Todoodlist: The eBook on Simple Paper Productivity

Nick,

I’ve been waiting for this. Expect an order tonight (can’t order from work), and I’d like to be an affliate if you’ll have me!

Brett

Congrats on getting this out on schedule Nick. No putting things off for you!

I’m looking forward to reading (and implementing) todoodle.

Joanna

@Brett & @Joanna — thanks folks! Hope you both enjoy it. For the record, anyone is welcome to become a Todoodlist affiliate: there’s no secret test or odd initiation process (though it would be fun to have one!).

@ Nick: I’m quite sure that I will, I’m a big paper junkie as you know from one of your previous posts (pats his hPDA) – maybe if you want a test, just get us to submit a handwriting sample :)

At this moment I am surrounded by unfiled papers, and I have not done my weekly/monthly review yet. Renegotiated to Sunday. I need this book.

Nick – Todoodlist was a very enjoyable read. You definitely have a talent for writing.

The productivity methods revealed in this book are creatively unorthodox. The personal examples you share demonstrate how these methods can be effectively applied.

Loved the fun essays and the delightful design. It’s obvious that you put a tremendous amount of effort into this.

Thanks for the lovely review, Sterling! Glad that you enjoyed it. You’re right — it took a long time to research, compile, design and promote, but it’s been worth it.

Nick,

I’m glad you were able to get this out on top of everything else you’re doing!

A question I’ve been asking myself for some time is “I spend so much time at the computer, how can I build in some time to get away from it?”

I’m looking forward to reading and promoting this because you rock!!!

Jeff

Nick, Would this be a great resource for designers as well? I find myself wanting to use paper more to sketch out designs and design ideas. I would give Todoolist a read if it will help me get my creative ideas into place.

@JustChris — While Todoodlist will certainly help you fall in love with paper again, I didn’t write it to help with the initial idea generation process.

I found that when I went from creating websites straight on the screen to sketching out the designs on paper as wireframes first, the results improved dramatically and I cut down on development time too.

If you want to use paper to sketch ideas first, just go for it! I highly recommend that people use paper before they go to screen — be it web design, graphic design, animation, video, or writing.

If you’re looking for some fun ways to organise yourself on paper that you can use alongside your sketches and ideas, give Todoodlist a shot.

Purchased your e-book. Read it. Loved it. Thankyou. I am implementing changes to my organisational routines straightaway.

Nick,

I bought your ebook today, read and digested it. The fact of the matter, its all true. I am in total agreement. Keep up the good work.

Mike

@flotoonie & Mike — thanks for the support, folks! Much appreciated. More posts coming soon, and a second book is on the cards…

This is the first ebook I’ve read from start to finish in one sitting. It’s so incredibly witty and insightful. The flow from one chapter to the next was too hard to resist. I’m going to use your blueprints for all of my client communications.

I’m also creating my first Todoodlist right now.

I needed this book.

Thank you.

@Pamela – Thanks for the glowing praise, Pamela! It was my pleasure.

Hi,

Bought the e-book and loved it. You did not mention recurring tasks. How do you handle those?

Thierry

@Frenchbloke – Thanks, Thierry. Recurring tasks are easy — don’t write them down at all! Anything that becomes part of a weekly/monthly routine (’take out bins’, ‘check tyre pressure’ etc.) isn’t worth committing to paper — it simply adds noise where none is needed.

The only exception to this for me is monthly bills and direct debits, which I write down as recurring entries in my calendar once at the beginning of the year, along with birthdays.

Nick,

I really enjoyed your ebook, Todoolist. The information was clear, concise, & most of all USEFUL!

One question though… what is a hobnob?

Thanks!

Renee

@Renee – Thanks for the kind words!

A hobnob is simply the most wonderful biscuit you will ever taste. Imagine a flapjack in a crisp, thin circle of oaty goodness and you’re just about getting there.

Sadly, the chocolate-covered ones mentioned in the ebook are now discontinued, but I can still get them on the black market via my secret network of fixers and underground biscuit merchants.

If you’re ever in the UK, you’ll find the regular ones on sale in most supermarkets.

Dear Nick,

I enjoyed “Todoodlist” very much, and I’m awfully tempted to try using a todoodlist to stay organised. (Apart from anything else, I’d like an excuse to buy a Moleskine notebook and a fancy pencil….) The two main worries I have are how I’d deal with recurring tasks, and how I’d deal with miscellany.

I read your response to Thierry on recurring tasks, but I don’t trust myself to remember to put the recycling out every Monday night, especially given that one Monday can be very different from another. Or rather, I think I probably would remember such things, but only by constantly fretting about whether I’m forgetting something – a long way from the old “mind like water.” (I don’t use GTD any more, but I did my time.)

As for miscellany, here’s an example: I’m going to a conference in November, and need to reserve a hotel room for it in the next day or two. There won’t be any other tasks associated with the conference until late October, so putting a project called “Conference” into my current todoodlist seems inefficient. I could have a project called “Research”, because going to the conference is part of the research side of my work, but somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 of my tasks would fall under that heading, so the page would get very messy.

