When you suggested this before, I added it to my Weekly Review process. At the beginning of each month, when I have time for a deeper dive, I scan my calendar and think about what’s coming up in the lives of the people I care about.
Here’s my golden trick: I draft texts or emails right then and schedule them to be delivered at just the right time. That way, I don’t have to remember later. I can always update the message if something changes.
Real-life example: A coworker recently left the organization and mentioned she has surgery in three months. I wrote a quick email and scheduled it to send a few days beforehand. One less thing to track, and it will arrive when it matters.
It’s always fun to get a reply to something I sent weeks or even months ago. It feels like time-traveling kindness.
Wishing the team a great time in Thailand. I’d love to be a fly on the wall to hear what’s coming down the Todoist pike!
"time-traveling kindness" Wow!! This is a whole other level of thought I hadn't even considered. How do you scheduled texts?! And do you have to set a reminder for yourself to review the text before it goes out in case something has changed?
I use Google Messages and Gmail, both of which have a “schedule send” option. I don’t set reminders to review what I’ve scheduled. I just let it go. If something changes, that’s my cue to go in and update or delete the message.
For example, if a friend’s mom is sick, I schedule a follow-up text right after we talk to check in a few days later. If I hear from her before then, I delete the message. If I know my husband has a stressful meeting coming up, I’ll schedule a message right then to wish him good luck and send my love and support.
It only takes a few seconds in the moment. It helps me stay thoughtful and connected without having to keep it all in my head.
I've been using Todoist for this since forever, the moment someone mentions something important I add a task. And I have recurring reminders to call people or ask them to meet up. It just makes it easier. When you're busy, sometimes you don't really notice that it's been two weeks already.
It makes so much sense. I can't tell you how many times I've felt guilty for people I love sliding too far down my WhatsApp chats. How do you organize these tasks in Todoist? Do you have a specific project for it?
I have a 'Social' sub-project for recurring tasks (general reminders and birthdays), and the other ones go in the 'this week' project or 'tasks' sub in my 'some day' project with a specific date.
I have four projects: this week (with subs for social, housework, health and administration that only contain recurring tasks), goals for 2025, some day (with subs for all kinds of fun things like books, holiday destinations, recipes, but also errands and stuff to do at home, usually things without dates), and work (which has sub-projects for this week and some day).
I start with my today view and when all that's done, I move on to the this week folders.
I've done the "Little Big Things" approach for years, but I've never made time to write about it, so thanks for posting such an eloquent explanation that I can share with others.
I have a project called Personal which is where I keep miscellaneous personal tasks that don't belong to a real project. And I use the label @reminders for reminders across all my projects. So, these get filed as @reminders under #Personal. I just filed one this morning for a couple weeks from now: "Check on Steve's recovery from surgery."
Personally I'm not sure "Little Big Things" would be the right name for me but I absolutely agree that this is how we show our love and care with the people in our lives that are important to us. It goes beyond a one way interaction at a fortnightly coffee-catch-up and lets you deepen the connection.
My Mum used to have a calendar on the kitchen wall that all the major events, like birthdays, hospital visits used to be recorded on. It reminds me of this a little.
I have been using Todoist for this purpose for years! It helps me be intentional with remembering the things the matter most about the people that matter most. I have a whole project called “People,” where I keep tasks for birthdays, follow up texts, calls, etc. I’m a huge fan of using Todost this way!
I'm pretty much on Alicia's camp here (can someone kindly tell me whether it's possible to tag other users 🤗?), I have tasks here and there but mines are under boring names like `birthdays` or the super dreary `interactions` (don't hate me too much, please 🙏), but this naming of `little big things` is a whole new ball park, its' so purposeful, love it ❤️. I also find Tracey's `time-traveling kindness` really inspiring and worth giving a go.
> You might see some of this as a little transactional. But for me, it's just about making sure the people I care about don’t get lost in the mental clutter of everything else.
