Apple - What is an quick way to create a new blank file in Lion?

A simple drag-and-drop solution works for me.

Create a folder called "New documents". In this folder, save a blank document of each type you want. In my case, I have a blank TextEdit document (.rtf) and a blank TextMate document (.txt).

Lock this folder (select, cmd-I, click 'Locked').

Put the folder in the Dock.

Now, whenever you want a new document, you simply drag it from this Dock folder to wherever you want it. Because the "New documents" folder is locked, the original won't be deleted; rather, the Mac will make a copy for you.

To-Do's

If you just want to create a To-Do list, you might look at third-party solutions like:

• NotesTab (free) which 'rests' in the menubar and has a beautiful GUI.

• Wunderlist (free) which provides sync between OSX, Win, iOS and Android

However, if you want to use a feature provided by OSX, try Stickies. It's Apple's program for taking notes. Very minimalistic and fast.

• format how you like
• edit with hyperlinks
• drag and drop pictures
• export as *.txt
• use ⌘+N to create a new note
• use ⌥+⇥ to create a list within the stickie
  • with right-click you get to customize the list
  • 

Contextual Menu item

There used to be NuFile which added the Windows-like feature to OSX. Unfortunately, the software hasn't been updated in years. There is commercial solution available now:

Neu

This applications adds "Create Document..." and "Create And Open Document..." menus to various places, including the main menubar, the Dock, and the Services menu that the Finder shows when you right-click on something. You can also trigger Neu from any application using a special key combination.

Another option is to assign a shortcut to a script like this:

tell application "Finder"
    set selection to make new file at (get insertion location)
end tell