To Do List

[Ben]

Hi,

When people start talking about to do lists, I just don't understand what they mean.

I realise that I am not the best webmaster, because I only run one website and am still a minor. But I still have a lot of things to do, even with the things to do I don't have to write up a list.

How do you write up a list? Does it consist of what you are going to do when you get online and even as detailed as what sites you are going to visit?

Please enlighten me as I would definately like to become more efficient

Regards
Ben

[MrGeeK]

It varies from person to person, I have a couple of different kinds.

1. The overall plan Todo List - This is a list of things that I need to do/work on and when they need to be done by. This list is written on a whiteboard next to my desk and is used to ensure I don't forget anything. Another way of thinking of this is that it is my list of current and upcoming projects.

2. Project Todo - Depending on the size of the project there may be a project Todo list, this is similar to item 1 above but it is more detailed about a particular project. A Project Todo should never be huge, because then it becomes confusing. If I find a project it too big then I break it down into several projects.

3. The 3rd kind I use is a Daily Todo, this is not written down, it's just a list that I keep in my head of the things I need to do every day. (Check my sites/states, visit websitepublisher.net, etc.)

[fredarn]

I have recently started to write a to-do list.
At first i wrote which website i was going to visit +++, now i just write what i am going to do on my website. here is my list:
o Golfsiden.net:
-- Søkeoptimalisering
-- Spørre relevante webmastere om tips
-- Bedre kvalitet på suzann-mini bildene
-- Artikkel om TGW
-- Sørreundersøkelse på forsiden
-- RSS på forumet (RSS2)
-- Sende nyhetsbrev
-- "Siste fra forumet" i høyre meny
-- Fikse RSS-feed
-- Endre skrifttypet på "ukens sitat"
-- Gjøre kategori menyen mer synlig
-- promotere: skrive artikkel på x6
-- fjerne forbrukerpriser øverst til høyre

hihi, in norwegian ;)

[Torito]

Translation please

[Tijmen]

It varies from person to person, I have a couple of different kinds.

1. The overall plan Todo List - This is a list of things that I need to do/work on and when they need to be done by. This list is written on a whiteboard next to my desk and is used to ensure I don't forget anything. Another way of thinking of this is that it is my list of current and upcoming projects.

2. Project Todo - Depending on the size of the project there may be a project Todo list, this is similar to item 1 above but it is more detailed about a particular project. A Project Todo should never be huge, because then it becomes confusing. If I find a project it too big then I break it down into several projects.

3. The 3rd kind I use is a Daily Todo, this is not written down, it's just a list that I keep in my head of the things I need to do every day. (Check my sites/states, visit websitepublisher.net, etc.)


Looks like we work with the same kind of lists :)

[Dan Grossman]

http://www.dangrossman.info/12-10-05.jpg

[ses5909]

I'm pretty much the same as Mr.Geek. I don't usually keep my lists on my computer because when i write things down by hand, it helps to sink things in more.

I have started using my Treo to put daily appts, etc in and send me reminders. That is nice b/c I always have my phone with me no matter where I am.

[Johnny Gulag]

I use http://www.tadalist.com/ it is my default page and then each day I start by ckecking the things I need to do.

[Cutter]

I have a monthly to do list of projects I want to work on along with some details about how I am going to do it. I used to try to schedule my days by the hour but it didn't work out. Usually I have a streak of days where all I do is work, followed by a slacking off day, and then I gradually build back up to that point. Its too hard for me to plan out.

[Blue Cat Buxton]

I need to write mine down - and be able to cross things off. (I use a combination of Outlook which I print off and write in new tasks, the update onto the pc every few days)

It includes large scale tasks and then for those active jobs, tasks down to really minor things, just so they dont get forgotten as much as anything.

[Johnny Gulag]

Usually I have a streak of days where all I do is work, followed by a slacking off day, and then I gradually build back up to that point.

Yes me too, some days all I can do is work, other days I just sit here listening to music or surfing the net :)

[Ben]

So it seems like people write them down, what do you do when you have done everything on your site? Do you just visit forums and post?

[Cutter]

Its more like read forums, then work. When I wake up I check the boards, rss feeds, and then work, then later at night I check my e-mail. There is never, ever an "everything done" time. Now that I have a rapidly growing and very active message board there is especially plenty to always do.