Of course, the problem with miscellaneous tasks wouldn’t be a serious obstacle if I only had one or two every week, but usually I have quite a few at any given time.

Any thoughts about such miscellany?

Best,

Martin

P.S. What font is this? I love it….

@Martin – Thanks for the kind words, Martin. I’m really pleased that you enjoyed the book.

Here are some thoughts on recurring tasks and miscellaneous items. In both cases, the trick is twofold: one part lies in building your memory back up to be more dependable, and the other part is in learning not to sweat the small stuff!

Recurring tasks
I use a paper diary for things like birthdays and anniversaries. For household chores and other tiny tasks, I’ve taught myself not to use reminders. For me, there’s nothing quite as humiliating as having a perfectly healthy mind and still needing a PDA to tell me to take the bins out — I’d been there and done that and the waving goodbye to it all was ever so liberating!

I heartily recommend that you try the banana reminder idea in the book in whatever form feels most comfortable for you. It will feel silly at first, but just leaving little notes can help you build confidence to fall back on your own memory and relax.

There are some other very effective ways to build a better short-term memory, and I plan to write about the sorts of systems and exercises I recommend.

General miscellany
Again, the key is in recognising that you don’t need to write everything down. If I knew that I needed to reserve a hotel room, I’d probably do it right away and forget about it.

I’ve had three or four people email to say they have a constant project called “oddjobs” or similar that they use to put miscellaneous items into, and that’s not a bad approach either.

I hope that helps, but feel free to follow-up if not. As with everything, the hardest part is in making the decision to try it out. Once you get going, you’ll soon find whether or not it’s for you; most people I’ve spoken to have fallen in love with the concept. Those who haven’t will go on to develop their own systems, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.

Good luck and take care.

P.S. You have excellent taste in typefaces! The font is either Palatino or Georgia, depending on whether or not you have Palatino installed.

@Nick Cernis – Thanks very much for such a long and thoughtful reply. Good ideas, and I’ll definitely play with them. I’ll look forward, too, to reading whatever you write about short-term memory.

Best,

Martin

I have just finish it yesterday, its great book have tons of information’s & tricks

I have enjoyed while reading and I like your way to minimize the mind map to be to-do-list

Thanks

Hi Nick!

What do you do when you’ve lost your Moleskine? *cries* I just ordered a new one, but I wish there was a backup to the Todoodlist!

In any case, I am thoroughly enjoying this method; I like to be able to pull it out at any point and jot anything and everything to it, be unrestricted by those stupid dividers and tabs, and be finally free of having to compartmentalize things.

It’s so much easier to hemorrhage those ideas onto paper and tab as necessary for future reference. Thanks for the E-Book :) Loving it!

@Mohammed: Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for your support.

@Amphritrite: That’s the only real downside, isn’t it? Sadly, there’s no good way to back things up. I’ve heard of people who keep their notebooks on a string tied to a belt loop, but I feel it’s perhaps taking it a little too far! Of course, it’s just as easy to lose an iPhone or Blackberry…

Really glad that you’re enjoying the setup, anyway, and hope you’ll continue to find fun and value in it.

Hi Nick,

Maybe it is just as easy to lose an iPhone or Blackberry, but it’s much easier (and indeed, easy) to back up the information you have on an iPhone (or, I’m guessing, a Blackberry), and so losing one isn’t nearly as big a problem as losing your Moleskine. This is one of the main reasons I’m now using an iPhone-friendly approach, much as I liked Todoodlist when I tried it out.

You’re absolutely right, Martin — it’s easier to backup electronic notes than paper ones. Nothing’s completely foolproof, of course, so I suggest people pick whatever they’re comfortable with.

For me, losing a paper to-do list wouldn’t be the end of the world, though I’d feel differently about losing my iPhone!

I’m with you there, Nick. I was talking on the phone to a friend not long ago when he dropped the iPhone he was talking on into the bath. (Yes, he was in the bath whilst we were talking. He’s a good friend.) Truly terrifying.

Terrifying indeed! Of course, I’m sure that the iPhone fared about as well as a notebook would have done.

Personally, I resolve the whole frightening affair of potential water damage by attaching my notebooks and wotnot to the ceiling via short strings of elastic whenever I bathe. That way, should I happen to drop a prized possession whilst contemplating the solution to the Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer conjecture or — say — attempting to locate the soap, my possessions will instantly be whisked to the relative safety of the cobwebs above.

Perhaps you should suggest the same to your friend as a potential remedy. I’m sure he won’t think you mad at all…

Hi Nick,

your second ebook is still in work? :-)

One note, one question.

Best,
Thorsten

@Thorsten: Sorry for the late reply. Yes — another ebook is in the works, alongside some min-ebooks/guides. I’m thinking of publishing some short stories too.

Now to find time for it all!

@Nick: Thanks for the reply (and the emails we´ve sent) :-) Keep on running your business!