Todoist And Gtd

01-05-2021 by



  • Create a “Pomodoro” project in Todoist and within it create 8-10 recurring Pomodoros (1st Pomodoro, 2nd, 3rd, etc.). In your Today view, arrange all your daily tasks underneath each Pomodoro. Estimate how long each task would take to complete. If a task takes more than.
  • One of the core tenets of GTD is to get tasks out of your head and into your external system the moment they come to you. Todoist syncs across platforms – computer, phone, web browser, email client, smartwatch, or smart home assistant – so you can enter tasks anytime, from anywhere.
  • So, I went back to the fundamentals. I re-read GTD and re-applied it to my new work responsibilities. My GTD practice in my new job looks different from what it looked like with my old job. I've changed my Todoist set up, how I use my calendar, and I've been using project support materials more effectively.
  • What Todoist is missing. There is not a lot of changes that have to be done in order to make Todist support GTD. Sure, you can add a lot of bells and whistles, but that’s not what I’m asking for. Let’s take a look at what is really needed. Support for GTD Weekly Review.

This is a basic guide to Getting Things Done inside of Todoist. This is my own take on the process using the 5 steps with Todoist-optimized features to order.

GTD Journey: Moving back to Todoist (once again!)

I was excited about the Nirvana app as you can read here. I still think it’s the best out-of-the-box implementation of GTD on a multi-platform web-based app. A few things discouraged me to continue relying on the app. Nirvana’s development is slow and I got a little bit upset about an update released back in July with a few bugs. Those bugs were addressed in a later update, but that week dealing with the app’s hiccups got me thinking about other apps for my GTD tasks system.

So, as any good-old productivity nerd, I looked back at some apps.

My initial thoughts were:

  • Facile Things: it’s strictly GTD-based, but for me it has a clunky interface and too little flexibility.
  • Nozbe: it’s good, but expensive. I like the way it organizes and filters by context, but the interface was not my favorite.
  • Todoist: I’m already used to it. One of my all-time favourites for task management. Latest updates changed the project's behavior, but Calendar integration and total flexibility is its highlight.

After a week testing these apps I tried to understand why Nirvana was not cutting it for me anymore. It all has to do with friction. How easy it is to add something to my Inbox? Am I getting a trusted list of my next actions? Are there things falling through the cracks? How can I track them? Is it easy to coordinate my next actions and my calendar events? Do I like to see my lists? Am I avoiding my lists out of fear?

I identified that a critical Nirvana’s limitation to my system was: lack of calendar integration.

I will pause here to mention that the GTD framework does not require you to have your tasks scheduled in your Calendar. That’s something to avoid because it can create stress about “wishing” to get several things done in a given day and then getting frustrated because the plan didn’t work. I’ve been there before. The first time I used Todoist I went crazy with scheduling tasks. But they were not hard deadlines. They were only my wishes. There must be a clear separation between your Calendar and your next actions list. Strictly speaking, what goes into the Calendar are things that must be done that day. Side note over.

I realized that I live inside Google Calendar because of my work. All team meetings/discussions/reviews with co-workers/managers and all deadlines are scheduled on Google Calendar. I always keep it open so that I can be on top of everything.

I need to track multiple deadlines: review estimates, send requests, follow-up on trades. And these are part of various project’s next action lists. Deadlines change, things get moved around, and for me it’s easier to manage all these in one centralized place, with the option to group by Project. Having the ability to see crucial tasks on my Calendar saves me a lot of headaches and help me plan my week and my day.

Todoist came to the rescue!

So, because of my work rhythm and multiple deadlines, I realized that having my task manager linked to my Calendar was important to my workflow. But it must be done in a systematic manner, otherwise I loose control and it’s chaos and overwhelm again!

