Most of us are juggling several projects at once, each with its own deadlines and loose ends, and a plain to-do list doesn't hold that very well. A hierarchical list, where tasks can sit inside other tasks, holds it much better. Here's why, and how I use one in Tatask.
Why flat lists struggle
A paper to-do list used to be enough for most people's days. It gets harder once work and home life involve several projects, other people in different time zones and a handful of apps you switch between all day. On a single linear list, all of that turns into one long column, and it quickly becomes overwhelming.
What hierarchical task management is
It's organising your tasks as a tree. Projects sit at the top and their subtasks are nested underneath, as many levels deep as you need. That's close to how most people break a problem down in their heads anyway.
The tree shows how tasks relate to each other and to the bigger goal they belong to. Real projects work that way: a series of connected steps and milestones, with smaller steps inside the big ones.
What it does better
Big projects
Large projects have a lot of parts, and some parts depend on others. A tree lets you break a daunting project into pieces you can actually start on.
In Tatask you might start with "Launch new product" and split it into "Research", "Development" and "Marketing". Each of those breaks down again into specific tasks. You can see the whole scope of the project and still find the single thing to do next.
Less to keep in your head
Because the tree shows how tasks connect, you don't have to remember it. The project lives on the page instead of in your working memory.
Tatask lets you collapse and expand any branch, so you can go from an overview of everything to one detailed list and back again. When you're looking at one branch, the next task is usually obvious.
Zooming in and out
Some days you only need to see a few urgent tasks. Other days you want to step back and look at all your projects. With collapsible branches you can do both: collapse everything for the overview, or open one branch to see its details.
Prioritising
When related tasks are grouped together, it's easier to spot which ones block the others and which ones matter most. In Tatask you drag tasks into order within their branch, so the important ones sit at the top. Reordering a short branch is much easier than shuffling a long flat list.
Different ways of planning
Some people start with broad goals and work downwards. Others start with specific tasks and group them later. A tree handles both. You can outline your projects first and fill in the details, or add tasks as they come to you and gather them under a parent afterwards.
Setting it up
- List your top-level projects or areas of responsibility.
- Under each one, add the major tasks or phases.
- Keep breaking tasks down until each one is something you can act on.
- Drag tasks into priority order within each level.
- Look over the tree regularly and change what's no longer right.
If you're coming from a flat list, start with one project. Move the rest over once the first one feels natural.
Keeping it from getting complicated
A tree can grow into something harder to manage than the list it replaced. A few habits stop that:
- Give tasks short, clear names, so the structure stays readable.
- Prune regularly. Clear out finished tasks and question the ones that have sat untouched for weeks.
- Make sure the tasks at the bottom of each branch are specific things you can do.
If your projects have more parts than a flat list can show, try a tree. Tatask is free for 30 days.