GTD with Evernote & Todoist - how to be fast and minimize duplicated step 1 (Capture)

[getede]

Hi all,

I capture 99% of my ideas and todos via todoist on my smartphone (Android widget) or on my laptop with a shortcut to quickly entry a task in Todoist.

However, all this has to be transferred later manually to Evernote.

In Evernote, I have a Next Action stack.

Within that, 2 notebooks: Next Actions and Waiting.

Within Next Actions notebook, I have 1 note for each context, like Home or Errands.

Within each of these context notes, like Home, I split them into 3 areas:

- Next

- Weekend

- Next Action list


Steps from Todoist to EN: Transferring each todo into EN, deciding each time 1) which context note and 2) is under Next, Weekend or someone later (Next Action List).

In case if it is a larger todo / a project, let's call it ABC: ABC is written under - Next within context note Home, but it is linked to an ABC note created within a Projects folder. ABC note gets a tag "next".

Done.

Overall, since I use it often and I use shortcuts, I am "relatively" fast. However, it feels like there might be a more user-friendly approach when using Todoist and EN in combination. Especially when the Todoist widget is the superfast 1 click option to capture.

Any suggestions?

 

[mcogilvie]

Can you explain why you are using Todoist and Evernote in this way? It does seem a bit tedious and perhaps expensive.

 

[gtdstudente]

@getede

Thank you for your post, however, with all due respect, lost in understanding when an item is already in Context it is GTD already a Next Action: while you seem to be suggesting, with all due respect, it is somehow not a Next Action and one of three 'areas' or perhaps possibilities ?:

" Within each of these context notes, like Home, I split them into 3 areas:

" - Next

- Weekend

- Next Action list "

Thank you very much, if you too deem clarification is necessary

 

[fooddude]

This is my set up in apple notes and I have a widget that takes me to all my GTD notes or just project note. I used to do Evernote just like this but they started charging so I migrated to Apple. One note for projects and one note for each context in an @next action folder. As you can see, I also have my agenda notes there as well. I number those so they are in the hierarchy I like. The widget, if I click on the top takes ne to the sits. If I hit the bottom it takes me to my Project list. Hope this helps. I agree with @mcogilvie. Seems cumbersome.

 

[Mrs-Polifax]

@Dave Edwards

@getede

I recall that Dave Edwards is an expert in Evernote, so perhaps he might have some suggestions.

 

[Mark Aitken]

Hi all,

I capture 99% of my ideas and todos via todoist on my smartphone (Android widget) or on my laptop with a shortcut to quickly entry a task in Todoist.

However, all this has to be transferred later manually to Evernote.

In Evernote, I have a Next Action stack.

Within that, 2 notebooks: Next Actions and Waiting.

Within Next Actions notebook, I have 1 note for each context, like Home or Errands.

Within each of these context notes, like Home, I split them into 3 areas:

- Next

- Weekend

- Next Action list


Steps from Todoist to EN: Transferring each todo into EN, deciding each time 1) which context note and 2) is under Next, Weekend or someone later (Next Action List).

In case if it is a larger todo / a project, let's call it ABC: ABC is written under - Next within context note Home, but it is linked to an ABC note created within a Projects folder. ABC note gets a tag "next".

Done.

Overall, since I use it often and I use shortcuts, I am "relatively" fast. However, it feels like there might be a more user-friendly approach when using Todoist and EN in combination. Especially when the Todoist widget is the superfast 1 click option to capture.

Any suggestions?

I’ve fallen into this trap too, and it took my a while to spot I was actually stuck in tool choice / productivity p*rn…

My tools were todoist and Evernote and I had a similar issue. I kept my project notes in Evernote with some high level tasks and status, and next actions / waiting in todoist.

I was frustrated at duplicating status between them. They got out of sync, was expensive to maintain, tiring, etc…

I realised eventually I was trying to get the best features from both and blend them. I was, in effect, maintaining in two systems. I loved Evernote’s writing tool, capture tool, markup tool, linking between notes, stacks, and tagging system. It was fantastic. I also loved todoists elegantly and fast ui, rapid sync, natural language support. Neither were one tool, so I accidentally used both.

