items I know I need to get to eventually but that I won't get to today. I'm also not sure how to deal with the pile growing continually.
I have noticed that thermal notes fade relatively quickly. When they do that I have to think about weather I want to reprint them or just throw them out.
jodrellblank
The recent HN thread on receipt printers for task tracking had this comment which I wish got some attention and replies:
"The biggest killer for any task tracker I find is an accumulating backlog of items that seem too important to quit but too intractable to make progress on." - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44270076
(I suspect that’s part of too many browser tabs hanging around, too)
mockingloris
I came across a similar post on YouTube; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xg45b8UXoZI - it's titled "I Fixed My ADHD with a Receipt Printer".
I should build one that sends me an SMS message instead. So I stumbled on AT+ plus code for programing GSM devices. I have a MTN HUAWEI E303 modem from back in 2016 and I wrote a server using the npm serialport module.
I just need to write a dmenu script that pipes from every 3 git commits.
```txt SMS from :mtn-E303-sms-server
-------------------------
PROJECT: ppc-v.1.0
-------------------------
Commits: 3
New Features Added!
Bugs Squashed
Code Cleaned Up
-------------------------
Total XP: +150
Keep it up!
-------------------------
```
└── Dey well
noahjk
I've seen mention of using the dot matrix printers common in restaurant kitchens as an alternative which doesn't fade; they have the added benefit of two-color printing (most do black and red)
komali2
Yeah the thermal printer one made the rounds here too, I've been curious to see how it's been going the last couple months for the people that adopted it.
jimbokun
Digitizing your real world environment sounds similar to using a special TODO app instead of a text file.
What benefit does your digital sticky note have over a physical one?
9dev
It’s readable. My handwriting is awful.
brettermeier
Alerts are most important, that's why paper doesn't work for me. I just write everything in my calender app in my phone.
skydhash
Taks tracking is different from reminders. There’s actually few things that I want to be reminded of, and they either belongs to a calendar (collaborative items) or a reminder app. The separation is blurry and they can all fits within the agenda concept.
As for tasks tracking, it’s all lists. And a daily/weekly/monthly review is enough for me.
nosianu
But if it's AR you can have a cute hamster run up to you and holding an urgent note. Or the hare from Alice in Wonderland. And it can just sit on your desk (virtually) and do cute things while you continue to finish what you were working on. Better than a boring annoying beeping alarm.
We have not even started combining digital an real world, and the last few idea, e.g. from Meta, were devoid of anything useful, showing how little actually useful imagination some super-rich have, putting so many resources into bad or even destructive ideas when sooo much useful stuff needs to happen. We still have this tiny viewport, behind which another world - our digital world - awaits, and people think it's normal that we use this tiny port and awkward indirect devices (mouse) to manipulate things in there. We could do soooo much better soon!
Okay, the access device still is missing. Few people want to wear the current generation of AR devices. But that just shows that neuro-computer interface needs investment on the level of AI, it's not magic (actual neurons are just very complex to work with, never mind finding the right one's to connect to), we could slowly build something there.
Somebody asked what the advantage is of having this computerized instead of actual matter, e.g. physical paper notes. It's all the general computer advantages of course, like sharing stuff. Never mind being able to reorganize everything in an instant.
Imagine having a software project not viewed with one tiny viewport, but like a physical project, even over several rooms. You don't need to click, you go to the place representing some module and physically (virtually physically) take out the code, edit with your fingers. Watch the data flow around you. Have a bunch of flying piranhas show up when something goes wrong. Work with all your body in a real 3D space instead of sitting in a chair all day, all week, all month, all life, watching that vast digital world and/or just your project through that tiny viewport.
btilly
You give a long list of features that I don't want. And then go on to encourage everyone to switch text editors, and adopt a specific plugin that happens to work in the way that you personally like.
As a vim user, this is kind of what I have come to expect from emacs users. Honestly, I'm glad that you've found something that works well for you. But I hope that some day you internalize the fact that other people aren't you, and they shouldn't always be "encouraged" to give up their existing solutions to do things in the way that you've decided is perfect.
massysett
Don’t switch text editors, and don’t use a plugin.
For a few years I used Orgmode. I didn’t use Emacs. That is, when I needed to edit text files, I used Vim or macOS TextEdit. I used Orgmode to track my tasks and keep notes. That Emacs was underneath it was purely incidental, and I didn’t use Emacs for anything else. For me, Orgmode was not a plugin. It was the primary software I used, and there was this Emacs thing under it.
Ironically, these days I do actually use Emacs, and I use OmniFocus for tasks, mostly because OmniFocus gets multi-device sync right so it’s worth the price. But don’t hesitate to use Orgmode even if you don’t want Emacs otherwise.
btilly
And now you encounter the issue of, "a long list of features that I don't want".