Apart from the Calendar Integration, I must highlight additionalTodoistfeatures that I enjoy:

  • The “Quick Add” feature is extremely handy, and the natural language recognition makes processing tasks a breeze.
  • The mobile app is smooth and responsive.
  • The inline commands and natural language processing that recognizes dates in tasks makes organizing my system a friction less process.
  • Emojis and colours 🎈! I missed those. They make my lists attractive, and the last thing I want is to be repulsed by my to-do list.
  • HTML links on the task titles/comments. I missed those on Nirvana, it’s visually better.
  • Integration with Gmail to send messages as tasks directly into Todoist. I was using an @Action tag in Gmail to mark messages I needed more time to elaborate a reply (if I can do it in 2 minutes I just do it straight away from my inbox). It turns out these labelled emails would pile up and I would forget about them. I don’t lose track when they are neatly organized in a context inside Todoist.

Getting back to Todoist

Question I had to ask myself:How could I simplify my system and make it work on Todoist?

I once had my system on Todoist but I abandoned it because it was too complex. I got lost trying to make my filters work. I didn’t have a clear understanding of what was active or not. I suffered from “list overwhelm”. I went off the GTD wagon. But now, after spending some time with Nirvana, I got a few ideas on how to reconfigure my system on Todoist. These were my thoughts:

  1. I was inspired by the neatly organized categories in Nirvana and its “Focus” function. It works as a daily dashboard with those Most-Important-Tasks up front.

  2. Some crucial tasks will be scheduled. These will include any actions with a hard deadline. I must do it with careful precision so not to create an overwhelming and unattainable weekly plan.

  3. I will use Todoist for routines and deadlines because of the Google Calendar integration. I like to mark them as “completed” once I’m done.

  4. I discovered that the previous setup I had on Todoist was not so bad, I had to make some changes to have more streamlined lists and a clear distinction between what was active and what belonged to “Someday-Maybe”.

  5. I wanted a simpler way to deal with “next actions”. Previously I was using a “@next-action” label on Todoist to mark them. I decided to delete it and use the built-in priority flags to indicate action status.

My Todoist Setup

Basic setup:

  • Projects for Projects, tasks within projects for next actions and labels for next actions contexts. Yes, I am the kind of person who likes to have tasks linked to their projects, so that I have the option to view actions by Project or by Context.
  • 2 Main Areas of Focus to group Projects:Personal and Work. I use these main areas to filter between work and personal tasks.
  • I have Someday/Maybe as a separate “project folder” so that I can filter it out of my next actions list filter. All inactive projects and tasks go here, and they will never show-up on my actions lists. It’s an easy way to temporarily “deactivate” a project. To make it active again, I just move it back into my “Personal” or “Work” folder.
  • All my Routines are grouped using the new “Sections” Todoist feature: Daily, Weekly, Monthly and Yearly tasks. They live inside my main Areas of Focus project folder.
  • Tickler: A place to park a reminder for the future. It will show up on my lists and on my Calendar on the day scheduled. I don’t use it too often.
  • Agendas: I create a task to store agenda items to be discussed with other people.
  • Books: I track all the books I already own that I want to read next using the priority flags (P1 = Reading, P2 = Read next, P3 = Read Later). It’s where I go to at the end of the month to decide what I want to read the following month.
  • Yoga: A placeholder for online yoga classes I want to check out.
  • Recipes to try: A placeholder for recipes I saw online and want to try.
  • To Watch: a collection of movies I want to watch. No rush.
  • My GTD System: a resources list with links to my other GTD tools (mostly kept in OneDrive as Word or Excel files).
  • GTD Review: I have a separate project to store my GTD Review tasks. These are all repeating scheduled actions, so they will only show up on the day they are due.

