Edit: I should also mention the Dired mode in Emacs, which is a directory browser. I use "% g" quite frequently, and it has useful extensions like wdired and dired-hacks.
If you add it to your agenda, you can filter things out by tags.
Org mode also has excellent mobile support. All your todo items, schedules etc. can also be viewed in your phone.
Another plus-side is that it is completely text based. You don't have to worry about internet access, operating system, age of the machine, the medium you want to use.
You can quickly export org-mode schedules as pdf/tex/html/txt etc.
If you cannot meet your schedules, you can make a note yourself on why you couldn't meet it and simply reschedule.
The core functionality of org-mode is actually simple. I'd suggest giving org-mode a chance.
1) Create an org document 2) Set some tasks as headlines 3) make them todo items by typing C-c C-t 4) schedule them to a certain date with C-c C-s 5) add the org-file to your agenda by C-c C-[
And you've got a working project schedule. M-x org-agenda to view your schedule.
I do use org-mode quite a bit, but for project-specific notebooks, I usually quickly get mentally overwhelmed with the volume and mix of finished/unfinished tasks. I can feel the problem is in the way I use it. Somehow the same content, put in a crappy kanban-style web board, doesn't seem as overwhelming (even though it's an order of magnitude less efficient to work on than it is with org).
A Readme.org for me is a description of the project followed by notes and a hierarchy of issues i.e. to-do items. Also, when starting out sometimes I use src blocks to write initial bits of a script while exploring the data or the library I'm planning to work with.
This workflow works for my side projects.
For more serious work I open up a seperate org file. I quickly note what parts need to be done, capture my thoughts on them, make a plan and start. If my plan doesn't work I note why it hasn't worked, my current thoughts then I alter the plan.
The most important thing IMHO is to be able to capture what you're thinking honestly. Over a time you can analyze the logs and make better decisions.
In the past I've tried GTD, no plan and just Pomodoro, kanban etc. and they all worked miraclously at the start but my productivity suffered as time passed by. Because with these constructs I was forcing myself to work all the time.
My new method is to treat my org-agenda as sacred, I try not to schedule many items for a day. I give an honest effort to make them happen, but if I can't or psychologically don't want to I reschedule/cancel them without feeling any guilt.
Org-mode is fairly simple if you stick to the basics. You need to devise something that will work for you. Be that a giant file where you keep everything with tags. Or be that a Readme.org for every project. What matters is that you plan ahead and actually stick to it.
* Projects * Customer X
** TODO issue 42 breakage SCHEDULED: <2018-02-12>
* Customer Y
** subproject foo
** TODO fix slow frobnication SCHEDULED: <2018-02-09>
* Ideas
* Misc
When I get an e-mail or something about a new task, I use org-capture to turn it into a TODO with a link back to the e-mail and a default SCHEDULED value, and I hit C-c C-w to refile it directly into customers/subprojects (otherwise they end up under Misc and I'll refile later). I always clock into the task I'm doing, and I use the clocktable (limited to a time range) to figure out how long I've worked on what for my invoices. Since I switch tasks a lot, and didn't like how the recent-tasks-lists was emptied on restarting Emacs, I ended up writing a little helper package at [link redacted] to let me quickly clock in to recent tasks (also lets you navigate to recent tasks if you use ivy).
I do something similar to user terminalcommand, where I schedule tasks in my agenda, so when I open my work-agenda, the stuff that needs doing is always there. I might leave "sometime-maybe" tasks/ideas unscheduled (like "try shiny new library"), but anything people are actually asking me fix will be scheduled. It's really easy to push things towards the future in the agenda, so it's not really overwhelming, even though my work.org file is now at 11677 lines (and I see my work.org_archive is at 6403 – maybe I should archive more things, but it's not like I notice the size).
For collaboration, I use whatever other people use (trello, wikis, meeting notes in etherpad checked into SVN).
* Projects
** Customer X
*** TODO issue 42 breakage
SCHEDULED: <2018-02-12>
** Customer Y
*** Fooproject
**** TODO fix slow frobnication
SCHEDULED: <2018-02-09>
* Ideas
* MiscI've only got experience with Android and MobileOrg is a pain in the ass to setup and sync. The workflow is a hassle.
Orgzly looks nice and is good for read-only usage but entering notes in it is awkward. Takes too much time compared to, for example, Google Keep.
Are there other solution out there that I am not aware of or am I just not using the existing apps correctly?
I've set it up once and never had to configure anything again.
Although I must admit that I only use the app passively to look at my weekly schedule. I haven't used it to make quick captures.
Do you mean the command "Mark files containing"? I didn't know about this one before.. Could you expand on how you fit it in your workflow?