I have had so many times this conversation and did a crappy job trying to explain loved ones why they are "things" on a todo list...but this explanation (along with a proper naming of the project) is really neat, thanks for sharing Naomi!!
This is a great way to prioritise relationships in practice. I've been sporadically setting reminders in my reminders app but it'll be good to incorporate this into my main calendar & to-do list
Very happy about your upcoming retreat in Thailand, it was a pleasure helping Doist with one of their smaller team retreats in Sitges a year or so ago. It is so important to give people the chance to work and live where they want and keep control of their lifestyle and work life balance. Always been impressed to see Doist have the same values as us at Venue Retreat putting people and remote life first. Keep it up!
Also, loving the newsletter, we still use Mailchimp but may switch to another platform soon.
The "Little Big Things" list has become an incredible list for me. I have used it for the past few months since Naomi introduced Angélica's idea in one of her Todoist workflow videos. This is a game-changer for me. I do have an agenda list for formal things, but I renamed it to "Little Big Things" to include some personal stuff to talk about during formal discussions. I noticed that our discussions have changed to something more personal. Thanks to Angélica and Naomi.
I'm so glad Angélica's idea resonated so much with you too Ikran! Sounds like you're using it with colleagues? Or do you use it for people in your personal life too?
I use this for both personal and work purposes. At the end of the day, business is all about people, and I have repeatedly found that colleagues and customers feel valued when I talk about them and their interests.
When you suggested this before, I added it to my Weekly Review process. At the beginning of each month, when I have time for a deeper dive, I scan my calendar and think about what’s coming up in the lives of the people I care about.
Here’s my golden trick: I draft texts or emails right then and schedule them to be delivered at just the right time. That way, I don’t have to remember later. I can always update the message if something changes.
Real-life example: A coworker recently left the organization and mentioned she has surgery in three months. I wrote a quick email and scheduled it to send a few days beforehand. One less thing to track, and it will arrive when it matters.
It’s always fun to get a reply to something I sent weeks or even months ago. It feels like time-traveling kindness.
Wishing the team a great time in Thailand. I’d love to be a fly on the wall to hear what’s coming down the Todoist pike!
"time-traveling kindness" Wow!! This is a whole other level of thought I hadn't even considered. How do you scheduled texts?! And do you have to set a reminder for yourself to review the text before it goes out in case something has changed?
I love this idea!
I use Google Messages and Gmail, both of which have a “schedule send” option. I don’t set reminders to review what I’ve scheduled. I just let it go. If something changes, that’s my cue to go in and update or delete the message.
For example, if a friend’s mom is sick, I schedule a follow-up text right after we talk to check in a few days later. If I hear from her before then, I delete the message. If I know my husband has a stressful meeting coming up, I’ll schedule a message right then to wish him good luck and send my love and support.
It only takes a few seconds in the moment. It helps me stay thoughtful and connected without having to keep it all in my head.
This is the organization dream! I'm so inspired Tracey.
iOS and MacOS offer the same. For texting, go to the “+” to your left and scroll for “Send Later”. Works great, and what a cool use!
I've been using Todoist for this since forever, the moment someone mentions something important I add a task. And I have recurring reminders to call people or ask them to meet up. It just makes it easier. When you're busy, sometimes you don't really notice that it's been two weeks already.
It makes so much sense. I can't tell you how many times I've felt guilty for people I love sliding too far down my WhatsApp chats. How do you organize these tasks in Todoist? Do you have a specific project for it?
I have a 'Social' sub-project for recurring tasks (general reminders and birthdays), and the other ones go in the 'this week' project or 'tasks' sub in my 'some day' project with a specific date.
I have four projects: this week (with subs for social, housework, health and administration that only contain recurring tasks), goals for 2025, some day (with subs for all kinds of fun things like books, holiday destinations, recipes, but also errands and stuff to do at home, usually things without dates), and work (which has sub-projects for this week and some day).
I start with my today view and when all that's done, I move on to the this week folders.
I've done the "Little Big Things" approach for years, but I've never made time to write about it, so thanks for posting such an eloquent explanation that I can share with others.
