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TODO apps should have an upper-bound on the number of items to force the user to prioritize his tasks. I noticed a pattern where the new shiny TODO app is adop

by zimbatm 11y ago

TODO apps should have an upper-bound on the number of items to force the user to prioritize his tasks. I noticed a pattern where the new shiny TODO app is adopted. Then it gets filled-up until it becomes depressing to open. Then the new-new TODO apps gets a round of applause. Repeat.

moron4hire 11y ago
The problem with that is that we will always attempt to circumvent artificial limitations. Natural limitations can't be circumvented, so you have to live with it. Which is why I stick to using paper: there isn't enough time in the day to use paper to keep track of the number of items that I used to track in Pivotal Tracker. Similar to Russel Monroe's "Log-scale graphs are for quitters".
- zimbatm 11y ago
  One nice hack would be to make the base app free and allow to purchase additional slots for $99.- each. The idea would be to forces user to evaluate whenever the added items is really necessary or not while still giving the impression of choice.
voyou 11y ago
This reminds me of something I read a few weeks ago: http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/nov/20/oliver-burkeman-time-to-ditch-to-do-list http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/nov/20/oliver-b... "For us list addicts, Forster proposes a minimalist alternative system. On a piece of paper, write down only the five most important tasks you can think of. Then do them, in order, crossing them off as you go. (If you stop before completing one, add it again at the end.) Once the list is only two items long, add three more, to bring the total back to five. Then repeat. "The point of this austere approach is that you’re regularly required to ask what really needs doing, since there are only five slots. With a conventional list, there are unlimited slots – and it’s hugely tempting to plough through inessential tasks, just to cross them off. But what if you forget crucial things, using Forster’s method, because you didn’t write them down? His response: they probably didn’t matter to begin with."
- robotresearcher 11y ago
  There's a nice extension to this idea - maybe someone can reply with the right credit as I've forgotten where I read this: When the five things are done, you are done. Leisure or family time. Even if you had a little juice left today, you keep some in the tank for the other parts of your life. This really helps with steady productivity and headspace for the long term.

by zimbatm 11y ago

moron4hire 11y ago

The problem with that is that we will always attempt to circumvent artificial limitations. Natural limitations can't be circumvented, so you have to live with it. Which is why I stick to using paper: there isn't enough time in the day to use paper to keep track of the number of items that I used to track in Pivotal Tracker. Similar to Russel Monroe's "Log-scale graphs are for quitters".

zimbatm 11y ago
One nice hack would be to make the base app free and allow to purchase additional slots for $99.- each. The idea would be to forces user to evaluate whenever the added items is really necessary or not while still giving the impression of choice.

voyou 11y ago

This reminds me of something I read a few weeks ago: http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/nov/20/oliver-burkeman-time-to-ditch-to-do-list http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/nov/20/oliver-b... "For us list addicts, Forster proposes a minimalist alternative system. On a piece of paper, write down only the five most important tasks you can think of. Then do them, in order, crossing them off as you go. (If you stop before completing one, add it again at the end.) Once the list is only two items long, add three more, to bring the total back to five. Then repeat. "The point of this austere approach is that you’re regularly required to ask what really needs doing, since there are only five slots. With a conventional list, there are unlimited slots – and it’s hugely tempting to plough through inessential tasks, just to cross them off. But what if you forget crucial things, using Forster’s method, because you didn’t write them down? His response: they probably didn’t matter to begin with."

robotresearcher 11y ago
There's a nice extension to this idea - maybe someone can reply with the right credit as I've forgotten where I read this: When the five things are done, you are done. Leisure or family time. Even if you had a little juice left today, you keep some in the tank for the other parts of your life. This really helps with steady productivity and headspace for the long term.