I’m a big fan of using OneNote for capturing information during meetings and discussions and an equally big fan of using Todoist to manage my tasks to completion. The challenge I faced was…how to combine the two? I’ve looked into automation tools and other workflow mechanisms but it turns out the simplest answer was the best.
Tag: Todoist
Turning your to-do list into a to-done list
Whenever we think about to-do lists or task lists we’re always thinking about ways to tic those checkboxes and feel like making progress. Here’s a question though…have you ever put items on your list you’ve already finished just to check them off? Is this wrong?
I use Todoist to track my task list and one of the nice features is the ability to mark tasks with a tag to tie it to a specific project. I’ve taken to using the tagging option to go back and identify work I did during the course of the day to get a better understanding of where I’m putting my time
Each project in Todoist can have a color assigned to the project and any tasks assigned to the project also receive that color marker. By doing this when I look at the productivity chart it shows the number of tasks I’ve completed each day and color bars representing the number of tasks completed for each project.
For example, if I’m doing chores around the house I may also do a little car maintenance and decluttering. If my task is “house chores” for Saturday, it doesn’t give me a perspective as to if I’m keeping up with the auto maintenance or is the decluttering getting away from me. There’s a side benefit from capturing things after they’re done.
A sense of accomplishment often eludes us when we’re hard at work. Taking time to look back and appreciate the amount of productivity we’ve had rather than what we think we should have. Taking time to account for work we’ve done even if we haven’t captured it in advance is just as valuable to our productivity as making that list first.
Do you put done items on your to-do list? Does it help or hurt?
Turning your to-do list into a to-done list | Productive Professionals
Whenever we think about to-do lists or task lists we’re always thinking about ways to tic those checkboxes and feel like making progress. Here’s a question though…have you ever put items on your list you’ve already finished just to check them off? Is this wrong?
I use Todoist to track my task list and one of the nice features is the ability to mark tasks with a tag to tie it to a specific project. I’ve taken to using the tagging option to go back and identify work I did during the course of the day to get a better understanding of where I’m putting my time
Finding a balance in your work and life productivity | LinkedIn
Finding a balance between your work life and non-work life is a challenge for everyone. I have that same challenge. Here’s how I put Todoist to work to maintain that balance and learned some things about myself along the way.
Using Todoist to manage reminders for OneNote
One of the recurring complaints about Microsoft OneNote is it’s inability to handle reminders on tasks. (Yes I know Evernote can do this…but we’re talking about OneNote right now.) I needed a way to create action lists in OneNote and then be able to track and follow up on items to do in the future without having to remember to check the OneNote task list frequently. Fortunately one of my favorite tools comes to the rescue…Todoist.
Here’s the process I use to generate multiple tasks in Todoist from OneNote so I can ensure everything gets done on schedule:
Step 1 – Create your action list in OneNote
Type in your list as you would normally in OneNote. You don’t even need to use the To-Do Tag, just put in a return at the end of each line.
Step 2 – Use Todoist syntax in OneNote
For example, if I have something on the list to do on Friday at 3:00 p.m., I would enter:
Call the vendor Friday 3pm
Todoist can leverage this format to turn the last part (Friday 3pm) into a scheduled reminder when the item is added to a list. If we expand the example a little we get:
Call the vendor Friday 3pm
Follow up on meeting action items Next Monday 8am
Follow up on vendor action items Two Weeks
Step 3 – Copy and Paste
Creating the Todoist tasks from the OneNote list is nothing more than a matter of copying the list from OneNote and then pasting the list into a new task field in Todoist on the web. Todoist is smart enough to recognize you are pasting a list AND will read the date formatting to create reminders for each task it loads. (It’s pretty impressive to watch the first time.)
From this point you can complete the tasks in Todoist, get reminders, and know nothing is falling through the cracks.
Pro TIP:
If you add in the label and project syntax on an item, Todoist will assign the task automatically as well. For example:
Call the vendor Friday 3pm #cloudhosting @Art
Finding ways to make the tools in your productivity toolkit work together can make all the difference between just getting things done and truly being productive.
Regaining your momentum with @kickstart
Regaining your flow when you’ve been interrupted or have lost focus can be an almost herculean effort if you haven’t planned in advance. There’s a hack I recommend regardless of the system to get your momentum back with some quick wins in being productive.
It’s all about preparation
Personally I use Todoist to track my tasks but this hack works for almost any system. The hack is a simple one. When reviewing my tasks if I find one that can be accomplished in under five minutes but doesn’t need to be done right away, I tag it with @kickstart. I usually have anywhere from 5-10 @kickstart tasks in my lists waiting for me. Where the hack comes in is when I realize I need to get back on track.
Using the hack
Part of regaining momentum comes from a few small successes to act as a positive motivator. By filtering my list for @kickstart I can find a few tasks I can knock off the list right away, have a sense of accomplishment, and get back in the being productive flow so I can move on to bigger and better things.
Being productive is about more than just checking off task boxes. It’s about putting yourself in the right state to continue to be productive again and again in a constant and predictable manner.
Pro tip for analog people
If you’re not a digital person but rather an analog one, you can duplicate the same type of effect. Create a list in your notebook of @kickstart tasks and then just refer to the list when you need to restart your flow.
Another article you may find helpful is Regaining your momentum.
Todoist tip – controlling natural language dates
Todoist has a great method of scheduling reminders through a natural language interface when you create a task. Sometimes though you’d rather not have Todoist grab the date you just entered because it’s part of the task rather than the reminder. If you want Todoist to ignore a piece of text as a date or a schedule prompt, just press Esc right after the text to make Todoist to ignore the real language recognition. You can continue to add text and have a reminder added later on the line so you get the best of both worlds.
Todoist – one of my favorite tools for being productive.
