Erledigt: A Done List Instead of a Todo List
Most todo lists start by assuming I owe the future something.
That is useful often enough. Some things need to be remembered. Some things need dates. Some things will simply disappear if I do not write them down.
But the shape of a todo list is still a little accusatory. It collects unfinished things and hands them back to me as proof that I am not done yet.
On a bad day, a todo list does not say “here is what matters”. It says “look at all this”.
So I am interested in the opposite kind of tool.
Not a list of what I should do.
A list of what I already did.
A done list. Or, in German: Erledigt.
The small inversion
The idea is simple. I do not enter tasks before doing them. I enter things after they happened.
Not this:
- reply to email
- clean kitchen
- fix bug
- go for walkThis:
09:15 answered the payroll question
10:40 walked to the bakery instead of driving
11:30 fixed the broken import in the prototype
13:05 lunch with Manfred
15:20 cleared the scary email backlog down to 3
17:45 Went to the Gym
21:10 read a chapter and did not open the phone againThe difference is small, but the relationship changes.
A todo list says: you are not done.
A done list says: this counted.
That is the whole project, really.
The part that usually disappears
A lot of daily work never becomes a task.
There is the official work: meetings, email, code, documents, errands. That part is easy to name.
Then there is the other layer. Answering the awkward message. Moving one object back to where it belongs. Ordering the thing before it runs out. Thinking through a problem while walking. Stopping before the day turns stupid. Resting. Saying no.
None of that looks impressive. Most of it does not deserve a ticket or a project page. But it still uses attention and judgment.
Todo systems are good at planned work. They are worse at noticed work.
Erledigt would be for noticed work.
Not to optimize it. Not to turn it into a score. Just to keep it from vanishing completely.
Tools have opinions
This is the part I keep coming back to: a tool has a view of its user.
A calendar sees someone who has to be in the right place at the right time.
A kanban board sees work moving through states.
A habit tracker sees repetition, improvement, and streaks.
A todo list often sees a person who knows what should be done and has not done enough of it.
That view is useful sometimes. It is also narrow.
A done list starts from a different assumption: things are already happening. Some of them are easy to forget. The tool can help witness them.
Witness is the right word for me here. I do not want this tool to coach me. I do not want motivation. I do not want another cheerful dashboard trying to turn my day into output.
I want a quiet place to write: this happened. I did this. This was part of the day.
Evidence, not achievement
The point is not to create a productivity score.
Numbers are dangerous in this kind of tool. They start as information and quickly become targets. If I logged 17 things yesterday and 9 today, the tool has to be careful with that fact.
The useful summary is softer:
Today you logged 9 things.
3 work
2 home
1 admin
1 social
1 creative
1 rest
This was not an empty day.That is enough.
The point is evidence. Evidence against the blank feeling at the end of a fragmented day. Evidence that maintenance happened. Evidence that rest is also something that can belong to a day.
Rules for the tool
If I build this, it needs a few limits.
No tasks. No open state, no pending state, no overdue state. If the app accepts future work, gravity will pull it back into being a todo list.
No reminders. A reminder says: you owe me attention. That belongs somewhere else.
No streaks. Streaks work until they break, and then the tool has turned one missed day into a symbolic failure.
No red badges. Nothing is late.
Small things count. “Took a shower” is a valid entry. So is “looked at the hard thing for ten minutes”. So is “did not buy the unnecessary tool”.
Capture first, structure later. One box. Write the thing. Press enter. Tags can exist, but they should not make logging feel like filing taxes.
Smallest useful version
The smallest version is barely an app:
- one text input
- automatic timestamp
- today’s entries
- optional tags
- local storage
- Markdown export
A more file-first version could keep one Markdown file per day:
2026-07-23.md
2026-07-24.md
2026-07-25.mdEach file should be readable without the app.
# 2026-07-23
- 09:15 answered the payroll question #work
- 10:40 walked to the bakery instead of driving #health
- 11:30 fixed the broken import in the prototype #code
- 13:05 lunch with Manfred #social
- 15:20 cleared the scary email backlog down to 3 #admin
- 17:45 Went to the Gym #health
- 21:10 read a chapter and did not open the phone again #restThe app would be a lens over the files, not a prison for the data.
Later, it might grow a weekly view. Not a scorecard. More like a mirror:
- What kept showing up?
- What did I do for myself?
- What did I do for other people?
- What did I do for future me?
- What quietly consumed energy?
No advice engine. No productivity coach. No “based on your patterns, you should…”
Just a mirror with good manners.
Why Erledigt
“Done” is a little too clean.
“Completed” sounds like enterprise software.
“Accomplished” sounds like someone is about to sell me a planner.
Erledigt is plainer. Done, settled, taken care of. Not glorious. Just no longer hanging in the air.
It has a bit of relief in it.
Erledigt.
The thing is off the table.
Seed
This might become a small local-first web app. Maybe a PWA. Maybe Markdown-backed. Maybe synced through a normal folder.
But the software is not the main point yet.
The main point is the inversion: what if a personal tool did not begin with demand?
What if it began with recognition?
There are enough tools that try to make people do more. I want more tools that help people see what they already did, including the ordinary stuff that keeps a life from falling over.
The point is not to become more productive.
The point is to make the already-lived day visible.