[mojuba]

Same here, and not because or when it gets complicated. Pen and paper almost always works better than any one of the gazillions of TODO applications out there. And I've been always wondering why. (Apart from programming TODO items that live in the source code itself, of course).

When you want to say something to a colleague at work, you have a choice of emailing/IMing or just saying it out loud (if you can speak of course) as in, you know, normal human conversation. You don't use a text editor and a speech synthesizer to say something out loud, do you? Because the effort isn't worth it, obviously. Just like you choose an email app that helps you get things done with the least effort, you can as well chose between app vs. non-app.

The thing with the TODO list is that there seems to be this stereotype that you need to keep it in digital form. This has obvious advantages of being copyable, searchable and potentially accessible from anywhere if it's cloud-based. But in return, you compromise simplicity of use. Find the app - click - find the "add" button - click - think of the deadline - launch the calendar - click - click - click ... - type the text - click "OK" - close the app. Now compare that to: turn your head (or your chair) some 30-45 degrees - grab the pen - find the bottom of your list - think of the deadline - write. Fast, simple and sweet, isn't it?

So sweet in fact, that I can sacrifice searchability (easier to skim through the list on paper if it's not too long) and universal accessibility (rarely need outside of the office).

Or maybe I'm just being old-school?

[vinceguidry]

If you need searchability on your to-do list, it's too damn long.