How I Never Forget a Single Task (Todoist + Notion Workflow)

Summary

In this video, Jeff shares his personal adaptation of David Allen's 'Getting Things Done' (GTD) system to enhance productivity. He outlines the three key principles: capture, process, and review. Jeff demonstrates how to use Todoist for capturing thoughts and ideas, discusses the importance of processing these into actionable tasks or events, and emphasizes the value of regular review to maintain a reliable GTD system. The video also touches on the use of Notion for task organization and Google Calendar for scheduling, advocating for a system that can be tailored to individual needs.

Takeaways

• 📝 Capture: The key idea is to capture thoughts and ideas the moment they arise to free up mental energy and prevent them from becoming background processes that consume cognitive resources.
• 🧠 Externalize: Use an external tool like Todoist to store thoughts and tasks, reducing the mental load and ensuring that no task is forgotten.
• 📱 App Flexibility: The specific app for capturing tasks doesn't matter as long as it allows for quick and easy entry of tasks and ideas.
• 🔄 Two-Minute Rule: If a task can be completed in under two minutes, do it immediately. Otherwise, schedule it for later action.
• 🗓️ Calendar Integration: Time-specific tasks should be placed in a calendar to ensure they are not overlooked and are scheduled appropriately.
• 📋 Process: Organize captured thoughts into actionable items, planning pages, or shopping lists to ensure they are addressed properly.
• 🔄 Daily and Weekly Reviews: Regularly review tasks and plans throughout the day and week to stay on track and adjust priorities as needed.
• 📅 Weekly Agenda: Use a Weekly Agenda page in Notion or a similar tool to keep track of ongoing and upcoming tasks and commitments.
• 🔄 Recurring Tasks: Handle recurring tasks that don't have a specific time requirement in Todoist for simplicity and convenience.
• 📚 GTD System: Implement a personal version of David Allen's Getting Things Done (GTD) system to manage productivity effectively.
• 🛠️ Tool Customization: Customize the productivity tools to fit personal needs and workflows, emphasizing the importance of a reliable system over specific tools.

Q & A

What is the primary purpose of implementing a GTD (Getting Things Done) system according to Jeff?

The primary purpose of implementing a GTD system is to ensure that one never forgets a single task by relying on an external system rather than memory alone, which frees up mental processing power.

What are the three productivity principles Jeff took away from David Allen's book?

The three productivity principles Jeff took away from David Allen's book are capture, process, and review.

How does Jeff describe the idea of capturing thoughts in the context of a GTD system?

Jeff describes capturing thoughts as the act of immediately recording any idea that enters the mind, preventing it from becoming an unclosed loop or background process that consumes mental energy.

What is the significance of using an external storage system like Todoist for capturing thoughts?

Using an external storage system like Todoist is significant because it allows one to offload thoughts from the brain to a trusted system, ensuring that ideas are not forgotten and mental energy is conserved.

How does Jeff handle the idea of a video thumbnail that comes to him while at the gym?

Jeff immediately takes out his phone and types the idea into his to-do app, Todoist, ensuring that he does not forget the idea by the time he gets home.

What is the two-minute rule as explained by David Allen, and how does Jeff apply it?

The two-minute rule states that if a task can be completed in less than two minutes, it should be done immediately. If it takes more than two minutes, it should be filed into an action items list for review later. Jeff applies this by quickly completing small tasks or scheduling larger tasks for later review.

How does Jeff differentiate between tasks that should go into his calendar and those that should remain in Todoist?

Jeff differentiates by considering the specificity of time for each task. Time-specific tasks go into his calendar, while tasks that are not time-specific or are recurring remain in Todoist.

What is the process step in the GTD system, and how does Jeff handle it?

The process step involves dealing with the incoming data from the Todoist inbox, determining the implications of captured thoughts, and placing them into their proper places such as a grocery list, a Notion planning page, or calendar slots.

How often does Jeff review his weekly agenda page in Notion, and what are the purposes of these reviews?

Jeff reviews his weekly agenda page in Notion three times a day and once more at the end of every week. The purposes are to plan the day's actions, ensure he is on track, reshuffle priorities if needed, and archive completed tasks or move unfinished ones to the next day or week.

What does Jeff suggest for those who are interested in seeing how he sets up his Notion pages for productivity?

