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Does there exist or is there a market for an online to-do list (see comment)? Edit: apparently rememberthemilk.com.

2 points by BrandonM 20y ago

BrandonM 20y ago
In the past, I have been continually frustrated by my inability to get things done. I find that I know what I should be working on, but I instead do things like lurk here or obsessively check my e-mail. For the last month or so, however, I have started to write down the things that I would like to do in lists (using a Google homepage feature), and I find that I do a much better job getting things done. I also live with my girlfriend, and sometimes we have things that we would like each other to do. Oftentimes, she'll ask me to do something, I'll say "okay", I'll forget, and it won't get done when it should. It would be nice if she could easily add to my list. In general, I have a need for a to-do list application. I feel that if it's something I need, however, that others might find a use for it as well. The idea I have is to allow it to connect with other applications like Google Calendar, although it would also have a built-in one for those who don't use a calendar program (me included). I would be able to add ideas to my to-do list either by adding them to the calendar or by simply adding them with some priority (i.e. Immediate, High, Medium, Low). Then, in my preferences, I would be able to assign priorities to items based on how many days away they are (i.e. 1, 5, 10, 11+). Finally, the point of all this would be to have a simple list of things I need to do, with highest priority items appearing on top. Items without an explicit due date would gradually increase in priority based on some scoring system. There would be a simple way to mark items off the list or to lower the priority. I feel that this system would produce a nice mix of tasks that include items with a deadline and things that I would like to get done that don't necessarily have a deadline. The additional interesting part of the whole thing would be to allow other members to add items to your list. You could have public items on your calendar (as with Google) which everyone could see, but you would also be able to have friends add things to your calendar, for example if they are planning a party and would like you to attend. Now it would conveniently show up in your to-do list and you wouldn't forget about it. Or if your wife wants you to clean the gutters sometime this week, she could just add it to your list with Medium priority, with the knowledge that it would gradually rise to the top of your list and you would get it done. Does anyone find this to be an interesting idea? Is there anything out there that does this already? As I said, I really feel like I could use something like this, so if it's already out there, I would be quite happy to use it. If not, well, I guess it's something I should make :-). Thanks in advance for your comments.
- danw 20y ago
  I've seen a lot of todo list applications in the past year. http://www.rememberthemilk.com/ http://www.rememberthemilk.com/ is the most popular I believe and should meet your requirements. For now I'm sticking with paper notepads. They're flexible and portable. The only downside is that copying tasks from my "this week" list to my "today" list involves rewriting.
  - BrandonM 20y ago
    Thanks for the link. I've signed up for it, and it seems to almost precisely describe my idea, so that's good for me; it will save me some work :-).
- waleedka 20y ago
  Seems like a feature, not a company. But to get a better feel for it, test the concept: create a public wiki page on one of the free wikis out there and use it as a shared to-do list for you and your girlfriend. If you're still using it after a month or two (until the initial enthusiasm of a new idea fades away), then you might be on to something.
  - BrandonM 20y ago
    Well, a wiki doesn't quite do what I would want, because one of the most important parts is the automatic updating where items move up the list as their deadline approaches or as they've been in my list for a long time. Having to constantly edit a wiki to reflect this just adds something else to the list of things to do, "Maintain to-do list". The site that danw referred me to was almost exactly what I was looking for.
felipe 20y ago
Seems to me that your problem is not making your to-do list more efficient, but actually more effective. Any to-do list system (rememberthemilk, GTD, Outlook, etc...) will help you with the efficiency part, but not with the effectiveness part. I highly recommend you the book First Things First, by Dr. Covey: http://www.amazon.com/First-Things-Learn-Leave-Legacy/dp/0684802031/ http://www.amazon.com/First-Things-Learn-Leave-Legacy/dp/0684802031/
lee 20y ago
I've always wanted something that works like Omni Outliner does - with infinite indents. I've found several todo lists on several online project management packages, but this has always been the dealkiller for me. It's what allows me to break down tasks to bite sized increments - no matter how large the tasks are originally. I've only found that OmniOutliner and LifeBalance do this...and they aren't online. Doesn't seem like rememberthemilk does it either.