It is hard to sell someone on a solution to a problem that they don't have.
lelanthran
> As a vim user, this is kind of what I have come to expect from emacs users.
I'm a vim user, with two exceptions:
1. SLIME
2. Org mode
There's a vim plugin for org mode that I used to use, but TBH, Emacs excels at org mode.
dngray
> There's a vim plugin for org mode that I used to use, but TBH, Emacs excels at org mode.
Which one did you use? I use https://nvim-orgmode.github.io/ and am happy with it, it's fairly modern written as a lua script.
I did see an older one https://github.com/jceb/vim-orgmode but i don't think that's maintained anymore.
jama211
You didn’t need to go all tribalistic mate.
f1shy
I think the OP is far from saying what you are implying. He is not advocating for changing text editor or installing any plugins. Just recommends trying out org mode. I think is very valid. I’ve known many many people (in the order of hundreds) that use vi for editing in general but emacs for other tasks, e.g. org mode, sbcl repl, etc. I think the suggestion ist just to give org mode a try. No need to feel offended or pushed to leave your favorite editor. At the end, is all about personal preference.
btilly
To quote the OP:
I would encourage everyone to try out emacs with org-mode. It takes some time to get used to the editor and its keybindings...
He's literally recommending that everyone who doesn't use emacs should install and use a different text editor.
setopt
To add a different perspective, I love Emacs Org-mode for note taking but gave up on it for task management after a couple of years. Not because the tool is inadequate – my attempts at Todoist or Taskwarrior didn’t fare any better – but because the GTD-style workflow just doesn’t fit my personality.
I’ve now happily used a paper-based bullet journal instead, and am about to transition to a Rocketbook for this use.
The problem is that a GTD-style workflow requires a lot of discipline to stick to daily/weekly reviews, where you prune or reschedule tasks, and it requires you to be strict about deleting tasks you’ll never do. If not, you just get an endlessly growing list of stale tasks, and for me personally the list becomes so associated with guilt and stress that I just burn out and get paralyzed unless I regularly throw it all out and start from scratch. (Is "TODO bankruptcy" a thing?)
Surprisingly, this led me to the conclusion that being able to forget tasks is crucial for me to remain focused, productive, and mentally stable. Being able to start each day with a blank page, write or transfer tasks that I can realistically do today, and letting the unimportant ones silently disappear on old pages without having to consciously delete them, somehow works better for me.
For notes however, Org-mode is great. I’ve found great value in rediscovering old ideas and knowledge 5 years later, whereas finding 5 year old undone tasks is rarely something I want.
graemep
A lot of this is solved by todo.txt format ( https://github.com/todotxt/todo.txt )
There are apps that support it on many platforms and it is easy to sync across devices.
jmull
I think the reason people use text file + "snowflake software" is that they want just the structure (constraints) they want, and no more. BTW, what people want changes over time and by circumstance.
org mode has a lot of features, including customizability, but imposes some heavy constraints as well. By its nature it's only going to satisfy a sliver of the people who have come around to text file.
It's good you linked that document, though. At a glance it gives a fair idea of what you'd be buying in to.
not_kurt_godel
Apple's Reminders app does all of those things and many more without having to learn emacs
radley
I found Reminders to be unreliable and foolishly designed. It only works for must-do tasks. It uses repeating-period instead of time-since, so it can't handle repeating tasks that are optional. If you fail to mark off a repeating task, the next instances stack up and crash the notification cycle.
not_kurt_godel
I'm familiar with the pain point you're describing. In general, I would say a recurring calendar event is a better solution for your particular preferences. Personally my mental model is that the act of deciding to not do an optional task constitutes completion of the reminder for that occurrence. And if I forget or deprioritize that decision, the reminder still hangs out in my Today list until I do as a mitigation.
koakuma-chan
Ironically the Reminders app sucks at reminding. I use the Clock app for my todo list; it makes a pretty loud noise pretty reliably, which makes it pretty good for reminders.
bluGill
Reminders is not the job of a todo app, it is the job of a calendar app. For a todo there is no now, it is pick the best thing todo next. I need to be interupted for my dentist appointment. However I don't need to be interupted to buy milk, I need a remineer when I'm at the store anyway to also get milk. If the reminder was 'i see you are going in the direction of a store: we need milk if you have time to stop' that would work.
haukilup
Being pedantic, based on your example, I think the Reminders app does a good job at reminding, but a bad job at alerting. But that’s because a reminder to me is a gentle concept.
YVoyiatzis
I believe the Reminders app, when used alongside Notes and Calendar, is becoming a strong competitor in the productivity space. One feature I'd love to see added is persistent nudging reminders that keep alerting you until you manually dismiss them.
