My Daily Todoist Workflow

Summary

The author shares their personal experience with using Todoist for nearly a decade to manage daily tasks across both personal and professional life, emphasizing its effectiveness in handling recurring tasks and cross-platform accessibility.

Abstract

The author began using Todoist to digitize their bullet journaling process, seeking better future planning and the ability to repeat tasks. They find Todoist indispensable for managing various reports and deadlines at their office job, as well as for personal organization. The cross-platform functionality of Todoist suits the author's needs, as they work across Apple and Windows environments and at different service desks. The author praises Todoist for its role in achieving Inbox Zero by forwarding emails with associated tasks directly to the app, setting due dates for bills, and ensuring no verbal requests from colleagues are forgotten. The Pro subscription feature of saving completed tasks is particularly valued for performance reviews and personal productivity tracking. The author concludes that Todoist has reliably supported their organizational habits, both from their paper bullet journal days and currently in their digital task management.

Opinions

Todoist is praised as the "PERFECT" option for the author's needs due to its ability to handle deadlines, due dates, and reminders.
The author has a preference for minimizing the number of apps used, favoring Todoist over other task management apps.
Todoist's cross-platform (or web-based) accessibility is crucial for the author's workflow, given their use of both Apple and Windows systems.
The author values the ability to forward emails to Todoist, which aids in maintaining an organized inbox and ensures tasks are not overlooked.
Todoist's repeat task feature is highlighted as essential for maintaining daily routines and not forgetting important activities, even when disrupted by travel or unusual events.
The author appreciates the "tickler file" concept from David Allen's "Getting Things Done" methodology, which is integrated into their use of Todoist.
The Pro subscription is considered "invaluable" for its feature of saving completed tasks, which is helpful for performance reviews and self-assessment of productivity.
The author expresses trust in Todoist, stating it has "yet to fail" them in staying organized and productive.

My Daily Todoist Workflow

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I started using Todoist almost a decade ago when I needed a digital bullet journal. I’d been utilizing (and LOVING) the analog BuJo method for well over a year, but what I found I needed was better future planning, and the ability to repeat tasks. My office job has me do a lot of daily, weekly, monthly, and even yearly tasks that can be difficult to keep track of.

Todoist was the PERFECT option to help me put in all the deadlines and due dates and set reminders for all the reports I needed to run for work and various deadlines to be mindful of. I very quickly felt more in control of my personal and work lives, and haven’t looked back. I have tried other task management apps to test them out, and they function well, but Todoist has remained my favorite.

I should also mention that I use Apple products personally, but everything at my job is Windows-based. I also have an office, but I work at two different public-facing service desks in my job. Cross-platform (or web-based) apps are the best for me since I can quickly access them. I briefly entertained the idea of using different apps for work and home, and that quickly devolved into chaos. LOL. I much prefer minimizing the amount of apps a thing could be in, so I tell people that Todoist runs my life.

Every morning I open my Todoist, and all the tasks I’d scheduled for the day are there waiting for me on my Today screen. I choose to group them by project, so I quickly scan and see what I have on the docket for the day.

I have a small group of tasks that make up a portion of my morning routine (doing my daily Readwise review is one of them), and those tasks are set to repeat every day so I don’t forget. You’d be surprised how things you do every day around the same time can easily get derailed or forgotten when something unusual happens, or you’re out of town. So if something is important to me, like that daily Readwise review, I add it as a task. I may have 12–15 tasks in my Today view, and I may add to that throughout the day, so I frequently find I complete at least 20 or so tasks a day.

When I check my email, I forward emails to Todoist if there’s a task for me associated with it. All the necessary attachments are then in Todoist so I can refer to them. Frequently it’s something I need to add to my calendar, something for a meeting later on, or merely something I want to read at my leisure later in the day. This has been a huge boon to my Inbox Zero aspirations! It gets cleared out and I know I will focus on the task when I’m able.

This system has also been helpful with bills — I forward the bill to my Todoist, archive the email so it’s out of my inbox, and give the task a due date of when I will pay the bill. Even if it’s an autopay notification, I’ll get that in Todoist as well so I can be very aware of how I’m spending my money, since those can be sent a few days or a few weeks before the money is taken. If I find I don’t get an email reminding me about the bill (Planet Fitness, I’m looking at you) I add it as a reoccurring task in Todoist so I don’t get surprised when the money gets deducted from my account. Plus, this helps me be aware of any subscriptions I may need to cancel.

Once I’m at work, my Todoist kicks into high gear. I have my repeat tasks populated so I know what I need to start the day and what I need to complete or follow up on for my co-workers. I have Todoist as a tab in my browser at all times, and of course have the app on my phone. When a supervisor asks me to do something, or a member of my team requests something verbally, or I have an idea, I can quickly add it to my Todoist and know that I’ll get to it. Anything like that gets thrown into the Inbox and I’ll get it to as soon as I can. I don’t forget anything as a result!

Part of my routine is to clear out my Todoist inbox by the end of the day. It’s my rule that everything has a date attached to it. If it doesn’t have a date, it stays in the inbox until I can give it a date. Even if I don’t complete the task by the date I give it, I can utilize the David Allen Getting Things Done idea of a “tickler file” and at least remind myself about the task and reassess when I can complete it.

Since I pay for the Pro subscription of Todoist, it has all my completed tasks saved. This has been invaluable for performance reviews or check-ins with my boss, since I can go to my completed tasks under my work project and be able to quickly ascertain all the things I’ve been doing and can let me them know how productive I’ve been! I’ve definitely forgotten a few things here or there, and Todoist once again reminds me.

I’ve come to rely on Todoist to keep me on my toes, and it has yet to fail me. The habits I developed by keeping a paper bullet journal continued with my digital task management in Todoist, and the app has been able to keep me organized and on track.

My Daily Todoist Workflow

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