2 points by BrandonM 20y ago

In the past, I have been continually frustrated by my inability to get things done. I find that I know what I should be working on, but I instead do things like lurk here or obsessively check my e-mail. For the last month or so, however, I have started to write down the things that I would like to do in lists (using a Google homepage feature), and I find that I do a much better job getting things done. I also live with my girlfriend, and sometimes we have things that we would like each other to do. Oftentimes, she'll ask me to do something, I'll say "okay", I'll forget, and it won't get done when it should. It would be nice if she could easily add to my list. In general, I have a need for a to-do list application. I feel that if it's something I need, however, that others might find a use for it as well. The idea I have is to allow it to connect with other applications like Google Calendar, although it would also have a built-in one for those who don't use a calendar program (me included). I would be able to add ideas to my to-do list either by adding them to the calendar or by simply adding them with some priority (i.e. Immediate, High, Medium, Low). Then, in my preferences, I would be able to assign priorities to items based on how many days away they are (i.e. 1, 5, 10, 11+). Finally, the point of all this would be to have a simple list of things I need to do, with highest priority items appearing on top. Items without an explicit due date would gradually increase in priority based on some scoring system. There would be a simple way to mark items off the list or to lower the priority. I feel that this system would produce a nice mix of tasks that include items with a deadline and things that I would like to get done that don't necessarily have a deadline. The additional interesting part of the whole thing would be to allow other members to add items to your list. You could have public items on your calendar (as with Google) which everyone could see, but you would also be able to have friends add things to your calendar, for example if they are planning a party and would like you to attend. Now it would conveniently show up in your to-do list and you wouldn't forget about it. Or if your wife wants you to clean the gutters sometime this week, she could just add it to your list with Medium priority, with the knowledge that it would gradually rise to the top of your list and you would get it done. Does anyone find this to be an interesting idea? Is there anything out there that does this already? As I said, I really feel like I could use something like this, so if it's already out there, I would be quite happy to use it. If not, well, I guess it's something I should make :-). Thanks in advance for your comments.

danw 20y ago
I've seen a lot of todo list applications in the past year. http://www.rememberthemilk.com/ http://www.rememberthemilk.com/ is the most popular I believe and should meet your requirements. For now I'm sticking with paper notepads. They're flexible and portable. The only downside is that copying tasks from my "this week" list to my "today" list involves rewriting.
- BrandonM 20y ago
  Thanks for the link. I've signed up for it, and it seems to almost precisely describe my idea, so that's good for me; it will save me some work :-).
waleedka 20y ago
Seems like a feature, not a company. But to get a better feel for it, test the concept: create a public wiki page on one of the free wikis out there and use it as a shared to-do list for you and your girlfriend. If you're still using it after a month or two (until the initial enthusiasm of a new idea fades away), then you might be on to something.
- BrandonM 20y ago
  Well, a wiki doesn't quite do what I would want, because one of the most important parts is the automatic updating where items move up the list as their deadline approaches or as they've been in my list for a long time. Having to constantly edit a wiki to reflect this just adds something else to the list of things to do, "Maintain to-do list". The site that danw referred me to was almost exactly what I was looking for.

felipe 20y ago

Seems to me that your problem is not making your to-do list more efficient, but actually more effective. Any to-do list system (rememberthemilk, GTD, Outlook, etc...) will help you with the efficiency part, but not with the effectiveness part. I highly recommend you the book First Things First, by Dr. Covey: http://www.amazon.com/First-Things-Learn-Leave-Legacy/dp/0684802031/ http://www.amazon.com/First-Things-Learn-Leave-Legacy/dp/0684802031/

lee 20y ago

I've always wanted something that works like Omni Outliner does - with infinite indents. I've found several todo lists on several online project management packages, but this has always been the dealkiller for me. It's what allows me to break down tasks to bite sized increments - no matter how large the tasks are originally. I've only found that OmniOutliner and LifeBalance do this...and they aren't online. Doesn't seem like rememberthemilk does it either.