What is a backlog?
A backlog is a queue with a memory. Its health is measured by whether the top of it is ready to start, not by how much it contains.
What matters here
- Everything accepted but not scheduled
- Ordered by value, not by arrival
- Reviewed and pruned regularly
- Separate from the current plan
- Ready items at the top, vague ones below
A backlog is not a wish list
The difference is commitment. A backlog item has been agreed as worth doing eventually. A wish list item has not, and keeping the two together is how a backlog becomes a source of guilt.
Ordering is the work
A list of two hundred items with no order is storage. The useful act is deciding what would be next if capacity appeared, which is a decision that has to be revisited as things change.
Pruning
Anything older than a few months that nobody has missed is usually safe to delete. A backlog that only grows stops being read, and unread lists do not influence decisions.
Frequently asked questions
Keep reading
- What is Markdown?Markdown is a plain text way of writing formatting with simple characters, such as a dash for a list or two asterisks for bold.
- Prysm Note for fitness routinesTraining plans work better as habits plus a short list of sessions than as a task you recreate every week.
- Prysm Note for career changeA career change is a project with research, a decision and an application phase. Keeping the three separate prevents months of reading with nothing changing.
Turn talk into a plan
Capture a thought in plain language and let Prysm Note shape it into tasks and a timeline.
Disclaimer
This page is general information, not professional, legal, financial or medical advice. It describes common ways of working and how Prysm Note approaches them. Software changes over time, so details may differ from what you see in the product. Any product, company or brand names that appear are the property of their respective owners and are used only for identification. We do not claim any endorsement or affiliation. Where we compare approaches, we aim to describe each one honestly, including where a different approach may suit you better. Try the tools that matter to you and judge for yourself.