There's only one method of doing to-dos that has worked for me. This method can be used with paper, Obsidian, Apple Notes, or any other app.
Every week I create a weekly note, and write my to-dos for the week. I may add more items to it during the week. If any items didn’t get done I roll them over to the next weekly note or drop them. That’s it.
I usually write my to-dos from scratch without looking at the previous week’s list. This helps me decide which items I should drop. If I can’t remember a to-do it probably wasn’t that important.
Writing notes only on paper in a properly secured notebook is about to make a big comeback as more and more people realize that it's fast becoming the only way to prevent AI/ML from indexing and leaking their original IP to the corporate world. Sending an email or making a social media or discord post is fast becoming the best way to snitch out your ideas to random unknown parties and IP thieves.
I have heard it is also how NSA secure their personal passwords, they keep them in a little black book because there is no scalable attack to get access to them at rest.
And because a little black book might be carried in a pocket and potentially misplaced or stolen, some teams use a system of small self-adhesive pieces of paper, each with just a single password on it, that are attached to the front of the PC. This in turn is secured by a cable lock to the desk.
I'm not and never have been NSA, but I nonetheless have a sordid past with what is arguably a related line of work. This is how I manage my passwords.
In environments where regular rotations are required, I print off a new "biscuit" via `(date ; pwgen $PWGEN_FLAGS) | lpr`. I then append to the candidate password something of a personal identifier that only I know.
It’s legal to have one login to a top classified computer and save your lower classification passwords there.
A few coworkers identified which systems allowed us to re-use passwords, fixed passwords, non expiring reset passwords, etc. warning signs with the password on the back too.
At work I do it daily, and also have a notes section. That way I can go to any day (in Obsidian’s calendar) and see what I did that day if/when needed. I also have a fresh scratch pad each day instead of a giant tab in my editor that holds onto things for months or years without context. Reminders kind of work as well. If I’m doing something today that needs follow up in 2 weeks, I pre-make a placeholder note for 2 weeks from now with the to do, and when I get to that day I see it.
It took me about 15 years trying every tool and system under the sun, and then I stumbled across doing this organically based on what I felt I needed. It’s been going good for several years now, which is something I’ve never been able to say before. That said, I’d be lost without the calendar view, it’s very helpful for me.
At home, I tried this, but it’s too granular. I tried weekly, that even seemed too granular. I’m at the point where when I feel like getting some stuff done, I make a list, and keep that list until it’s done (or things age to the point they don’t matter). Then some time goes by until I need another one.
Ihave a simple “note” on my iPhone and I do similar thing with, I reevaluate if I really need to do it and if I do I roll it over, otherwise it gets deleted. Between this and my calendar list, I try to simplify lol
Also NotePlan (on the various Apple platforms). Can go by day, week, month, and year, with files stored in a directory of markdown files.
Edit…
I just looked at Tweek, it seems more similar to TeuxDeux, than NotePlan. But NotePlan seems more like what the grandparent was talking about (at least in my interpretation).
Every week I create a weekly note, and write my to-dos for the week. I may add more items to it during the week. If any items didn’t get done I roll them over to the next weekly note or drop them. That’s it.
I usually write my to-dos from scratch without looking at the previous week’s list. This helps me decide which items I should drop. If I can’t remember a to-do it probably wasn’t that important.