Question for software developers: how do you organize your To Do list at work?

Submitted ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨BurningnnTree@lemmy.one⁩ to ⁨nostupidquestions@lemmy.world⁩

I’m asking because I’m wondering if there’s a more efficient way for me to handle my notes at work. Currently I just use a txt file in Notepad++. I use this file to track all of the stuff I have to do, such as tasks for stories I’m working on, next steps for projects, discussions I need to follow up on, questions and ideas I want to bring up, etc. The way I organize the document works pretty well for me, but I’m just curious how other people do it. I like the simplicity of working with a simple txt document, but it would be nice if I could do stuff like create collapsible sections, or add labels to mark items by priority and stuff like that.

source

Comments

Sort:hotnew top

Shatter@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
Combination of Jira tickets and Obsidian.

source
- caspian@artemis.camp ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  +1 for Obsidian! Great for notes and the kanban plugin makes it perfect for tracking tasks. The kanban board items also support markdown so you can quickly add lists and various formatting to your work items
  
  source
Vlyn@lemmy.zip ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
Well, there is Jira with the tickets of course, but when I’m working actively on a ticket I do two things:

Text file in Notepad++ (something with custom markup so I have regions) or recently OneNote (just so this crap is backed up), write my hours down before putting them into the system, current ToDo things, notes, etc. till the ticket is through. Anything actually worth keeping gets puts into the Jira ticket as comment on close

While working on the code and I need to do something before committing it I use comments. Like // todo# do x, I’m using todo# because if I text search the code base for just todo I’ll find a hundred entries… adjust to whatever is unique to you so you find your own comments again

It’s a shit system, but has worked for me. I also write everything down so I don’t forget it, that has saved me several times.

In the past I even took my text notes and put them into an archive (with the Jira ticket linked) just if an old issue pops up and I still have my thoughts from around that time. But nowadays I do less of that because code changes too fast anyway.
source
- BurningnnTree@lemmy.one ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  Can you explain what you mean by “something with custom markup so I have regions”? How do I do regions in Notepad++?
  
  source
  - Vlyn@lemmy.zip ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    A little trick I like: You create your own custom language in Notepad++:
    
    Go tab Language → User Defined Language
    
    Create new… button
    
    Name it whatever you want, txtRegions or whatever
    
    In the “Folding in code 1 style” area put your favorite Open and Closing symbols. For example I used {{ and }}
    
    Close the dialog
    
    For your todo file, now go up again to Language → Select your custom language at the bottom
    
    Try it out, you can now make your own regions in your .txt file
    
    Usually Notepad++ remembers your custom language for your file. If it should ever forget to use it (and falls back to default .txt behavior) just select your language again. Have fun! :)
    
    source
    -> View More Comments
jecxjo@midwest.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
I use todo.txt format, created my own cli github.com/jecxjo/todo.hs

I set up tasks with priorities:

A: tasks i am doing now/today

B: tasks i am planning on soing this week

C: tasks that need to be done but aren’t high priority

D: tasks I delete if not done by the end of the month

I make sure all my tasks have a +ProjectName and if i have to deal with a @SpecificService or @EmployeeName i note that. I will also add in things like jira:StoryNumber or other data.

Due dates are rare, only when there is a hard stop. End of a sprint is not a hard stop. If i need to remind someone I’ll use due date and @Reminder

100% of the time all tasks go in my list. Nothing is left for me to remember. It goes into my list before it ends up in a Jira ticket or Conflience page. Remind me first, everyone else second.

First thing in the morning i process my list. Move tasks to A. End of the week at the end of the month I delete all the D tasks.

As for notes, i use vimwiki with automation to compile into html when files are written. I’ve also setup coworkers with an automated process using pandoc to go from markdown to html. Then i have a little a bookmark on my browser to pull it all up nice and pretty. I’ll post the scripts later, not at my computer.

Daily diary entry made every morning when i do my todo list prep, entry for each meeting. Add notes dueing meetings and links or other details when looking for solutions to problems.
source
thatsTheCatch@lemmy.nz ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
I’ve found Notion to be quite good. I just started with a blank page, then added the date as a heading, a smaller heading for each project, then todo boxes for each task. I tick them off as I go. Then, the next day, I copy yesterday’s todos and paste it above, change the date, then delete the crossed off items. This gives me a history log off what I did on previous days, so if I forget what I did yesterday I can just look back at what I ticked off that day.

I used to use a paper notebook but found it annoying because I couldn’t add a task in between other tasks. That’s the benefit of a computer; I can move things around

source
JoeClu@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
Todo.txt plain text file. Use Vim. Date and todo statement. Sometimes more for explanations. I never delete anything in it; just make an X next to todo’s I’ve completed. File goes back many years. I can easily search for something I did a long time ago.

And then there’s MS OneNote NOTE for capturing howto’s, quick script one-liners, cheat sheets, diagrams, notes on various industry interfaces, etc.

Then there’s SCM for bug, feature, and track tasking.

And usually notepad paper and pen for meetings, which if there are todo’s, go into my electronic todos.txt file.

source
Nibodhika@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
I used to use org-mode, then switched to markdown for compatibility across things, currently I use taskwarrior for tasks and quick temporary notes, and markdown for knowledge bases, although I’m looking into Notion instead of Markdown.

