TaskPaper and the Pomodoro Technique
Posted on 2 December, 2009 at 2:30am
I’ve been practicing the Pomodoro Technique for about 1 month now. It’s been an incredibly useful tool for me. It’s brought about changes on many levels. One of which is the kind of To-Do lists I create.
I’ve loved the GTD methodology since I found it 2 years ago. I’ve used many of the most popular GTD apps. Many. I’ve used OmniFocus, Check Off, Things, Hit List and Actiontastic (which dooesn’t seem to be in development anymore). But with the Pomodoro Technique things have changed as well as the apps I really need.
In The Pomodoro Technique all tasks have to be worked on (regardless of how many minutes they will take, how much you want to actually work on them or what context they belong to). They are all important. There is less of the “tagging and setting contexs” of a task. You decide which task (in a broader sense, not a next action) is most important to work on at the moment and just start working on it. You just start your timer and get to work. All tasks become level. There is less bullshit about the task choosing and more work happening.
So with this change in perspective I started wishing for a simpler place to write down lists of tasks (when I need them!). In comes TaskPaper.
TaskPaper is drop dead simple. It’s a freaking list of things to do! But don’t be fooled by simplicity. In simplicity is power (which is at the core of the Pomodoro Technique).
In TaskPaper you define a project name, write down some tasks under it, and just scratch them as done when you’re finished. It’s just like what you do when you grab a piece of paper and write down what you want to get at the grocery store. You get the items and scratch them one by one.
Sure, it’s got notes and tagging, but you’ll see that’s not what’s important in TaskPaper. TaskPaper is all about lists and getting things done.
So if you’re planning on getting the job done without having to watch 4 screencasts to learn your favorite GTD app, give TaskPaper a try, it might be what you’re looking for. And if you already practice the Pomodoro Technique it may be a good option for you too.
The Discussion
2 Comments on “TaskPaper and the Pomodoro Technique”Erik
26.01.2010 10:14 amHave you tried keeping a file that is your Action Inventory and then making a separate file for each day? I have been trying that and I like it. Once a week I can create files for the next seven days which I populate with a basic outline using TextExpander. It goes like this:
I then fill in any other tasks that I know will need to be done on those days. Previous to this I had been keeping a separate text file that I would log thoughts and quick entries about what I had just done. I realized that with a project called Journal(and TextExpander again) I could just use the Quick Entry panel to log them into the same file as my daily tasks.
Another tip: Option + Drag will create a copy of the task/project/note so I keep them in my Action Inventory file as well as on my Today Tasks list.
Cheers!
Gaston
26.01.2010 10:23 amErik thanks so much for sharing your workflow.
I keep my to-do today list on a real piece of paper each day. I write them down and keep track of my items and interruptions.
I’ve already got like 3 months of papers which will help me evaluate my observations.
But your method seems quite powerful in keeping both lists separate inside the computer. Thanks!