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totovader	Posted Mar 23, 2016 in: List is too long Score: 1 totovader Posted: Mar 23, 2016 Score: 1 Posted by info_1395434132: Please help. I love lists, I love toodledo. I have read and tried to implement GTD. But my toodledo list is way too long and overwhelms me every time I look at it. This leads to two problems. 1.I don't look at the list as regularly as I need to and miss things that are regular recurring events 2. I fail to enter things that I need to do. I have tried using tags, folders, context - they all feel unnatural to me. Stars are not terrible, but I end up with too many items starred (to try to filter them out) and again, overwhelmed. And priority is the same issue. I was a paper list & calendar girl for years when I was moved to google calendar to better integrate with my husband. But in order to do that effectively, I needed to give up the paper altogether (it was a crutch). So now I am struggling with the lists. Any suggestions? Many thanks! I feel your pain. I left Toodledo a few years back because my list was getting too big (close to 8,000 items) and it was causing anxiety and stress. I spent a good couple years switching task / list managers only to come back to Toodledo because I realized the problem was not in what I wanted to do (how big the list was), but in how realistic I was about my time, and how I was able to parse out the list to focus on what was important. I felt relief every time I switched task managers because I was actually cleaning up my list - it became an addiction. Filling out all the information on my tasks in Toodledo was too difficult and I didn't like it back then. I have completely changed my perspective on that: tracking as much as you can for each task helps you parse it out and acts as a test for whether that task is actually worth doing. The key for me in using Toodledo is starting with goals, move to areas of focus (using folders), and then being realistic about how many things I can have queued at any given time. If I have a project planned out, but I'm not going to get to it in the next couple weeks, it's a someday task item. I review those as part of my weekly review and try to commit to moving them to active. If I have something that I just want to get done someday but I haven't sat down and planned it out, it goes in a separate someday list (part of the lists feature). I review those someday lists too, but only move them into actual tasks when I have committed to sitting down and planning them out. I suggest using that list feature to create all kinds of lists: movies to watch, places to visit, things to buy, books to read, gift ideas, etc. No need to clog up tasks for those types of things. The anxiety, I realized, was not from having too much to do - it was from not having focus. It's ok to tell yourself that you will not be able to get to certain things, and then plan out your week according to what is realistic - for me, I try not to have more than 3 main items (must do) and no more than a total of 9 tasks per day; if I'm having a good day, I can always parse through my list and knock some more stuff out based on context. Also, don't knock paper and pen. When I plan out my day (the night before), I review my next actions and top priority items and star those (meaning, I'm going to do these tomorrow). I then write down that list in a daily quasi-bullet journal. This keeps me from spending time procrastinating throughout my day playing around with my Toodledo lists, and it also keeps the anxiety low because I'm not looking at a giant list that really doesn't even apply in my current context. Additionally, habits can be your friend. I found that I was putting a lot of tasks repeating daily that - when I thought about it - were really just habits I wanted to fit into my daily routine. When I moved them into the habits feature, something magical happened: I was able to quickly see the progress of influencing positive habits, instead of stressing about checking off that daily task. It flips it around so it's a positive experience instead of a stressful one - and once a chain is completed, I personally don't think you need to track the habit anymore. That said, I would also recommend keeping your habits to a reasonable number - and forgiving yourself if you break the chain. Keep in mind, your system should be what works for you - and it may take time to become comfortable. Many people go through this journey and experience anxiety and frustration along the way. No tool solves for that. However, I believe that Toodledo is the best tool to allow you to manage your list the most effectively because it includes an array of tools to help you be as effective as you want to be. Other tools simply don't allow that functionality. Also, try to keep in mind that you are already miles ahead of everyone else - having a giant list on paper or in your task manager means it's not in your head. That's a massive step forward - now you can look at it, decide what you want to do about those things, and use your brain power to be creative about those projects, tasks, and goals. It doesn't mean you need to actually do all those tasks.

