TeuxDeux for To Do’s
I’m horrible at sticking with an online to-do list. I’ve tried quite a few; Remember the Milk, the Gmail to-do list and numerous others. It seems that within a week or two, I forget that it exists and go back to chicken scratches on Post-It notes when I remember to do so. Enter TeuxDeux. Tagline, “What deux yeux have teux deux teuxday?“
I was reading a Smashing Magazine blog post — 50 Powerful Time-Savers For Web Designers — when I came across a nifty little to-do web page, called TeuxDeux. What intrigued me about this to-do list was its simplicity. Once you log in, a full view of the week is shown, allowing you to enter key activities, strike through text when items are completed or delete an item entirely. When the day is over, the tasks that have not been completed are automatically ported over to the next day. Admittedly, my list is getting a little long, but so far I’m consistently using TeuxDeux.
Why am I sticking with it and not getting sidetracked or defaulting back to tried-and-true pen and paper?
TeuxDeux als0 has an iphone app so I can add tasks on the go and sync to the web app. “So what!” most readers will say. “My xyzpdq app already does that and more!” While that may be the case, this post isn’t claiming to have found the best to-do app in the entire world. I’m just saying it’s a beautifully designed online app with a companion iphone app that syncs the web version quickly and easily. Most importantly, I’ve actually continued to use it, which means I don’t have sticky notes stuck to my wallet, monitor and a host of other surfaces. This is giving me a good feeling.
The way I use it is by bookmarking the page in my “daily” bookmarks, which I open every morning so it stays open throughout the day. With the mobile app, I can quickly add things to my to-do list when I’m out and about. For example, when I’m on BART and remember I need to buy milk, or gardening and want to look up a plant name later. It’s also become my reminder to check out links for which I don’t have the time to look up during the workday.
There’s also a “someday” panel near the bottom for things that are more long-term or ongoing. With a little ingenuity, this feature be quite useful—much more so than a piece of paper that could get lost while you’re waiting for someday to arrive.
Finally, the site is fun and humorous, making the whole experience playful and lighthearted. If you log in unsuccessfully, the error message says, “Dagnabbit! That username is already taken. Nothing to do but shake a fist and choose another one.” The overview video has some great tips but also similarly fun commentary.
If you’ve tried multiple times to adopt a to-do list and it hasn’t managed to stick, I’d say give TeuxDeux a try. It might be the one that works for you. If not, you’ll at least get to experience a cleanly designed user interface and enjoy a chuckle from time to time.
