Todos in Your Workflow

Todos are most useful when they are part of your routine, not a separate thing you have to remember to check. Here is how to weave them into your daily production workflow so nothing falls through the cracks.

The Dashboard View

Your dashboard shows a summary of your outstanding todos alongside your other production stats. When you open Producer Dashboard at the start of a session, the dashboard gives you an immediate snapshot:

How many active todos you have
Any overdue items that need attention
Upcoming due dates

This is your starting point. Glance at the dashboard, see what is on your plate, and decide what to tackle first.

Daily Workflow Pattern

Here is a workflow pattern that keeps your production sessions focused and productive.

1. Check the Dashboard

Open Producer Dashboard and look at your dashboard. See what todos are active, what is overdue, and what is coming up. This takes thirty seconds and sets the tone for your session.

2. Review Your Active Todos

Switch to the activity panel and open the todos widget. Filter to Active and sort by due date. Scan the list:

Is anything overdue? Address those first.
Is anything due today? Plan to get those done this session.
Is anything quick? Knock out small tasks to build momentum.

3. Work on Tracks

Select the track you are going to work on. The todos widget automatically filters to show that track’s tasks. Work through them one by one:

If a todo has a linked timestamp, click it to jump straight to the relevant section
Address the issue
Check the todo off
Move to the next one

4. Capture New Tasks

As you work, new things will come up. Maybe you notice the bass needs automation in the second verse, or you realise you need to export stems for a collaborator. Create a quick todo right then — do not rely on remembering it later.

5. Check Your Progress

At the end of your session, switch to Completed filter to see what you accomplished. Update any remaining todos with new due dates or notes if priorities shifted.

Todos for Different Production Tasks

Mixing Notes

Mixing is where timestamped todos shine. Play through a rough mix and create todos as you listen:

“Reduce reverb on vocal at 0:32” (linked to 0:32)
“Add sidechain compression to the bass throughout the chorus” (linked to chorus range)
“Boost hi-hat presence in verse 2”

Next session, open the track, sort todos by timestamp, and work through them in order. You can even play through the track and jump between timestamped todos as a structured mix review.

Mastering Checklist

Before sending a track to mastering (or mastering it yourself), create a checklist of tasks:

“Check levels across all sections”
“Verify fade in and fade out”
“Export at correct sample rate and bit depth”
“Listen on headphones, monitors, and phone speaker”

Check each one off as you go. This ensures consistency across your catalogue.

Collaboration Action Items

When you get feedback from a collaborator via shared track comments, convert actionable items into todos. Assign due dates based on your agreed timeline:

“Record new vocal for bridge” — assigned to vocalist, due Friday
“Try different synth patch for the intro” — assigned to yourself, due Thursday
“Send updated bounce to client” — due after other changes are made

Release Prep

When a track is nearing release, create todos for all the non-music tasks:

“Upload to distributor”
“Create artwork” (or link to the artwork brief)
“Write release description”
“Schedule social media posts”
“Submit to playlists”

These general todos (not linked to a specific track timestamp) keep your release process organised.

Todos and Stages

Producer Dashboard tracks move through workflow stages (idea, scripted, captured, editing, ready to post, published, archived). Todos naturally complement this:

When a track enters the editing stage, create mixing todos
When it moves to ready to post, create release prep todos
When it reaches published, clean up any remaining todos

Think of the stage as “what phase is this track in” and todos as “what specific tasks remain within that phase.”

Todos and Tags

Use tags to group related tracks, and use todos to track cross-cutting tasks:

Tag all tracks in an EP with “EP Vol 2”
Create general todos like “Master all EP Vol 2 tracks” or “Finalise track order for EP”
Track-specific todos handle individual song tasks while general todos handle project-level items

Keeping the System Working

The key to a useful todo system is maintenance. A few habits that keep things running smoothly:

Weekly Review

Once a week (maybe Sunday evening or Monday morning), do a full review:

Delete any todos that are no longer relevant
Update due dates that have slipped
Check for completed todos that should have been closed
Look at your comments for any feedback you have not converted to todos yet

Stay Current

The biggest risk with any task system is letting it go stale. If your todo list does not reflect reality, you stop trusting it and stop checking it. Keep it honest:

Check things off immediately when done
Delete things that are not going to happen
Update descriptions when the scope changes

Keep It Simple

Not everything needs to be a todo. Quick fixes that take less than a minute? Just do them. Todos are for tasks that need tracking — things you might forget, things with deadlines, things assigned to other people.

Creating Todos — How to create todos from scratch or from comments
Todo Properties — Due dates, assignees, and timestamps
Managing Todos — Complete, filter, sort, and delete
Adding Comments — Leave feedback that can become todos
Tracks Overview — Understanding the tracks grid and workflow stages