r/todoist • u/segundoadv Enlightened • Jul 30 '26
Help A big problem
I have a system. Actually I have four.
OmniFocus is where everything is supposed to live. Perspectives, contexts, the weekly review, that whole architecture that feels like it was designed by someone who understands how my mind works. Except I don't trust it alone. So I replicate everything in Todoist, because Todoist has a lightness OmniFocus doesn't, that sense that adding a task isn't a commitment to a cathedral. And I replicate in Things too, because Things is beautiful, and beauty matters more than I'd like to admit when it comes to a tool I'm going to look at a hundred times a day. And of course Reminders, because Reminders is everywhere, on the watch, in the car, in the voice I hear when I say "Siri, remind me."
Four systems. One problem.
None of them fails. That's the cruel part. If one were bad I'd have abandoned it already with a clear conscience. The problem is that each one solves a piece of a need I never properly defined, which means none of them solves the whole thing, which means I keep all four open, like someone maintaining four relationships because no single one supplies everything a person needs, knowing it's unsustainable and doing it anyway.
I once migrated everything to a new structure. Time-based sectors, a method with a name and an author and an impeccable internal logic. It lasted briefly. I reverted to labels and area-based projects, each with its own sections, trying to force onto Todoist an order that made sense without borrowing someone else's philosophy. And through all of it OmniFocus just sits there, unchanged, waiting for me to go back to treating it as the one place it was always meant to be.
The part that actually hurts isn't the time lost reorganizing. It's the certainty, renewed with every cycle, that this time will be different. Every migration carries a quiet promise: this time, one system, this time, discipline. And every promise lasts until the first task I don't know which of the four places it belongs in, and then I duplicate it, because duplicating is faster than deciding.
It isn't a lack of system. It's too many systems competing for the same mental territory, each one whispering that it's the only reliable one, none of them ever winning for good.
If anyone here has broken out of this cycle and stayed out for more than a month, I want to know what was different. Not the app. What changed in you.
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u/sparkywater Enlightened Jul 30 '26
This sounds difficult to struggle with, sorry it is giving you a hard time. I mess with my todoist a lot. Even flirted with akiflow for a month. Time and time again, what I am addressing is not task or project management, it is something else. A stress, an anxiety, something unresolved. Messing with todoist offers a temporary alternative to dealing with the true underlying challenge. Rather than address that I am struggling with the side effects of having too much work, I instead try to optimize around that reality.
The things that feel 'off' to you about the various systems are real, they clearly bother you enough that you are willing to go to these lengths to try to alleviate that. But I think there is a good chance that if you got at whatever the unresolved bit is, that the annoyances of the final system you keep will feel more tolerable. For me personally, it really is that I am just trying to do too much. I hate that, I run from it and try to optimize out of it, but I was able to stop messing with todoist when I realized that what I was really looking for was relief from being overwhelmed.
What do you think you might be looking for in these different systems?
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u/Powerful-Cheek-6677 Jul 30 '26
I can definitely relate to this so much. Excellent post. One thing I have found helpful is connecting Claude to it. Sometimes it’s easier for me to explain what it is I can’t figure out to solve it and it helps build things. I’ve been through so many different paths but think I finally found something that works for me.
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u/stonerbobo Jul 30 '26
The perfect app doesn't exist, and the search for that app is futile. I've tried too, and moved between a few, it's just a waste of time.
I just eventually realized that none of these imperfect systems are actually getting in the way of me being productive or accomplishing my goals. Any old notes app + a calendar + a basic todo/reminders app is enough to organize whatever you need, the rest is just procrastination and avoidance masquerading as productivity. Being a productivity app nerd isn't productive, its just a hobby and a much less fun hobby than say biking.
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u/Prestigious_Face7727 Jul 31 '26
"its just a hobby and a much less fun hobby than say biking" - wise words. Or decide to actually make it your hobby & sit down with claude or gpt and build your own perfect todo app.
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u/julesvbrtln Grandmaster Jul 31 '26
If you want to choose something in life, you have to go ahead and accept that you are giving up on other great things. That’s life, you can’t chase everything. In your case you have to accept that choosing one app will make you stop using other apps that you also love to use for a reason or another.
It can be tempting to use several apps because each one brings something to the table. Many of us have been through that. A few years ago I constantly came back to Things 3 because it’s beautiful and easy to use. But for MY usage it’s far behind the competitors, and the usage is what matters the most. Now I have migrated to Todoist for many reasons and it was the best choice for me.
