Here we go with part 2 of Bullet Journaling using Todoist. It's been a while since I published part 1 of this series, and that's probably okay because it has really given me a chance to see if the bullet journal format I originally talked about works in the long run. I've had a few changes, most are cosmetic in nature, and/or to simplify the process reducing the number of clicks or movement of an item.
As I pointed out in part 1 the 'index' talked about in the bullet journal is automatically created in Todoist. The 'future log' has become a central component of my workflow and I have consolidated the 'daily log' under each month as pictured below.
Note, I use “Future Log temp” as a place to capture routine items such as “Take recycling to curb” which occurs every other week. It’s something I have to do, but I don’t want the reminder clogging up my really important items that may or may not occur on the same day. Reminders are typically set up with Todoist automatic move forward or a single date in the future that I want to see the item again. A good example of this would be a phone call to my Dentist. I want to be reminded of it, but not until after the first of the year. When it shows up in my Today Box, I’ll move it to Daily Log and treat it like any other call. Other items captured under the Future Log Temp list are: “Email - Zero” (daily), Items I’m waiting for, and “Water Softener check and fill” to name a few.
Here's my entire planning and task management process! It's a mixture of Todoist, Google Calendar, Evernote, a notebook and a whiteboard, and it helps me get. Starting from the app I picked up right after abandoning my physical bullet journal Todoist. This is a blast from the past. It got the job done when I had a lot of random shit to keep track of, but honestly, I had so much going on in high school that I didn’t take advantage of its task categorization, as you can. (For those of you who like a more structured approach to organizing your notebook, you might want to try the Bullet journal or Strikethrough method. Productivity writer and fellow Todoist blog contributor Belle Beth Cooper recently wrote about her own modified notebook system). Your travel notebook. Jika kamu menggunakan bullet journal hanya untuk pengingat atau daftar tugas, Todoist adalah aplikasi yang tepat. Aplikasi ini jauh lebih sederhana dibandingkan 4 aplikasi lainnya dan hanya berfokus pada daftar. Meskipun tidak memiliki banyak fitur, aplikasi ini mengoptimalkan fungsi-fungsi yang dimilikinya.
Consolidating daily logs under future logs simply made it easier to archive each month. As future meetings, events and tasks are completed, new daily logs of activities and notes are created. At the end of the month, I could simply drag and drop the entire month to my archive storage location. This seemed to work fine for a while until I needed to search for something. The Todoist search engine is fine but with all the daily histories it simply became too crowded with the 'history' side of a bullet journal.
I also expanded flags to more closely resemble Getting Things Done methodology perhaps because I am used to the context format of GTD I use at work. So here is the mishmash process I currently find to be extremely functional for my personal productivity.
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First: To use Getting Things Done verbiage, I use a separate program for all my 20,000 and up categories. In other words, my purpose, vision, roles, and goals I keep separate on another program called The Brain. A type of mind mapping software, I have used since 2005. It currently contains 30,424 “thoughts” which include journal entries, trip reports, lists of peaks, hikes, books I’ve read etc. It also contains 48,519 links between those thoughts as I chase down rabbit trails, which contain my roles and goals. I’ve tried on numerous occasions to use The Brain for actions and perhaps if I sat at a single computer all day it would work just fine. For me, Todoist exists simply for the 10,000-foot runway items in getting things done. This has helped me keep Todoist crisp, clean, and straight forward.
Second: I use a future log for each month of the year, twelve months in advance. When I start a new month - December 2019 - as an example, I create December 2020 at the bottom of the future log list. This makes it easy to capture rolling dates like birthdays and Christmas.
Third: I use a daily log captured under the monthly-future log.
Click on the month and I can see all of my monthly commitments organized or sorted in date order (option found under the 3 dot project menu). I can scroll down if I want to see daily items, but I don't generally do this because:
Fourth: Daily items run from newest to oldest. Part of the reason it runs this way is to avoid dragging and dropping each day to reverse order upon creation of the daily log.
