Use super-categories in to-do lists

I've frequently found to-do lists somewhat difficult to maintain. Here're some of the issues I grapple with:

(1) Format: What format should one keep the to-do list in? Daily? Weekly? Monthly? Some tasks can be completed within the day while others require more than that.

(2) Updating: Tasks may also have differing deadlines and priorities. It is pretty inconvenient to keep different lists for tasks with different deadlines or man-hour requirements, so I naturally usually lump everything in one-list, that just gets incredibly worn. When tasks get done, I tick them off. Sometimes, however, tasks are either repetitive (e.g. homework assignments for particular classes, grocery shopping, cooking dinner) or don't get done even after a new list is needed. These tasks often have to be copied onto the new list, something that is troublesome to have to do.

(3) Portability: A dynamic to-do list compels one to carry the latest version around all the time. However, previous versions may contain useful information, or uncompleted tasks. It can be onerous to both keep copying uncompleted tasks to new lists, or to physically carry around all versions of a to-do list.

The best to-do list would have a format that transcends date-time limitations, gets around the hassle of recopying undone tasks, and would be portable. I propose creating to-do lists with super-categories. Examples of super-categories could be: home, finance, classes, lab/work, entertainment, music/hobbies, readings etc.

These to-do lists could comprise post-it notes, or (small) index-cards held together by a hole-binder. I chose these media for their flexibility - imho, nothing is more flexible than the pen and paper. Each super-category would go on one post-it or index card. That way, repetitive tasks like "cook dinner" or "buy groceries", or tasks that are difficult to fit with specific deadlines like "practice guitar" would not have to be recopied from note to note. When all the tasks on a post-it or card gets completed, one simply peels away the post-it or discards the card and replaces it with a new one.

The other possible advantage of having this list that it gets one to think in terms of the super-categories, rather than in nitty-gritty tasks. One could just cycle quickly through the categories, and prioritize on the tasks that need to be done depending on the context or amount of free time available. It also helps us to quickly consolidate at any moment our general situation, and reflects our priorities and interests. It may help us identify areas that we haven't paid much attention to recently, and to take action to address that.

I'll try this out and see if it works! ;) Let me know what you think of this!

Update 21 Feb 08: Seems like someone else at productivity blog LifeClever has come up with a similar idea! Read about it here.