Jeff suggests that interested viewers should check out the video linked in the description below, which demonstrates how he sets up his Notion workspaces for maximum productivity.

What is Jeff's final emphasis regarding the use of specific apps in a GTD system?

Jeff emphasizes that the specific apps used do not matter as long as one is able to capture and offload new ideas and thoughts onto an external system that they can trust, rather than relying solely on their brain.

Outlines

00:00

📝 Implementing a GTD System with Todoist and Notion

In this paragraph, Jeff introduces his productivity system inspired by David Allen's 'Getting Things Done' (GTD) methodology. He emphasizes the importance of capturing ideas immediately to free up mental energy. Jeff uses Todoist as his external storage for thoughts and tasks, demonstrating how it can be used to set daily reminders and record spontaneous ideas, like the thumbnail for this video. He also touches upon the two-minute rule, suggesting that tasks that can be completed quickly should be done so immediately, while longer tasks should be scheduled for later review. The paragraph concludes with a note on simplifying Allen's original five productivity principles to three: capture, process, and review.

05:03

📚 Streamlining Productivity with Daily and Weekly Reviews

Jeff continues by explaining the 'process' principle of his GTD system, which involves organizing captured thoughts into appropriate categories such as grocery lists, planning pages, and calendar events. He then describes his 'review' routine, which consists of checking his weekly agenda page in Notion multiple times a day to ensure he stays on track with his tasks. Additionally, Jeff performs a weekly review on Sunday evenings to assess any unfinished tasks and decide whether to carry them over to the next week. The paragraph highlights the flexibility of using different apps for the GTD system, as long as they effectively capture and organize ideas. Jeff concludes by encouraging viewers to find inspiration in his approach and to check out his Notion setup for further productivity tips.

Keywords

💡GTD system

The GTD system, which stands for 'Getting Things Done,' is a time management method developed by David Allen. It's designed to help individuals organize tasks and projects, ensuring that nothing is forgotten and everything is completed efficiently. In the video, the creator mentions implementing his own version of the GTD system to ensure he never forgets a task, highlighting its importance in maintaining productivity.

💡Capture

Capture is the first of the three productivity principles taken from David Allen's book. It refers to the act of recording every task, idea, or commitment as soon as it comes to mind. The video script emphasizes the importance of capturing thoughts immediately to free up mental energy, using Todoist as an example of an external storage tool to jot down tasks like 'buy toilet paper' or creative ideas for videos.

💡Process

Process is the second principle and involves taking the captured ideas and organizing them into actionable tasks or projects. In the video, the creator discusses how to deal with incoming data from Todoist, such as transferring a thumbnail idea into a Notion planning page or finding a time for an event in Google Calendar, illustrating the process of turning thoughts into concrete actions.

💡Review

Review is the third principle and is about regularly revisiting and assessing the tasks and projects one has captured and processed. The video mentions reviewing the weekly agenda page in Notion multiple times a day and once a week to ensure that tasks are on track and priorities are adjusted as needed, showcasing the importance of consistent review in maintaining productivity.

💡Todoist

Todoist is a task management app that the video creator uses to capture thoughts and tasks instantly. It is highlighted as an effective tool for the 'capture' phase of the GTD system, allowing for quick entry of tasks and ideas, such as 'Take probiotics every day,' which can be set as a recurring task.

💡Notion

Notion is a productivity tool that the creator uses for organizing and planning, particularly for more complex tasks that require further breakdown or scheduling. The video script describes how ideas like video thumbnails are transferred from Todoist to Notion's planning pages, demonstrating Notion's role in the 'process' phase.

💡Two-minute rule

The two-minute rule is a concept from David Allen's GTD methodology, suggesting that if a task can be completed in two minutes or less, it should be done immediately. In the video, the creator applies this rule to tasks like 'Research new video idea on email etiquette,' deciding to start brainstorming right away since it's a passion of theirs.

💡Mental energy

Mental energy refers to the cognitive resources one uses to think, focus, and perform tasks. The video script likens the brain to a computer, suggesting that every new task or idea consumes mental energy, similar to how background processes consume RAM. Capturing these thoughts externally helps to conserve mental energy.