Fifth: I don't keep historical information on Todoist anymore. I use Todoist in the way that Todoist excels at, namely items and lists. Each day I capture items, notes, thoughts, ideas, books I want to read, articles I should read, company reports, Christmas cards I should respond to etc. All that capturing needs to be done under the daily log. Years ago I read a blog article by Jason Womack who at the time, was a coach for Getting Things Done.
I don't write things down to get them done. Whether they get done or not is up to future events unfolding in an order that may facilitate productive/efficient choice-making. I write things down to forget about them; get them out of my mind, and come back to where I am..when I am
This is what I use Todoist daily log for. Capture items, by writing them down. The beauty of Todoist is it’s multi platform ability. In a line at the store, I use my phone, at work I use my work computer, home I use either my home computer or notebook. Have a thought while reading? Open Todoist and jot it down. You can set Todoist up to capture voice messages, Google Home can be set up to capture items into the inbox. Truly there shouldn’t be a thought you think that you can’t capture if you need to. Thankfully we don’t need to capture all of them, but gone should be the days of thinking “oh I need to write that down before I forget it”. I use the flags discussed above to put items into context if needed. Does the item need to be done at work? @Office, Is it a call? @Call, Putting up Christmas decorations? @Home-indoors. Including transferring the note, reference material to my personal brain, I use @PBrain. I then use the Autofocus System to process my items.
The autofocus system is designed to be on paper or notebook, but I find it easily adapts to Todoist and the daily log. The concept is simple. 'As you think of a new item, add them to the end of the list' or in this case add them to the daily log. Click on the daily log 2019-12-15, click on the + button and type in the item. Bullet Journaling is correct in its assumption of capturing notes in short phrases, getting them into the system and reviewing at a more appropriate time.
The quoted numbered items below are from autofocus and I think the magic to using Todoist for Bullet Journaling and productivity.
1. Read quickly through all the items on the page without taking action on any of them. Download old utorrent for mac.
Scroll to the oldest day in your Daily Log, remember this could be last month, although I try to not let them get that old (see number 7 below).
2. Go through the page more slowly looking at the items in order until one stands out for you.
3. Work on that item for as long as you feel like doing so.
This is the real secret to getting things done, get started on something. I like this format of scanning, looking, thinking and using your intuition to help pick an item. It also helps when personal energy levels are low and you might be cherry picking the easiest items on the list, but the concept is the same, if it’s on the list and it catches your attention then it probably needs to be done. In the picture above note the item: Install: Furnace Filter (every 3 months from install date). Upon reading this item, I went downstairs to install a new filter and found that I didn’t have any new ones remaining. New todo item: Buy: 2 Ace Filters and tagged as an Errand. You’ll learn in 4 below that I brought this item to the current date and added the new todo item. I worked on the item “as long as I felt like doing so” or in this case, as far as I was able.
4. Autofocus says to Cross the item off the list, and re-enter it at the end of the list if you haven't finished it.
In Todoist it is more productive and requires less keystrokes to simply hashtag #todays-date to move the item forward. (I generally make a note about what I accomplished before moving the item). Keep in mind that this is where David Allen’s GTD methodology regarding next actions should apply. Whatever is listed should be morphing from a random thought that you captured into a doable action. Also in the picture above “Print and mail: Marilyn Christmas Letter”. This was originally captured as Respond: Christmas card received from Marilyn. It moved forward as Write: Marilyn Christmas Letter where I used the comments section of Todoist to capture my letter over a couple days, moving forward each day. After I print and mail the letter, I will complete the item. Another item that occurs regularly for me is a book I want to read. When I first download the book it is added to the daily log as Read: Tribe (Kindle unlimited). When I start to read the book, it is moved forward to today’s date with Reading: Tribe (Kindle unlimited). It moves forward almost daily as I read the book, then changes to Finished reading: Tribe (Kindle unlimited) @PBrain. The label reminds me to add the book to The Brain journal entry along with my review of the book. I then complete the item on Todoist.
