WIRED: Technology has given us one-tap access to taxis, laundromats, all of history’s collected information, and sex. Yet it can’t give us a decent to-do list.
It’s not for lack of trying. There’s an entire corner of the Internet dedicated to making people more productive. It’s full of 5 Simple Ways and 31 Genius Tips and One Weird Trick. Hundreds of apps run the gamut from beautiful list-makers to an electronic nag that literally curses at you until you get your shit done. It’s remarkably fulfilling to spend so much time organizing and planning instead of actually getting stuff done. Trust me, I do it all the time. I’m not alone, either.
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I have personally just started using Asana (an app) for my project to-do lists. It allows me to check off tasks that are grouped withing projects. It is a great planner. And, since I am physically and mentally attached to my phone, I will always have my list of things to do at the ready. Asana is, unfortunately, at a fault when it comes to personal tasks. I have a plethora of small maintenance things to do that I simply won't manage to do even if I put them on a to-do list. Like the author, I've tried just about everything. I've put Laundry and meals and cleaning into Reminders, Notes, Google Calendars (bad idea, do not use a calendar app as a to-do list, it will go horrible wrong and it's too complicated to do). I've sent myself emails, Sticky notes on a desk, written on my hand, used a note book, a planner, and, in a last desperate measure, an excel spreadsheet. My classwork and task-based projects may be perfectly organized and neatly spread out, but my personal to-do list has been a disaster. I doubt that any app or method will work, even with the advancements in technology.
So here’s the thing, I love productivity apps. Freaking love them. I’m the person that spends so much time organizing my tasks that I never actually do any of them. Like Lauren I have yet to find a single app where I can organize both my large projects and everyday tasks like laundry and go making a run to CVS for toiletries on the same platform. But it might also be that I can’t stick to one application long enough to give it a chance. I was want to find something that will be better. Right now I’ve been using a combination of my google calendar and a simple list app that I make a daily to-do list in every night but that can get tedious, and small tasks tend to fall through the cracks. I think that the idea of a paper planner is lovely, if you do all your work in one place. Because, for me, a paper planner that is big enough to sort out everything I need to do is not going to be easy to carry around. I like to use electronic applications because they are more flexible and I always have my phone or laptop near where I am working. Me being me, of course I am going to research some of the apps mentioned in this article that I haven’t heard of before in hopes of finding that Holy Grail, a to-do list that perfectly suits my personal needs.
Going by this article I’m the odd one out here, but for me google calendar and the basic reminders app that’s part of IOS is enough. One lets me plan out my projects, and crew calls, and homework, and the other reminds me of things like meetings, crew calls, and that I should really leave studio/Purnell and get food. I’ve experimented with more detailed to do list programs and I’ve tried keeping a planner. But whenever I’ve tried those more in depth systems I’ve always ended up feeling more stressed about what I have to get done rather than less. Planning out my time in that much detail almost always leaves me feeling closed in and trapped. I know it works for some people, but for me I’d rather just keep it simple. As incredible a technological achievement as Allen’s hologram thing would be, it would drive me up a wall. The idea of tying to schedule not just broad blocks of my life but all of it just sounds way to confining to me.
I'm one of those people who probably wouldn't have gotten to college if it weren't for to-do lists. I'm so scatter-brained and have such a bad memory that lists help me feel grounded and, best of all, productive. However, since I don't have a smart phone of any kind (cue the audible gasps) I've mostly resorted to either pen and paper or the "reminder" app on my laptop (which has basically the same range of functions as a piece of paper-- which can be a good or a bad thing). Because of this, my lists have always been relatively straight-forward-- no affirmation once a task is complete besides just being able to put a checkmark next to it, no notification system besides my own scribbles on my hand to remind me to get gas or do my five stupid PTM comments, and no way of weighing the importance or urgency of tasks besides my own ordering or amount of underlining. I personally believe that the only way you can get the benefit of all those features is by not having any of them at all. Because there's no app to do these things for me, I have to remember to do them myself: to feel extra productive when I finish a big task, to remember to check my list often, and to realize at a glance which tasks are most important. This not only makes me more accountable for my own organization but also cuts down on the amount of time spent on actually organizing yourself so you can spend more time doing your work.
