Quick Summary
Add a main category for each area of responsibility in your life
Add subcategories for very large categories (ones with lots of to-dos)
Add any large to-do as a project to the relevant category
Add single action steps as tasks to the relevant category
Creating Main Categories
The main categories represent the different areas of your life.
Everything gets sorted into one of the main category so make sure there is no overlap.
When you first open the Master List, you will see the "Set up Main Categories" button. Clicking on it will open a menu where you can select categories from a list of suggested category names, and you'll also be able to create new categories using names that aren't listed.
After that, you can always create new categories by clicking the folder icon button to add a new category.
Examples of Main Categories
Household (e.g. taxes, bills, cleaning, errands)
Work (if you use Marvin for both personal and work tasks)
Marketing, Admin (areas of non-overlapping work responsibilities or use subcategories)
Client A (for freelancers with a few big clients)
Health & Self Care (e.g. exercise, doctors appointments, meditation, reading books)
Side Project (e.g. building a business, creative projects)
School (general or create a main category for each subject)
Hobbies (general or create separate main categories for specific hobbies)
Social (e.g. remembering to call or write people, doing things for others)
Learning (e.g. learning languages or a new skill, educational reading, online courses)
Volunteering
Assign a color and icon to each main category
Click the folder icon to add a color and change the icon for each category.
If your custom icon is not showing up, make sure to click on the "Configure View" button in the top-right corner, and enable it at least for "Main Categories".
Use subcategories
If you have a very large and complex main category it can be helpful to use subcategories.
Dumping your brain into Marvin
For each category think about all the things on your plate at the moment and add them as tasks.
Convert any big item (something that takes you multiple steps over multiple days to accomplish) to a project using the "Turn into project" button. To access it, first Shift-click on the far-most button in the hover menu. This will open a menu with all available actions, where you'll find the "Turn into project" button too.
You can also use the Braindump feature to help you quickly add tasks.
Examples of Projects
Redesign Website (Pick color scheme, Collect inspiration, Design header, etc.)
Final Essay for "Intro to Literature" (Brainstorm topic ideas, Outline paper, Write Introduction, etc.)
Plan Paul's Birthday Party (Order cake, Make invite list, Book clown, etc.)
Lose 10lbs (Research exercise programs, Buy/download exercise program, Make weekly workout plan, Book appointment with nutritionist, etc.)
Guest Blogging Experiment (Make list of 50 blogs, Brainstorm topic ideas, Write draft for post XYZ, etc.)
Get House Organized (Buy boxes for donation items, Sort out clothes to donate, Organize kitchen drawer, etc.)
Importing tasks into Marvin
If you already have a task list in another app, check the import page to see if you can import your tasks.
Keep in mind that Marvin has its own organization scheme (categories, projects and tasks) so make sure you understand the three item types in Marvin and convert your imported items as needed.
Tweak as you go
As you use Marvin you will likely tweak your task organization as you settle into a good system. It takes some time to figure out what works best for you.