5. Continue going around the same page in the same way. Don't move onto the next page (date) until you complete a pass of the page without any item standing out. (this can be done quite quickly)
6. Move to the next page (date) and repeat the process.
Remember, you don’t have to take action on an item on every page, just look for ones that you are ready to make some movement on. In a sense this closely resembles Structured Procrastination.
7. If you go to a page and no item stands out for you on your first pass through it, then all the outstanding items on that page are dismissed without re-entering them.
This is the critical behavior of reviewing all of your captured items from oldest to newest. At some point you really have to question if you are going to read that magazine that is now a month or month's old. If it no longer stands out, complete it off the list and throw the magazine into the trash.
8. Once you've finished with the final page (today date), re-start on the first page (date) that is still active.
I delete the date in the daily log when there are no longer any items listed for that day (EDIT: If you are wanting to keep a true Bullet Journal do not delete the date, complete the task, but keep the date so that you can refer to Todoist’s “show completed tasks” if desired). This keeps my Todoist clean and helps me to focus my energy only on those items that continue to hold my attention. Ideally, a date in the daily log should be zeroed out over the course of a month or two, meaning no items should remain in the daily log for that date. If I’m not bringing an item forward to a more current date (meaning I’ve taken no action on the item, see #3 & #4 above) for months, this means I can’t reform the task into a more specific doable action, or I can’t figure out what the exact next step is that needs to be done to be able to complete the task, or I just can’t bring myself to spend a couple minutes on an item. If this is the case, the item needs to be deleted from the daily log. The item might show up again in the future, but as Jason Womack indicated; That’s not really up to me, it’s up to “future events unfolding in an order that may facilitate… choice-making.” It’s my job to capture those items and create an environment where making that choice is facilitated in an efficient manner.
For a few years now, I’ve been a staunch Bullet Journal advocate. Yes I’ve tried Things 3, OmniFocus, Todoist, and many other options, but I kept coming back to the simplicity of writing my tasks down on paper and leaving a notebook on my desk. After a few months, every other system simply turned into something I didn’t check regularly, which meant it was a lump of tasks that had no meaning anymore.
I came to the realization that, by default, a Bullet Journal defaults to no while other digital systems default to yes. Digital systems drag any overdue tasks forward, where your Bullet Journal makes you do work to move tasks forward. If you think a task is too much work to move forward, you’re telling yourself that it’s not important and should simply stay undone.
It’s also far too easy with most task managers to schedule 27 tasks on some day in the future. You look at your task manager on that day and despair because you know not everything will be finished.
Enter NotePlan 2, my favorite digital Bullet Journal application. NotePlan 2 combines your tasks and your calendar, so if you love timeblocking like Mike and I do, you’re going to be excited about this application. It does all this in a system that any Bullet Journaller will recognize.
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Todoist Bullet Journal
Why Use NotePlan 2 as a Bullet Journal?
At first glance, NotePlan 2 centers around a daily note just like a Bullet Journal. Here you can write down tasks or notes of the day. Tasks can be organized with headings and you can use indentation for sub-tasks or any other information you need for your task.
NotePlan 2 also offers a place to store other notes about anything. Say you’re in a meeting and want to take notes — just open a new note and start typing away. If a point in that note needs a due date, you can easily turn it into a task and then assign a due date to it. This task will now show up on the day alongside your daily note. I view these notes as my Collections in the Bullet Journal Method.
NotePlan allows you to use the standard bullet journal notation of * to mark something as a task, though it will turn it into a circle to use as a checkbox. It also allows you to push a task to a different day and shows that by changing your bullet to a clock icon. If you want to migrate a note to a Collection, that’s a copy/paste operation and it won’t show you the Bullet Journal standard < to signify that a task has moved to a collection.
For any tasks that you want to repeat, you can do this on macOS by clicking the three bars beside your task. Then, choose the repeat interval from the dialog. This same functionality can be accessed on your iPad or iPhone via the clock icon in the bottom left corner of the screen.