Right now its about 1:40am and I've been working my *** off pretty much for the last 4 or 5 hours and I wish I could press a button so I wouldn't be tired and work another 5 hours, but instead I'm going to turn on the tv for 40 minutes or so and then go to bed :) (and the other word for butt really shouldn't be censored here :D )

[Ben]

Holy moly Cutter. I never thought that this would be such a challenging job. I am just a youngling making some extra bucks from the internet. I would really like to go full time into this when I finish school, but I don't know whether I want to now

[Masetek]

I have a daily type of order of how I do things...

First time I logon: read forums, blogs etc
Mid morning: do all the mind intensive stuff (programming, databases etc)
Lunch: eat & read forums again
Afternoon:finish off programming, write articles, maintinance
Dinner: eat
After dinner: all the easy stuff like sumbit to directories, look for link exchanges etc

That's pretty much how it goes most days. The night before I look at what needs doing and make a list for the following day. I also set launch dates for new projects and stuck to them strictly. If I am launching something new on a only site I always announce the luanch date on the site so visitors see it an expect the new addition on that day. That mean I must finish it by then.

Also, I like finishing off the day and looking at all the stuff I have crossed off my lists - it give me a sense of achievement

[Mullen]

I have a very basic to-do list. Most mornings I grab a piece of paper and write down everything I need to complete that day. During the day I'll tick off the completed tasks and add more if needed.

If I'm working on a project I'll get another piece of paper and write down everything which needs to be done on the project and tick them off once they're done.

I always write my to-do lists down on paper, I find it's much more convenient and lets me think about other things I need to do while I'm writing.

[beley]

I have two kinds of to-dos.

Project to-dos, milestones, etc. go in my Basecamp (http://www.basecamphq.com) project managent website. I use it to keep track of all our current projects and client communications.

I also have a Franklin Covey (http://www.franklincovey.com) planner. I was introduced to them in 1998 by an employer and have been hooked ever since (my planner is about as old). I just buy refills every year.

The Franklin Covey planning system is about much more than just todos. It's about setting long term and short term goals. Working your way back from the long-term goals, to the short term, and even shorter (week, then day) until you have a clear picture of what's important. Knowing what you want to accomplish long term helps you plan day to day and week to week. You'd be surprised how many things we get caught up in that dont help us move at all towards our long term goals.

Anyway, that's what I use and it works really well.

The to do list system in FC is based on ABC, 123. A is critical (must be done today), B is important but non-critical, and C is optional. 123 are the order or subpriorities.

[Sagewing]

I am an Outlook fanatic. I use Outlook for my personal organization and I'm getting pretty elegant with it. I'm a process consultant so I'm obsessed with efficiency - I'm pretty efficient myself!

I like Franklin Covey but I am partial to the four-boxes system from 7 habits. I only use it as a column in my Outlook tasks, though.

For development artifacts (approvals/bugs/etc) I use Rational ClearQuest (for enterprise clients) or Mantis (for little stuff).

[Shawn]

Outlook 2003 is great. I actually used Outlook XP, switched to Thunderbird while I was on the Mozilla train with everyone else, but I got off and tried out Outlook 2003 about a week ago.

I absolutely love it.

[Sagewing]

yea there is no comparison. I have looked at virtually every personal organization system and Outlook is the ultimate platform. You can take whatever personal approach you want with tasks and appointments.

Another great tool is MS OneNote - which is sort of a turbocharged notepad for freestyle notes. I am completely hooked on it.

[ses5909]

Another great tool is MS OneNote - which is sort of a turbocharged notepad for freestyle notes. I am completely hooked on it.

I've got OneNote, but haven't used it yet. I'd be interested to hear why you like it so much and how you use it.

[Sagewing]

What I can say about OneNote is this: it's simple.

It doesn't do anything spectacular at all, which is kind of why I like it. It's for text/links/sccreenshots - anything you might cut/paste and want to hang on to. Like, passwords, quotes, ideas (brilliant for this kind of data), thoughts, notes-to-self, etc.

It's NOT for appointments, tasks, anything stateful, etc.

what makes it great is that it's easy to pop things into OneNote, and easy to find them. Easy to mail them to other OneNote users, easy to share your notes, easy to reorganize. It uses a simple file-system storage system - no db. It's lightweight and has a well-behaved tray-app.

It's organized like a real file cabinet - with files, folders within, and pages within that.

Elegant and simple. It just does a simple thing well.

[ses5909]

Thanks for that Dave.