💡Recurring tasks

Recurring tasks are those that need to be done periodically, such as 'get a haircut every other Sunday' as mentioned in the video. These tasks are set up in Todoist to remind the creator at regular intervals, illustrating the use of task management tools for routine activities.

💡Workflow

Workflow in the context of the video refers to the systematic sequence of steps the creator follows every day to manage tasks and ideas effectively. It involves using Todoist for capturing, Notion for processing complex tasks, and a consistent review process to ensure tasks are completed and priorities are managed.

💡Productivity

Productivity is the main theme of the video, focusing on how to efficiently manage tasks and ideas to achieve more in less time. The video provides insights into the GTD system and the creator's personal workflow as methods to enhance productivity, emphasizing the importance of capturing, processing, and reviewing tasks.

Highlights

Jeff shares his daily Todoist to-do list snapshots to demonstrate how he manages tasks throughout the day.

Jeff relies on a GTD (Getting Things Done) system to ensure he never forgets a task, inspired by David Allen's book.

The GTD system is based on three productivity principles: capture, process, and review.

Capturing thoughts immediately as they arise helps free up mental energy and prevent forgetting important ideas.

Jeff uses Todoist as his external storage for capturing thoughts and ideas, utilizing its natural language features for task entry.

The process step involves organizing captured thoughts into actionable items, calendar events, or planning pages.

For time-specific tasks, Jeff uses Google Calendar to schedule them and then marks them as completed in Todoist.

Recurring tasks like haircuts are managed in Todoist, with Jeff checking them on the designated days.

Allen's two-minute rule is applied to decide whether to complete a task immediately or schedule it for later review.

Jeff's action items are organized in his Weekly Agenda page in Notion, which he reviews multiple times a day.

The review step includes a daily check-in three times a day and a weekly review of the Weekly Agenda page.

Jeff emphasizes that the specific apps used for the GTD system are less important than having a reliable external system for capturing and organizing thoughts.

He simplifies Allen's original five productivity principles to three core steps for his own GTD system.

Jeff shares personal examples of capturing ideas during everyday activities, like thinking of a thumbnail while at the gym.

The video includes a humorous moment where Jeff jokes about snoring, adding a light-hearted touch to the presentation.

At the end of the video, Jeff invites viewers to check out his playlist on setting up Notion workspaces for maximum productivity.

Transcripts

- This is how my to do list on Todoist looked like

when I woke up yesterday morning.

This is how it looked like yesterday afternoon

at around 5:00 PM.

And finally, right before I went to bed.

And this is how I sleep knowing I never forget a single task

because I have a GTD system I can a hundred percent rely on.

(Jeff snoring)

Productivity.

Just kidding, I never snore.

Let's get started.

Hi friends, welcome back to the channel.

If you're new here, my name is Jeff.

And as a human being, I tend to forget a lot of things

if I relied on memory alone.

After reading David Allen's book,

"Getting Things Done" a few years back,

I've since implemented my own version of his GTD system.

So in this video I'm going

to first share the three productivity principles I took away

from his book, capture, process, and, review,

before going through the Todoist and Notion workflow

I follow religiously every single day.

Starting with the first principle of productivity, capture.

In his book, Allen introduces the key idea

that our brains are made for having ideas

and not for storing them.

The way I like to think about it is like a computer.

For every unfinished project, half formed idea,

or new commitment, our brain starts a background process

which takes up RAM or mental energy.

The solution is to capture thoughts

the instant they enter our mind.

Every thought that even has the potential

to remain an unclosed loop,

or background process, gets captured and stored externally.

And for me, that external storage is Todoist.

For example, the instant you realize you've run out

of toilet paper, you can add buy toilet paper

onto your to-do app of choice,

because let's be honest,

we all bring our phones with us to the bathroom no matter

how disgusting science has proven it to be.

The app you choose to use really does not matter.

For me, the free version of Todoist is more

than enough for my needs to instantly capture my thoughts.

I will literally unlock my phone,

press the plus arrow to the top right corner,

and start typing.

It even has natural language built in,

so if I type something like,

"Take probiotics every day, every day,"

it would remind me daily as a recurring task.

Another personal example is when I go to the gym.

For some reason, I actually get a lot of good ideas

for work and for my videos when I'm working out.

