Ask The Readers: What GTD Apps Should I Try And Why?
In the process of writing Monday’s post on why I prefer the almighty pen and paper combination above all else, I ironically started to feel a slight twinge of curiosity about all those GTD apps out there. Most of the GTD related tweets on Twitter revolve around people’s experiments with different apps and I pretty much always skipped over them… until now.
The only time I tried using any app to get organized was years ago with Thinking Rock, back when I was still a productivity freshman and still unsure what tools worked best for me. However that lasted all of an hour when I realized I’d wasted all that time tinkering with it rather than actually using it.
Recently I started using a couple of apps to track my finances and it’s not actually been that bad. I spent a couple of hours looking for something that suited my needs but since then it’s been straightforward. So, now I’m once again tempted to try some GTD apps again to see what the fuss is all about and that’s where I need your help. For all those hifi people out there, what apps do you use or prefer, and why? And for all you lofi brothers and sisters, feel free to try and persuade me not to jump to the dark side! Look forward to the discussion.
35 Comments
I am a Mac user and I used Omnifocus for quite a while. Real good app, it can sync on iPhone and Macbook.
Last month I moved over to Daylite which also syncs with the iPhone. The advantage to Omnifocus is the links between tasks, contacts, organizations and opportunities.
The best one out there is Achieve Planner, but it is so complex and full of resources that a lot of people might give up on it. I do not recommend it for starters, but highly recommend for power users, especially if you use other methodologies like Seven habits.
Almost all windows GTD apps lack some vital functions. Some have a poor project area, others poor synchronization, etc.
And, for those of us who have to use Outlook, it’s even harder. I’ve been using Clear Context, but it also has some major faults in the project management area. Jello Dashboard is a workaround, but also lacks some important features. But for the Outlook GTDers they are the best choices I’ve found so far.
Tried Fusion Desktop, Thinking Rock, ListPro, My Life Organized and other apps and all of them miss vital functions that makes it impossible to use then as the definitive GTD Windows app.
There are lots of great GTD apps out there. GTD-Free is a favorite of mine, along with Toodledo. I’ve enjoyed every digital GTD implementation I’ve tried. That said, I also tend to come back to the paper list… mainly because it’s quicker, it helps me focus on the task (rather than the super-duper-cool app), and it gives me a chance to unplug.
I use OmniFocus exclusively. Also for the Mac is Things which is very nice too. If you use Windows give Nozbe a try or Basecamp (though you will have to play with the latter to work as a GTD setup).
Try GTDify. It’s open source so you can also install your own version at home). It has a great export feature (so no vendor locking), no need of an email address to register, it has mobile access (I access GTDify using my iPhone, Gmail, etc.) and above all, it’s free!
I use Toodledo after trying a lot of different things. It is web based because I use up to three different computers in a day so I want to be able to look at it on them all. It also has a great iPhone app with which it synchronizes.
My main conclusion from it all is that we all have our own little GTD idiosyncrasies so one person’s ideal tool is another’s nightmare! Just remember that you’ll be investing a fair bit of trust in any system you use, so it is only fair to invest an equal amount of time in deciding which system to go for.
Thanks for the suggestions. Judging by the comments and the various tweets it seems Omnifocus is definitely very popular.
Unfortunately I don’t have a Mac which surprisingly seems to limit me. It’s interesting to see how a lot of you talk about portability and wanting to sync with your iPhone, etc. Never even thought about having a setup like that, it just sounds easier to pick up my weekly planner and fold it up when I’m out and about.
I use Evernote for GTD, and it might appeal to your lo-tech approach. It is that it is very simple, and it’s fast to work with. It can also integrate with a lot of other services (like email, Twitter and Google Reader). A real fun bonus is it’s ability to interpret text within images so you can actually search for terms that were on that whiteboard you took a photo of for reference.
I’m using Evernote on two different Windows machines (home and work) and on my Mac along with the light version for my phone browser (I wish I had an iPhone so I could use the native client).
Anyways, it works great for me. Good luck!
I like Nozbe. It’s web-based so I can access it from work or from home, it’s simple to use, plus it’s quite inexpensive. There is an iPhone app for it and you can link to it from Jott.