Things 3 is another excellent third-party option in this category. Together, these apps form my essential productivity stack. I honestly can't function without them.
svachalek
Yeah I think this is a result of the attention economy, there are 75 million notifications per day that someone somewhere wants to push in your face so we've gotten really good at cutting them out. But the counter-swing is also too big and now critical things like calendars and reminders are buried in a list we never look at.
null
not_kurt_godel
I agree it would be nice to have more alarm-like notification options. Flagging, setting as high priority, and assigning a date/time and getting in the habit of checking the Today category regularly all help mitigate; a bug-me-until-this-is-done feature would be a welcome alternative. (I will note that the GP's emacs stack isn't even close to offering native mobile push notifications, to state the obvious.)
saltcod
"Reminders" is maybe the most poorly named app of all time. The last thing it does is remind you of anything.
treetalker
Reminders.app does a great job when I want create lists and inventories! I use it for groceries and webpages too. For example, I've sent many of the Emacs-related links to my Emacs list in Reminders, where I know I'll be able to find them the next time I forget Gall's Law and look for a more-complex system to replace my current one: writing things down; thinking about what I've written; redrafting; and repeating.
ChromaticPanic
Too many programmers think they have a unique use case without considering that maybe the existing projects are bloated for a reason. Then they end up just recreating the same bloat.
dialup_sounds
Gall's Law:
A complex system that works is invariably found to have evolved from a simple system that worked. A complex system designed from scratch never works and cannot be patched up to make it work. You have to start over with a working simple system.
treetalker
Gall's Law almost always deserves to be repeated and higher up in HN threads, and this is another instance where I wish I could upvote more than once.
Here, Gall's Law provides an accurate explanation for why so many of us have returned to paper, pencil, and brain cells. It is also apropos of your comment's sibling comment regarding how tech folks frequently and mistakenly believe that they can improve on a solution that has worked well for thousands of years of human civilization (e.g., paper + writing instrument + human thought) in just a few weeks. For all the talk of Emacs's being relatively ancient and mature software, handwriting is orders of magnitude more mature and sanded down.
With software to "solve" the problems of thinking, remembering, linking ideas, or deciding what to do … now you have two problems, as we say.
Lalabadie
"Surely I can do it better in a few weeks than all preceding civilizational knowledge" is probably the most popular tech entrepreneur stereotype.
wpm
The existing projects probably have crap docs then. If I build it myself at least I’m likely to understand it.
k4rnaj1k
[dead]
imranq
People basically want a life coach, someone by their side who can tell them what the best next thing to do is at any given moment. Everything else are just approximation of that ideal.
The author's .txt file works because its simplicity forces a daily ritual of self-coaching. The tool demands that the user manually review, prioritize, and decide what matters. There are no features to hide behind, only the discipline of the process itself.
The impulse to use complex apps or build custom scripts is the attempt to engineer a better coach. We try to automate the prioritization and reminders, hoping the system can do the coaching for us.
The great trap, of course, is when we fall in love with engineering the system instead of doing the work. This turns productivity into a sophisticated form of procrastination.
Ultimately, the best system is the one that removes the most friction between decision and action. For the author, that meant stripping away everything but the list itself.
Shank
I was a really big fan of taskwarrior for the simple reason that it did do an approximation of telling you the best thing by calculating urgency, based on a simple weighting method where "the most urgent tasks" blocked other tasks, were due soon, had extra tags, had dependents, and were the oldest.
But I do feel very strongly that people only jump into "the great trap" because they feel that they were let down by their system, or that it didn't quite model their life accurately. A lot of todo apps are opinionated and those opinions, if incompatible with the the person using them, will lead to frustration. The quest for a more perfect life model often continues when this incompatibility is found.
meistertigran
This is accurate. It's about having something that works with your specific personality type.
That's why I personally just give some instructions to an LLM and create a simple scrapy HTML app that does exactly what I need.
mzirino
Everything you are saying was something I suspected to be true - I think you've captured it brilliantly. Really like: "Ultimately, the best system is the one that removes the most friction between decision and action."
paulmooreparks
The funny thing is, the answer to:
> Why This Actually Works
isn't anything the author lists under that heading. It's actually what he says above:
> Every night, I check tomorrow’s calendar. I dump everything into the next day’s section. Scheduled items get times in front. Sub-bullets hold notes or reminders. Finished tasks? I delete them or add what happened. Still on the list? Not done yet. That’s it.
That's why it works. He can build a simple ritual around it. The medium doesn't matter. The ritual does.
NoBeardMarch
Honestly, I use Things 3 pretty much like the author uses his text-app. One single list for all to-do's. The beauty of Things 3 is that there is no feature bloat and unnecessary complexity like most to-do managers.
