Is Toodledo For You?
TL;DR;
As a working mom of two, it would be impossible to get through my days with any semblance of organization without a to do list of some kind. Through the years, I have made many attempts to try different lists, apps, systems, and brain power to try to gather all the thoughts and tasks into one place for my brain to unload. As with anything in life, there have been tradeoffs to each option, and I have found myself settled on one app/system for the last ten or so years. I think this gives it enough clout to be recommended to anyone out there looking for a way to get your to do list organized.
The to do list that I use is called Toodledo (www.toodledo.com). You can use your browser to view your list (Chrome and Edge work great) and you can also download the apps that are available for different devices. I use the iPhone app and my husband uses the Android app. Although these apps are a little dated (I have seen and heard that more modern updates are in the works), they seem to work well for what I need.
That’s the conundrum, isn’t it? What do we need, exactly, in a to do app? Through these years of trying different systems and jumping from app to app, I have found a few things that are must-haves with any app that I choose to store my most precious tasks in (2nd only to my brain). If there are too many features, I find myself spending more time playing around and trying things out instead of actually doing the tasks. If there aren’t enough features, I get lost in trying to find “work arounds” for any missing features that I need and again, I am not actually working on tasks.
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Reoccurring Tasks
Reoccurring tasks is a huge feature for me. There are so many tasks in my life that need to happen over and over (and over) again, and having Toodledo take care of the “reminder” is an absolute must.
One type of reoccurring task I have are school tasks. Every week or so, I need to check on my kids’ school accounts to make sure lunch money isn’t depleted. I have a task for this, and once I check it off, a new task is created for the next Monday:
I also do this for the kids’ library days (a reminder to remind them to go find their books), their sports practices (get those basketball shorts washed) and so much more.
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Tags and folders for organization
Another important feature of the Toodledo system is tagging and the folders. I use this to group tasks that may be related or to include tasks in a project.
For example, I have used tags for all tasks that may be related to the Kitchen.
Then, if I’m going to be working on the kitchen, I can filter all my tasks to that tag and I can easily find everything I want to get done in that room.
I also use Folders to group items by project. For example, I have a few personal coding projects that I am currently working on, so I add all of the tasks into that one folder. Then when I sit down to work on a specific project, I can look at that folder and see only those tasks that I need to get done for that project. This makes it easier for me to see a large body of work and organize just those tasks. This could also be useful for home projects or even work projects if you decide to keep your work tasks in this to do app as well.
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Context
The option to set a Context on a task has been very helpful as another way to categorize my tasks. When I was trying the Getting Things Done system from ?, you would categorize tasks into the Context of when/where you would complete them. For example, a task to call someone would go under @Call and you wouldn’t need to look at that task until you were ready to process and make your phone calls.
The way I use this feature now is to categorize items into @Call, @Errands, @Work, @Print. This way, when I am out getting groceries, I can pull up just the @Errands tasks and I remember to also pick up my contacts or buy some new printer paper. Any time I can get a “reminder” task out of my brain and get the “trigger” into a system so that my to do app does the “remembering”, this is a big win for me.
From the screenshot above, I have an item that tracks any returns that I need to do. Also, I need to pick up a few items and I can pull up this Errands list and see what I can accomplish while I am out and about.
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Notes/links
Sometimes the task name is just not enough and I need more detail about a task. This is where the ability to add notes (and therefore, links/URLs) becomes very useful. In Toodledo, I can add notes to the task to include any details that I might need.
I do this a lot with my “routine” reoccurring tasks that I have. My “Morning Routine” task has added notes that include all of the items that I should review during my Morning Routine. When my kids were very small and I took them to daycare during the week while I worked, I would have the following added to my Morning Routine notes:
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Bottles
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Lunch
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Daycare forms
Then, when I was working through my morning routine in the morning, I could quickly glance at my notes for the task and validate that I had everything before I headed out the door. Notes are a must have so that I can add more details and thoughts to my tasks without making the task name too long to be useful.
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Import/Export Options
Finally, one important feature that Toodledo has is the ability to import and export tasks. I can import a .csv or Excel file with tasks in a specific format and it will automatically create the tasks. Also, I can export the tasks and use the file as a backup so that if Toodledo ever went down, I would still have my tasks available.
I will be going into my import/export process more in the future, but for now, as a developer, these features are important to me so that the system is more flexible and customizable. For example, I use the FlyLady system to track my house cleaning, and every week I generate a file with her list of tasks and import this into Toodledo. This way, I don’t have to create each task by hand. More to come on this process!
There are so many options out there when it comes to finding a to do app. Keeping organized while not spending too much time tweaking and preparing the system is important for this easily distracted mom. I love to play with new technology, so I have had to find an app that can handle the important features and not make it too difficult to just get in, see what I need to do, and then get to it. Toodledo has been exactly what I’ve needed.
In a future post I will be discussing in depth how to find your perfect to do app, but for now, focus on those things you know are must-haves. Make a list of the features you know that you need. Do you need to be able to categorize? Do you need to keep items separate for work and home? Do you need to keep notes? Once you have done this, do some research and find a few to try. Create a few tasks in both and then track yourself for a week. You won’t know if a to do app is a good fit without applying it to your real life, so give it a trial run and see what you think.
Do you have a to do app that you love? Please let me know in the comments!