Amazed no one else mentioned taskwarrior since it’s made especially for tasks, and should be very easy for programmers since it’s CLI and very intuitive to do things and I usually have one terminal window open anyways.

source
- MajorHavoc@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  Taskwarrior is fantastic.
  
  source
Hobbes@startrek.website ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
A mix of Obsidian for myself and OneNote for team stuff because it’s what they all use.

source
TitanLaGrange@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
I use a cheap paper notebook, like 5x8 inch size. Each day, first thing when I start work, I write the date at the top of the next blank page, copy the items from the previous page that are not done, and add new items at the bottom of the list as they come up. Tasks I haven’t started have a blank box next to them, tasks I’ve started get a half-filled box, and finished items get a filled box. Anything that moves from one day to the next that hasn’t been started gets a digit in the box that increases by one each day. If the number gets to 10 I cross the item off as cancelled. When I’m picking a new task I try to prioritize some the tasks with higher numbers.

If I need to take notes I’ll use nearby blank space, sometimes a facing page. Generally I keep notes very short, long details go into whatever ticketing system we’re using with the ticket number in my notebook so I can find it again.

Mostly I don’t keep very many active tasks, so it’s rare that I have to cancel items. If my list is getting long I stop putting new items on it and just tell people I’m too busy to accept new stuff. I used to try to track more stuff, but I learned that just meant I ended up with lots of notes about stuff that I never had time to do, so I quite wasting my time tracking them.

When the notebook is full I put it on the shelf and get a new one.

I keep the notebook next to me on my desk. If someone asks me for something I check the book, if it looks like I’ve got time, I add it to the book. When I go to a meeting, I take it with me. If I don’t happen to have it I usually remember what’s on the current page because I just wrote it there that morning.

It’s low-tech, and I like it that way.

source
derrg@yiffit.net ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
A bit basic, but I have a TODO.md in my documents folder that I keep up to date. Markdown so I have an easier time formatting links to websites or other relevant documents.

source
- Potatos_are_not_friends@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  Basic but works.
  
  After 15 years and countless software, I keep returning to trusty markdown for daily organization.
  
  source
  - treadful@lemmy.zip ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    There’s literally dozens of us.
    
    source
glad_cat@lemmy.sdf.org ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
There are a billion ways to organize your stuff. I used org-mode a lot in the past but it’s a bit difficult to setup, especially on Windows. Nowadays, I use a mix of GTD, johnnydecimal.com, Markdown (with Sublime Text), and taskwarrior.org. Don’t forget calendars too (like the one on Outlook) because you can freely add meetings or things to do inside this application.

You have to find something that works for you, there is no perfect solution. You can also ask the same question on !experienced_devs@programming.dev.

source
Shizu@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
Two ways:

I create a jira issue or

I send a mail to myself so I don’t forget the thing.

I always keep my mailbox clean so that I have an overview on what’s open.
source
proycon@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
I’m using todo.txt, which is a basic plain text file following a simple syntax. I added various extensions to work with this: todo.txt-more, which does things like:

make things accessible through a simple menu (dmenu/bemenu/rofi) system.

time tracking functions

synchronisation with github issues and/or e-mail
source
- MajorHavoc@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  Thanks for sharing. Dmeny integration would be a killer feature for me. I’ll look into todo.txt again. Very cool. Thanks!
  
  source
treeofnik@discuss.online ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
I use notion which by default has a task list, kanban style board to manage each task. This way I can keep track of things I need to do eventually, things I’m currently working on, and stuff I’ve finished but might want to keep around for reference later.

source
skip0110@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
Wow. Many people have digital methods. I create jira tickets because it’s required but my actual work list I follow is handwritten in a notebook. When it gets more than 50% completed I copy the incomplete items onto a new page.

source
Semi-Hemi-Demigod@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
I supplement team-based task management with post it notes on my monitor for the things I'm working on short term. Usually the Jira ticket number or a couple words about what needs done is enough, and putting it where I can't not see it keeps them from falling through the cracks.

Plus it's fun when my boss gives me something and I can show him the post it I made

source
max@feddit.nl ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
Issues on jira/GitHub/gitlab/whatever is used and their planning boards. Assign them to me, put them in to-do/planned and do them until they’re all closed/to be reviewed. Occasionally I will put a reminder in the reminders app of my phone with a timed alert if I mustn’t forget something rather urgently.

source
dhork@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
I worked at one company which mandated that I charge time to internal projects on an hourly basis. (And only 8 hours a day, no matter what you actually worked. :) ). So that forced me to keep a notepad with a to-do list and a weekly tally of hours worked on each project.

My current company doesn’t care to that level of detail, so sometimes I slack off on my accounting. But when I have a large list of tasks to get through, there is nothing as satisfying as crossing items off a paper list.

As far as ideas and brainstorming goes, it all goes in TextEdit on my Mac. But I have to be careful, one time I had to reboot it and ended up having to go through 50 open files named “Untitled”

source
art@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
Same but s/Notepad++/nvim/g. I use a markdown-like list system.

+ [X] Task One + [ ] Task Two + [ ] Task Three + [X] Task Four + [ ] Task Five
source
Bomon@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
I’m using Logseq. It’s a great tool to document things and connect information that belongs together. If tasks need additional details, I simply link them to corresponding resources or tags. Additionally I set up Syncthing to synchronize everything across all my devices (desktop and mobile). Takes some time to get used to, but I don’t want to miss it anymore.

source
MajorHavoc@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
I used a lot of the time mentioned here, and there sooner great recommendations.

For me, it’s hard to beat a Markdown file for versatility.

I combine mine with a keyboard shortcut dedicated to opening it my preferred text editor.

source