The important difference is automatic recurring tasks, and daily task will show up outside the app as that red bubble on its icon indicating how many things "need" to be done today, the rest is optional.
Crucially, you need to commit to it, and use it everyday - even if just a little. The authors notepad works because it's a daily simple thing, like you said.
lemonberry
One of the biggest insights of David Allen's "Getting Things Done" is the daily review. If you're not reviewing your system isn't working. Build a habit/ritual around that and you're in great shape. Cal Newport also talks about this.
NoBeardMarch
From a "one giant to-do list"-guy, I just have a bi-weekly review. This seems to work for me since I open Things 3 every day. I am considering switching to weekly reviews.
xz18r
There is a format called todo.txt that works follows very readable syntax (like your own example) and has some minimal bells and whistles if you want it to: http://todotxt.org/
As an alternative: I started using org-mode 5 years ago and have never looked back. This is my workflow (https://karelvo.com/blog/orgmode) although I sync it via Git now, and have an iPhone where I use Plain Org (https://xenodium.com/plain-org-for-ios).
hiq
Can you expand on which org-mode features you like for this use case?
On the top of my head, among the useful features I'm familiar with, you can:
* nest tasks
* set deadlines
* set priorities
* filter ~arbitrarily
* have as much content as you want per item (in comparison with todotxt with is one line per item), including non-text like images
* have statuses other than todo and done (like waiting)
What else do you use that makes you particularly like this setup?
Org-mode is this thing I've been trying to use for a while, but it never sticks because I'm just too used to vim and plain text. Once in a while I look for a killer use-case, hoping it'd make me stick to it, to no avail so far.
powersurge360
If you don't feel like you need the extra bells and whistles don't worry about it. The great thing about org-mode is it _is_ just plain text and all the magic is in the interpretation of the plain text. If you have yourself a table and one day ya want to do some spreadsheet magic on it or pipe it into a script easily, you can just check the manual for how to do it and KO it right there in the same place the data lives. Remembering how to do it afterwards is optional.
Personally, I use lazyvim in neovim and doom emacs in emacs and just kinda switch between the two based on what I feel like in a given day. NeoVim tends to have better treesitter/LSP stuff as well as marginally better performance, doom emacs has way better test running and org-mode and it is only a little behind neovim in that other stuff.
All the above is to suggest I think the question is flawed. BUT! To answer the question literally, my favorite thing in org mode that I've never seen anywhere else is the ability to dump babel blocks in my notes with code samples that are actually runnable and the output is able to be piped somewhere else.
uludag
I too have used org-mode for a while and here are some additional features which may pique your interest:
- agenda views let me create custom pages of tasks with certain states or tags - a robust time tracking system. I use this for my freelancing work - very nice text tables that are programmable - a very customizable capturing system - a huge ecosystem of plugins - a programmable API: I'm currently working on an importer for the DayOne app as well as a fitness tracking package - PDF export with LaTeX. I can use this for printing out my weekly plan for example - in addition to deadlines, a scheduled property for when you intend to start a task - extensive linking system (https://orgmode.org/guide/Hyperlinks.html#External-Links-1) I often have todos linking to places in code
I think that org-mode could use better learning resources. There's pretty much the manual and blog posts by experienced users, neither are especially aimed towards new users.
BrtByte
Org-mode is obviously in a whole different league, but I think both scratch the same itch for different types of people
ghostly_s
Lost me at "But it's not easy to open todo.txt, make a change, and save it"—huh??
Clicked around a bit and found nothing describing how "todo.txt" is better than todo.txt (great branding), and seems to offer no solutions for iOS.
mikestorrent
There's a great meme with the classic intelligence bell curve setup where the "grug" and the "elite" sides both use a plain text file with their own ideas of how to do things, and only the "midwit" in the middle is using a huge pile of tooling to accomplish roughly the same thing.
I too went through the phase of using Dendron and Obsidian as well as more common todo list tools (and tickets)... and here I am back at Apple Notes, whose sole advantage over a text file is that it has enough capabilities to store a screenshot. That's all I really needed. My notes are like the classic notebook: a lot of the time it's write-only, a lot of the time it only has to be able to be understood for a week or two before the information is too old to matter anyway.
Don't overthink it.
Barrin92
>There's a great meme with the classic intelligence bell curve setup
This meme has taken on the character of the "Einstein was bad at math and school" urban legend. Yes, you can overthink it, but you can also under-think it if you picture yourself to be some romantic-era genius sitting in a heap of notes. If you want to go meta you might as well put the usage of that meme on the middle of the curve.
