No Stupid Questions @lemmy.world BurningnnTree @lemmy.one 1 yr. ago

Question for software developers: how do you organize your To Do list at work?

I'm asking because I'm wondering if there's a more efficient way for me to handle my notes at work. Currently I just use a txt file in Notepad++. I use this file to track all of the stuff I have to do, such as tasks for stories I'm working on, next steps for projects, discussions I need to follow up on, questions and ideas I want to bring up, etc. The way I organize the document works pretty well for me, but I'm just curious how other people do it.

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Well, there is Jira with the tickets of course, but when I'm working actively on a ticket I do two things:

Text file in Notepad++ (something with custom markup so I have regions) or recently OneNote (just so this crap is backed up), write my hours down before putting them into the system, current ToDo things, notes, etc. till the ticket is through. Anything actually worth keeping gets puts into the Jira ticket as comment on close

While working on the code and I need to do something before committing it I use comments. Like // todo# do x, I'm using todo# because if I text search the code base for just todo I'll find a hundred entries.. adjust to whatever is unique to you so you find your own comments again

It's a shit system, but has worked for me. I also write everything down so I don't forget it, that has saved me several times.

In the past I even took my text notes and put them into an archive (with the Jira ticket linked) just if an old issue pops up and I still have my thoughts from around that time. But nowadays I do less of that because code changes too fast anyway.
- Can you explain what you mean by "something with custom markup so I have regions"? How do I do regions in Notepad++?
  
  A little trick I like: You create your own custom language in Notepad++:
  
  Go tab Language → User Defined Language
  
  Create new.. button
  
  Name it whatever you want, txtRegions or whatever
  
  In the "Folding in code 1 style" area put your favorite Open and Closing symbols. For example I used {{ and }}
  
  Close the dialog
  
  For your todo file, now go up again to Language → Select your custom language at the bottom
  
  Try it out, you can now make your own regions in your .txt file
  
  Usually Notepad++ remembers your custom language for your file. If it should ever forget to use it (and falls back to default .txt behavior) just select your language again. Have fun! :)
  
  Thanks for this tip, very useful

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