I still use pen and paper. I can use it while I drink my coffee. I don’t have to learn how to use it. It can go everywhere. It’s usually in my face, I can’t turn it off and forget about it.
It has also been said that the act of writing something down hardwires it into your brain. Plus, the act of crossing something off your list gives you a sense of accomplishment.
I have my most productive days when I write down three or four major tasks that I want to get done that day. Not too many, or it won’t work. Be realistic. Try it.
I’ve looked at a few apps myself. Such as Todoist, The Big Picture and Thinking Rock. After all that thought and effort I’m still using Excel sheets to keep lists for different tasks.
Have a look at Clutterpad – I have had the opportunity to use it in beta and I must say it’s awesome. I have tried lots of other apps but nothing comes as good as this.
I use Remember The Milk as it is web-based (so I can get to it wherever I am as long as I can get online), has an iPhone app (so I can use my iPod Touch to access my lists), integrates with Twitter (so I can add stuff from there or via text which makes it very handy for those sudden brainwaves) and lets you tag things and use smart lists. I have a list for each project/area of responsibility at work and add as many action items as I can think of so my project lists are all in one easy to search place.
I tag by context, name (agendas for meetings and colleagues for example), next actions, etc. You can set up smart lists by searching for useful combinations such as agendas for people, things I’ve done this month (useful for feeling smug and for reviews with my manager) and next actions by context. These are useful for your weekly review as you can quickly see things you’re waiting for (and might want to chase) and view lots of actions for each project (so you can pick out the next ones).
You can also use due dates/priorities but I don’t tend to use them. RTM is free or you can get a pro account really cheaply which allows you to use the iPhone app.
My Life Organized (MLO) is very overlooked but the best one out there in my opinion. The key difference about this application is it prioritizes your to do list for you based on importance and urgency. Life Balance is similar – perhaps not as good, but also useful.
As another MLO user, I will just say +1.
I like My Life Organized, because it just does what it says – it organizes my life!
I would recommend checking out GTD Agenda for an online GTD manager. You can use it to manage your goals, projects and tasks, set next actions and contexts, use checklists, schedules and a calendar. A mobile version is also available too.
There will probably never be a perfect GTD app as so many people adapt the system to their own individual requirements. The key, therefore, is customization and flexibility. The best app for providing these attributes is, by some distance, My Life Organized.
I echo the recommendations of My Life Organized. I’ve used it every day since 2005 and it has never failed me – it’s both lightweight and full-featured. A great plus (for me, at least) is that it runs just fine off a USB stick.
Aha, I confess I wasn’t expecting all these responses and different app suggestions. It’s so much simpler with paper! Based on all your suggestions I’m inclined to go with MLO at the moment. I hope to replace my desktop with a laptop in the near future which will make me more portable and an app like that may finally make sense to me.
MLO +1.
I have found My Life Organized to be very good, and there is a very helpful user group discussion that goes with it too.
I like to be able to jot down things as I think of them, but am too lazy to carry a notebook around together with the car keys, wallet and phone (at least until handbags for men become mainstream). I also cannot read my own handwriting after a few weeks, which is why the paper option does not really work for me.
So, having tried a variety of Windows Mobile software solutions over the last ten years, I finally have landed on My Life Organized for the two simple reasons:
Firstly, it is highly customizable – you can do GTD or Autofocus or 7 Habits or your own custom made combination of approaches to keep the to-do list fresh and keep you interested in looking at it and working with it.
Secondly, it syncs with my Windows Mobile phone (HTC Touch Pro) which is always with me. So I can always enter a task when I think of it, or quickly filter tasks in my @errands context when I am out there to remind me of things I should pick up, etc.
Now I only need a personal assistant to actually DO the tasks!
MLO is by far the best for me.
I’ve been using MLO for a couple of years now, and it really is fantastic. I do not use the feature which automatically organizes actions by importance and urgency, but the program is so flexible I can structure my GTD-application just the way I want it. That is part of the beauty of MLO – you can tailor it to YOUR needs.
