Task Backlog
Capture tasks for later
What is a Task Backlog?
A backlog collects tasks that are not for today —someday/maybe items, ideas, and deferred work —so they stop polluting your daily priority lists while remaining captured for future planning.
How to Use
- Add any task that matters but is not today's work.
- During weekly review, scan the backlog and promote items to MITs or Kanban.
- Delete or merge duplicates to keep the list trustworthy.
- Resist working directly from backlog during focus blocks —pull items into today intentionally.
How It Works
GTD's Someday/Maybe list and product backlogs share one insight: unprioritized ideas need a home outside today's execution surface. Without a backlog, capture flows into today and creates overload. With one, the brain trusts "later" and releases the item from active rehearsal.
Why It Works for Productivity
Separating capture from commitment prevents every new thought from becoming urgent. Weekly promotion creates a natural filter —only backlog items that survive review earn calendar time. Reduces guilt about not doing everything today.
Tips
After Brain Dump, route non-urgent lines here. Keep backlog items verb-first and small enough to estimate. Use Pareto 8020 during review to find high-leverage backlog items.
Frequently Asked Questions
Backlog vs. Kanban To Do?
Backlog is pre-commitment storage; Kanban To Do is your active queue for this week or sprint.
Is there a item limit?
No hard cap, but prune regularly —an unreviewed backlog becomes a junk drawer.