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I've been wondering, is there a todo / task tracking app that can somehow aggregate tasks across multiple applications? Currently my tasks are spread across em

I've been wondering, is there a todo / task tracking app that can somehow aggregate tasks across multiple applications? Currently my tasks are spread across emails and email drafts, Github issues, iOS reminders, Slack, my head, etc. It's a lot of work to keep track of them all. Maybe I should just carry around a paper notebook and make that the authoritative source of tasks.

marenkay 9y ago
Paper notebooks are great since writing down tasks turns them into something real because of the haptic feedback from touching paper. Note apps, task apps, etc. all can not handle to that considering the brain simply considers things with haptic feedback more memorable and actionable.
josephjrobison 9y ago
Hubstaff takes screenshots while you work and you can jot down notes when you feel like it. I also find myself reviewing my Chrome history sometimes if I have no idea all the things I had been working on all day.
pronoiac 9y ago
That feels kinda familiar. My experience might or might not be helpful. I read about Getting Things Done, and I worked to track everything in one place, but I find that task tracking in two places work best for me: 1. Something like Evernote or Simplenote, for capturing notes on any device that's handy: phone, tablet, computer, etc. Being able to search really easily is crucial, to avoid duplicate topics. 2. Something like Trello for easier prioritizing and categorization. Moving around the index card analogies is much easier than moving text. Using email as an issue tracker is an anti-pattern. It means your work to prioritize can get casually jumbled, and for me, that flow can get interrupted more easily. Ditto for Slack. I like paper notebooks - I used one at work so I wouldn't drop any of the tasks I was juggling - but they're less portable than my phone. Before that, I had a Hipster PDA (index cards and a paper clip - http://www.43folders.com/2004/09/03/introducing-the-hipster-pda http://www.43folders.com/2004/09/03/introducing-the-hipster-... ) but I had lots of notes, and searching was awkward, meaning "just write it (again) before I forget it, sort it out later," meant there was curation involved, and that using 1. above was lower-friction and just overall better.
beejiu 9y ago
Sounds like you need a process, rather than a tool. Personally, I jot down everything that gets mentioned to me on paper and, within 1-2 days, it will end up in the project management system (if it is something to be worked on). Once it's there, I strike it through in my notepad. So basically, 99% of my notepad is a scribble - only 1% that I need to think about remains un-struck.
dageshi 9y ago
Strongly recommend https://tiddlywiki.com/ https://tiddlywiki.com/ Use it well and it'll serve as both a todo list and your own personal instantly searchable, super fast knowledge base.
nthj 9y ago
I pipe emails, GitHub, etc into a private Slack channel, and use starred slack messages as my inbox.
deathtrader666 9y ago
Personally, I use Trello with the Planyway addon.
dboreham 9y ago
Designing productivity tools is one of my favorite procrastination activities ;)

marenkay 9y ago

Paper notebooks are great since writing down tasks turns them into something real because of the haptic feedback from touching paper. Note apps, task apps, etc. all can not handle to that considering the brain simply considers things with haptic feedback more memorable and actionable.

josephjrobison 9y ago

Hubstaff takes screenshots while you work and you can jot down notes when you feel like it. I also find myself reviewing my Chrome history sometimes if I have no idea all the things I had been working on all day.

pronoiac 9y ago

That feels kinda familiar. My experience might or might not be helpful. I read about Getting Things Done, and I worked to track everything in one place, but I find that task tracking in two places work best for me: 1. Something like Evernote or Simplenote, for capturing notes on any device that's handy: phone, tablet, computer, etc. Being able to search really easily is crucial, to avoid duplicate topics. 2. Something like Trello for easier prioritizing and categorization. Moving around the index card analogies is much easier than moving text. Using email as an issue tracker is an anti-pattern. It means your work to prioritize can get casually jumbled, and for me, that flow can get interrupted more easily. Ditto for Slack. I like paper notebooks - I used one at work so I wouldn't drop any of the tasks I was juggling - but they're less portable than my phone. Before that, I had a Hipster PDA (index cards and a paper clip - http://www.43folders.com/2004/09/03/introducing-the-hipster-pda http://www.43folders.com/2004/09/03/introducing-the-hipster-... ) but I had lots of notes, and searching was awkward, meaning "just write it (again) before I forget it, sort it out later," meant there was curation involved, and that using 1. above was lower-friction and just overall better.

beejiu 9y ago

Sounds like you need a process, rather than a tool. Personally, I jot down everything that gets mentioned to me on paper and, within 1-2 days, it will end up in the project management system (if it is something to be worked on). Once it's there, I strike it through in my notepad. So basically, 99% of my notepad is a scribble - only 1% that I need to think about remains un-struck.

dageshi 9y ago

Strongly recommend https://tiddlywiki.com/ https://tiddlywiki.com/ Use it well and it'll serve as both a todo list and your own personal instantly searchable, super fast knowledge base.

nthj 9y ago

I pipe emails, GitHub, etc into a private Slack channel, and use starred slack messages as my inbox.

deathtrader666 9y ago

Personally, I use Trello with the Planyway addon.

dboreham 9y ago

Designing productivity tools is one of my favorite procrastination activities ;)