The Master List gives you a few “root folders” to give you just a little bit of structure without getting in your way. These folders give you a time-based way to make your Master List more manageable. In general, we find that huge lists of things to do can be scary and overwhelming. Here is the purpose of each folder:

Inbox Folder

The Inbox folder is a bit of a special folder as it’s the default collection point for new stuff. This is the place where new Tasks will end up unless you specify another location. When Triggers come due, they will fire and create new Tasks in Incoming. If people share new Tasks with you or you add Tasks via voice assistant like Alexa, the Incoming folder is where they’ll end up. This gives you a way to see what’s new that you didn’t manually create yourself.

We recommend that you try not to work out of the Incoming folder. Instead, each day move the new Tasks out of Incoming to In Progress, Upcoming, or Someday based on their priority. Unless you can knock them out right away and get them off your plate!

In Progress Folder

The In Progress folder is for active Tasks and things that you hope to work on or get done this week. You should go through this folder when you plan your day to pick from your goals for the week.

We recommend that you review this list each week and try to keep this set of Tasks realistic. Move Tasks to Upcoming if you there’s no chance of working on them this week. By actively managing this folder, you can avoid getting overwhelmed with too many things to do when planning your days.

Upcoming Folder

The Upcoming folder is for tasks and projects that you won’t get done this week, but you want to consider for next week. Use this folder to keep your In Progress folder realistic.

We recommend that you review the Upcoming folder at the beginning of each week. Drag things from here to your In Progress to make a fresh plan for the upcoming week.

Someday Folder

The Someday folder gives you a place to get undefined or future things off your list for now. Move things to Someday when their priority changes to low or it’s no longer clear whether they need to be done at all.

We recommend reviewing this folder once a month – maybe when planning the first week of a new month. You should delete anything that no longer needs to be done. Review everything else to decide if it should get moved to Upcoming.

Triggers Folder

The Triggers folder is where your Triggers live. No Tasks can go in this folder, only Triggers. And it’s the only place that Triggers can live.

Moving Tasks Between Folders

If you want to move all Tasks from one folder to another, highlight the folder in the Master List and choose “Move All Tasks” from the popup menu. That will allow you to choose a new destination folder and will move all the Tasks there.

Daily, Weekly and Monthly Reviews

See the Doing Reviews Guide for help with automating things like moving all Tasks from Incoming to In Progress. This can really make planning your day and week easier.