TODO lists

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alex.barylski
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TODO lists

Post by alex.barylski »

We all use em' in some form or another...

I have tried everything from inline code comments to keeping a notepad close to my physical desktop to something as advanced as M$ project and as simple as notepad...

Problem is...keeping track and managing complicated TODO lists often take more time than their worth...for that reason I typically prefer, linear, quick and dirty TODO lists...

However I can see the practicality behind using a structured TODO list...sorta influences you to finish sub tasks before starting main tasks, because like any problem in software development we cannot truely finish or understand a problem until it's sub-problems are first understood...where as chaotic unstructured TODO list might let you waste time in completing a task only to find out when you start on it's related sub-tasks the problem has changed...

So...how do you manage your TODO lists? What techniques do you use to mimimize re-inventing the wheel? Do you use TODO tracking at all or something entirely more or less complicated?

Cheers :)
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Chris Corbyn
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Post by Chris Corbyn »

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s.dot
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Post by s.dot »

My to-do lists are down and dirty. Probably no one would undertand them but me
Set Search Time - A google chrome extension. When you search only results from the past year (or set time period) are displayed. Helps tremendously when using new technologies to avoid outdated results.
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Mordred
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Post by Mordred »

An .html file with <ul>, where the resolved items are striked-out (<s></s>), which I then parse and display like that in the debug footer:

Todo items remaining: 22 / 51 (29 done = 56%). (the link points to the file itself)

It's not perfect, as one of the items in it is "check out those //todo: comments in the source" :)
But it's a quick and dirty solution and shows a crude progress indicator (true, the progress tends to go down after I have an idea session or two, but it's still okay) :)
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Chris Corbyn
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Post by Chris Corbyn »

Trac has a ticket system in combination with a roadmap/project milestones. I get by with that :)
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Post by matthijs »

I have used so many systems, several online (tadalist, basecamp, self-hosted scripts, etc) but somehow they never work for me. A piece of paper or legal pad works the best. I always scribble little notes around the list, or add or edit stuff. Nothing as fast and flexible as a A4 piece of paper :)

And as others have noted writing todo lists is often a way to organize thoughts or way to help you remember stuff.
alex.barylski
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Post by alex.barylski »

haha :)

I couldn't remember if I posted that topic on here or some other forum...my bad sorry :oops:
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Post by onion2k »

http://www.ooer.com/bltl/list/devnetwork

Yet another of my unfinished toys, I was just messing around with Script.aculo.us. It's not a bad idea though. Nice drag'n'drop reordering and PDF printing.
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RobertGonzalez
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Post by RobertGonzalez »

That thing is tight onion. When it is done, let us know so I can steal it!
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Post by Luke »

Yes I'd like to know when it's done as well... it's very nice.
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Post by Christopher »

onion2k wrote:http://www.ooer.com/bltl/list/devnetwork

Yet another of my unfinished toys, I was just messing around with Script.aculo.us. It's not a bad idea though. Nice drag'n'drop reordering and PDF printing.
Questions:

1. Is there a real backend on the thing?

2. How does "empowers you to create lists from a variety of templates." work?

3. What about the other todo list stuff like projects/categories, tasks (a list?), status (pending/done), etc. ?
(#10850)
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John Cartwright
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Post by John Cartwright »

arborint wrote:
onion2k wrote:http://www.ooer.com/bltl/list/devnetwork

Yet another of my unfinished toys, I was just messing around with Script.aculo.us. It's not a bad idea though. Nice drag'n'drop reordering and PDF printing.
Questions:

1. Is there a real backend on the thing?

2. How does "empowers you to create lists from a variety of templates." work?

3. What about the other todo list stuff like projects/categories, tasks (a list?), status (pending/done), etc. ?
4. Additional information addon. I don't think a single line is enough for alot of tasks ;)
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onion2k
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Post by onion2k »

arborint wrote:1. Is there a real backend on the thing?
Nope, just the interface you see and a couple of MySQL tables you can tinker with through MySQL. It's a toy, not a proper app.
arborint wrote:2. How does "empowers you to create lists from a variety of templates." work?
It means that lists are defined using a template, which you can add more of by dropping them into the 'templates' directory. A template looks like:

Code: Select all

<?php

	$columns[0]['width'] = 130;
	$columns[0]['title'] = "Site Section";

	$columns[1]['width'] = 365;
	$columns[1]['title'] = "Action";

?>
The code sorts out the form fields, reordering table, etc.
arborint wrote:3. What about the other todo list stuff like projects/categories, tasks (a list?), status (pending/done), etc. ?
Maybe one day. Unlikely though, I've not touched it for well over 6 months. My only non-work project at the moment is Interject, a complete project management/contact management/time management suite with AJAX sexiness.

Screengrabs!

http://www.ooer.com/onion/ij_screen_1.jpg
http://www.ooer.com/onion/ij_screen_2.jpg

It's a very long way off being completed though.
alex.barylski
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Post by alex.barylski »

Jcart wrote:4. Additional information addon. I don't think a single line is enough for alot of tasks ;)
Someone pointed this out to me...again whether it was here or not...I can't remember...

1) TODO list is a collection of terse statements
2) Task is a compilation of TODO lists
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Post by John Cartwright »

Didn't realize there was a difference :?
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