Action Status and Contexts

  • Next Action Status: I use the Priority flags to indicate the status of the task because they are mutually exclusive. It’s easy to update them if needed (no confusion with adding /deleting labels). This is how I use flags:

    • 🟥 P1 – MIT (Most Important Task) => Do Today! (these will show in my “Focus” view)
    • 🟧 P2 – NEXT / THIS WEEK
    • 🟦 P3 – SOON/THIS MONTH
    • ⬜ P4 – NO PRIORITY/NOT READY/LATER

  • Contexts (labels in Todoist): I have the classic ones, plus a few more. They are updated/deleted as needed: @computer, @calls, @deep-work, @quick, @email, @home, @ideas, @errands, @plan-brainstorm, @waiting-for, @writing, @learning, @for-fun, @routines, @deadlines

Filters: this is how I organize my Lists

  • Filters: I have the filters on my Favorites list and it’s my daily view when I use Todoist. The rule here is to have only P1, P2 and P3 tasks showing up on my lists. A P4 flag indicates that an action is not ready yet, so this flag “parks” next actions inside a project if needed.

  • FOCUS ⭐: all P1 actions, due today, overdue

  • DEADLINES 💣: tasks with the label @deadlines. Used to track my work tender closing dates.

  • NEXT ACTIONS-WORK: all active tasks, for when I want an overall view of what’s on my plate => Today + overdue + P1+P2+P3 that are inside the Work Project

  • NEXT ACTIONS-PERSONAL: all active Personal tasks => today + overdue + P1+P2+P3 that are inside the Personal Project

  • ERRANDS: 🚙 all my @errands

  • COMPUTER 💻 : all my @computer, my filter query breaks them into “Work” and “Personal”

  • CALLS: ☎ all my @calls, my filter query breaks them into “Work” and “Personal”

  • EMAILS: ✉ all my @emails actions, my filter query breaks them into “Work” and “Personal”

  • FOR FUN & LEARNING: 😎 a recent addition to my lists, it groups my @for-fun and @learning labels. This will include browsing the internet to search for something, online courses, playing video games, hiking, etc.

  • HOME 🏠: all my @home tasks

  • DEEP WORK 🧠: I use it as an energy level indicator for tasks that will take more than 1 hour and requires my full concentration.

  • QUICK AND EASY ⛱: another energy level, to have a list of easy tasks when I have 10 or less minutes before a meeting, for example.

  • 🎨 CLARIFY: groups all that is inside my Inbox + @plan-brainstorm + @ideas

  • WAITING-FOR ☕: @waiting-for, my filter query breaks them into “Work” and “Personal”

  • LATER: all tasks that are P4. I only review these on my Weekly Review to see if there are actions that need to be activated.

  • SOMEDAY-WORK: for Weekly Review purposes, showing all someday-maybe tasks.

  • SOMEDAY-PERSONAL: same as above.

How do I use Todoist with the Calendar Integration

I set up Todoist to show me my “Focus⭐” list when I first open it up.

This is my favorites section that is always open on my side bar:

I keep the Projects, Labels and Filters Menu hidden.

On Google Calendar my actions that have a due date (always set as an “All Day” event) will show up on the top portion of the calendar. Once I complete the actions on Todoist, they disappear from the Calendar. In the past I’ve had “all day events” on Google for scheduled routines but then I didn’t like the fact that I couldn’t mark it as complete. Things like “Pay the Rent”. I like to check if off as done, it gives my brain closure. I need (and love) the satisfaction of crossing things of my lists.

And since there is 2-way sync between Google Calendar and Todoist it’s handy for me to move actions around in Google Calendar while I’m planning my week/day and the changes will be reflected on Todoist.

So, I moved all actionable recurring tasks from Google Calendar to Todoist. That way I can see a complete list of my routines in one place and make updates or adjustments as needed.

Final thoughts about the transition

I started transitioning to Todoist back in July. It was a busy month, I was overwhelmed with multiple projects and feeling anxious. I did not have everything under control. And while “Rome was burning” I needed a tool I was familiar with that offered nimble capturing and processing capabilities. I could quickly transition to Todoist and make it work to handle the fire.

Todoist Gtd Setup

Gtd

It’s been going smooth so far. I’m satisfied. This setup is running on the background without getting in the way. I solved all the friction issues I was having with capturing, processing and organizing my actions. I don't avoid my task manager out of guilt and anxiety anymore.