Once I realised that, I broke the constant need I created for a link between them and stopped recording actions and tasks in Evernote. I only kept Outcomes and reference material in Evernote (the milestones or the observable changes I was aiming towards).

I’ve since moved tools, but the framework remains the same.

If I want to act, I go to todoist. I choose to store tasks in project folders in todoist so I know when I’m lacking a next action, but I tag items and work from those tags (essentially context). I am in todoist to take action, complete a task.

If i want to reference something, I have my notes to refer to in Evernote. Nothing in there is directly actionable, that’s what todoist is for. I do review my notes when I know I’ve written a lot (thoughts, meetings, new captures for ideas, inspiration where I recognise links to past notes, etc.) but I record the action in the project or create a new project / someday project if that is relevant.

I do keep one page per project though as a connection between the two. I don’t capture actions here, I do keep reference links grouped in ways that allow me to navigate quickly to relevant material. I also keep a note of the bigger outcomes and milestones I’m aiming at. I do sometimes pull material into a project folder in my notes system if I’m developing an idea, or referring to something for that project singularly. Otherwise I try to leave notes in their home within my reference folders within my note taking app.

I do link next actions to reference material to reduce friction, but I try to avoid doing that too much. Search is powerful, the project summary page is also equally useful.

It helps me to think of the personas I take on
- I am shaping and plannning, thinking, strategising - I am therefore acting in the role of a project or product manager. This thinking output goes to note taking.
- I am delivering and making a change to something to achieve an outcome. This type of thinking goes in my task manager. I am therefore thinking in a project execution or delivery role.

Never the Twain shall meet…

There is a real cost to all the structures we make. Try to get away with as little structure as you can, it’s more freeing. Don’t use your brain power to operate your system, keep as much as you can for thinking and doing your work.

It sounds like you are in the same spot I was in, but if not I hope the above helped in some way. It’s useful to see how other folk approach this.

Good luck finding your way forward.

 

[gtdstudente]

I’ve fallen into this trap too, and it took my a while to spot I was actually stuck in tool choice / productivity p*rn…

My tools were todoist and Evernote and I had a similar issue. I kept my project notes in Evernote with some high level tasks and status, and next actions / waiting in todoist.

I was frustrated at duplicating status between them. They got out of sync, was expensive to maintain, tiring, etc…

I realised eventually I was trying to get the best features from both and blend them. I was, in effect, maintaining in two systems. I loved Evernote’s writing tool, capture tool, markup tool, linking between notes, stacks, and tagging system. It was fantastic. I also loved todoists elegantly and fast ui, rapid sync, natural language support. Neither were one tool, so I accidentally used both.

Once I realised that, I broke the constant need I created for a link between them and stopped recording actions and tasks in Evernote. I only kept Outcomes and reference material in Evernote (the milestones or the observable changes I was aiming towards).

I’ve since moved tools, but the framework remains the same.

If I want to act, I go to todoist. I choose to store tasks in project folders in todoist so I know when I’m lacking a next action, but I tag items and work from those tags (essentially context). I am in todoist to take action, complete a task.

If i want to reference something, I have my notes to refer to in Evernote. Nothing in there is directly actionable, that’s what todoist is for. I do review my notes when I know I’ve written a lot (thoughts, meetings, new captures for ideas, inspiration where I recognise links to past notes, etc.) but I record the action in the project or create a new project / someday project if that is relevant.

I do keep one page per project though as a connection between the two. I don’t capture actions here, I do keep reference links grouped in ways that allow me to navigate quickly to relevant material. I also keep a note of the bit outcomes and milestones I’m aiming at. I do sometimes pull material into a project folder in my notes system if I’m developing an idea, or referring to something for that project singularly. Otherwise I try to leave notes in their home within my reference folders within my note taking app.

I do link next actions to reference material to reduce friction, but I try to avoid doing that too much. Search is powerful, the project summary page is also equally useful.

It helps me to think of the personas I take on
- I am shaping and plannning, thinking, strategising - I am therefore acting in the role of a project or product manager. This thinking output goes to note taking.
- I am delivering and making a change to something to achieve an outcome. This type of thinking goes in my task manager. I am therefore thinking in a project execution or delivery role.

