My close friends know me as a to-do list lover – I once made a spreadsheet comparing over 40 to-do list apps on multiple criteria to figure out the ultimate one. But lately, I’ve found that they haven’t really suited me because my job has gotten a lot… vaguer. (How do you handle tasks that are as ambiguous as “figure out product strategy”?)
Today, I’ll show you my current to-do list setup and why it works for me, and I’ll also share a couple of more traditional tools if you like a bit more structure.
👩🎨 My to-do list is now a whiteboard.
I needed the freedom to capture specific tasks (like “reply to this email”) all the way up to big vague things to think about (like “how should we assess managers?”), which meant that a lot of traditional to-do list apps didn’t really suit my needs at work.
At work I always have Figma open, so I made a Figjam file where I store all of the things on my mind:
There’s a rough colour coding, but it doesn’t really matter. I group things that are similar/related, and I also have a few boxes to store things:
Blocked: things I can’t work on right now because someone else is blocking progress. I label the person’s name on the sticky so that I remember who to follow up with
Not now: not a permanent fixture of this board, but a place where I dump things that are worth remembering, but I’m choosing not to work on right now.
I also use a similar system for non-work tasks, but it’s a bit simpler. I use tldraw, which is free and browser-based, so I just have the tab open at all times.
As you can see, there’s less structure to my non-work one because I generally have less to be on top of it, but it still helps me deal with reminders or notes for later.
What I love about the whiteboard to-do list:
There is no structure, which means I can change it whenever I see fit, and it’s incredibly fast to capture new reminders
It’s available online, which means I can access it at home or at work (a limitation of my notebook, which I was using for a bit, is that you need to bring it with you everywhere!)
It handles all manner of tasks, but it also functions as a really quick scratchpad for anything that isn’t technically a task
📱 Not into whiteboards? Some great app alternatives…
If you don’t have the problem I do of having lots of vague tasks to deal with, you might want a more traditional to-do list. All of these are available on Android, iOS, and browser (or desktop) apps, and have free tiers.
⚙ Notion: lots of control and structure
I’m obviously a big fan of Notion, and that’s because it’s so highly configurable. If you have a really clear structure for your tasks, Notion is perfect because you can design your task database to include exactly what you want.
When I worked in consulting, I kept all of my tasks in Notion because I could link them to clients and projects and use it for time tracking as well.
✅ Todoist: a traditional to-do list
Todoist is my favourite “traditional” to-do list, where you have lists and structure like you’d expect with only so much room for customisation. If you have really standard to-do list needs, this is a really solid app. I actually use Todoist as my dedicated shopping list app.
⚡️ Superlist: bit of a hybrid
Superlist isn’t better than Notion or Todoist, but I’ve been a big fan of its design for a while and it’s a really solid app. I’d say this is a great fit for people who want the power of Notion but like having their tasks in a separate app.
It’s a standard to-do list app but it also lets you add space for notes or other items, so it’s really good for project planning.
A really good to-do list means you feel calmer about what you have to manage instead of adding another layer of pain and admin to your life. If you find that your way of task tracking isn’t working for you, it might be time to experiment with something new!