Author

Message

Posted Mar 23, 2016 in: List is too long

Score: 1

totovader
Posted: Mar 23, 2016
Score: 1

Posted by info_1395434132:

Please help. I love lists, I love toodledo. I have read and tried to implement GTD. But my toodledo list is way too long and overwhelms me every time I look at it.
This leads to two problems.
1.I don't look at the list as regularly as I need to and miss things that are regular recurring events
2. I fail to enter things that I need to do.

I have tried using tags, folders, context - they all feel unnatural to me. Stars are not terrible, but I end up with too many items starred (to try to filter them out) and again, overwhelmed. And priority is the same issue.

I was a paper list & calendar girl for years when I was moved to google calendar to better integrate with my husband. But in order to do that effectively, I needed to give up the paper altogether (it was a crutch). So now I am struggling with the lists.

Any suggestions? Many thanks!

I feel your pain. I left Toodledo a few years back because my list was getting too big (close to 8,000 items) and it was causing anxiety and stress. I spent a good couple years switching task / list managers only to come back to Toodledo because I realized the problem was not in what I wanted to do (how big the list was), but in how realistic I was about my time, and how I was able to parse out the list to focus on what was important. I felt relief every time I switched task managers because I was actually cleaning up my list - it became an addiction. Filling out all the information on my tasks in Toodledo was too difficult and I didn't like it back then. I have completely changed my perspective on that: tracking as much as you can for each task helps you parse it out and acts as a test for whether that task is actually worth doing.

The key for me in using Toodledo is starting with goals, move to areas of focus (using folders), and then being realistic about how many things I can have queued at any given time. If I have a project planned out, but I'm not going to get to it in the next couple weeks, it's a someday task item. I review those as part of my weekly review and try to commit to moving them to active. If I have something that I just want to get done someday but I haven't sat down and planned it out, it goes in a separate someday list (part of the lists feature). I review those someday lists too, but only move them into actual tasks when I have committed to sitting down and planning them out. I suggest using that list feature to create all kinds of lists: movies to watch, places to visit, things to buy, books to read, gift ideas, etc. No need to clog up tasks for those types of things.

The anxiety, I realized, was not from having too much to do - it was from not having focus. It's ok to tell yourself that you will not be able to get to certain things, and then plan out your week according to what is realistic - for me, I try not to have more than 3 main items (must do) and no more than a total of 9 tasks per day; if I'm having a good day, I can always parse through my list and knock some more stuff out based on context. Also, don't knock paper and pen. When I plan out my day (the night before), I review my next actions and top priority items and star those (meaning, I'm going to do these tomorrow). I then write down that list in a daily quasi-bullet journal. This keeps me from spending time procrastinating throughout my day playing around with my Toodledo lists, and it also keeps the anxiety low because I'm not looking at a giant list that really doesn't even apply in my current context.

Additionally, habits can be your friend. I found that I was putting a lot of tasks repeating daily that - when I thought about it - were really just habits I wanted to fit into my daily routine. When I moved them into the habits feature, something magical happened: I was able to quickly see the progress of influencing positive habits, instead of stressing about checking off that daily task. It flips it around so it's a positive experience instead of a stressful one - and once a chain is completed, I personally don't think you need to track the habit anymore. That said, I would also recommend keeping your habits to a reasonable number - and forgiving yourself if you break the chain.

Keep in mind, your system should be what works for you - and it may take time to become comfortable. Many people go through this journey and experience anxiety and frustration along the way. No tool solves for that. However, I believe that Toodledo is the best tool to allow you to manage your list the most effectively because it includes an array of tools to help you be as effective as you want to be. Other tools simply don't allow that functionality. Also, try to keep in mind that you are already miles ahead of everyone else - having a giant list on paper or in your task manager means it's not in your head. That's a massive step forward - now you can look at it, decide what you want to do about those things, and use your brain power to be creative about those projects, tasks, and goals. It doesn't mean you need to actually do all those tasks.