Matthew Lang avatar

Matthew Lang

Family guy and web developer

Dropping Todoist for a while

For a while, there has been a nagging question in the back of my mind: Am I really getting the full use out of my to-do list? Two people have made me question this in the last couple of weeks.

The first was by Patrick Rhone after re-reading a post from a while back:

You see, when the things you hope to do are on some long wish list of things you hope to do, they are telling you a lie. They are telling you that you that every single thing on there is of equal importance.

— Better Things by Patrick Rhone

The second was CJ Chilvers on the idea of killing your to-do list:

I’ve slowly become a convert to the idea that we need to concentrate on our calendars a whole lot more to achieve what we want in work and life. If you want it done, it must be scheduled. If it’s not scheduled, it’s just another item on your wishlist that will never be completed.

— Kill Your To-do List by CJ Chilvers

I work from my calendar throughout the day for high-level things like client work and more significant projects. I use Trello and schedule cards, which I’m working on in my calendar for this. For low-level stuff like errands and such, I use Todoist. Lately, though, I’ve found that Todoist has been holding nothing more than smaller tasks, which has led me to question my value in using it.

So, I’ll stick with Trello for more significant projects and schedule work for the next few weeks into my calendar. With Todoist dropping, I’m going to look for an alternative. It might be Trello, a pocket notebook, or an index card. I haven’t decided yet.

The boy is getting No Man’s Sky for his birthday in a few weeks. I wish his birthday would roll round faster. I’m desperate to play it.

More than just a list

If you want it done, it must be scheduled. If it’s not scheduled, it’s just another item on your wishlist that will never be completed.

— Time To Kill Your Todo List by CJ Chilvers

Words by CJ Chilvers that for a few minutes had me questioning my own todo list's life expectancy. CJ’s words make sense but what he is advocating isn’t killing your todo list. Well maybe he is but I see it in a different way.

You see the todo list isn’t the problem. The problem my friend is you.

If you’re using your todo list in the most effective way possible then you'll be doing two things:

  1. Continually reviewing your todo list
  2. Syncing your todo list to your calendar

Rather than thinking of your todo list as just a list of things to do, think if it as more than a list. It's a capturing point, a staging area, a place where things go before they are scheduled to be done.

Your todo list items should only be in this staging area for a short time until a window of opportunity opens up in your calendar. Then you can schedule the item at the most appropriate time.

As with most processes, it’s not the tools that are to blame, it’s how you use those tools.

I do a weekly review to ensure that I don’t have anything in my todo list that is stagnating. If it’s been there for a while, I delete it or schedule it for the most convenient time possible. That way it gets done.

My todo list is also linked to my calendar so that when I give a todo item a date and time it appears in my calendar.

My todo list isn’t just a list of things to do, it’s a capturing point, a place to review and a log of just about everything I have done. It’s more than just a list. It's an essential part of my workflow.

The easiest way to get your head round this is to work from your calendar rather than your todo list. Your todo list just tells you what to do. The calendar tells you what to do and when to do it.

Hint: Did you know Todoist can feed your todo list to your calendar? It also includes a link back to your task so that you can mark it as complete when it's done.

The love-hate relationship with Medium

I'm still on the fence about Medium. Despite having an account there and no stories posted I still get people following me.

Sure I get what Medium is trying to achieve by making blogging easy for everyone but I'm still on the fence about such a high volume of people using one platform.

Mark Lowenstein highlights a few of the benefits and drawbacks with Medium.

Medium offers very little in the way of guidance or tutorials to help one get discovered. There is nobody one can talk to, unless you’re an established brand or company who wants Medium to host your content. I’d bet many writers would be willing to pay a modest fee, or sign up for a premium membership with Medium, for some help building an audience/following and getting their content discovered.

Discoverability is a problem many people face on Medium but I don't think this a problem with Medium directly.

When you start writing on Medium, you're writing with (and against) thousands of other people. That's a lot of competition, so why not blog elsewhere? It's your decision.