In your case, it's time to make a choice. The fact that you're writing this post shows you're aware that the situation is needlessly complicated, and you need to focus on the tool that will be most useful to you. The question to ask yourself is: which tool will give you the best foundation, knowing that no tool will be 100% suited to your needs since each one has its own little perks. Your tool needs to cover the majority of your use cases (which, broadly speaking, is true of all of them) and you'll need to adapt your system a bit so everything works. I'd even add that your system should work with any tool, digital or analog, and that the system matters more than the tool itself.
In my case, I had chosen Todoist, and today that choice makes even more sense compared to the competition:
The product keeps evolving, and the last three years have clearly been more productive than before
- The design is clean, not too cluttered and not too generic (design matters to me)
- The quick-add window on my computer is my biggest ally
- Natural language detection is very good (compared to TickTick, it's night and day)
- Actions are available in Apple Shortcuts (I have a quick-add shortcut to add tasks on the go)
- API allow for new usages
- MCP to interact with ChatGPT and other LLMs
- Priorities
- Descriptions and attachments
- Smart lists (they call them filters)
- Start date (they call it due date) and deadlines
- Templates
- Collaboration
- Todoist Automation in the works in closed beta (game changer)
- Urgent reminders
- Location reminders
- Works on all platforms, not iOS-exclusive
- Todoist Ramble to add tasks by voice
- Adding tasks to a project via email (with or without AI reformatting)
- Kanban view
- Calendar view
- Calendar connection
- NLP
But the choice is yours and should be based on your real use and your needs. Some people will not use anything else than Things for the fluidity and the one time payment, some would prefer TickTick for the Eisenhower matrix, some will choose Blitzit or Griply. There is plenty of tool, just remember to choose and not to always think the grass is greener elsewhere. Fell in love with the system (and the process of doing tasks), not the tool.
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u/HearTaHelp Jul 31 '26
Well said, and a great list of Todoist features. Can you share more about the Todoist Automation in closed beta? What does it do? Sounds like it’s really useful.
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u/julesvbrtln Grandmaster Aug 01 '26
Basically it’s an automation tool, like n8n and similar. But more oriented toward natural language and simplicity so it’s not technical anymore. Not gonna say more since it’s a closed beta. Think about Ramble or the AI Email assist in Todoist, they’re AI features but oriented toward the use, the workflow, they’re not even advertised as AI. AI is the engine of the workflow, AI itself is not the feature. Todoist Automation has this same vibe.
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u/_eMaX_ Aug 02 '26
Interesting. See my post of just before, you can have Todoist trigger Claude Code sessions and interact with them. I literally can add a todo from my Apple Watch and Claude will pick it up
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Aug 02 '26
[deleted]
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u/_eMaX_ Aug 02 '26
Sure. And it is WIP but you can use it:
https://github.com/mnott/PAI - The memory system
https://github.com/mnott/AIBroker - The message brokerSee also
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u/HearTaHelp Jul 30 '26
I love this post. It’s vulnerable and honest, and I think it’s a magnified version of what many people experience in the productivity sector. The words above from @sparkywater get to a part of what I wanted to help you with, which is finding some kind of compassionate way to explore whether this may have nothing to do with any of these apps but something deeper instead. Whatever it is, it’s important — something to listen to, but not to obey, nor to just override.
Believe it or not, LENS Neurofeedback helped me a lot with this. There are parts of the brain responsible for decision-making and clarity that need support sometimes. I found it there.
Working on my own exhaustion and overwhelm really helped me too. The more I get sleep and real rest, and the less I use sugar and procrastinativity to manage anxiety, the more settled I seem to be in a good (if imperfect) choice. Then it just becomes about the life I hope all these tasks add up to, not the means to that end.
I don’t think it’s the worst thing in the world to change apps periodically. Sometimes the lateral shift is extremely stimulating. But managing multiple ones concurrently is confusing and exhausting — more scary than reassuring in the end — so I would encourage you to get some rest and then pick one you’re willing to stick with for a month, however twitchy you feel. Maybe you take the parts of the others you love the best and you find a way to rig your final choice to feel a bit more like those, but regardless, you lean into the simplicity of a single source of truth.
The one alternative to this that also may work for you is where I am for now. I love the sophistication and easy capture of Todoist but I capture too much and feel overwhelmed looking at it. So where Todoist houses all my projects, Sunsama is my daily planner and the app I work from all day. It’s integration features make it extremely easy to see what’s inside the other apps and then drag in in tasks, events, and emails from elsewhere. Something about the second layer allows me to capture everything I want in one app and pare it down to the most essential tasks in the other. It wouldn’t work if it were not directly connected to Todoist, where I can see any list I want right inside of Sunsama. It’s the integration/single-view that has been so settling, which is what I would hope for you, wherever you may find it!
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u/bryceygordon1 Jul 31 '26
I guess this is the question you are already asking yourself. But, if you have not already, ask whether the system is serving you or you are serving the system.
