my GTD with Microsoft To Do

alevici

Registered
I implemented my GTD method using microsoft to do.
The native to do list and the flagged e-mail are mine inbox. I created a list with tags to create the system, a list for the each context, one for the agendas , one for waiting for and one for the oneday/may.
Everything else go trough tag: #supp (my technical support team) is an area of focus and when i create a project ie #april_webinar i add to the project description the #supp tag. This way I can filter all my project related to a specific focus area. Then when i create a task i add the april_webinar tag so i can filter all the task spread in the different context list. hen i have a tag for each team member and relevant contact so i can easly gruop it in the agendas and calls.
 

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Deirdre

Registered
I implemented my GTD method using microsoft to do.
The native to do list and the flagged e-mail are mine inbox. I created a list with tags to create the system, a list for the each context, one for the agendas , one for waiting for and one for the oneday/may.
Everything else go trough tag: #supp (my technical support team) is an area of focus and when i create a project ie #april_webinar i add to the project description the #supp tag. This way I can filter all my project related to a specific focus area. Then when i create a task i add the april_webinar tag so i can filter all the task spread in the different context list. hen i have a tag for each team member and relevant contact so i can easly gruop it in the agendas and calls.
Very nice! I like the project list with the hashtags. Thanks for sharing!
 

mcogilvie

Registered
i don’t use Microsoft Todo, bu it has some nice features. I like the distinction between My Day, Important and Planned. Unfortunately, showing completed items in hashtag searches is not desirable. I understand that’s fixed in the windows and android versions.
 

alevici

Registered
I did not had many choices: I need a cross platform app ( win10, mac and iOS) and having the possibility to funnel alla my captures using outlook flagging e-mails was the great feature that make me take the decision over Nirvana and FacikeThings. Tags have almost endless view possibilities: the only missing features for my use are:
1) repetitive reminders
2) integration with outlook contacts
3) possibility to add link local folders to open/save references
 

PeterByrom

Registered
Finally, somebody else who uses emojis!!!! :D

I used MS To Do for a while with work, and I went thru trying two setups:

First was like your version: with next action context lists and using hashtags for projects.

Then I switched to trying out using lists for projects, and the hashtags as contexts. That way was really useful for storing future actions in a project, because you could even write the context in there, and then just turn it into a next action by adding the # symbol back in.

I eventually switched back through Todoist and have now landed on Things 3, as I've concluded that I won't want to settle for any less than a list manager which can connect actions and projects together while also allowing for someday & deferring entire projects.
 

gtdChamp

Registered
I implemented my GTD method using microsoft to do.
The native to do list and the flagged e-mail are mine inbox. I created a list with tags to create the system, a list for the each context, one for the agendas , one for waiting for and one for the oneday/may.
Everything else go trough tag: #supp (my technical support team) is an area of focus and when i create a project ie #april_webinar i add to the project description the #supp tag. This way I can filter all my project related to a specific focus area. Then when i create a task i add the april_webinar tag so i can filter all the task spread in the different context list. hen i have a tag for each team member and relevant contact so i can easly gruop it in the agendas and calls.
HI @alevici, Its a cool system, I'm just starting on my journey of GTD, and have chosen MS Todo as my task list and OneNote as my reference system. My world is in Outlook and pretty tied into the O365 ecosystem.
I've made the choice of the products of the tools, but setting them up is another challenge.
Curious, how do you handle actions from emails - you flag emails you need to action, but how do you put contexts to it? Creating a task for each of the actionable email seems a bit overkill (Or maybe I need to reset my mindset that thats the price you pay to have a trusted system).
Do you keep a @waiting for folder both in MS toto AND in outlook to track ?

This is my first post on GTD Connect, hope this is the right place to ask.
Cheers
 

alevici

Registered
HI @alevici, Its a cool system, I'm just starting on my journey of GTD, and have chosen MS Todo as my task list and OneNote as my reference system. My world is in Outlook and pretty tied into the O365 ecosystem.
I've made the choice of the products of the tools, but setting them up is another challenge.
Curious, how do you handle actions from emails - you flag emails you need to action, but how do you put contexts to it? Creating a task for each of the actionable email seems a bit overkill (Or maybe I need to reset my mindset that thats the price you pay to have a trusted system).
Do you keep a @waiting for folder both in MS toto AND in outlook to track ?