Previously I’ve used the GTD Outlook plugin, which I abandoned as I found it too rigid. I’ve also used a Symbian based app called Mandala which was OK for what it was but nowhere near MLO, and it was cumbersome to use when exporting/importing to the phone. Obviously the phone crashed and I lost a substantial amount of entries. MLO has the advantage of being available in both PC and Windows Mobile versions, and they sync with each other. In short, I love it!
MLO also runs on my USB stick. My only negative point would be that they could do with some extra video tutorials.
I used most of these but over time I just couldn’t get over the barrier of a list or needing to go to a particular program every time.
Eventually, I returned to the simple idea of text files. I can just create a folder anywhere and I can just right click, name the text file with my task and then put any sub-task within it. It’s basically my brain dump but I also use Remember the Milk for brain dumping.
There is nothing like pressing “T” for a new task but it took me awhile to warm up to RTM’s keyboard shortcuts. Prior to that I preferred Toodledo over it for a traditional brain dump. (but I also used Nutshell, Listography, Checkvist and Nozbe)
Saying all this, I’m not a GTD user. I just apply enough of it to suit my own needs. However most programs force you to apply GTD principles anyway to really use them to a semi-efficient manner.
Since you said you used ThinkingRock, just consider this a warning, although if you really hate the app, MLO might just be for you. It’s feature-full, often praised and highly recommended though I just can’t accept anyone saying it’s flexible because you still can’t really mimic a simple to-do list program totally or shy away from the whole list based form (that said, it’s one of the most straightforward and simple applications out there, albeit with a very high learning curve and UI on first use).
One more vote for MLO! Hands down the best personal organizer I have ever used.
Right… the resounding support for MLO has now made me register the program and I am currently in the process of migrating my GTD data from Evernote over to MLO.
I set it up to run from my USB stick so I can have access on multiple computers. So far, I must admit I like it better than any task manager I’ve tried in the past.
Thanks all for the suggestions. MLO seems to clearly win out, even if the sudden rush of MLO support at the end is a little suspicious… Either way, I’ll definitely be trying it when I finally get my laptop!
Hey James, how is it going with MLO? I’m looking for something myself and waiting for your progress update!
Thanks for checking back. I’m waiting till I get a laptop at Christmas before I try MLO out. Once I’m a bit more portable it will seem more appealing to try an hi-fi approach. Either way I’ll publish a post discussing my findings.
I was curious about MLO after reading this thread, so I went ahead and bought myself a copy. I set it up on a USB stick so it’s easy to switch between computers.
I can in no way claim to be an expert with the software, but man, do I like it a lot. I started out using it much like your ordinary outliner/to-do combination (low learning threshold if you have used similar products before), but the longer I use it, the more small gems I find. For instance, the next actions filter is quite neat, if your projects are marked as such and the tasks are listed in sequence.
Another great filter is the goals filter. Set up certain tasks as goals for the week, month or year, and you’ll get them all in a single view, with your tasks attached to them.
The recurring tasks are also very powerful – use them together with a suitable lead time, and the tasks will appear in time for you to move on them before they move on you. No more “Dang! Was that today?” or at least not so much of it!
Speaking for myself I can just say I’m very happy with the program, and I look forward to learning more about it.
Remember The Milk for me.
Hi, just stumbled across this site and really glad I did. For months I’ve been managing my personal tasks and errands using Things on my Mac (at home) and iPhone and have been generally quite happy with this. It’s simple and does what I need it to do. But I have never found a satisfactory tool for tracking my work tasks, projects and goals. Outlook doesn’t work for me (even with extensive use of categories to sort tasks into contexts and projects) – too messy and I find myself spending too much time managing lists instead of being able to clearly find and focus on my next actions. I can’t install 3rd party apps on my work desktop so have been trying web-based Remember The Milk, which is okay and also has an iPhone app which is great. I’m finding RTM just a bit too “clunky” and haven’t quite got it supporting my GTD system the way I want it to yet, hence the reason I’ve come searching for alternatives. MLO seemed to be the clear winner on this thread. 6 months later are you still using MLO and is it supporting you effectively and helping you be more productive?