I am a to-do list addict. I am the kind of person who makes to-do lists about other to-do lists. I am also a print designer at heart, so like many designers I am constantly filling notebooks with daily/weekly/monthly lists of projects and things to accomplish. It usually looks a little like this:
There are 2 problems with this. First, the paper lists pile up pretty fast, and steal valuable real-estate in my (already expensive) moleskins. I would much rather fill that space with sketches and ideas for my illustrations and work. Secondly, the lists are physically inside a book or on a piece of paper. I usually end up leaving it at home when I need it at the office, and at the office when I need it at home. I am forgetful like that; just ask my wife.
To solve both these problems, I have recently been using TeuxDeux, an online to-do list that allows me to simply list my tasks, and access them from work and home and anywhere in between.
The design is beautifully simplistic, which is perfect for someone who doesn’t need a lot of bells or whistles. You can add tasks to a specific day, or to a general list underneath, which allows me to track tasks both immediate and long-term in the same application. Tasks can be dragged from day to day if deadlines or plans change.
When tasks are completed they can be struck-through or deleted off the list completely. I like to just strike-through so I can look back at my list and (hopefully) feel a nice sense of accomplishment.
As an application it may not be as robust as others, but leverages it’s simplicity and price (it’s free) instead. It has definitely helped me take my to-do list addiction digital, and helped me stay on task in the process.
Check out the TeuxDeux site, and be sure to watch the awesome demo video! Or watch the TeuxDeux Demo on Vimeo.
Do you use something else to track tasks? Paper? Web? Feel free to leave your to-do list style in the comments below.
4 Comments
I dig the simplicity of TeuxDeux. It seems similar in functionality to the Tasks in Google Calendar, but they add the “someday” area which is cool.
I’m still rocking Action Method Online, but my to-do list tends to be really complicated and I benefit a lot from categorization and flexibility. I wrote a review of Action Method for my blog.
I have also been trying to get a handle on my to-do lists. One thing I’ve been meaning to try is Google Calendar’s tasks list. Granted, it is not very robust as far as to-do list management goes, but it’s free and is something you could integrate anywhere you have an internet connection. Another extremely simple option is a Google Doc.
I’ll find my to-do list niche one of these days. I should put that on my to-do list… but where?!
I fought with this same issue for a long time, and finally decided that a mobile solution was best.
“Things-to-do-at-Work” lists are easy to maintain using a computer, but what about a grocery list? What about when you’re at a bar and someone says “check out this album”? Not only do I need to access list remotely, I need to be able to jot down new items wherever I am.
“MyLists” is an iphone app that maintains multiple lists, allows icons, but most importantly is PORTABLE. I found that this was the key to really incorporating any organization method into my real life.
I took 2 screengrabs – you can see the categories and the specific list items.
http://www.nickad.com/post/myLists_1.PNG
http://www.nickad.com/post/myLists_2.PNG
I know not everyone has an iphone, but I can only speak from experience when I say that portability was the key to making a list-keeping method work for me.
MyLists costs 1.99 on the itunes app store, and is literally one of my most used apps.
I used TeuxDeux for a bit, loved the web interface… but the lack of a mobile app didn’t bode well for my continued patronage. Still looking for the holy grail of android list apps…