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Using todo lists

Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2006 7:18 pm
by alex.barylski
Do you prefer simple TODO lists or structured TODO lists?

I've been working on a little TODO list application in MFC for a while and it just occured to me that, nested TODO items may not be the way to go...

TODO lists are meant to give a quick overview of things to do...and thus should be updated frequenlty to reflect what needs to be done...

Structured TODO lists could possibly take a long time to keep updated...

Thus you might spend more time updating your TODO list and discovering required tasks than actually completing tasks...

What do you htink...

Simple, linear TODO lists or organized, structured, well defined task lists???

Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2006 7:32 pm
by Benjamin
Using them is on my todo list.

Actually I can't vote because I don't use them. I really don't forget to do things (very often) and updating them is too time consuming.

Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2006 8:04 pm
by alex.barylski
Well you indirectly voted...by saying their too time consuming...

Thats the problem I am facing right now...and you comment helped head me in the right direction :)

Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2006 8:43 pm
by Bill H
My wife spends more time creating "todo lists" that she ever does doing anything that is on those lists. She also, of course, creates lists of things for me to do, which I pretty much ignore. I basically never make lists other than grocery lists which I careffully take with me to the store and then buy a whole bunch of stiff that isn't on them.

Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2006 9:06 pm
by feyd
A structured todo list would be a task, objective or goal depending on the tide pools you swirl in.

Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 12:45 am
by matthijs
The neverending todo lists ... use them a lot but not always as structured as I should be. As with Bill's wife, creating lists is one thing, doing everything on them another.

But I think one aspect of creating them is that that activity alone already helps to remember the things or think of other you should do. Sometimes being a kind of mini-brainstorm session.

Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 12:46 am
by Luke
At work I just user Outlook's "Tasks" for my to do list. Just an easy way to remember stuff... like update x website, change dns from x to y. I don't ever structure them

Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 3:09 am
by Maugrim_The_Reaper
Rip page from A4 (Legal) pad. Write list. Perform tasks on list. Throw paper in bin...

My typical workday...:).

I use todo lists simply to keep tasks in mind, the act of writing a list has benefits all by itself.

Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 3:10 am
by GM
Simple todo lists, usually handwritten.

I tend to make a new one every day, copying the stuff from my old one that still hasn't been done :)

Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 6:55 am
by Chris Corbyn
Maugrim_The_Reaper wrote:Rip page from A4 (Legal) pad. Write list. Perform tasks on list. Throw paper in bin...

My typical workday...:).

I use todo lists simply to keep tasks in mind, the act of writing a list has benefits all by itself.
I'm a jotter too. I have paper everywhere. I like the feeling I get when I can put a line through an item in the list.

I've never included TODO lists in my work as a file in itself.

Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 7:09 am
by Weirdan
I use sticker notes. One sticker per task. And when the task completed I crinkle it and throw in bin.

Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 7:21 am
by jamiel
My Bugs and Tasks in TRAC are my todo list. If there is something that needs to be done, I make a new task in TRAC.