Just give them a less "active" default color and you're halfway there. As they are now, they seem to be asking for action. I'd also write "Step n of N" or simply "n/N" to help clear the meaning.
Congratulations on your good work, by the way. I don't usually vote TFAs up, but you totally deserve it.
i use "todo.txt".
it is text based todo list, you can edit it easily every where, it has smart phone app and it's very simple to use
http://todotxt.com/