Coming Soon: Microsoft To-Do and Using it for 1MTD

You may have read my recent article where I said the new Microsoft To-Do app is not for serious task managers. In it, I mentioned that it does have possibilities for my simpler One Minute To-Do List system (1MTD).

UPDATE May 15: See my warnings in my above linked article. Don’t activate this app on your existing MYN task list without a lot of thought about what might happen.

Well, I’ve been working on that, designing a simple way to use To-Do with 1MTD. I am only part way through that, but I’ve become rather encouraged by the possibilities. I’ve decided that the designers of Microsoft To-Do have done a rather nice job of creating a simple set of task tools, and so I am warming up to it.

I am finding, though, that it does take some thought on how to do a 1MTD port into To-Do —how to do it right. So if I were you, I wouldn’t jump right into it without some guidance, which I hope to have for you soon. I will announce in this newsletter when I have that 1MTD porting to Microsoft To Do completed. I do have the list of lessons done, view them here.

Who Should Consider Microsoft To-Do?

Who would want to consider doing this, using Microsoft To-Do for 1MTD? Well, if you’ve struggled getting going with either my MYN or 1MTD systems in the past, whether in Outlook or Toodledo, this might be a good way to go. The To-Do apps could be just what you need since they are so simple.

Or maybe you know someone who does not have the patience to take my other training, and you want to give them a quick option. Microsoft To-Do, used with 1MTD, might be that solution.

Still, Not for Serious Task Managing

But, that said, it is still obvious to me that serious task managers, those adding say ten new tasks a day and collecting hundreds of deferred actions, will NOT want to use To-Do. IMHO, it just can’t handle the high volumes, the quick editing, and the automatic re-prioritizing that a desktop copy of Outlook, or Toodledo, can give you.

So, stick with my core MYN and 1MTD training if any of that concerns you.

If interested, next steps: But if you need a super-simple solution, keep an eye open for my next writings and video sets that will cover using Microsoft To-Do with 1MTD. And let me know in the comments section of this post if that sounds interesting to you.

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5 Responses to Coming Soon: Microsoft To-Do and Using it for 1MTD

  1. Sara says:

    does it make sense to use Microsoft to-do app on my iphone to add tasks on the fly? I just tested it and tasks added to the phone app show up in my outlook desktop (with exchange).

    • Michael Linenberger says:

      Hi Sara, thanks for your note. Yes and no. The thing is that it will come into Outlook with start date set to none. If you have lots of tasks and are using MYN or 1MTD settings, such a task will likely sort to the very bottom of its priority section, and possibly out of sight. But If you only have a few tasks in Outlook, then yes—it can be an ok way to add a task, you’ll probably see it even if it’s at the bottom.
      In general though, if you are using MYN, it’s much better to use the iPhone app TaskTask with MYN settings, since that app will cause the new task to auto-set the start date to today—sorting it to the top when it arrives in Outlook.

  2. Sara says:

    Thanks so much! I also just noticed all my settings get screwed up somehow–for example filter so that tasks with future start date don’t show is not working. I am wondering if adding the task onto the Microsoft to-do app on the iphone is responsible for this but just figured would let you know in case this is happening to other people from the app. I will remove the app, fix the settings again, and use task task. Your quick response is much appreciated.

  3. Rupert says:

    Don’t a lot of the challenges with ToDo go away if they implement Start Date as an option?

  4. Michael Linenberger says:

    Yes exactly. And 3 levels of prioritization would be nice.

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