This transition triggered changes in other aspects of my GTD system as well. After I got the ground floor (actions) and Horizon 1 (projects) under control, I had some headspace to think about the higher horizons , references and planning routines. I will talk more about those changes in future posts.

Take care!

Other Posts about my GTD Journey:

By Noisy DeadlinesMinimalist in progress, nerdy, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

(this post originally appeared on the by.dialex.com blog here)

For many years, I have been using David Allen's Getting Things Done (GTD) productivity methodology. It is simple and easy to follow. All along, I tried nearly every to do list possible - Outlook, Notepad, Wanderlist, Onenote, Excel. They all felt clunky and against the beauty and simplicity of GTD. When I finally found ToDoist, I was in extasy.

ToDoist is everything I could want in a to-do list and productivity management tool - simple, elegant and quick. It gets out of your way. It has just the right amount of customization without being everything to everyone.

If you haven't used GTD, review this quick reference chart as I walk through my process. Here are my top 10 tips on how to Get Things Done with ToDoist! Shakira belly dance song.

1. COLLECT EVERYWHERE USING TODOISTS MANY INPUT METHODS

One of the main reasons I love ToDoist is that you can put it everywhere. Install all the clients. Keep it open on your desktop. Have it in your mail client. Have a quick email to your main projects. Here are the ways that I input my tasks using ToDoist:

  1. I enter most of my tasks using the PC client with Ctrl-Alt-A (which is the quick add shortcut on PC - I am sure it is similar on Mac)
  2. I add tasks on my mobile and iPad when I am on them (usually when out or doing the reading) using the great iOS application.
  3. I add tasks to my favorite projects with add task via email.
  4. I add tasks in Gmail with the great ToDoist Gmail plugin. Got an email with a task? Just hit the ToDoist button.
  5. I add tasks while browsing for a web page I need to remember via the chrome and firefoxplugins.

2. SET YOUR TODOIST PROJECTS TO BE THE MAIN CATEGORIES IN YOUR LIFE

Don't go too deep on your ToDoist Projects. I like two levels. This is because you can still group related tasks into subtasks to do grouping inside of a ToDoist Project. I have three main projects: Work, Home, and Shared (for shared projects). Under Work, I have Sales, Marketing, and Operations. Under Personal, I have Career/Coaching, Chores, and Shopping.

Todoist Gtd Setup Guide

3. REVIEW TASK LIST EVERY DAY / EVERY WEEK USING THE IPAD APP

I love the iPad app the most for reviewing my ToDolist. I have to confess that I do this before I get out bed every day. I have found doing my review in the morning avoids the end-of-day decision fatigue (this is a real thing!) When I am reviewing, I am trying to do a few things. Reprioritize my list, move things out of my inbox to correct projects and get items that are old to the right dates. The iPad application works best for me because not only is it small and great for my pre-morning blanket wrapped to do a review, but swipe left is the quick method for moving to a new date with an awesome interface to move something to today, tomorrow, next week, next month or custom. On Sundays, I usually try to look at the whole list, not just the stuff that has fallen into today 'pile'.

Todoist Gtd Workflow

4. USE FLAGS AND DRAG TO ORDER TO PRIORITIZE IN TODOIST

Task Priority is one of the difficult things in any to-do list management system. How do you keep from having 20 top priority tasks? The red, orange and yellow flags will automatically default to the top of your list if you are using priority sort (which is the default). Thus, I use the colored flags to set my top priorities. I usually set one red flag for my main thing I want to get done that day, and it is usually customer related. I set 2-3 orange flags of important tasks that should get done that day. Finally, I have a few key habits that I leave yellow. My next priority is done via the drag and drop order. Inside a flag color (including no flag), you can just drag and drop to change the order.

