my current hybrid task management system

You’d be hard pressed to name a task management app I haven’t tried. At one point or another I’ve used Things 3, Todoist, Reminders, Asana, Any.do, Google Tasks… I could go on.

The main thing I’ve learned is that digital task management doesn’t work for me. The crux of the problem is that these apps allow infinite lists. The task pile up much faster than they get done. This creates self-defeating overwhelm.

Alternatively I’ve experimented with abandoning to-do lists altogether and instead scheduling all tasks on the calendar. This is better, because it forces me to reckon with the finite amount of time available each day. But it’s too rigid; I need more flexibility. It’s also too slow. Creating an appointment for every new task means too much mental overhead of deciding when to do it and how long it will take.

For the last six months or so I’ve found harmony in a hybrid system.

• Hobonichi planner: I love physically writing tasks down and crossing them off. I use this for most daily tasks like “review report” or “complete timesheet”. The limited space is a feature, not a bug.
• Reminders app: I use this for recurring reminders like “water the plants”. I also use it to quickly capture an idea when I’m busy with something else or driving (by asking Siri to remind me later).
• calendar: I’ve found the most impactful time blocks for me to schedule are actually empty chunks of “do not book” time. These placeholders protect sacred blocks that I can then use most effectively based on game time prioritization decisions—the flexibility I crave. I do still schedule some blocks of time for specific tasks as well.

Always on the lookout for the next improvement, the other day I stumbled on this index card task management system by Ugmonk. I liked the idea and it reminded me that I had a stash of similar to-do cards on hand from a brand called Notsu that I had bought a while ago. I dug those out and have been using them for a few days.

I’m finding that the note card approach fills a gap in my hybrid system: it provides one single place to focus for each individual day. It’s like a daily dashboard.

I’ve been using the Hobonichi to keep track of date-specific tasks in the future. But then when that day comes, I transfer the ones that are still important to the day’s card and reschedule the rest. I add any other tasks for that day and highlight the top priority.

Then I keep that card prominently on my desk. Since I started this habit I am routinely crossing off all tasks on the list.

There’s something about having everything on one singular small piece of card stock that is motivating and calming. It’s all right there, confined cleanly in those 15 square inches.

It’s been just a few days, but so far the results are good.