Everyday it's a-gettin' closer...

November 13, 2014 8:17 AM

There's a short list of tasks that I need to do every single day, and some that I only need to do on weekdays, or only on Tuesdays, etc. How do I manage this given some constraints?

I already manage my tasks very happily with Google Keep checklists and Google Inbox, but they don't have the capability (as far as I know) to create recurring checkbox items. I know I can create a recurring event on Google Calendar with a popup reminder, but I really want that checkbox (and I really don't want a pop-up reminder -- I just want to see my daily to-do list). Can you think of any good way to incorporate this into my current Google-centric system? Failing that, can you recommend the lightest-weight possible app (iOS or web preferred) to manage these recurring tasks?

posted by telegraph to Computers & Internet (6 answers total)

I can't speak to Google solutions, but I would highly recommend Todoist for what you have described. Works as you have described and lots of flexibility for recurring tasks (every thursday, every 10 days, etc.) Lightweight and simple, with support for desktop, iOS apps and more.
posted by brbmaroon at 8:24 AM on November 13, 2014

This will email you your daily schedule from google calendar.

Not exactly a checklist, but it gives you a daily email of everything scheduled for that day you can act on.
posted by empath at 8:42 AM on November 13, 2014

I use Remember the Milk for recurring checkbox tasks, and I am aware that there is some form of integration between Google Calendar and RTM. I don't know the details of the implementation, if you would have an actual checkbox. But it might be something to look into.
posted by Stacey at 8:44 AM on November 13, 2014

Seconding Todoist. I've probably used nearly every to do list option available over the years ("organization" procrastination is my favorite kind) and Todoist is the best one I've ever used. It's lightweight enough that I can't waste a bunch of time rearranging and hyper-optimizing things but still has all the features I need. I pay for premium so I can sync with calendars and keep notes with tasks (and so they won't go out of business!), but it's 100% worth the $30/year if you need those features, and if not the free version is still great.
posted by dialetheia at 9:20 AM on November 13, 2014

There's an app called Strides that allows you to set-up goals in all sorts of different ways - 3 times per week, every weekday, lose/gain X lbs, pay/save Y dollars, complete Z% of project etc etc. I like it a lot. Scroll down here and you can see some screenshots, the dashboard might be what you want to see?
posted by jamesonandwater at 9:48 AM on November 13, 2014

I've been using Timeful, and it's the first iOS task management app I've really enjoyed using. It has calendar events (which sync with your existing device calendars) tasks and reminders. The reminders can be set to recur at fixed times, or to be slotted into your schedule on a recurring basis (i.e. make sure to do this three times a week). The app tries to learn when you do particular tasks and suggests you do things at specific times, which can be easily adjusted. So, for example, if you have to, say, check your TPS reports twice a day, you'd set a reminder, Timeful will suggest a time the first couple of times, then you can accept or amend the suggestion and it'll start regularly scheduling the task at the right time. It can also sync back to your calendar, so you'll see when you've blocked out time for specific tasks.

It's really good, highly recommended. When/if it gets a desktop and iPad app, it'll finally break the deathgrip that Things has on my working todo listing.
posted by Happy Dave at 6:15 AM on November 14, 2014