Comments on: Ask The Readers: What Would Your Ideal Productivity App Be?

By: Phill

Phill — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 11:34:56 +0000

I started using Things and Omnifocus but I find them too rigid and they don’t work the way I do. I have a Moleskine I use to jot down scribbles and ideas and use MindNode Pro (mindmapping software for Mac) to organize my tasks as I find it much easier to manage tasks visually and being able to drag things around to make your own priority schemes wins me over.

By: James

James — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 16:42:19 +0000

Lots of great comments, thanks! I bought a Moleskine once and didn’t feel right using it. I am a very messy note taker and it didn’t feel right to fill an expensive notepad with doodles and scribbles. I eventually got over that, because I decided it’s better than leaving it taking up space, and I now find Moleskine to be an very sturdy piece of kit.

For me, there are too many distractions associated with the high tech approach, but the idea of being able to access your to-do lists anywhere via a laptop, mobile phone or whatever sounds great. Until your internet goes down that is…

By: Sue Butler

Sue Butler — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 13:23:47 +0000

I am a great fan of pen and paper for lists and notes. I find I think better if I write things down, it really facilitates a brain dump as I can write faster than I can type. Plus I cannot ignore or forget them if they are there in black and white. For stuff that I need to remember whilst I am out and about – I have a terrible memory – I use my Blackberry (shopping lists, contacts, diary, email and even GPS for when I get lost).

By: Pelf

Pelf — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 12:39:58 +0000

I am also very much a pen and paper person. I like the feeling of crossing off items in my to-do list!

By: Joey Logano

Joey Logano — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 11:18:45 +0000

It really depends on the scenario. Whenever I was in class I tried using a laptop, but I found that I would get distracted easily, meaning that whenever I typed on the computer I wouldn’t really be listening to the professor at the same time. So for that case I really needed to stick to pen and paper. But there are other times that I would rather jot down my ideas on a laptop because I can type faster, and gather my thoughts better.

By: Zachary Abresch

Zachary Abresch — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 02:33:12 +0000

I use a Molskines as well. I use a medium sized reporters notebook with pocket for lengthy planning. I carry a Moleskine Volant on me at all times, these tiny notebooks rule! I bought four packs so I’m stocked for the year!

I’m in a toss-up between Evernote and DEVONNote as a note taking app. I’ve used tons of note taking apps and was really happy with xPad for its simplicity. I’ve also recently started using xMind for brainstorming. I never really liked so called mind mapping software but this one is elegant and simple, but powerful.

By: Greg

Greg — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 02:15:41 +0000

Echoing a few things others have pointed out, it has to be in sync across all my computers, my iPhone, and via the web. Should be able to look up my tasks anywhere, anytime, and pull up my to-do list even if I am disconnected from the Internet.

It must also integrate with my calendar and email. I need to be able to drop emails into tasks and schedule appointments and deadlines on my calendar from my to-do application.

Above all it has to be simplistic. It must be simple to tag, sort, and categorize. If it takes more then twenty seconds to enter a task and have it sorted, then that’s too long.

Best system I have found is a Moleskine for offline task collecting and Things for digital management. I use Evernote and Together for saving my stuff. Sorry Windows guys, all of those are OSX only!

By: Zachary Abresch

Zachary Abresch — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 22:09:57 +0000

I’m becoming a big fan of DEVONNote and Things but they are Mac only (sorry PC folks). Things is one of the best productivity apps I’ve ever used.

By: Rubén

Rubén — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 21:10:19 +0000

I’m currently using a Palm PDA for my calendar and to-do items and I think I’ve got a nice approach to GTD philosophy; GMail with GTDinbox and Google Notebook are the main companions. My first time commenting on your blog, long ago reading it. Congratulations, James!

By: MPE

MPE — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 17:27:33 +0000

I agree with Matt. I want my app to be constantly syncing to my personal and work computers, my phone, and all the apps that are on them. I think the best app for me right now would be a speech-to-text app on my Blackberry that asks whether things should be added to calendars and or to-do lists. Quicker than typing.