I’ve always been one of those people that likes say they are going to use a to-do list and go strong for all of two days. Just last week I was organizing my life on my computer into folders and somehow I managed to my entire CMU folder with all my files from freshman year in the trashcan. I took that as a sign that someone is trying to tell me that I just shouldn’t organize. I think the main reason that I don’t actively use an app is because there isn’t one that caters to my needs. Everyone I’ve talked to about this subject seems to be looking for something a little different. All of these app developers seem to be making these apps so complex with layer upon layers of features. The only thing I’m looking for is something that can be on all my devices and show everything I need to do for that day and give me an easy way for me to input tasks. The app that I have found to be the most useful for me is the reminder app from apple. Now of course you need to have an iPhone and most likely a MacBook, but this app does a really nice job of integrating your to-do list in your phone allowing you to have it everywhere.
Alright, something about this article, while ultimately helpful, freaked me out. In the second section where it talks about how different apps alert or remind you of your tasks you need to do, there's a tid bit about how Google and wearable devices monitor your every day tasks to figure out how to alert you. Google monitors what you say in Drive or Google Hangout to get to know your schedule. Wearables monitor your vitals to optimize your productivity. That's some crazy future crap!
I most often make my to do lists on the notes section of my phone. I am pretty good about remembering stuff, but having it all jotted down in my notes helps. I've tried several apps but always end up reverting back. My problem with paper to do lists is that often times I lose track of them! I put down my notebook and it's gone forever. I never leave my phone anywhere, so my notes are always with me, and my iPhone even syncs them to my Gmail in case my phone were to break. That's my favorite way of making a a list.
As someone who has tried out more than their fair share of to do list oriented apps, I have definitely encountered many of the frustrations examined in this article. And I too am back to using pen and paper. But there is something very attractive about having an app that fully integrates into the functions of my other apps; it just does not appear to exist yet. I have shifted back and forth for years between wanting to utilize computer and phone apps for all things, and writing out to do lists and class notes by hand. And while I do have to acknowledge how effective hand writing things out can be, the organization and compactness of a computer or phone is hard to beat. I think another part of this problem is that people are not allowing enough time for a new system to actually integrate into their lives, which - though hard - is a necessary piece in the puzzle.
I don't use any form of technological anything to do my scheduling, and it's not because I don't schedule, it's because I cant find one that I like enough. I love my planner and I love being able to actually write out what I am going to do, and then cross it off, which happens to be one of the most satisfying things I can think of. While I am sure that a lot of people use scheduling apps and are very successful with them, I am not sure that I am going to find one that I like ever, because I already found a way that works for me, that I really enjoy. Maybe it takes a few more seconds to write something down than to type it, but I feel like that is a small price to pay for getting to see everything in front of you on a sheet of paper instead of your phone. I think organizational apps have been a great addition to what we do, because it make personal scheduling more accessible and easier for people to do. I also recognize that companies, and larger organizations are going to start using technology to schedule, and that it is important to still learn all of the apps. But right now I'm just gonna stick to my yearly trip to staples and my old fashioned pens and pencils.
No matter how many times I try to schedule things digitally, it is just so much easier to do it on paper. This is partially due to the lack of good to do/ scheduling apps out there, but it is also due to the convenience and satisfaction of doing things on paper. It is so much easier to visually see a paper calendar and fill out everything that is needed for that period of time. I use google calendar for some things, but with actual planning and scheduling, I almost always use paper. Honestly, while it is stupid, one of my biggest issues with digital apps is that they almost always want you to enter a chunk of time when you are trying to put an "event" in. While it is good to designate time for things, and I understand why they have this feature, I often just want to put a placeholder "oh I will do this on this day and this on this other day" rather than an entire, perfectly planned schedule.
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