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Jumpshot44
9y

If you are working on multiple projects a great tool to make you very productive and keep organized is a simple checklist.

For many years I have jotted one down each and every morning listing what I want to accomplish that day. I even include simple items. Crossing each task out as I complete it gives me a sense of accomplishment.

Checklists have enabled me to complete projects at work and many free and commercial side projects including software and technical books.

Do you use checklists? If there is a particular type you like?

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  • 1
    9y
    I've found the opposite. I used to create big todos and keep lists of completed tasks. In the end it never improved my process, it just made me less focused and I wasted time maintaining lists.
    I find I can focus better by simply picking a single task from the backlog and focusing til it's finished, then pick a new task.
    I keep a timer to give myself regular breaks and time to work on other minor tasks.
  • 2
    9y
    I'm a checklist person for sure. I've been through post-it notes, agenda books, building my own checklist app for my senior project, Google Keep, Evernote, OneNote... Now I'm using Trello. I find that having a list of everything coming down the line helps me keeps the big picture in mind.
  • 1
    9y
    Absolutely! I use Wunderlist. I even get my clients on it. At the end of a web project I set up a shared snag list with the client. Works a treat, and very easy to use.
  • 1
    9y
    Workflowy.com is great for its perfect simplicity.
  • 1
    9y
    Trello.com is a great tool. It's based on Scrum but works great for personal projects as well.
  • 1
    9y
    @jiraTicket is a backlog not a list though?
  • 1
    9y
    I use Jira for work and Omnifocus for personal.

    My problem is if I don't track everything, I'll lose track of tasks and projects by just forgetting about them. Now you might argue that they weren't important in the first place if you forgot about them, but it might be that you then proceed in an indirected way moving from random project to random project with no clear end goal in mind.
  • 1
    9y
    @devangst : true :) so used to backlogs that I take email for granted and figure everyone was talking exclusive about private, informal lists
  • 2
    9y
    @jiraTicket I guess as devs we're normally spooky because we only ever have to think a few tasks ahead :)
  • 1
    9y
    god damn autocorrect / lack of edit feature. in my previous post "email" was supposed to be "'em"
  • 2
    9y
    I wanted to thank everyone for input in this thread. Great info. I thought I knew a lot about checklists but I am learning from you.

    A good book on checklists is 'the checklist manifesto'. A Doctor describes how he implemented checklists in hospitals prior to surgeries and the significant impact simple checklists made in reducing mistakes.

    Also, pilots have used them since the 1930's.
  • 2
    9y
    Btw I managed to find a workflow that works really well if you want to mix Getting Things Done and the Pomodoro Technique. There's a write up on my blog: http://devangst.com/the-ultimate-ta...

    It's just one approach of many...!
  • 0
    8y
    @simeg +1 for trello but blocked at work....
  • 0
    8y
    @thecleaner why did they block it? do they think people will keep secret projects on public trello boards?
  • 1
    8y
    @jiraTicket all sites which allow upload/download are blocked by default to prevent us from taking data out of the firm. However, the policy is not consistent and I have access to external email...
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