Tag: todoist

Do I still like Todoist?

January 15th, 2022
I’ve been a Todoist user on and off for years now and I’m also part of the affiliate program but I’ve been trying other apps lately. I’ve tried Reminders, Things and Omnifocus.

In the end though whilst I do have my problems with Todoist I keep coming back.

Here’s some of what I do like
- Sync is rock solid
- Repeating reminders are easy to implement with natural language parsing and they are easy to see
- The app doesn’t clutter itself with things like timers or habits
- The Home Screen widget is reliable at updating when the app is updated
- It adheres to the accessibility settings of my device
- It’s a dedicated team. With something like Reminders I feel that if I have bugs I’ll never have them resolved and the app will stagnate for years now it’s had a bit of an overhaul. Apple don’t have a dedicated Reminders development team to keep it up to date and move it forward
Here’s what I don’t like
- Cannot set the theme of the widget independently of the app. I like a light mode in the app but want a dark mode on the widget
- I’d like to see Calendar integration into the today and upcoming views like Things 3 does
- Creating sub projects is still a little fiddly
So with any to do app you pick the one that annoys you the least, for me it’s Todoist right now. What are you using?
Dealing with overdue tasks using Todoist

April 5th, 2021

I’ve not done much since Friday and as a result this image is what I’m left with – 18 due tasks today. I’m aware that I’ve slacked off a bit this weekend and I’m also aware of the pressure building up knowing that I’ve got stuff to prepare for and not moved it forward.

Incidentally this is one of the reasons pen and paper to do systems don’t work for me as I just lose track of what I should have been doing.

The way I manage this in Todoist is to go to the today view then swipe to the left on each item due today and reschedule.

This allows me to bring up the calendar view and pick the appropriate date.

It’s one of the reasons I like using Todoist, quickly being able to reschedule my entire day to suit my needs.
Update on my Todoist setup

February 7th, 2021
I posted last week about coming back to Todoist and I wanted to share with you how it’s been going this week.

As you can see I’ve kept it pretty basic with
- A project per category I need to manage
- A sub project if this needs breaking down E.g. Video within the Create project
- The use of section headers to break down a project, like my learning one you can see in the screenshot
This has been working pretty well this week and between my devices (iPhone and MacBook, using Safari) I’ve been keeping on track ok. I am using the small widget on the home screen that shows me the number of items in the list today and the top few.

I’m adding items by firing up the app first but my next tasks is to look at how Todoist is working with automation and try to use Shortcuts a little more.

If you want to check out Todoist, please use my affiliate link here to help support my writing. (thanks in advance).
My Todoist setup

February 2nd, 2021

I’ve been switching apps again (you’re sick of posts like this right?) and with my kind of breaking and being overwhelmed with overdue Reminders UI I’ve gone back to old faithful – Todoist.

I know I’ve written up posts on not being able to justify a subscription but I need to invest in myself and job hunting so paid up for my monthly £3.99.

I just initially used my iPhone and dumped everything into their appropriate projects as you can see above. I don’t use labels and prefer to divide my tasks into logical places. You’ll see my divisions above. It’s a pretty basic setup at the moment and the folder names should show what tasks go where.

Along with the setup I have the small today widget on my main Home Screen. This allows me to see how much I’ve got left to do today at a glance.

I’ll share more as I refine this over time but for now here’s my Todoist setup.
How to create a project in Todoist

January 3rd, 2020
I use projects to either break down a large task e.g. decorate living room or to group tasks such as a holiday.

Adding a new project is simple.

Tap on the ‘+’ next to the Projects section.
- Give your project a name such as ‘Decorate living room’
- Give it a colour
- Choose to share it or not, default will be No unless you are using it with a partner or company
- Is it a sub project? Maybe you have a parent called ‘DIY’
- Make it a favourite if you want quick access from the top level of the layout
New year, new productivity app

January 1st, 2020

I’ve needed to simplify a bit over the break and made the switch back to Todoist.

Todoist has been my fall back app for a while but I’m determined to make it stick. It’s the fastest way to get things out of my head and the natural language passing really helps to track repeating items. I’ll share more as I move through my experience of getting to know the app really well.

Any tips?

On a side note I’ve really tried to use Reminders but I have no confidence it’ll see any updates until September and it’s got UX issues in my use.
Enabling Todoist vacation mode

April 8th, 2019

I’m trying out Todoist again and when messing around I discovered vacation mode.

I don’t know how new this feature is but it’s potentially very useful. Being away from work allowed me to do a bit of a brain dump but I didn’t want to be reminded of chores when away. This vacation mode puts everything on hold until you’re ready to get back to it.
Latest iOS Todoist update

March 1st, 2019

I’ve been an on and off user of Todoist for years but the latest update might make me stick around. The main thing I’ve always liked about the app was it’s straightforward UI and flexibility. I can do a fee form ‘today’ or have specific time reminders. That’s the best of both worlds for me.

The latest update introduces a few things that really improve its use (for me).

First up is a checkbox next to each item. Sounds simple but improves both the use and look of the app. If you want to go back to swipe to complete you can (it’s in the general settings) but this is now the default behaviour.

Next up (I think I’m right on this one) there’s a little more space around elements. Hitting the create task icon seems like there’s a bit more room in this latest update.

Lastly the text seems a little larger or bolder to my eyes, a nice visual improvement.

I’m only just getting into the latest update but as you can tell I’m happy with the little tweaks and I’ll be giving it another go.
How to bring back swipe to complete in Todoist

March 1st, 2019

Personally I really like the addition of checkboxes in the latest Todoist update but not everyone does so the good news is whilst you can’t remove them you can go back to swiping to complete.
How to create a shortcut to a label in Todoist

October 13th, 2018
One thing I’ve really come to like in Todoist is the ability to favourite a label and have it available as a shortcut straight under your inbox.

Here’s how
- Go to the labels you have created
- Swipe and then edit
- Tap Favourite
My Todoist setup

October 13th, 2018

I’m getting back on plan, left things slide a bit and tried to use iCloud to get things done. I’ve failed miserably and need to get back to using a third party app to keep me on task.

I’ve always come back to Todoist or Omnifocus but Todoist gets my vote just now. I like that I can create a free form ‘today’ but also add reminders where needed such as get Milk at 2pm when I’m at the supermarket or call dentist etc.

I’m only just getting started but here’s my setup.

I’m using labels to classify tasks as you can see above and only using projects where they are needed such as my passion ones. In the past I’d have created a project called Home and put all my family tasks in the there but labels makes more sense to me these days.

I’m also enjoying the new dark mode 😎.

The only downside of using Todoist coming from something like Reminders is that their Apple Watch app just isn’t very good. Sync to the app seems slow and there is no support for Series 4 complications in the info watch faces. I’m hoping these are being worked on.

Here goes, wish me luck.