You don't need 15 note taking apps but it does pay off to invest in at least a bit of a system (I'd recommend https://johnnydecimal.com/ because it takes about an hour to set up), because you're not actually the 150 IQ guy and you probably benefit from a bit of structure (as do most very intelligent people in real life)
listic
Why is capability to store a screenshot useful in a to-do list?
bux93
I have a very simple todo list, it's essentially the same every day! - check mail - check calendar - check jira - check azure devops board - check Microsoft Tasks - check confluence - check Teams - check home calendar - check home e-mail - check signal - check whatsapp - check client e-mail - check client jira - renew prescription for benzos
BrtByte
At that point the todo list isn't so much a plan for the day as it is a daily pre-flight checklist just to make sure no fires are burning in any corner of your life
bravesoul2
Scottish accent: I chose something else...
OldfieldFund
I was thinking "oh boy that's miserable" and then you got me in the end...
seansh
I've gone through this too and came to the same conclusion except for phone.
While on laptop/desktop nothing beats txt (or md or org), it's just so uncomfortable using a text file like that on the phone and relying on dropbox or something.
And I get it, all the note taking apps on the phone have issues: not local first, proprietary, subscriptions, or no encryption, or a thousand features before making sure the full text search works even offline.
Last year I finally sat down and wrote my own PWA out of frustration [1]. There was a SHOW HN too [2]. Yes, shameless plug. There are only a handful of other people using it (and probably never more than that) but I really wrote it for myself and it's been such a relief the past year knowing I always have my notes whenever wherever and works exactly the way I want.
I probably spent <5h fixing a few issues in the past year. As far as I'm concerned, my problem is solved once and for all.
mastermage
This right here is, something that probably goes over a lot of peoples heads in here. Understandably so as we are on HackerNews people arr most likely IT people and simialar they view the PC as the prime Working environment. And while i personally concur and think the PC is much more productive than a Phone. One of these two devices you always have in your pocket.
Which is why for jotting done some quick note, or some oh remember to do this later when i am back home is just best done on a phone.
cyrialize
I'm a fan of Org Mode with Emacs [0] and using the app BeOrg [1] on my iPhone.
I have 3 main task files:
- todo.org for things I need to do
- backlog.org for things that I don't have to do now but should do in the future
- inbox.org for any random ideas or notes
The concept of an Inbox was taken straight from Getting Things Done [2].
I have different searches set up in BeOrg so that it is easy to view tasks from each different file.
This is definitely more complicated than a single file, but I like it mainly because it keeps my main task file (todo.org) organized. I also don't go through organizing my files that much either.
inbox.org is just a great place to dump anything, so I usually do a quick scan and either delete everything or refine it to the backlog.org.
For backlog.org, I'll usually just let things sit there and build up. After a while I'll realize that if something has been there for a long time, it probably isn't worth doing - or I already did it, so I delete it.
[0]: https://orgmode.org/
bowsamic
I like Org Mode but I feel like custom agenda views are not really as flexible as they should be, and as soon as you want to do something outside of the bounds of what Org offers with its settings for the built-in agenda views you have to go on a deep dive into the emacs lisp
For example I wanted the global TODO list view to show next to each entry when the TODO was scheduled for, but there's really no way to modify the global TODO list much at all
cyrialize
I actually don't use custom agenda views at all!
I try to treat my setup more like text files I'm editing in Emacs, rather than me specifically using Org Mode.
I like the extra niceties I get with Org Mode in Emacs, like marking things as done, making checkboxes, etc. I never venture farther than that.
The most complicated thing I do in Org Mode would be making tables and recurring tasks - and I only do recurring tasks because BeOrg makes it very easy to set that up.
refreeze654
I use Todoist in a very light weight fashion. I add tasks and they sit on my screen until they're done, basically identical to a text file. I've never used the points, projects, labels, etc.
It does one thing a text file struggles at: scheduling recurring tasks and adding notes to a recurring task. I have annual reminders for infrequent, but important stuff. For example, I have a recurring annual task to review my insurance. Each year, I add context and details that are easily forgotten. Then, when the reminder comes up next year, I can refresh my memory and complete the task quickly.
cypherpunks01
Totally agree, Todoist rocks. Recurring tasks are necessary for any kind of regular maintenance tasks, and Todoist supports all natural language scheduling "every month on the 15th" or "every 8 weeks starting Thursday". Textfile certainly isn't going to do this for you. Article author writes:
> Todoist: Great until I realized I was gaming the points system instead of doing actual work. Turns out completing “drink water” 8 times a day doesn’t make you productive.
