RECREATING My Todoist Workflow

TL;DR

Use Todoist’s quick-add keyboard shortcut (e.g., Control Space) to capture tasks instantly without switching to the mouse.

Briefing Cornell Notes

Briefing

Todoist’s edge in a personal workflow comes down to fast capture plus natural-language scheduling, then a disciplined system that turns due dates, priority, and time-estimate labels into a daily plan. The workflow centers on adding tasks instantly from anywhere—especially through keyboard shortcuts and an Apple Watch voice capture—so nothing important gets lost. Once tasks are in the system, natural language like “tom 4 p.m,” “every day at 2,” “at the end of the month,” or “this Saturday at 4:00 pm” automatically creates one-time or recurring reminders without manual date entry.

The setup starts with how tasks get created. Instead of clicking a button to add items, the workflow uses Todoist’s “quick add task” setting with a keyboard shortcut (e.g., Control Space) so a task can be typed from anywhere on the desktop. Tasks land in the Inbox by default, but the goal is to route them immediately into one of a small set of projects that function like categories—specifically Work, YouTube, and Life—so the Inbox stays clean. Projects can also contain sections that behave like Kanban columns, letting tasks move from “inbox” to “researching/working” to “complete,” and projects can be nested under broader categories.

Scheduling and organization then rely on three layers. First is dates and recurrence: tasks appear under Today and Upcoming based on due time, while recurring tasks roll forward only when completed (avoiding an endless backlog). Second is priority filters. In the free version, filters are essentially priority levels (1–3). The workflow treats red/priority 1 as non-negotiable work that must happen that day, orange/priority 2 as important but flexible, and blue/priority 3 as “only if time remains.” This structure drives what gets tackled first when checking Today.

Third is labels, used less for tagging and more for time budgeting. The system uses six labels: three for short durations (10, 20, 30 minutes), plus Long (more than 30 minutes), Someday (uncertain or research-heavy items), and On Phone (tasks suitable for phone downtime). After finishing higher-priority work, the user can quickly pick a label matching the free window—switching from a 20-minute label to a 10-minute one, for example—to keep momentum.

The workflow also uses Todoist’s free-tier constraints strategically: only five projects are available, and only three filters exist, so the system stays intentionally simple. It still leverages advanced features like descriptions and subtasks for supporting resources and multi-step tasks. For external input, the email integration is singled out as the most valuable: emails can be converted into tasks with instructions (including attachment-related details), while Google Calendar integration is avoided to keep fixed events (like appointments and due dates) in Todoist rather than mixing everything into calendar entries.

Finally, several habits reinforce the system: capture ideas immediately via Apple Watch voice input into Inbox, follow David Allen’s “mind is for having ideas” principle by capturing everything, review priorities the night before, and end each day with a “To-do list with zero” by clearing Today and Inbox through postponing or completing tasks. The result is a repeatable daily operating system built on speed, clarity, and constraints.

Cornell Notes

The workflow builds a daily system in Todoist around three mechanics: instant capture, natural-language scheduling, and a disciplined triage method using priorities and time-estimate labels. Tasks are added quickly via a keyboard shortcut (Control Space) and can also be captured hands-free through an Apple Watch voice entry that drops items into Inbox. Natural language turns phrases like “tom 4 p.m,” “every day at 2,” or “end of the month” into one-time or recurring due dates that feed Today and Upcoming. Organization then comes from priority levels (1–3) where red/priority 1 is non-negotiable, orange/priority 2 is important but flexible, and blue/priority 3 is only for spare time. Labels translate free time into action by grouping tasks into 10/20/30 minute blocks, Long, Someday, and On Phone.

How does natural-language input change the way tasks are scheduled in this workflow?

Due dates and recurrence are entered as plain phrases. Examples include “tom 4 p.m” to schedule an alert for tomorrow at 4 p.m, “every day at 2” to create a daily recurring reminder (the workflow notes it interpreted “2” as 2 p.m), and “at the end of the month” to set the due date to the month’s last day (e.g., April 30). It also supports monthly recurrence like “on the fourth of every month,” which rolls forward month by month until stopped. Recurring tasks show a recurring indicator and, once completed, move forward rather than accumulating indefinitely.

Why are priorities treated as a daily decision rule rather than just a sorting feature?