I think there's some research that shows

that our creativity gets a boost when we're not focused

on any specific thing in particular.

For example, when we're driving,

or in the shower.

I actually had the idea for the thumbnail

of this video when I was resting in between sets

of dead lifts of 500 kilograms.

So when I was resting I had the idea, I took out my phone,

and just typed in, "Thumbnail is me blurry

with my hand stretched out."

The act of writing it down immediately

helped free up mental processing power

by closing down the background program,

as opposed to me forgetting the idea when I got home.

And, you know, the terrible feeling, when you know

you forgot something important

and you just can't seem to remember it?

I would've experience that for the rest of the day.

So, yeah, capture everything.

Quick note before moving on to the second step.

In his book, Allen originally

had five productivity principals.

Capture, clarify, organize, reflect, and engage,

but I've simplified it down

to capture, process, and reflect.

In a nutshell, the process step is the downstream systems

that deal with the incoming data from my Todoist inbox.

Put another way, now that you've captured your ideas,

what are the actual implications of those thoughts?

Let's go through a few specific scenarios.

Back to the thumbnail idea example.

After I get home from the gym and sit down to work,

I naturally see the Todoist entries on my phone,

I get reminded of the thumbnail idea.

So I open the corresponding video planning page in Notion,

input blurry face with my hand, stretched out

under the Thumbnail section,

and only then can I safely check off the task in Todoist

because I now know for a fact,

I will not forget about this idea

since it's in the video planning page.

Or, what have I had a Todoist entry saying something like,

"Find a time to eat with Rafael,"

a friend of mine visiting from Beijing.

In that case, instead of going into the Notion platform,

I'd open up Google calendar, find a time that works

for both of us, block that time off before I can mark

that task as completed.

Recurring events is somewhat of a special case for me.

For example,

I remind myself to get a haircut every other Sunday.

Technically, it's a time specific task

so it should go into my calendar,

but since I don't care what time of day I get it,

morning, afternoon, evening,

I leave it as a recurring task in Todoist.

And on those Sundays, if I have 30 minutes,

I see on my phone, I'll just go.

But, what if the task is not so simple?

What if I entered, "Research new video idea

on email etiquette?"

Allen actually addresses this problem

with his two minute rule.

Anything you can do in less than two minutes,

do it right away.

Anything more than two minutes,

file it into an action items list for review later.

For those of you who watch my Notion videos,

you know that for me,

my action items list is basically my Weekly Agenda page.

Email etiquette is actually something

I'm very passionate about.

I want to start brainstorming right away.

So I put it under my Daily To-do list

To quickly recap, the process principle is the act

of putting those captured thoughts

and ideas to their proper places.

Buying toilet paper, into the grocery shopping list.

Video ideas, into the Notion planning page.

Time specific events, into calendar slots.

For the final review step,

I do a version of how Allen explains it in his book.

Instead of going through my plans once a week,

I actually review my weekly agenda page

in Notion three times a day,

and once more at the end of every week.

First time, in the morning before I start to do any work,

just so I know roughly what actions I need

to complete for the day.

Second time, during the afternoon to make sure I'm on track

to complete those actions, or if I'm not on track,

whether I should reshuffle priorities

because new tasks and ideas are coming in.

And once more at night, before I go

to bed to archive the completed action items

and move any unfinished tasks

to tomorrow or for later that week.

Every Sunday evening,

I review the Weekly Action Items I haven't completed yet.

In this case, I've yet to start reading Austin Kleon's book,

"Keep Going."

So I need to make a decision whether I want to commit

to this for next week.

If not, this goes straight into the archive page here

and I forget about it.

If yes, I simply copy this and throw it

into the Weekly Agenda page for next week.

If you're interested in seeing

how I set these Notion pages up,

make sure to check out my video linked

in the description below.

I just want to emphasize again

the specific apps you use don't really matter.

According to the poll I sent out last week,

only like 20% of you use Todoist, for example.

As long as you're able to capture and offload new ideas

and new thoughts onto an external system,

you can trust that system as opposed

to relying only on your brain.

I hope this video has given you some sort

of inspiration on how to start

and maintain your own GTD system.

Check out this playlist over here on

how I set up my Notion workspaces for maximum productivity.

See you on the next video.

And in the meantime, have a great one.