Why didn't he turn off the points system if it was distracting, instead of migrating to the next shiny new TODO workflow? Not sure I understand, but I guess that might've left nothing to blog about.
bootlooped
Recurring tasks or tasks far into the future is what has me locked into Todoist. I love how comprehensive the plain-English scheduling is, such as "Do task every third Friday of the month". It's clearly got a lot more power than I use too.
davsti4
While this may work for others replying in support of, you can't use this software without logging in. That's a showstopper for me. It leads me to believe it'll begin syncing my data outside of my local environment. Can you put details about an upcoming employer meeting there without notifying your employer you've shared this data with a third party vendor? Can you put sensitive customer information in it without a governing contract without notifying the customer? ;)
alnorth
I'm a heavy Todoist user and I think it's great. I used to use org-mode, but all the Android apps I used for it were clunky and had issues with syncing when my file was concurrently edited somewhere else.
Todoist's API is pretty good too, so I've ended up building my own little webapp that fills some of the gaps in Todoist's functionality (e.g. finding a list of the projects that don't have a next action defined).
yard2010
Can you please advise on how to keep it open everyday? Many tasks accumulated there so it became an inconvenience to open it so I just write everything for today on a daily note. In this case using txt is the least resistance path but it's much less effective.
jerieljan
I have a similar setup in Todoist, it's just a reminder for scheduled recurring tasks like bills.
Funnily enough, I was quite savvy with the features several years ago but as my work changed and things aren't as easy to list down like a routine or in neatly defined projects and such.
And when regular tasks becomes freeform, it's no surprise that a plaintext file is sufficient.
patrickscoleman
Came here to say this, thanks.
Only thing to add is that I like the "inbox" feature in Todoist (plus a single catchall project). I get overeager during the day and add a bunch of stuff. The inbox makes it easy for me to mostly just remove things I won't actually do but then file away the stuff I might for later.
I've put weekly chores into a single recurring task and do them on Sundays or kick back another day or two (or just skip) if I'm busy.
gsinclair
It’s hypocritical for me to offer personal productivity advice, but here I go.
Weekly chores should be on a printed checklist on a clipboard kept in the kitchen or similar. These are wholly predictable items and are just clutter in a todo application, which should be devoted to making sense of the “everything else” in life.
yard2010
I must say todoist is the best kind of app for this. Not affiliated. I've been using it since 2010 and it has gone the un-enshitification path ever since. I'm grateful for it and it's everything I want to create as a maker.
freedomben
I went through something similar. I do use Logseq now, but for many, many years I found a notes.txt or todo.txt file in my home directory to be an excellent solution. I typically just write the date at the top of the file and put the notes underneath. A huge benefit is that I can trivially keep these under git. I keep them in my dotfiles repo so they can be easily synchronized to all my devices. A couple of shortcuts makes it quite fluid:
A bash alias so I can run `todo` and have the file open:
alias todo='nvim "$HOME/.todo.txt"'
inoremap <Leader>date <C-r>=trim(system('date "+%a %B %e, %Y %H:%M:%S %p"'))<CR>
nnoremap <Leader>date :put=trim(system('date \"+%a %B %e, %Y %H:%M:%S %p\"'))<CR><ESC>omnster
You can perhaps use `strftime` instead of `trim(system('date ..))`:
inoremap <Leader>date <C-r>=strftime("%a %B %e, %Y %H:%M:%S %p")<CR>
nnoremap <Leader>date :put=strftime("%a %B %e, %Y %H:%M:%S %p")<CR>
al3rez
I have this in tmux opening a flaoting window with neovim and <leader>g to search by tags which opens quickfix pane
justforfunhere
There was a period in my life when, just like OP, I tried many TODO apps. With each new app that I tried, I was filled with immense expectation that this finally is the app that will help me get my life in order. Needless to say, the early high was soon filled with inevitable dread, as the items and lists in the app kept on growing and I struggled to keep up with the brutal requirements of life as it is.
There were certain apps which would give the user a lot of options to customize the lists and the items in them. Customize in ways that would make the TODO item the most unique TODO item in its requirement and its quality. Such apps made me think a lot. Or should I say, overthink a lot. I would spend a lot of time trying to find the ultimate, most specific, custom setting for a TODO item that would make it unique and give it a life of its own. Looking back now, I am not sure how useful it all was. Ultimately, I ended up doing some items and not doing others. I cannot quantify what additional productivity they brought to me.
Now I dont use any TODO app at all. I just try to remember things, and I don't feel any different from the time when I was using those apps. Makes me wonder! Was I trying to invent a problem so that I could use these apps as a solution.
Perhaps that's why so many people come back to the old plain paper or a simple text file approach. Perhaps we all realize that it was perhaps not a problem after all and we would still have achieved most of what we set out to do. And even if we didn't, in the end, it doesn't matter all that much because life still goes on regardless.
perlgeek
> Needless to say, the early high was soon filled with inevitable dread, as the items and lists in the app kept on growing and I struggled to keep up with the brutal requirements of life as it is.
That resonates with me.
