A simple system for TODOs
I'm tired of todo apps.
First they were a cute demo. Then they were an investment vehicle. Now they're a graveyard.
The only time I've ever had any real, long-term success with any "todo" software was when it didn't exist. I just use a markdown/text file. TODOs look like this:
- Hey I'm a todo
- Hey I'm another todo
I also like to organize those todos into "week files" where I give the file a name like 06-08-26_06-12-26.md (I try to keep my weekends offline so I use five day weeks). This lets me cleanly separate todos across weeks (helpful for review and avoiding overwhelm when I'm in a busy period).
A typical week file looks something like this:
---
project: EP2AB
week_of: 06-08-26 to 06-12-26
---
# Research
- [ ] Look into Tauri invoke commands
...
# Features
- [ ] Add support for adding backing music
...
# Bugs
- [ ] Add error handling for when mp3 files are manually wiped off disk ...
# Refactors
- [ ] Add a proper loading page w/ EP2AB logo and a nice spinner in brand colors — add a fade-in effect for the app UI so it "poofs" in magically
...
# Random
- [ ] Make sure setup works with license server — pub/priv key, purchase flow (Stripe), emails/receipts
...
# Documentation
- [ ] Update docs with new bin() stuff
...
# Marketing
- [ ] EPUB checker tool — verifies against the EP2AB parser to see if we can parse it ("This EPUB is EP2AB compatible!")
...
Week files live in project folders. The above example lives at ~/projects/todos/ep2ab/06-08-26_06-12-26.md. Under ~/projects/todos, I keep a separate folder for each project (including personal) and then a series of templates for .md files in ~/projects/todo/_templates/<some_template>.md.
Why I like this approach: it's simple, doesn't require logins, lives right next to my work, is cheap to back up, is easy to search, and it can be opened by anything. It's also not overwhelming. Limiting each file to a single week does two things:
- Forces me to be realistic about what I can actually do.
- Doesn't require me to keep everything in view all of the time (I can put stuff in future week files and ignore it until I get there).
That second one matters a lot. Apps tend to shove all the things down your throat. This approach is a hell of a lot more zen and doesn't make life feel like The Zero Theorem.
The only downside is lack of mobile sync (though, there are options to get around this), but I've found it helps to do a manual sync—from a scratch pad .md file on my phone—which inadvertently forces me to review my todo lists and organize them.
I work solo most of the time, but if you're on a team, I'd imagine ~30 minutes with an LLM could help you whip up a little sync tool or something.
There also may be wisdom in just...talking to each other and not relying on software to keep you in (a)sync. Have a sandwich together. Laugh. Be inefficient on purpose.