Priority filters (1–3) act like a triage ladder. Priority 1 (red) is “non-negotiable” work that must be done that day. Priority 2 (orange) is important but not catastrophic if delayed. Priority 3 (blue) is only considered after red and orange tasks are handled. On a normal day, the workflow checks Today and works through red first, then yellow, and only then blue—especially important for self-employed work where there’s no external forcing function.

What role do labels play, and how do they help when time is limited?

Labels convert available time into a concrete next action. The workflow uses duration labels—10 minutes, 20 minutes, and 30 minutes—plus Long (>30 minutes), Someday (uncertain/research-heavy), and On Phone (doable during phone downtime). After completing a task, the user checks how much time remains and selects a matching label to tackle a quick win (e.g., switching to a 20-minute or 10-minute label if leaving the house is soon). Labels can also be combined with priorities and projects so a task lands in the right project and priority bucket while still being time-bounded.

How does the workflow keep the Inbox from becoming a dumping ground?

New tasks are routed immediately into one of three category-like projects: Work, YouTube, or Life. The workflow uses the “#” project note mechanism during task creation so tasks stop sitting in Inbox and instead appear under the chosen project. Recurring tasks are also assigned directly to projects (e.g., inbox zero daily at 10 a.m goes to Life), so they appear in Upcoming rather than cluttering Inbox. The daily goal is “To-do list with zero,” meaning Inbox and Today should be empty by postponing or checking off items.

What external integrations are used, and why is email favored over calendar for this setup?

Email integration is highlighted as the most valuable. It allows turning an email into a Todoist task using an integration icon (e.g., from Gmail), then adding task instructions such as what to reply with and how to handle attachments. Google Calendar integration is suggested by Todoist, but the workflow keeps fixed, non-negotiable items (appointments, assignments due dates) in Todoist and reserves calendar for items that shouldn’t be changed—avoiding mixing everything into calendar entries.

Which habits reinforce the system beyond the app settings?

The workflow emphasizes capture and review habits: use Apple Watch voice capture to add tasks instantly to Inbox, follow the David Allen principle that the mind should generate ideas rather than store them, and do a nightly review to decide the next day’s goals and assign priority levels. It also ends each day by clearing Today to zero—either completing tasks or postponing them—so the next morning starts with a clean slate.

Review Questions

How does the workflow decide what to do first when multiple tasks appear under Today?
Give three examples of natural-language scheduling phrases and describe what each would produce (one-time vs recurring).
How do duration labels (10/20/30, Long) interact with priorities and projects when choosing the next task?

Key Points

1
Use Todoist’s quick-add keyboard shortcut (e.g., Control Space) to capture tasks instantly without switching to the mouse.
2
Rely on natural-language input for one-time and recurring due dates (e.g., “tom 4 p.m,” “every day at 2,” “end of the month”).
3
Keep Inbox clean by routing tasks immediately into a small set of category projects like Work, YouTube, and Life using “#” during task creation.
4
Treat priority levels as a daily triage rule: priority 1 first, then priority 2, and only consider priority 3 after the day’s must-dos.
5
Use labels to match tasks to available time windows (10/20/30 minutes, Long) and to separate uncertain work (Someday) and phone-friendly tasks (On Phone).
6
Assign recurring tasks to projects so they appear in Upcoming and roll forward only after completion, preventing infinite accumulation.
7
Use email integration for actionable follow-ups by converting emails into tasks with instructions, while keeping fixed events in Todoist rather than mixing everything into Google Calendar.

Highlights

Natural-language scheduling turns phrases like “at the end of the month” and “on the fourth of every month” into automatic reminders, including recurring schedules.

Priority 1/2/3 functions as a strict daily ladder: red tasks first, orange next, blue only if time remains.

Time-estimate labels (10/20/30 minutes) let the user pick the next task based on the exact free window after finishing something.

Apple Watch voice capture feeds tasks into Inbox, reducing the chance that ideas disappear before they’re written down.

Email integration is used to convert emails into tasks with step-by-step instructions, while calendar integration is kept separate for fixed events.

Topics

Todoist Workflow
Natural Language Scheduling
Priority Filters
Labels
Apple Watch Capture

Mentioned

David Allen
nlp

RECREATING My Todoist Workflow - How I Use Todoist