TwosWrite things down

How I use Twos to remember and organize my life (created by co-founder, Twos Joe)

✌️ How I use Twos to remember and organize my life (created by co-founder, Twos Joe)

by Joe · 87 things on Twos

I've been using Twos since Parker introduced it to me in 2020.
As of this writing, I have over 141k *things*, 4.2k lists, and an active streak of 1.5k days.
Despite this volume of information, I still feel organized, in control, and able to find things I need easily.
Here are quick tips on how I use Twos to fit my needs in case they might help you too.
Keep it simple
Twos is built with simplicity at the core of everything we design/ship.
By over “optimizing” your system, you can lose speed, ease, and digestibility.
Writing things down has extraordinary benefits, and simplicity allows you to write/remember/share more.
Write *things* down on your daily list
Writing is the most private, clean, and organized way to capture things you want to remember.
Your daily list is built for quick capture of anything you want to remember, with a simple way to organize *things* later on.
When I open Twos to write *things* down, I use the FAB (pencil button in bottom right) to quickly capture *things* I want to remember - and it has never failed me.
Set up a foundation of lists you feel good about
Your core lists will be your go-to places to find *things* later.
These lists can change as often as you like, but be a continuation of the same purpose. For example…
My Twos' action items started in my “Joe To-Do” list, once that got dense, I created my “Joe Twos Do” list, and then my “Joe Prios” list.
I’m probably on my 10th iteration of a Twos action item list, but they never get in my way.
When you are creating a new list for a similar purpose, just try to review your old list and move any essential *things* over.
On the opposite side, I have only ever had one “Grocery” or “Amazon” list, because I have a method for keeping them clean (more below under 'Use collapse completed').
Change high-priority items to todos on your daily list
In Twos, unfinished to-dos carry over day-by-day
That means, whenever I open Twos, I am reminded of my high priority *things* and act on them if necessary.
Remember: to-dos can be anything. Not just action items.
Simply use to-do carry over to keep important *things* top of mind.
But be wary of creating a “task-a-lanche” which is when your todos keep piling up on your day until you resent opening Twos.
Move 🚚 *things* religiously
Move is very similar to cut and paste, without the hassle/process of highlighting text and having to navigate to your preferred landing spot.
By moving *things* you can quickly write anything down, and easily organize them to be quickly found/remembered later.
For example, you write down a compliment gave you because it made you feel good…
By moving that *thing* to a “compliments that make me feel good” list, you will have an organized collection you can revisit whenever you need it.
This is also VERY effective for making your daily list more manageable…
When todos become less immediately relevant, even if you haven’t completed them, you can move them to a “to-do later” list to revisit as necessary.
Use “collapse completed *things*” to keep days/lists clean.
One of my favorite features, located in more options of list settings, or account wide in user preferences.
Turning on this feature allows you to complete *things* and have them collapse to the bottom (or top) of your list, moving them out of the way.
A cleaner list allows for faster capture, less overwhelm, and a positive reinforcement for getting *things* done.
And, if I want to remember steps taken, or recommendations I’ve been to, you can turn collapse completed off on a list-by-list basis.
Bonus: you can also revisit your collapsed *things* to incomplete them to add *things* back to your list.
Mobile for quick capture/recall and web for ‘deep work’
Twos mobile app is best-in-class for quick capture on the go and recall of relevant *things*.
Since phone screens are small, the app is best for writing new *things* when on the go.
Then, when you have access to a computer (and can see more *things* in view), it is easy to
Use the Chrome Extension
When browsing the internet, it is common to stumble on valuable websites/quotes/tweets/etc you want to remember.
The chrome extension allows you to quickly capture/remember those *things* without having to keep browser tabs open.
Use memories for sudden feelings of nostalgia
Days are an amazing way to capture any *thing* from your life you may want to remember.
Those *things* can be as organized or chaotic as you'd like, because you will still being able to review and remember *things* by using your memories view.
Memories brings up *things* you wrote on this day 1 week, 1 month, 1 year, and multiple years ago.
Reviewing things you once wrote, thought, dreamt, etc. provides a quick rush of nostalgia - AND you may remember something critically important.
Here is one example for a memory I have from 2 years ago today...
⌛️ Fri, Apr 28, 2023 (2 years ago)
Webinar prep with Trobo
How Twos: Webinar 3 (2:00pm EST)
It's a great day to have a great day
Shared from Twos ✌️
Use the weekly e-mail for a quick memory jog
Every Sunday (EST) we send out a recap of all the *things* you wrote that week.
This is especially helpful for *things* that slip through the tracks.
Aka you wrote important *things* down, but now they are a little behind in your days/lists.
Scan the weekly recap email to see if anything glaring stands out, then click on the list/day title to open it in another tab.
Connect your calendar
Instead of checking my Google Calendar for upcoming meetings, I check Twos.
The top of my day has all my events, that I can quickly join the video conference from, and create a list for notes.
It is extremely helpful to be in control of the notes you take during a meeting, your ability to remember the important details will be much more clear.
Use PALs ✨
PALs were designed to help you be more efficient.
Verbs are auto-detected to help you turn *things* into to-dos
Reminder and event language is detected to help you get notifications/add *things* to calendar.
I also often write *things* down in Twos just to use a PAL on them...
Like addresses for directions
Movie suggestions for streaming info
Restaurant recommendations for google maps info
PALs inspire me to write more things down, and remembering those things has never hurt.
Swipe down for today
Today is the quickest place to capture *things* you want to remember.
Swipe down at the top of any screen/list (like refreshing your email or instagram) to quickly get back to today, be reminded of *things* on your day, or capture new *things*.
Set up Siri/Home Screen widgets
Sometimes, your phone will be out of arms reach when you think of something you want to remember.
By using “Hey Siri” and the “Remember something” shortcut (user settings, integrations), I am able to add *things* to my daily list without having to type.
Once set up, you can also create a widget anywhere on your iPhone to run the ‘remember something’ shortcut for fastest capture possible.
Text Twos
Often we are texted things we want/need to remember.
By adding your phone number under 'integrations' user-settings you can quickly text Twos to have things added to your daily list.
Make sure to add a contact for Twos so all you have to do is type "Twos" and write/forward text messages to it.
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