Overview / Problem Statement:

While working through Ben Meer’s Year of Systems course, I tackled a common personal administration problem: centralizing important annual dates (like birthdays and key milestones) into a single, reliable system.

Previously, my dates were scattered across calendars, social media platforms, or stored purely in memory. Moving them into my primary task manager (Todoist) manually meant entering multiple tasks and custom reminders for every single event, a repetitive process prone to friction and skipped steps.

The Experiment & Workflow Fix:

Instead of manually creating three separate entries per date (the main event, a night-before heads-up, and a morning-of alert), I wanted a streamlined import process.

When direct CSV formatting in Todoist required specific structural rules, I used Google Gemini to help design a simple Google Sheets pipeline:

1. Minimized Input: I input only two raw data points into the sheet—Name and Date/Birthday.
2. Automated Row Generation: The sheet dynamically formats and generates the three distinct task rows required for Todoist’s CSV import schema:
   • Main annual recurring event
   • Advance reminder (e.g., evening prior)
   • Morning-of reminder
3. Import & Execution: Export the formatted sheet to CSV and drag-and-drop directly into the Todoist project.

Key Takeaway:

It’s a small workflow fix, but standardizing raw inputs into formatted system outputs is an engineering principle that scales, whether managing personal life admin or supporting team operations.