Hacker News Reader

Comment by picafrost | Hacker News Reader

To be honest, I have never understood the TODO "industry." Do people really have so many things to do, and is it really that difficult to keep track of them all? I do not know if it's just me but I feel completely alienated by these apps and articles.

View on HN

What I have:

Work projects: typically on the order of a dozen

House projects: Probably over 20 distinct chores over the course of a week, plus currently two maintenance things that I can't do myself and have to call people repeatedly because 90% of contractors just don't show up unless you remind them to.

Kids: most things can be handled immediately (e.g. sign a form), but there are always at least half-a-dozen things in the air that can't for one reason or another.

Other: Resubmitting medical bills to insurance (can only be done during business hours, I typically open my mail after business hours). Contacting bank about something. &c.

Here's a fraction of what I'm doing today, including one from each category (except calling a contractor because my wife is doing that):

- I have to contact my bank during business hours because they sent me the wrong form (discovered while I was filling it out this weekend).

- I need to call a coworker because one project is blocked on them regarding an issue that they haven't replied to my e-mail sent Thursday afternoon.

- I need to pickup my daughter from a day-camp on the way home from work. Before dark, I need to weed part of the front yard.

- Tonight the trash (but not the recycling) goes out to the curb for a pickup tomorrow morning.

Yes, I have met people who can keep track of these things in their head. I am not one of them.

You have too many things on the go at once. Do less at work, delegate all your chores to your wife, and send the kids to boriding school. Problem solved.

For someone with ADD, it can be extremely difficult to keep track of even 3-4 relatively simple items that need completed in a day. They will get distracted by something minor, and 8 hours later have completed 20 things in a highly productive manner, but 0 of the 3-4 important items they were supposed to do (and most likely, they will have forgotten those items existed entirely). For me what works is starting each day with a list of 3 items that need done that day, and to check that list about every 30 minutes all day long.

>Do people really have so many things to do, and is it really that difficult to keep track of them all?

I think you can find the answer to this question by looking at the comment thread of any TODO/notes/task-tracking submission on HN.

That's a fair point - but most of these threads focus on comparing systems rather than discussing whether they are necessary in the first place. I can see how folks with ADHD or similar challenges would benefit from a TODO app (or similar).

I'm more curious about a broader question: at what point does life complexity actually require a formal system versus just mental tracking? Tech people are, for the most part, the only people I encounter actively using and iterating on their TODO solutions, and I am skeptical that in general they lead more complex lives.

Maybe virtual tasks need better organization or reminders than physical tasks. I rarely forget to wash my dishes because the dishes are right there. I don't forget to go gather the eggs because I have to shut up the chickens every night and check their food and water, or living creatures could die. There are physical consequences and reminders of those things.

The need to update a piece of software doesn't give me any physical cues, and if I have a couple dozen tasks like that waiting on me, I'm never going to remember them all unless they're all popping into my head throughout the day. That pretty much is how I used to try to do it, and it wasn't good.

You’re not alone. Like many in this thread, I have kids and a house, etc. etc. Never needed anything like this. Maybe jotting down a note with pen and paper now and then, or at most, e-mail myself a reminder of something.

I have to wonder if some people use these systems to make themselves feel more important than they actually are.

Same. There are tons of people are spend more time organizing 'TODOs' than actually doing them.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com