To add a layer of organization, NotePlan 2 offers a tagging system by using the pound symbol to signify a #tag. This can let you tag an individual note, or some items in a daily note and then collect them with a filter so you can see it all in one spot. I use this to tag tasks in a specific day for a client so that I can easily backtrack to see what I worked on in a given month.
NotePlan also includes the @ symbol, which it intends for mentioning people. You can use this just like a tag and collect every time you’ve mentioned a person in a task so you can see everything that pertains to them. You could also use this as a Context notation so you can collect all your @errands in one spot and do them when you’re out.
The application also offers internal linking between notes. That lets you take notes on a specific meeting, and then add your meeting notes to a client note so you can track it down later by going to your client note. I use it when I have a list of approved writing topics for a client. When I start an item, I link to the individual note with all the tasks on it for that specific piece. Once I’ve finished a piece, I can resolve the main item in the content note.
If you need to track your tasks to a specific time so that you can be reminded of them, NotePlan integrates with Reminders. I use this for a daily reminder to give one of my daughter’s a pill at 3pm. I can resolve this task either in Reminders or in NotePlan on any device I happen to be near, and it will be resolved everywhere.
Another excellent feature that NotePlan offers is a strong saved search system. You can search your Notes, Calendar entries, Reminders, or Events and then filter them by time or status. You can save these searches and they will show up across your devices for easy access. The only drawback to this system is that you can’t change a saved search once it’s been created. You have to delete it and try again with adjusted search parameters. I’ve found it’s better to simply run the filter until it’s right and then save the settings once it works like you expect.
Why I Prefer NotePlan 2
There are a few reasons that NotePlan 2 stands out to me above other task managers. First, I love the calendar integration. I think that booking your tasks into a day without looking at your calendar for the day almost always leaves you with way too much to get done given the time you have. NotePlan 2 gives you a constant view of any appointments you have alongside your tasks in a way that other task managers don’t do as well.
I also love how you can include notes on the day alongside your tasks as a running journal for the day. For years, I’ve kept my Bullet Journal open on my desk and written down what happens during the day. I’ve now moved most of this process to NotePlan 2 to capture things from any device that happens to be near.
I also like that NotePlan 2 that uses Markdown files that are stored on your computer. Nothing is stopping the sufficiently nerdy from figuring out how to read the files and then using any other system to use the data. This means that migrating away or creating a backup of your notes is a simple task.
Finally, there is a very active Reddit community for NotePlan 2. You won’t find many YouTube videos about it, but you can get help in short order on Reddit, and the developer of the application is there regularly to talk with users.
Shortcomings of NotePlan 2
For all that I love about NotePlan 2, it’s not all unicorns and sprinkles. If you’re creating a tasks that needs to repeat a lot, then it’s fairly slow at writing all the Markdown files for anything over 100 repeat cycles. It works on every platform, but you end up waiting longer if you’re using your iPad or iPhone to create those types of repeating tasks.
It’s also best to delete repeating tasks if you want to change something about them, and you should do this from macOS. macOS is the only platform that I’ve seen the option to delete all future instances of a task. On my iPad or iPhone, it simply deletes a single instance, leaving me to manually clean up all the future tasks as well.
One final thing I wish NotePlan 2 had was a better way to change between notes. Currently, you have to search and find them in the notes view. That means a bunch of clicking to change views and get to what you want. Luckily, there is light at the end of the tunnel as demonstrated by the developer in a NotePlan 3 feature peek. I’m very much looking forward to that quick search and entry panel.
Todoist Vs Bullet Journal
Overall, if you’re looking for an application that emulates the Bullet Journal system to organize your notes, calendar, and tasks, then NotePlan 2 is an excellent option. It has feature parity across devices with few real limitations and has been a joy to use over the last number of months.
NotePlan 2 is available via SetApp or for a $29.99 in-app purchase on the App Store. The iPadOS and iOS version are available as a bundle for $14.99 from the App Store.
Our Must-Have, Most Used Productivity Apps
We spend an inordinate amount of time sorting through hundreds of apps to find the very best. We put together a short list of our must-have, most-used apps for increasing productivity.