Much advice on task management systems is about how to organize your tasks, and in most cases – how to add structure. In my opinion, this is wrong and you should always seek ways to reduce organization – until it’s enough.

Almost any task management system is based on some buffers – temporary holding areas. You know it: Next Actions, Later, Today, Project, Tag or Context.

Some people list all the tasks with plenty of information like tags and working with the whole list. I always try to minimize the list of tasks I see right now.

The trick is to hide tasks out of your sight. But understand when is enough organizing is also a trick, maybe more important.

I do not use energy level or duration tags or any GTD location/tools contexts. It’s when your system becomes bloated and you work on the system, not on tasks. Focus is on a wrong thing.

There are some extreme apps like Todorant – minimum organization, only one task in front of your eyes. I choose middle ground, my main buffers are:

• Anytime (separated from Someday/Later) – to separate tasks I can’t or won’t do in observable time.
• Projects – I can’t do a time boxing or any other organizing sort without clear project boundaries. Maybe because it’s too many projects.
• Focus Projects – Projects I should focus each day or at least try to. Preparation for trips, taxes and some projects I’m really into right now.
• Today – things I want to do today. No guilty “should”, just “want”.
• Focus tag – to separate tasks I’m doing right now or waiting for result (waiting for answer, CI tests, etc).
• Work/Personal areas – to separate activities in any of buffers.

Also I think that moving tasks between buffers manually is important. Only regular/scheduled/overdue tasks automated in Today buffer. Moving tasks creates friction and this is crucial – it’s time to ask yourself questions. Is this task still important? Do I need to do it today? Am I overwhelmed?

And remember, the system does not solve the priority problem, it still hides unnecessary noise. Priority is still on you, same as do that shit.