I also think that OP tried to use his TODO app for habits:
>> Todoist: Great until I realized I was gaming the points system instead of doing actual work. Turns out completing “drink water” 8 times a day doesn’t make you productive.
I use a very simple habit tracker to track the things I want to do regularly, it has no gamification, just a simple notification once per day per habit.
These days I don't use a TODO app regularly; everyday tasks such as groceries, household tasks etc. work fine without it. When lots of tasks pile up and I struggle to keep track, I use a text file. Those are usually short-lived.
I also have a shared Todoist list with my wife, but we mostly use it for as a shopping list, not really a TODO app.
1970-01-01
I host my own wall calendar. There is an annual subscription cost, but it's so cheap I don't notice. I hacked it together with thumbtack 1.0 and Bic Crystal a very long time ago. Others have used it and find the interface extremely intuitive. Localization is supported. I even have pencil support. If things become tentative, we can switch over to it seamlessly. When I have a todo item, I input it onto the day and time that works best. Highly recommended.
null
beezlebroxxxxxx
The real curveball is sending smoke signals to request pricing info.
don_neufeld
sigh
I've done the text file thing, and it’s fine. Up to a (very small) point.
What the author describes as their “workload” barely registers.
For context, for me, Things on any given day has over 100 individual actions, most of which are recurring.
By doing this, I can stay on top of an extremely broad surface area. There is no way a text file can handle the number of parallel work streams my (or really many) people have.
Broadly, for me these work stream are:
* Self Care
* Relationship
* Children
* Special Needs (IEP, SSI, Conservatorship, GGRC, Medical, Special Needs Trust, etc)
* Professional (BD, etc)
* Investments (Real Estate, Angel Investments, SEP, etc)
* Legal (LLCs, Litigation, Wills, etc)
* Financial (Quarterly and Annual Taxes in 2 countries, Insurance, etc)
* Home (Massive)
* Hobbies
* Vehicles
Without a serious amount of structure in the form of my todo system, there’s no way a person could manage this - certainly not with a text file.
Calendars very rapidly fall down for scheduled tasks that you can’t knock out the day of, they lack reminder functions, etc.
btilly
It sounds like your life requires a manager's schedule. Lots and lots of things to fit into a busy day. Likely without a lot of big blocks of focus time.
Most programmers are far better off with a maker's schedule. Far fewer things in a day. Each with a significant block of time associated with it.
An absolutely minimal productivity system is perfect for anyone on a maker's schedule. You're right that it wouldn't work for your life.
See https://paulgraham.com/makersschedule.html if you're not familiar with the terms "manager's schedule" and "maker's schedule". It also provides context for why those different kinds of schedules are appropriate for different people. (One of the big mistakes that people on manager's schedules often make is to not recognize and respect the impact that a "quick 15 minute meeting" has on employees who need to be on a maker's schedule.)
don_neufeld
100% - I read that when it came out, and I point others to it too.
The thing about Maker's schedule for me is that it's easy to get so into what I'm doing that other things in my life don't get the attention they need.
Having a reminder system helps make sure that doesn't happen.
dap
Folks are criticizing this as too much or coming from too much anxiety. I might have agreed before owning a home and having kids. But I totally get it. A typical week involves dozens of random tasks like those you mentioned. Then there's the long backlog of stuff that's important but not urgent.
I've used Todoist for the last few years. It's not perfect. But it's been game-changing in terms of reducing anxiety because I never worry that I'm forgetting something.
Like you, I don't know how folks in similar positions manage. I think a lot of people just drop the ball on a lot of stuff or wait for stuff to become suddenly urgent. I don't think that's a terrible approach -- I still drop a lot of balls because there's just too much. I just try to do it more intentionally.
I'm not knocking folks with other systems, text files or otherwise. Do what works for you!
don_neufeld
Yuuuup.
I remember the days before I had this much complexity. Frankly, it’s forced me to get a lot better at stuff.
Back to school was a blizzard of forms, meetings, drop offs, etc. each with their own unique timelines. Sandwiched between all the rest of life.
BLKNSLVR
I have multiple times had the thought that it's not actually possible to "get ahead" because it takes 110% of available time (because no one gets enough sleep) just to tread water.
Investments and Property I see as kind of essential to having much of a retirement, but these things need knowledge and research to get a handle on initially and to closely manage going forwards, such that they could be a part-time job on their own.
How does that fit around a full time job plus kids school and sports plus maintaining a healthy diet and exercise?
The one thing that all of the above does teach a person, though, is: filtering of bullshit; ability to say no.
anzumitsu
Can you give some examples of your 100 daily actions? I’m struggling to understand how you’re scheduling so many things, like I’m sure I complete 100 actions in a day but most are going to be things like “brush my teeth” or “clean up the dinner dishes”, which I personally wouldn’t schedule.
don_neufeld
It's definitely detailed. Here are a few from today:
Call PG&E about medical baseline allowance
Check SM Court website re: Conservancy ruling
Expect next invoice from [redacted]
Order refill of [medication]
Book service for [vehicle]
Various financial transfers associated with agreements.
