Naming your tasks appropriately can make them more helpful. Here are a few suggestions to consider when creating a new Habit, Daily, or To Do.
Be Clear[]
Make sure that you've clearly defined what you mean to do. If you like gamified titles, you can still follow these guidelines and record what they mean in the notes section.
What does "Exercise" mean?
Be specific or operational. Instead of writing a vague goal, put a number to the goal so that you will know when you have completed your task. If you know that your real goal is "Go to the gym for at least 30 minutes," that's what you should name your task. This provides clarity about whether you completed a task. Examples of specific, unambiguous tasks include "1 mile walk," "20 pushups," or "Exercise with pulse > 125 BPM for 30 minutes."
If you have a general goal it may be more appropriate to use a clear but flexible benchmark.
If, for example, you want to make sure you do some physical activity every day, the task "Go to gym" may be unfair to yourself or impractical. A clear but flexible task might be "20 minutes of sweating."
What did "Paper" mean?
To Do's may linger for a while. Make sure you include enough clarity that you'll remember what you actually meant to do: Did Paper mean Process inbox papers? Scan documents? Organize craft paper? Call the paper store? Use the notes section of your tasks to provide additional details.
What does sesquipedalian mean?
It means "characterized by long words, or being long-winded."[1]
The longer a task title is, the more likely it is that it will wrap awkwardly in the task list, and push your other tasks down the screen.
Reading too much text may make your task list a chore; keep your titles as short and sweet as you can. Write to X or Call B. You can also put further details in the Notes section (described below) instead of putting all of the details in the name.
Be Galvanizing[]
In other words, give tasks names that inspire you to take action.
- Verbs: In addition to promoting clarity, verbs can also inspire: Conquer clutter vs Housekeeping
- Fun Titles: A rose by any other name might smell as sweet, but aiming to Defeat the Dungeon Dragons can help inspire you to clean the basement (see Gamifying Your Lists).
- Serious Quotes: A good quote written inside the Notes field of a task can make you smile and perhaps focus on getting that task done, e.g.,
- for a housework Habit: There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort. [Jane Austen];
- for your most disagreeable task: You cannot eat every tadpole and frog in the pond, but you can eat the biggest and ugliest one, and that will be enough, at least for the time being. [Brian Tracy];
- for taxes: Render unto Caesar...
- Incorporate Your Motivations: Describe the task in a way that reminds you why you want to complete it or why you want to defeat each bad Habit.
Adding Images and Emojis[]
You can also customize your tasks and make them more interesting by adding emojis, images from Habitica, or your own custom images.
See the section "Adding custom or in-game images to tasks" on the gamifying your lists page for instructions and examples, and see the Markdown cheat sheet for information on formatting.
Using Notes for Clarity[]
If not otherwise in use, your item's notes section can be used to clarify task headings. Notes are visible under the primary task information. Some ways to use notes include:
Work out or sweat for 30 minutes
Do this every day. If you don't sweat at work, go to gym or work out at home.
- Emoji icons can be explained or can supplement your notes.
- Exercise can be shown to mean 20 minutes of walking, a one-mile walk, or achieving your target heart rate for a specific amount of time.
- Long lists of Habits can be made shorter by using one word descriptors, then clarifying requirements in the notes.
- Sprinkle Fairy Dust means —- wait, what did that mean?
See Also[]
- S.M.A.R.T. Goal Setting: for guidance on creating tasks that support your goals.
References[]
- ↑ Definition of sesquipedalian. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved on March 20, 2018 from ☀https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sesquipedalian