(2014-08-16) Descy How I Organize My Todotxt File

Michael Descy: How I Organize My Todo.txt File. Include only current tasks in todo.txt, sort them by priority, and reprioritize often.

Todo.txt allows you to organize your tasks using projects ("+ProjectName"), priorities (A-Z), and contexts ("@Context").

I did not like using Todo.txt until I set a few rules for myself as to how I would use those three features

Rule #0: My to-do list is only going to contain tasks I plan to do in the near future.

For me, a task is a "next action"

Any task I am not going to do more than a week or so from now is either written down in a "someday" list (in my Notes and Drafts folder or is stashed as a tickler entry in my calendar.

Projects

Rule #1: All my tasks are tagged with a project.

Priorities

Rule #2: Use only the top few priorities, A-D, and make them mean something specific and time-based.

Here is how I use Todo.txt priorities:
A: The task I am working on now
B: Tasks that I plan to do today.
C: Tasks that I plan to do this week.
D: Tasks reserved for next week. I tend to use this category only on Fridays, and even then almost never use it.

Contexts

Todotxt.net makes switching task priorities insanely fast.

Rule #3: I don't need contexts at work so I only rarely use them.

Due dates

Rule #4: Don't use due dates unless absolutely necessary.