Tons of project related tasks for work I can't share
etc, etc.
anzumitsu
Sounds like you need an assistant haha. I’m glad your system is working though.
jrowen
Managing the line between daily and long-term tracking is one of the toughest parts. I have a flat list of files in Notes analogous to yours, but I'm not working in every one every day, some will sit dormant for months. Do I maintain a "to buy" or "Home Depot" list in each one, or at the top level?
I like using paper for today's tasks and instant thoughts. I like to avoid cluttering with recurring unless I'm really having trouble (or keep it in calendar). I find that the "oh shit" part of my brain is largely a good enough reminder system as long as I capture the thought before it flies away.
side note: I do like the "Relationship" call-out. I had a past relationship suffer in part because I kept it a bit too much in the back pocket and not up on the proverbial board with the other projects. Workaholics take note - make your relationship part of your workflow.
johnmaguire
Maybe you can talk a bit about what does work for you?
don_neufeld
I’ve tried most of the major systems, and for me Things3 wins hands down. Yes, it costs some money to by the app on my phone and on my Mac, but the cost of missing even one deadline blows those costs out of the water.
I do with Things3 supported nested areas, but I just use Projects that I never complete to achieve the same effect.
Cassandra99
I previously developed an open-source alternative to Things3, available on web, Android, and Windows. You can try it out. I posted Show about it before, but not many people paid attention.
Currently, the UI is a bit ugly, but I have hired a professional UI designer to redesign it, and it is currently in development.
ukFxqnLa2sBSBf6
I have use a system similar to this guy and TickTick is perfect. I even use shared lists with my girlfriend to track chores which is something we implemented recently and works great.
nonethewiser
This looks like anxiety
bravesoul2
Some of this sounds like it could benefit from check-lists (probably you are?).
20 home todos could be wrapped into a single check list that you do once a week.
The master todo says "do 1 hour home checklist".
Then in that hour you analyse what you will prioritise, drop, defer and delegate.
The idea being your mind is then free of "repair the gutter" in general life, but you know you'll visit that on Sunday at 4pm.
don_neufeld
I do have those, especially for shopping. "Home Depot Trip" for example is a constant, and has 2-10 checklist items on it at any given time based on what I need.
The problem with a once weekly checklist of [all the house things] is how do I track when I last did a specific action so I make sure it doesn't drag on too long?
As a concrete example - I live in a steep, hilly area. So I schedule making sure that my drainage is clear about every 3 months. When I bought the house, drainage was a significant problem because it hadn't been attended to and a lot of stuff needed significant cleanouts. Do I strictly need to do something about it every 3 months? NO, but if I let it go for too long then it becomes a problem.
block_dagger
I would argue that it would be trivial to have a todo.txt for each area you mentioned. Put them in a folder labeled “todo” and you’re all set.
astrobe_
"Things on any given day has over 100 individual actions, most of which are recurring" looks more like checklist(s) to me.
don_neufeld
Sure, but I would lose a ton of reminder and repeating action functionality.
I’d also have to scan across a dozen or more files to figure out what my day looks like.
Seems strictly worse to me.
jama211
There’s a reason pilots don’t use text files for their checklists. Sometimes people need better features.
Reading through the comments under this thread, there are many users who swear by a plain text file, but who then build quite a lot of snowflake software to regain functionality offered by more structured TODO applications. That includes:
- having your computer alert you to things that come up
- being able to tag notes
- being able to add events to a calendar
- being able to set priority of tasks
- expecting prioritized/currently relevant tasks to be at the top of the agenda
- being able to add recurring tasks
- full-text search (grepping)
- formatting features (markdown)
Some of the laborious (or, in my opinion, plain unholy) solutions include:
- feeding TODOs to an LLM to filter for the currently relevant ones and send Telegram notifications
- hand-copying currently relevant tasks to the top of the TODO list
- running a script on a VPS to sync notifications
- set up cron job with git commit
- writing post-it notes by hand
I would encourage everyone to try out emacs with org-mode. It takes some time to get used to the editor and its keybindings (though provisions exist for vim users), but _every_ item on the list above is handled out of the box, or is offered through a free and maintained plugin.
The author of the OP claims to have tried _every_ todo app, and has afterwards moved (regressed?) to writing notes in a plain text file, but there is a path extending from this point that the author has not walked yet. I strongly suggest that, especially for people with a computing or technical background, it is an undisputed upgrade. https://doc.norang.ca/org-mode.html being the bible, of course.