Ever since college I have used a quick format for simple transient task lists, like “stuff to do today”, or a simple way of tracking progress on a bug fix. All it requires is a text editor (or text edit field). Basically you just make a list of the tasks, one per line or just add an extra line between items if they take up more than one editor line. It’s best to keep it short though. The real trick is in the coded bullets prefixing each item. I will start out with an example:
/ post about my task shorthand
? discover meaning of life
- do laundry
- find laundry detergent
x bathe
! feed the cat
As you can see in the example, sub-tasks are indented under their parent task. The legend for the bullet types is as follows:
? - there are questions about this item or more information is required. - - this is just a standard task item ! - this is an important task item / - this item is pending other items or external activities x - this item is done
It’s a simple system that works well for small short-lived lists of tasks. I thought I would share… maybe someone else will find it useful too.
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