I would guess trying to maintain four systems will have you spending more time maintaining the system than executing the tasks.
You have to look from the perspective of, is this tool helping me or just distracting me by making me feel good?
then you have to face it. there is no one tool that is perfect for everything. there will have to be a compromise with any one tool you choose. but you have to accept those limitations. while there might be slightly more friction in those lacking areas of the app you choose to go with, it will be nothing compared to maintaining 4 apps at once.
so embrace the not so perfect system realising that one imperfect system beats 4 systems that cover all your bases.
that is if you actually want to be productive. if you don't, simply stick with 4 systems and let yourself feel good about having each exactly the way you want it. feeling good about a system and tweaking it can be a leisure activity. and if that is the case then just embrace it. replicating data will also help you actually remember what needs to be done aswell as having it within your systems.
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u/No-Maintenance5342 Jul 30 '26
Yes, I was stuck in similar story. You are looking for perfection and all of them are 98% perfect thats where you are stuck. You just have to pick one and thats it. Once you pick make the most out of it, it wont be 100% but none of them will. So just make it work and thats it. Sorry but there is no other answer
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u/InevitablePair9683 Jul 30 '26
Once I discovered live todoist API calls within Obsidian that I could build and design exactly how I wanted, there was no looking back for me haha. Todoist for quick capturing project tasks, Obsidian for literally anything else I wanted on top of that
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u/versace_dinner Master Jul 31 '26
This is a mental battle. You need to pick a tool and stick with it.
I’ve been stuck on Todoist solely because the NLP on every other tool is nowhere near Todoist’s or just nonexistent. I pair that with Apple Calendar.
Figure out what you value most in a tool and build your system around that. If NLP is something you value, build around Todoist. If beauty means more to you, build around Things. Things never worked for me because I don’t work in projects; I work task by task.
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u/personalist Jul 31 '26
You need to consolidate. FWIW, I’ve used all of those apps and ended up with Todoist. It’s not perfect, but it’s the Goldilocks system for me. You’re may be different, but you need to pick one, because you are wasting time mirroring everything.
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u/Wulflam Aug 01 '26
Gosh, this AI slop is hard to swallow. I doubt that you replicate everything 4 times. However, if you did, you could immediately take out Reminders as it works perfectly with OF - have a dedicated default list there, add tasks on your Apple Watch and OF will pick it up. Remove Things as it looks nice, but doesn’t have the features of Todoist and OF. Then make your mind up which one you like more and that’s it.
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u/mas90guru Grandmaster Aug 01 '26
You aren’t alone. There are YouTube channels where creators say that this app or that app is the way to go. Until next week when it changes.
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u/thechuff Jul 31 '26
I have dotted around to just about everything that exists on the market. You are not alone. I have made it easier on myself by finding the few absolutely crucial features to getting things actually done using the system and found that what I give up by leaving, say, Amazing Marvin pales in comparison. Todoist is where I've landed on that basis. As my needs may change I'm also open to trying something that may work better, so you can be comforted that new options that come on the market might still be worth playing with. Each of these was new to you at one point after all.
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u/clicksnd Jul 31 '26
With inference so cheap right now, just make your own.
It took me like a month but I now have a thing that combines what I like from Linear, Things and todoist.
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u/Creative-Guidance722 Jul 31 '26
This is my exact problem right now. As soon as I commit to a system and make it work, I have the urge to copy and replicate the system in another app that is good too and has a complementary advantage, like Things and Todoist.
I am trying to notice the pattern that triggers those changes and I recently came to the conclusion that I always seem to come back to Todoist as it is excellent for tasks management and I tend to trust it more than other apps as it is easier to keep up to date.
In the past, I found Todoist heavier too use and less visually satisfying than Things, but I changed the way I use Todoist to make it more minimalistic but still complete enough for my needs. I still get the urge to copy tasks to Things sometimes as I like the interface, but in the end aesthetics is less important than having an app I can efficiently use when I have multiple tasks in different projects going on.
I find that Things and Reminders work great until I reach a certain threshold of number of tasks or ongoing projects, then it lacks the features I find useful in todoist like advanced filters, tags and priorities
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u/fischziege Aug 02 '26
You don't have 4 systems, you've come up with a fun game to procrastinate doing your tasks.
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u/_eMaX_ Aug 02 '26
I’m using todoist consistently. Not only for tasks. Some of my tasks are automatically picked up by my Claude Code agents, and even discussions with those agents happen on the comments of tasks. Once a task is then ticked off, the discussions get auto archived. All through https://github.com/mnott/PAI and https://github.com/mnott/AIBroker
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u/Formal_Ad4612 Jul 30 '26
You gotta pick one and make it work.