todo.md

I've tried every productivity method and task app under the sun. Eventually, I threw them all out and landed on a plain text note. Here's how I use it.

One Simple Note

Principle: Simplicity over structure

I keep all my tasks in a single text file: todo.md. I use Obsidian¹ for note-taking, but there's no reason this couldn't be in Notes or TextEdit. I prefer digital notes over pen and paper so that they're with me wherever I go.

Text frees me from my favorite procrastination technique: organizing. A note provides as much or as little structure as needed, and any temporary scaffolding can go up or down in seconds. I can spin up "projects," "tasks," and "sub-tasks" without even thinking about those concepts. Tasks can be one-offs or have dozens of work items. I don't care about adhering to any homogenous model, which reduces cognitive load.

Annual and Monthly Goals

Principle: Focus on a very small set of priorities

At the end of each year and month, I do a simple reflection. I focus on highlights, lowlights, and what I'd like to prioritize in the upcoming period. My goals take all kinds of shapes (opens in a new tab), and I don't get too focused on hard numbers—except where they're meaningful.

I force myself to pick no more than three priorities at a time. I know I'm single-threaded and prone to tunnel vision, so I try to maintain one big goal per major area of life. Sometimes, the same goals persist from annual planning throughout the year.

At each interval, I place the three priorities at the top of my note. (I use a nifty Obsidian feature to embed them dynamically—an unnecessary automation that saves me maybe five seconds per month.)

Immediate Next Steps

Principle: Consistency over planning

One of the anti-patterns most task management apps reinforce is the idea that you need a comprehensive plan to tackle a project. This is critical for long-term, collaborative efforts like complex software projects with multiple teams—but for personal use, it's overkill. The more robust my plan is, the more I tend to resist starting.

So I focus on immediate next steps. Below each goal, I write the next actionable step. This could be as simple as "call {person} for advice on {topic}" or "set flight alerts." Unlike unchecked boxes that hang over your head (and may have dependencies), immediate next steps can be accomplished right now. Once complete, I add another and repeat.

Do vs. Log

Principle: The point of the system is to get things done

I used to obsessively write down everything that popped into my head that I might need to do someday. This created a huge queue and a triage process. As things fester (especially across multiple projects and views), they get harder to dispose of.

Now, if I think of something (or get a Slack request) that's quick and worth doing, I just do it. For anything that requires correspondence, I'll just shoot an outgoing email or text, knowing that a ping-pong response will return to me later.

If it's time-sensitive and I might forget—or I'm on the go—I'll log a reminder in my list or snooze the message. But if it's something that will naturally surface in an immediate next step later, I let it pass.

Pick the Top Priority, Every Day

Principle: Simplicity over structure

Each day—either the night before or the morning of—I pick the most important task to focus on. I don't assign it to "Today" or give it special formatting. I just move it² to the top of my list and do it.

Your life is chaotic and messy. Calendar and "Upcoming" views try to manage this, but they create a failure chain. How often does this happen? I want to complete task A on Monday, B on Tuesday, C on Wednesday. But now it's Wednesday and I haven't started A! Picking and resetting each day lets me deal with uncertainty guilt-free.

Start Fresh, Frequently

Principle: Attachment is suffering

The best part of having a short, fluid note is being able to "blow it up" with no hesitation. At the end of a week, I'll see what's sitting in my note and simply delete most of it. These are ideas or tasks that weren't important enough to act on and have no value to me.

No matter how slick a task management app's UX is, there's an anti-pattern: you're driven to add as much as possible, overload your brain, and over-structure projects. There's no simple way to just wipe the slate clean.

No matter how noisy or long my note gets, cleanup takes just a few button presses.

Calendar for Everything Else

Principle: Automatic progress

For any activity I want to do regularly, I use recurring calendar events. I want these to become habitual and never want to think about writing them down or checking them off.

Sometimes these are long-running: exercise (6x/week), monthly finances (1x/month), check email (1x/day).

Other times, they're tied to a goal: practice Spanish (30m/day), discuss house projects (1x/month).

Go Make Your Own

You can learn a lot from how other effective people work—but don't adopt their practices wholesale. I can assure you that Sam Altman is not hyper-productive purely because he writes in a certain style notebook (opens in a new tab).

Instead, start simple and experiment. The great thing about a text file is that it can take a different shape for each project or period. I had a single, all-consuming project for the last week, and I just slammed enter until nothing except that project was visible on the screen. You can "prototype" a flow just by adding headings or typing words (e.g. Inbox, BIG PROJECT). No tool migration, no learning curve.

I built a toy project Toado (opens in a new tab) to fit my needs and it did a pretty good job! But my trusty note is faster to use and infinitely easier to customize.