This is my first post on GTD Connect, hope this is the right place to ask.
Cheers
Hi gtdChamp, ad Peter Byron i tryed 2 versions:
I use flagged e-mail and as inbox and yest depending on hoe many e-mails you get daily i do 2 empty box session every day

- the first setup is creating list for context and #tag for projects and focus areas. It worked very well till the number of my projects become to big.
- for this reason i switch having a list for every project use #tag for #conext #energy and #time

The limitation actually are the possibility to create permanent search list: this create some issue switching from task to task. Second and most constraining issue is the fact that you need to type #tags (without the possibility to see all the #tags) with serious risk of typos with the risk of loosing the connection to your structure.
 

alevici

Registered
Finally, somebody else who uses emojis!!!! :D

I used MS To Do for a while with work, and I went thru trying two setups:

First was like your version: with next action context lists and using hashtags for projects.

Then I switched to trying out using lists for projects, and the hashtags as contexts. That way was really useful for storing future actions in a project, because you could even write the context in there, and then just turn it into a next action by adding the # symbol back in.

I eventually switched back through Todoist and have now landed on Things 3, as I've concluded that I won't want to settle for any less than a list manager which can connect actions and projects together while also allowing for someday & deferring entire projects.

I'd love to witch to things but my company produce a software that force me to to use windows for work. I was evaluation an IPad only solution but it' i'm afraid i will regret it soon.
 

nbb

Registered
Hi gtdChamp, ad Peter Byron i tryed 2 versions:
I use flagged e-mail and as inbox and yest depending on hoe many e-mails you get daily i do 2 empty box session every day

- the first setup is creating list for context and #tag for projects and focus areas. It worked very well till the number of my projects become to big.
- for this reason i switch having a list for every project use #tag for #conext #energy and #time

The limitation actually are the possibility to create permanent search list: this create some issue switching from task to task. Second and most constraining issue is the fact that you need to type #tags (without the possibility to see all the #tags) with serious risk of typos with the risk of loosing the connection to your structure.

I've been using To Do with GTD for ~6 months. I too have found once my projects became too large, housing them all in their own list no longer became practical. However, now I have 10+ lists added, 1 for each project.

It's easier for organizing, but I it makes my To Do system feel much heavier.
 

gtdChamp

Registered
nbb, what do you mean by 10+ lists added, 1 for each project?
The Projects list is just a single list of all your current projects, what about this list made it impractical ?
 

scotteeboyLA

Registered
Has anyone figured out a way to leverage the "Assigned to you List" with their GTD setup? The challenge is that you cannot drag these tasks over into another folder. That said, you can use #tags to sort through everything in To-Do including the "Assigned to you" list. That's the only way I could figure out how to make this work, at least for now. I've got a ton of tasks coming to me from Planner, in addition to my personal tasks. Ironically, you can move tasks from the "flagged emails" list just fine..
 

SlyPig

Registered
Has anyone figured out a way to leverage the "Assigned to you List" with their GTD setup? The challenge is that you cannot drag these tasks over into another folder. That said, you can use #tags to sort through everything in To-Do including the "Assigned to you" list. That's the only way I could figure out how to make this work, at least for now. I've got a ton of tasks coming to me from Planner, in addition to my personal tasks. Ironically, you can move tasks from the "flagged emails" list just fine..
sorry TL;DR... I use To Do strictly for my daily to dos leveraging the “Assigned to You” list with ONLY my next actions I’ve assigned myself to over in Planner. So I do all of the organizing and clarifying over in Planner and To Do is simply my slick, Next Actions UI.
I opted for the O/MS365 ecosystem for my system about a year ago when I was introduced to gtd. At first I tried Outlook+OneNote but found the calendar reliance of Outlook tasks too restrictive and I became annoyed after I discovered To Do and how “in-sync” it and Outlook are. Then I discovered Planner and that changed everything for me. I’m really comfortable working off of a Kanban style board and I found the freedom of naming the buckets as workflow stages liberating.
I have 4 Plans/boards, my “Next Actions” plan/board and then 3 “Area of Focus” plans/boards which I manage my projects on. On the next actions board I manage all my next actions but also keep a project task/card with a link over to its duplicate area of focus project task/card which then has a link to the project’s specific OneNote “project support materials” page. I use the #tags for project name/ID and context because they work seamlessly across Panner and To Do. So on the NA Plan/board I can filter by project name/ID and see the project and all of its associated next actions in one view. All of my next actions live on separate individual tasks/cards because of how much more flexible it allows me to be (a la the aforementioned disdain with the Outlook task calendar/due date obsession). I use check lists sparingly but go to them when it makes the most sense (next actions that are almost like mini projects).

