Warning: You are Losing Freedom by not Using To-do-lists

“Loss is like a wind, it either carries you to a new destination or it traps you in an ocean of stagnation. You must quickly learn how to navigate the sail, for stagnation is death.” ― Val Uchendu

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It was my self-trip to Kazakhstan that taught me to step out the comfort zone. Before that, my small world was just confined to commuting from my university to my hometown, which was roughly one-hour drive. I also went to some touristic attractions in other Asian countries but those international trips didn't change my perspective at all. I was just following my parents' steps and I didn't really make any decisions by myself until my sophomore year.

There was an opportunity for me to volunteer in Kazakhstan, a destination that was beyond my wildest dreams. For the first time in my life, I was determined to do something more adventurous. I didn't know what I was going to face and I didn't even speak their official language. The good part was that I got to meet volunteers from all the world and it truly broadens my horizons. That was the tipping point. Then I made up my mind to receive further education in USA.

Applying for American universities wasn't easy. I had to make good preparations for it. The screenshots from Forest (a productivity app helps you focus on your current work) recorded some of the efforts I put into the painstaking application process.

During that process, to-do-list app helped me become more organized. I got to know time management skills from the book Getting Things Done.

David Allen’s Getting Things Done book has been around for over ten years now and has totally changed the way that many knowledge workers work and play.

GTD is a manual for stress-free productivity, which helps you set up a system of lists, reminders and weekly reviews, in order to free your mind from having to remember tasks and to-dos and instead let it work at full focus on the task at hand.

GTD is the best productivity system because it can be adjusted to fit your lifestyle, has the overarching models that you can use for a lifetime.

If you are talented at losing notes or notebooks. Keeping journals might not be your thing. Fortunately, there are already tons of to-do-list apps for you to choose from. I experimented with a few and narrowed my selections down to three apps.

I made a infographic to showcase three of my favorite to-do-list apps and the pros and cons of each one.

Featured To-Do List App (Infographic)

Eventually, I settled down with Things. Cultured Code Things is a sleek, modern task manager, and has recently been rebuilt from the ground up.

My Things Interface

Tasks are logically organized by area of responsibility, project, and tag, and can be viewed in multiple ways — tasks to do today or in the near future, tasks that can be done at any time, and tasks you may get around to someday.

Image from Things' official website

I haven't update Things on my desktop yet but the finely tuned new Dark Mode looks absolutely stunning. If you haven't checked it out yet, you should! I can't guarantee it will be your best fit, but what if it does?

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Weekly Challenge

1. Choose an app mentioned above

2. Create a "Place to go" list on the app

3. Share your list below