Glad this resonated Dave! I'm curious, what do you call your similar project?
I have a project called Personal which is where I keep miscellaneous personal tasks that don't belong to a real project. And I use the label @reminders for reminders across all my projects. So, these get filed as @reminders under #Personal. I just filed one this morning for a couple weeks from now: "Check on Steve's recovery from surgery."
I've a “#social” project and a “recurring” section with monthly tasks:
- Choose a friend to meet in person
- Send a message asking what the coolest thing that happened this month
This last one generates a lot of input for me!
Depending on what people answer me (e.g.: “hey, frota, I'm going to travel to NY”) — I add another task about asking how the trip was in X weeks
It really helps to organize and is always a nice surprise when dealing with the to-do list :)
That's a cool prompt for a response Rafael! Much better than my standard "How are you doing?" 😆
I love this! Thank you for sharing.
Personally I'm not sure "Little Big Things" would be the right name for me but I absolutely agree that this is how we show our love and care with the people in our lives that are important to us. It goes beyond a one way interaction at a fortnightly coffee-catch-up and lets you deepen the connection.
My Mum used to have a calendar on the kitchen wall that all the major events, like birthdays, hospital visits used to be recorded on. It reminds me of this a little.
It still amazes me that our parents could organize their whole lives with a slim wall calendar! I suppose many people still do. ❤️
I have been using Todoist for this purpose for years! It helps me be intentional with remembering the things the matter most about the people that matter most. I have a whole project called “People,” where I keep tasks for birthdays, follow up texts, calls, etc. I’m a huge fan of using Todost this way!
I would argue this could be the best Todoist use case! I love that it helps bring people together.
I'm pretty much on Alicia's camp here (can someone kindly tell me whether it's possible to tag other users 🤗?), I have tasks here and there but mines are under boring names like `birthdays` or the super dreary `interactions` (don't hate me too much, please 🙏), but this naming of `little big things` is a whole new ball park, its' so purposeful, love it ❤️. I also find Tracey's `time-traveling kindness` really inspiring and worth giving a go.
> You might see some of this as a little transactional. But for me, it's just about making sure the people I care about don’t get lost in the mental clutter of everything else.
I have had so many times this conversation and did a crappy job trying to explain loved ones why they are "things" on a todo list...but this explanation (along with a proper naming of the project) is really neat, thanks for sharing Naomi!!
So glad you found the comments on this post helpful, David. Definitely one of the major benefits of moving the newsletter to Substack.
This is a great way to prioritise relationships in practice. I've been sporadically setting reminders in my reminders app but it'll be good to incorporate this into my main calendar & to-do list
They definitely deserve to sit alongside all the other things you have on your mind. Also, one less app to worry about! 😆
Very happy about your upcoming retreat in Thailand, it was a pleasure helping Doist with one of their smaller team retreats in Sitges a year or so ago. It is so important to give people the chance to work and live where they want and keep control of their lifestyle and work life balance. Always been impressed to see Doist have the same values as us at Venue Retreat putting people and remote life first. Keep it up!
Also, loving the newsletter, we still use Mailchimp but may switch to another platform soon.
Aw lovely to hear from your team! Thanks for working with us in the past and for following along with the newsletter. 🤗
The "Little Big Things" list has become an incredible list for me. I have used it for the past few months since Naomi introduced Angélica's idea in one of her Todoist workflow videos. This is a game-changer for me. I do have an agenda list for formal things, but I renamed it to "Little Big Things" to include some personal stuff to talk about during formal discussions. I noticed that our discussions have changed to something more personal. Thanks to Angélica and Naomi.
I'm so glad Angélica's idea resonated so much with you too Ikran! Sounds like you're using it with colleagues? Or do you use it for people in your personal life too?
I use this for both personal and work purposes. At the end of the day, business is all about people, and I have repeatedly found that colleagues and customers feel valued when I talk about them and their interests.
Loved the newsletter! Safe travels!