Now finally back to To Do, I love the UI (dark mode) and working off of that throughout the day is real pleasure. I love the ding when I mark a next action as complete! I only have tasks coming into the “Assigned to You” smart list all other lists are empty. I like how light weight that makes my use of the app. The only next actions in that list are the ones associated with a current active project.

My full system starts with Capturing in OneNote then I’ll change the new Project page’s name to a #tag_friendly_style. I have 1 Flow/Power Automate flow set up for each area of focus (3) listening for the 3 designated OneNote sections trigger event of moving that newly captured Project Support Materials Page into them. Once OneNote syncs that project page move action and the flow is triggered, Power Automate/Flow automates the creation of the appropriate Area of Focus plan/board Project task/card (attaching that OneNote Page link to it) in Planner. The flow then goes and spawns the duplicate Project task/card (attaching a link to that Area of Focus project task/card) along with 2 generic next action task/cards over on the Next Actions plan/board all while including that initial #tag_friendly_style project name/ID on every spawned task/card throughout the flow.
So my clarifying stage only requires thinking of the next actions and simply copying the existing generic next actions task/card and renaming the title/description and updating the #contexts.
If the project/next action originated as an email in Outlook, I leverage the Send to OneNote addin and I select my capturing section as the destination and start the process explained before.
If To Do ever integrates a KanBan board view into the app I may have to say so long to planner though. Time will tell!
 

Jared Caron

Nursing leader; GTD enthusiast
I honestly think MS todo is one of the best list managers out there and especially given that it is entirely free to use.

I would use it except that I cannot access it at work due to security parameters, so i use todoist bc I can get the web version without any issues.

MS todo is simple, with a clean interface, easy to make new lists, and has just enough features to allow some creative GTD implementations. FInally it's cross-platform. It's a great tool. I actually wish i could use it bc it integrates so easily with outlook which i use for both work and personal email
 

alevici

Registered
after 6 months i started looking around to other possibilities: filtering capabilities (hashtags method) and the fact that it's mixing completed task with active ones whensearching become tough to handle whe your system growns.
I will miss the outstanding integration with Office package
 

scotteeboyLA

Registered
@SlyPig thanks for that insight. I'm going to study your method a little more in depth. That's great that you've found Planner useful. I think the challenge that I have is that I have a number of planners, all from different departments within my company. Any tasks on those Planners that are signed to me will show up in the "assigned to me" category. But, as I mentioned, I cannot move these into other lists. So, if I have a list for "agendas" as an example, I can't really use it. My only option is to use tags. One cool thing I've noticed is that if you place a tag in a Planner task title, it will carry on over and become a clickable tag inside of To Do. My thinking is that's how I can make a system work. @Jared Caron - To Do is baked into your M365 tenant, so it should have access to your data files assuming you're running M365. Check with your IT Team on that. @alevici I've read your posts and you've spent so much time on this one, that's too bad it's not working for you but I get it. Have you seen the new functionality that enables you to filter out completed tasks during searches? That should help you
 

Jared Caron

Nursing leader; GTD enthusiast
you can use it with a free microsoft account and download the mobile apps. Not sure if there are restrictions on the free version.\

From the website: "Microsoft To Do is available for free, and syncs across iPhone, Android, Windows 10, and the web. "
 

SlyPig

Registered
@SlyPig thanks for that insight. I'm going to study your method a little more in depth. That's great that you've found Planner useful. I think the challenge that I have is that I have a number of planners, all from different departments within my company. Any tasks on those Planners that are signed to me will show up in the "assigned to me" category. But, as I mentioned, I cannot move these into other lists. So, if I have a list for "agendas" as an example, I can't really use it. My only option is to use tags. One cool thing I've noticed is that if you place a tag in a Planner task title, it will carry on over and become a clickable tag inside of To Do. My thinking is that's how I can make a system work. @Jared Caron - To Do is baked into your M365 tenant, so it should have access to your data files assuming you're running M365. Check with your IT Team on that. @alevici I've read your posts and you've spent so much time on this one, that's too bad it's not working for you but I get it. Have you seen the new functionality that enables you to filter out completed tasks during searches? That should help you
@scotteeboyLA I got this survey sent over from the Planner product team because I voted in favor of a uservoice idea link. Looks like they are starting to consider a non-Group/SharePoint "personal Planner". Personal Planner survey link.
 
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