Never the Twain shall meet…

There is a real cost to all the structures we make. Try to get away with as little structure as you can, it’s more freeing. Don’t use your brain power to operate your system, keep as much as you can for thinking and doing your work.

It sounds like you are in the same spot I was in, but if not I hope the above helped in some way. It’s useful to see how other folk approach this.

Good luck finding your way forward.

@Mark Aitken

Thank you for your good post

The more discussion on Personal Logistics to better make everything have intrinsic easier sustainability through the GTD methodology ?

Thank you very much

As you see GTD fit. . . .

Ps. On this end, Planning is actually code for Preparing

 

[getede]

@mcogilvie
I will explain it in more detail below.

@fooddude
This is basically 1:1 my structure on Evernote. Even the logic with agenda and number (for hierarchy).

@Mark Aitken
Thank you, too, for the very detailed explanation.

I can relate with that.

To answer your questions and to illustrate my problem:

Before:
- EN for reference material
- Todoist for tasks

Today:
- EN for tasks and projects
- Todoist only for:

• 1) location-based reminders,
• 2) daily / weekly / monthly reminders and routines, and
• 3) inbox for creating quick notes / reminders when outside / not in front of the laptop. The Android widget is fast and a real friction-free experience.

I am not tired of keeping EN and Todoist in sync and duplicating everything - as both don't overlap at all. It is the transition from Todoist inbox to EN only that takes time and creates friction.

How does a day look like?
When I am in front of the laptop working, EN is open on my second screen the whole time.

I followed mostly Stacey Harmon in terms of implementing GTD on EN.

Notebook: Next Actions
See picture


An alternative option would be: 1 notebook for each context. And in each notebook, every note becomes a task. The notes that are tackled next get a tag "next"
Result: Too many notes for even very tiny tasks.

Hence, I followed the approach from many others and Stacey as can be seen with 1 note = 1 context.
See picture from her video


Example of a context "Home"
See picture


During the week, I would do the ones on top as this is the very next action I want to take. Once done with that, I would look at the "Next Action List" below and shift some of them to the top.

Saturday:
Staying with context Home, I wanted to "Create a gallery wall in the living room". Since this is a larger project, I have a link to the project folder.
See picture


How do you enter new issues into your system?
Since I am in front of the laptop, I simply choose the context and put it under Next Action List. Very convenient and done in seconds.

EN and Todoist - where is the friction?
However, when being outside, my Todoist inbox is my capture tool. I don't rely on EN capture as I had horrible experience with lost notes via the widget + it is very slow in comparison to Todoist.

At the end of every day, when finally back in front of my laptop: Right side Todoist, left side EN - transferring all the todos on Todoist one by one to the right context and under "Next Action List" on EN.

This is the only time in my system where I feel friction / "waste of time". Otherwise, I am happy with it when just being in front of the laptop.

Why do you tag notes with "next" when you link the Saturday tasks with the project folder anyway?
True, I do not need the tag next to use my system. However, I like seeing on the EN Homescreen / Dashboard my notes having only the tag "next" - this gives me a quick overview of the "bigger, more project like" tasks I am going to tackle today / next.

I am very open to any kind of feedback.

On the other side: I hope my approach inspires others, too.

 

[fooddude]

Before:
- EN for reference material
- Todoist for tasks

Today:
- EN for tasks and projects
- Todoist only for:

• 1) location-based reminders,
• 2) daily / weekly / monthly reminders and routines, and
• 3) inbox for creating quick notes / reminders when outside / not in front of the laptop. The Android widget is fast and a real friction-free experience.

I never do tags or reminders. And I only use one application for GTD. Currently Apple notes. My project list is very simple and I use one note for those and one note for each context. If I have a project, the very next action goes on the context list. I don't have anywhere I put down all the next steps for a project. Just the very next action in context. So I would only have a project and one next action in my system for that project.

However, when being outside, my Todoist inbox is my capture tool. I don't rely on EN capture as I had horrible experience with lost notes via the widget + it is very slow in comparison to Todoist.

