things | my new favorite to-do app

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John pointed me to Things a simple, intuitive task management application. I’ve used it for a few days now and give it a swissmiss thumbs up. How do you manage your to-do’s?

31 Comments leave a comment below

  1. I need something that was browser based, and be the same on my work computer, home, and laptop, and not require internet access when on the train. RTM runs on google gears, and synch’s up no matter the location, so it’s always updated. I started to look at Things, but oddly enough, I don’t want it to be that polished. I mess with it to much then.

  2. Looks great! If I had 40 bucks I’d give it a shot…will just have to stick with post-its on my wall and own recycled calendar format that I’m trailing at the moment.

    Might try the demo anyway.

  3. would it kill someone to make an application that syncs the to-do’s you create in ical with my iphone???

  4. re: rememberthemilk…

    the todos show up in ical???

  5. I recently changed over to a notebook. I can’t keep up on todos on the computer, as I need them on the go, and synching is a pain. It’s easier to grab my notebook and go rather than worry about being in front of a computer all the time — this coming from someone who spends easily 75% of his waking hours in front of a screen…

  6. I use mindmap, its fast and easy to add and delete stuff

    http://www.mindmeister.com/

    also it’s online!!

  7. The only feature making this app considerable is it’s collaboration option.Otherwise a good ol’ piece of paper, iCal and some discipline just do it for me :)
    (Sorry if I sound like a smart ass )

    p.s.
    I tested it and besides it looking good and feeling that someone put some effort in it, you know what? It’s one of those apps making using it more time consuming than what it aims to solve. so stop managing your tasks around – get a more simple and faster workaround!

  8. First: GREAT BLOG! I repeat: GREAT BLOG!
    I’ve been using Things for about 3 months now. I’ve used other GTD apps but they never lasted more than a week installed. This is a very well thought and design app. If you have an iPhone be sure to download also the mobile version, it syncs with the desktop and it’ll become your main app.
    Greetings from Venezuela,
    Mauricio

  9. Personally I use OmniFocus for my Mac which syncs smootly with OmniFocus on my iPhone. Great combination, sometimes though I wish for faster input of quick lists.

  10. Pair it with the iPhone app and it is pretty unstoppable. The wifi syncing is dead simple and brilliant.

  11. I really like Things as well. I tried a couple other alternatives, but found Things to really stick because of it’s speed and tagging abilities. Plus, the iPhone app was the first app I purchased. The collaborative component is interesting, but sadly many of my friends don’t use Macs, nor are really into GTD type activities.

  12. Things is brilliant, I’ve been using it for a few months now and been so much more productive since. I plan to buy the portable version when I get my iPod Touch, as well as the desktop version when that is finalized some time this year

    @JoeQ: Things fully integrates the system-wide todos, so you’ll probably be able to use it to sync your iCal todos to your iPhone. Well, technically, the Things desktop client syncs to iCal and then it syncs to its iPhone counterpart (somebody please correct me if I am wrong). You’ll still need Things to display your todos on the iPhone, though, since the iPhone still doesn’t do this natively, but the interface is simple that that shouldn’t be an issue.

  13. I have used the free/donationware and fast iGTD for almost two years and it works for me. I have tried almost all the other gtd apps too. iGTD syncs nicely between my MacPro and my MBP into iCal and into my cellphone (but not to iPhone I am told). By using Quicksilver too it’s really fast to send inputs directly into iGTD without leaving the application you are working in.
    To fill in the gap when I am not at any computer I carry small notebooks and use my own system of tracking/marking the status of things.

    I am hoping that iGTD version 2 will appear sometime in the future. An alpha is out already, and is very promising.

  14. The app looks slick but I prefer accessing my todos from everywhere. Also I find tagging and assigning a task to a project/area a bit redundant.

    I’m using http://www.todoist.com which is ultra simple to use.

  15. I use Things on my iphone and I like it.

  16. I’ve been using Things for about 9 months now. Love it, and couldn’t live or work without it.

  17. I use pen and paper. The interface is immediate and I have been using it all my life.

    If I have the time I buy index card sized notebooks from Muji which work well.

    I’ve used every task/to do app under the sun and none beat this system.

  18. I’ve been using it on my desktop and my iPhone and I love it. Great app.

  19. Been using ta-da lists for a while now …. free, online, sharing abilities … but sometimes bit unstable with very long lists (+#150 items)

  20. I built my own To Do Web-Application 1,5 year ago with http://www.todooo.com
    It’s in german not english as the most ones you find on the web – and has a free account for simple use :)

  21. Agreed. I’m trying it out right now along with OmniFocus and so far there’s really nothing I’m not loving. Keyboard shortcut/enter text/enter from any application and I’m back to whatever I was doing before. It’s like Quicksilver for my brain.

  22. Ditto (and tritto) on using it as an iPhone app. I didn’t even bother to purchase the desktop version, which moves me yet another step closer to having my *entire* life contained on one little device.

  23. I love Things. I probably would have gone with Omini Focus out of loyalty but the price was a touch high. I enjoy the Things experience so much I catch myself adding things after the fact just to have an excuse to get into the app.

  24. I’ve just started using daily folders like the ones recently featured on Design*Sponge, and it’s worked great so far! I’ve always had better luck with pen-and-paper to-do’s than digital.

  25. great app

  26. currently using Remember the milk. Tried todoist and some other applications. Still, the biggest problem is not the app, but the unorganized person using it…

  27. Yet another brilliant recommendation from Swissmiss. Have been using for a couple of weeks and LOVE.

  28. I use Chandler (http://chandlerproject.org). It looks quite nice, has an overview mode, and it is possible to share projects/tasks with other people. The projects can also be synced with a server, so that you can access them from any computer with an internet connection.

    It is free, open source, and under active development. Version 1.0 just came out.

    I highly recommend it!

  29. I use Chandler (http://chandlerproject.org). It looks quite nice, has an overview mode, and it is possible to share projects/tasks with other people. The projects can also be synced with a server, so that you can access them from any computer with an internet connection.

    It is free, open source, and under active development. Version 1.0 just came out.

    I highly recommend it!