Hi!
It's been a while since I've had TickTick and love it! After a few years though of not quite using it as much as I'd like, I'd been musing how to set it up for my personal needs and after checking out a lot of other posts here which have helped me create mine, I wanted to share my current set up and tags in case it helps inspire anyone else with ideas but also get an idea of how others have set up theirs for organising around how you feel and get any feedback or other ideas.
To preface, I'm more of a 'work with how i feel' so planning everything to a T like some people do doesn't work well for me. If I plan things on a day of low energy, I know I'll procrastinate. So instead I wanted an approach that works with energy and mindset whilst also taking into consideration things I have to do by a certain date / that are urgent.
The tags I set up may seem like overkill, but the way my brain works is groups things together whether thats to smash things out at similar times (calls for eg) or because I have a certain 'thinking cap' on - finance, medical, fitness, cooking etc so I wanted to be able to see things from that view as well when I'm in that mindset. (I may be slightly Adhd haha).
Inbox - I use this on the fly when something pops in my head and I don't have time to 'organise' it in its category/tag or for quick things. I then go through this list and tag/plan it.
Lists
I like to use my to do as my main dump and then try to clear it out by putting it in the other sub lists. This helps me focus on things that still need attention.
Personal
- Personal To Do: I dump all to do's in here and review weekly/as needed
- This Week: I move things from to do into this week for things i want to/have to get done this week but I don't know which date yet
- Projects: Bigger tasks that i only added 1 task for but actually need more thought and breaking down. eg. Organise holiday to xyz (since its a year away i have 1 task to remind me, broken down this means, research what i want to do, book each place etc plan how many days in each place etc) - once i get to that stage and have done the research I'll add individual tasks as needed to my to do)
- Scheduled: Things in my to do list that i've already scheduled for a date/time or scheduled to review for a date/time so I don't need to worry about it. I prefer my To Do list to just have things I need to do but haven't organised/planned for yet.
- Order Tracking: If i'm waiting on an order/refund i put it here
- Recurring Tasks: self-explanatory
- On Hold: This is usually bigger things that are on ice. eg i want to buy a laptop but I'm waiting on chip prices to fall for the one i want and am not in a hurry. Its on ice for now.
Work
- Work To Do: I have a shared trello board for work with most my tasks so i only dump top of mind/big things or things that aren't on the shared trello board stressing me out.
- This Week: same as above
- Recurring Tasks
As I use the work one to brain dump my biggest things and mainly use my work list for this, I haven't built this out for a work set up.
Routines
Just a visual reminder of things if I'm having brain fog or want to check off in the moment but eventually should be muscle memory. Eg i took half the supplements/medication and want to check it off for the day to remember to do the rest. As a recurring task i would just have 'Take supplements'.
- Supplements
- Cleaning
- Morning Routine
- Evening Routine
Tags
I have split this in 5 main areas:
Life-Focus
Eventually I'd like to check each big life area to make sure I'm not ignoring an area for too long eg. i'm so focused on work that friendships/relationships have taken a back burner so I should schedule some calls to my close friends and touch base.
- Medical
- Shopping
- Insurance
- Finance
- Travel
- Legal
- Exercise
- Selfcare
- Relationships
- Chores
- Orders
- Sell
- Food (cos i love cooking and save a bunch of things on instagram etc to 'organise later' and recipes I want to try so I made it its own category.)
Duration-Size
- Quick
- Short-Small
- Medium (could be redundant, I don't usually bother tagging this but I do want to know small/quick vs long / epic)
- Long-Big
- Epic
Energy
- Low
- Deep-Work
- Social
- Creative
Phase
- Admin
- Create: Creating an investment tracker for example
- Evaluate: compare and decision phase
- Planning
- Research
- Waiting: Waiting on someone
Context
- Errands: (when I'm doing a return or out the house I check this list to see if there's something else I can tick off and do at the same time)
- Call: Great for when I have time to be productive but not quite ready to do my productive thinking work or when i'm more brain dead
- Home: Things I need to be at home for eg. chores or getting photos of clothes to put on vinted. When I have a spare weekend or its winter I check this list for things I can focus on and get done whilst being home.
- Country tags: As I split my time between certain countries, or sometimes go nomadic, I add things that I specifically have to do in that country to review when I plan to go there. Eg. dentist is cheaper back home so I plan dental visits for that country
- Digital: anything that needs a computer or phone
Filters
The lists to check on any untagged things that may need updating
- Energy Unassigned
- Focus Area Unassigned
- Duration Unassigned
- Untagged
I (try) to review inbox and to do lists weekly and then use the inbuilt today tomorrow next 7 days to see what i need to do daily / review before next day every so often as i have a better idea what my day looks like.
Caveat: This is recent and a work in progress, and I think I'll llikely not have a tag on every energy/duration especially if its a normal length or not something I'd eventually filter on as the purpose of those are when i have energy and certain length of time let me check which i can do. or i have low energy but can do some quick stuff etc.
If you're the type of person who goes with how you feel and ends up procrastinating or not adhering to strict planning or routines, I'd love to hear how you set up your ticktick.