At the end of every day, when finally back in front of my laptop: Right side Todoist, left side EN - transferring all the todos on Todoist one by one to the right context and under "Next Action List" on EN.

I actually use my project list to write "projects" or "next actions while I'm out. If it's a project it stays. If it's a next action it would go on context note. If it is really a someday/maybe i would move it to that list. Since I am religious about the weekly review, any missed item would be caught then. For example, I was contacted by our church administrator that we are going ahead to replace security cameras. Since I only have oversight on that, "Replace security cameras" went on project list. I could do that while on the phone with him. "church actual cost of cameras" went on waiting for. Basically, my project list is like an inbox so I don't have to move stuff around as much. And I don't have to do mental gymnastics to deciding whether it is a project or next action right then.

 

[Y_Lherieau]

Hi all,

I capture 99% of my ideas and todos via todoist on my smartphone (Android widget) or on my laptop with a shortcut to quickly entry a task in Todoist.

However, all this has to be transferred later manually to Evernote.

In Evernote, I have a Next Action stack.

Within that, 2 notebooks: Next Actions and Waiting.

Within Next Actions notebook, I have 1 note for each context, like Home or Errands.

Within each of these context notes, like Home, I split them into 3 areas:

- Next

- Weekend

- Next Action list


Steps from Todoist to EN: Transferring each todo into EN, deciding each time 1) which context note and 2) is under Next, Weekend or someone later (Next Action List).

In case if it is a larger todo / a project, let's call it ABC: ABC is written under - Next within context note Home, but it is linked to an ABC note created within a Projects folder. ABC note gets a tag "next".

Done.

Overall, since I use it often and I use shortcuts, I am "relatively" fast. However, it feels like there might be a more user-friendly approach when using Todoist and EN in combination. Especially when the Todoist widget is the superfast 1 click option to capture.

Any suggestions?

Thanks for sharing your system—sounds like you’ve built a solid GTD foundation and you’re already getting a lot of value from your setup.

Since you’re using Todoist for capture and task management, and Evernote for organizing project support and reference material, you’re already aligning with a key GTD principle: use tools for what they do best.

In the GTD ecosystem:

• Todoist excels at tracking next actions and managing project execution.
• Evernote is doing good as a project support library and general reference system.

The current friction you’re experiencing likely comes from blurring those two roles—by manually reprocessing actions from Todoist into Evernote just to maintain the context view. There’s a more streamlined way to handle this, keeping Todoist as your operational engine while using Evernote strictly as your thinking and support space.

1. Let Todoist do more of the heavy lifting

Since you’re capturing into Todoist anyway, why not process and organize within Todoist itself?

You can:

• Use labels for contexts (@home, @errands, etc.).
• Use priorities or custom sections to separate “Next,” “Weekend,” and “Later” within each context.
• Create filters for each of your context views. For example:
  @home & !@waiting & !@weekend = what you now store under “Home > Next” in Evernote.

This means you can skip the manual transfer to Evernote altogether for next actions—unless a task needs deeper project support.

2. Delegate Evernote to project support and reference only

Evernote is powerful for support material, not for managing task flow. So rather than duplicating tasks there:

• Keep project notes, brainstorms, attachments, and long-form thinking in Evernote.
• For any project-related task in Todoist, insert the Evernote note link into the task description or comment.
• Tag the support note in Evernote with next or the project name, if that helps your own taxonomy.

This keeps your execution engine (Todoist) and your thinking space (Evernote) distinct and clean.

3. Automate the connection (optional)

If you’d like to reduce friction further:

• Tools like Make (Integromat) or Zapier can push tasks with a certain label (like #project) from Todoist into a dedicated Evernote notebook.
• You can also set up rules that automatically append context or timing info into the note body or title.

4. Upgrade your Weekly Review process

Instead of constantly re-sorting or re-deciding context and timing, build a Weekly Review checklist:

• Clear all Todoist inbox captures.
• Move/adjust context labels and priorities.
• Check for any projects needing support material updates in Evernote.
• Clean up any misalignments between your project list and next actions.