uuid: - value: 95bc4929-ead0-4007-b5b1-74d899f046bd langcode: - value: en type: - target_id: daily_email target_type: node_type target_uuid: 8bde1f2f-eef9-4f2d-ae9c-96921f8193d7 revision_timestamp: - value: '2025-07-21T23:41:11+00:00' revision_uid: - target_type: user target_uuid: b8966985-d4b2-42a7-a319-2e94ccfbb849 revision_log: { } status: - value: true uid: - target_type: user target_uuid: b8966985-d4b2-42a7-a319-2e94ccfbb849 title: - value: 'The John Carmack plan' created: - value: '2025-07-18T23:40:26+00:00' changed: - value: '2025-07-21T23:41:11+00:00' promote: - value: false sticky: - value: false default_langcode: - value: true revision_translation_affected: - value: true path: - alias: '' pid: null langcode: en body: - value: |- Earlier this year, I wrote about [text files being the simplest project management tool][0]. Whist watching a video by Nick Janetakis about his [notes application][1], I learned about a repository of [John Carmack's plain text notes][2]. These are a collection of plain text files that he wrote to plan and track his tasks. He uses a simple format to represent different types of tasks. - Lines without a prefix are to be done or in progress. - Lines prefixed with `*` were completed that day. - Lines prefixed with `+` were completed on a later day. - Lines prefixed with `-` were decided against on a later day. I love the simplicity of this system, and how easy it is to add new entries. Plain text files are also easy to search with tools like `grep`. To find all open tasks, you can run a command like `grep '^[^*+-]'`, and run similar commands to show different types of entries. The simpler a system is to use, the more likely you are to stick with it. This explains why there are 394 daily plan notes in that repository. [0]: /daily/2025/01/03/todotxt [1]: https://github.com/nickjj/notes [2]: https://github.com/ESWAT/john-carmack-plan-archive format: markdown processed: |
Earlier this year, I wrote about text files being the simplest project management tool.
Whist watching a video by Nick Janetakis about his notes application, I learned about a repository of John Carmack's plain text notes.
These are a collection of plain text files that he wrote to plan and track his tasks.
He uses a simple format to represent different types of tasks.
*
were completed that day.+
were completed on a later day.-
were decided against on a later day.I love the simplicity of this system, and how easy it is to add new entries.
Plain text files are also easy to search with tools like grep
.
To find all open tasks, you can run a command like grep '^[^*+-]'
, and run similar commands to show different types of entries.
The simpler a system is to use, the more likely you are to stick with it.
This explains why there are 394 daily plan notes in that repository.
summary: '' field_daily_email_cta: - target_type: node target_uuid: 3074e1e9-c691-4f73-a71c-cfe5920f884e