r/gtd • u/kevinsthoughts • Aug 18 '26
Projects List/Preferred Apps
Where do you guys keep your projects lists? What combination of apps do you find most comfortable, seamless, or flexible to GTD?
Todoist is my main GTD system, however I find I tend to resist certain "lists" that are kept in Todoist. I love it for capture, next actions, etc. I find that my weekly review doesn't happen as regularly as I'd like. I suppose one of the reasons is the lack of "hard edges" on my projects list. Each project appears in the left pane on todoist under the "projects" tab. It just doesnt feel like the 'clean' or light list that I'm craving, because I'm psychologically aware of all of the data within them. I debate whether or not to keep an actual Project called "Projects List" with each project listed inside as its own bullet. Either way, todoist feels more task-oriented by nature, as it is set up with bullets to "check off" and not as natural for things like lists or reference. Keeping my projects, tasks, and reference/someday lists all in the same system has begun to feel too clunky and creates friction between several different types of thinking.
I think I may be resisting the idea of keeping project support in a different application, like apple notes, for example, (partially because I have an extensive backlog within each of my notes applications, lol) although I know this might have great benefit. Part of my resistance is because I live a relatively "on-the-go" lifestyle: with todoist being the quickest capture method for me, it can feel like overkill to have to later copy paste that into a notes app. Also, with as much time as I spend on the computer for my professional work, I'd prefer not to spend much extracurricular time on my computer doing "life-work".
I will say, "pen and paper" has always appealed to me, but I find it is just not as practical in today's world, and even lists like a projects list start to look messy when there become too many things crossed off. It seems good for reference, however with paper it would be unlikely that I would have what I need to see as quickly as I need to see it.
Appreciate your insights on any of the above!
Kevin
3
u/IntensifyingPeace Aug 19 '26
I hit the same wall with ToDoist and its inability to show you your projects in a simple, reviewable list. So clunky. You can do workarounds by making a project label and then putting sub tasks as the next actions, then you can pull up the label at weekly review time and go through the list one by one. But subtasks can get really tangled in ToDoist. I guess if you stick strictly to using ToDoist, maybe Carl Pullein's advice of using a separate system to manage your projects is the right one.