5. SET CONTEXT AND TIME REQUIRED USING TODOIST LABELS

This may be one of my favorite things about ToDoist is the label/tagging system. This is where most people fall down on the GTD system. If you can set the context (where you are) and how much time you have (5 minutes or 60 minutes?), then you can always look at your to-do list in a 'gap' time and not have to think about what to do next. This is the key to productivity. Reduce your decisions. Know exactly what to do next. I have created color-coded labels for a few time frames from 5 to 60 minutes and a few contexts (PC, iPad, Home). You need to make your own, but as an example here is what my label bar looks like:

6. USE TODOIST'S LABEL AND RECURRENCE FEATURES FOR MANAGING HABITS

It is so easy to setup the Habit tasks in ToDoist. I try and do certain things like exercise and meditate every day. I set up a recurrence on these items using ToDoist's recurrence feature. If you want a task each day, you can just type in the date field 'Every Day starting today' or for a shortcut 'Ev Day start Today'. In fact, ToDoist can recognize most English dates like 'Each Weekday' or 'Every third Tuesday starting' or 'The first of every month.' I also use a label for my habits that is in red (see above) which easily lets me see my habits at a glance. I created a filter that shows my habits still left to be done today as follows: @Habit & (today | overdue):

7. DEFINE A SYSTEM FOR THE 3-D'S - DO, DELEGATE, DEFER

One of the key points of GTD is to be able to continually parse the flow of your life. To me, this is mostly email. I try and read my email multiple times per day (I know this goes against the convention). I have found continually parsing to be easier and less stressful to me. I try not to be interrupt driven, but when I first sit down in a gap, I process. Emails are either done in real time (if less than a 2 minute action), delegated to someone else (I use ToDoists shared projects with some of my team to assign a task. Otherwise, I just fire off an email and star it to review later), or defer it (create an action for the future in your ToDoist). At this point, if it is trash, spam or FYI, I usually just leave it read in my email box for later searching (search to me is better than filing). I do set up a tag for a future task that 'NeedsProject' or 'Someday_Maybe', as you can see from above. These are both GTD categories on how to defer items that are not tasks, but instead are containers (projects) for several tasks and items that you may eventually get to respectively.

8. NOW USE YOUR PRIORITIES AND FILTERS TO DECIDE WHAT TO DO NEXT!

Getting Things Done Todoist

Now that you have tasks in and you are ready to sit down and start working, use your filters and priorities to decide what to do. Do you only have 5 minutes? Filter for just 5-minute tasks. Sitting at your computer, filter for your computer context. Stuck at the doctor's office with only your iPhone? Filter for just your tasks labeled phone. Are you ready to just do the next thing? Pull up your Today tab in ToDoist and do your next task. Try to finish your red and orange tasks every day. Go back and look at your completed tasks on Sunday and you will be amazed how much you are getting done.

Todoist And Gtd

9. HERE ARE SOME OTHER RESOURCES ON TODOIST AND GTD

No system is perfect. You have to find a system that works for you. Before I found my system, I had read many books and tried many different things. Here are some other links to resources about ToDoist and GTD:

  • Some of my methods were based on this ToDoist article on GTD.
  • This article helped me with some of my contexts and filters (note that ToDoist does not let you use labels with the < symbol anymore).
  • Here is a great blog post by Becky Kane (@19Kane91) about how she uses ToDoist and GTD.

10. BONUS TIP: USING A POMODORO TIMER

Todoist And Gtd

Bluestacks 4.170.10.1001. A Pomodoro timer is a method for driving flow - the ability to get lost in deep concentrative work where time seems to disappear, and you get tons of work done! Pomodoro is the best way I have found to get flow. The way it works is you set a timer for 25 minutes and work without breaking. Then you set another timer for 5 minutes and goof off on anything you want. You do this for four cycles and then take an extended break. Here is a quick and dirty Pomodoro Timer.

Using Todoist With Gtd

I hope your new year starts off great! But more importantly, I hope these tips will help you build a habit of organizing and attacking your tasks that will make 2016 your most productive year yet!





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