One computer freaks journey to find a perfect GTD app.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Doomi – A beautiful todo list designed to stay out of the way

Following on a trend fro last post I want to talk about another to do list application today.
Doomi is a little gem amongst task organizers, it's small, lightweight but also beautifully designed. It offers the core functionality one would expect from a simple to do list however adds few small uncommon features.
But to begin at the beginning.
Doomi is written in Adobe Air, meaning it's cross platform between mac, pc and linux. I found this extremely helpful as as you already know, I work on both mac and pc. It felt really comfortable to be working with the same interface and same app on both machines. Unfortunately there is no syncing between different copies so you're working with two different lists on each machine. It worked fine for me as I use one machine for work and the other for home stuff.
Doomi's main strength seems to lie in it's beautiful design. It's creators certainly have put a lot of effort into making it stand out from the typical to do interface. The whole interface can hide in an accordion like effect leaving only add new task field on top, you can drag and drop tasks with a lovely animated effect. The whole things shines beautifully.
When it comes to it's functionality, Doomi offers all the basic to do list functions like adding, editing, deleteing and marking tasks are done. However it also adds an option to set how much time will the task take and also to set reminders for tasks.
To be absolutely honest I didn't use Doomi for long though. In spite of it's wonderful interface and few additional features it just didn't click with me. Now, I don't want you to think that it's a bad app, it's not. I think it's creators have done a fantastic job and the application is one of the top ones in it's class. But it just didn't click with me.
You can download Doomi for free here.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

TaskMate – A Simple To Do List

Most GTD enthusiasts will agree, you can't live without this system. However, for many other people, Getting Things Done is a complex system that they simply don't need. It is one thing to manage almost every aspect of your life with it and making sure that your basic tasks for the day are done is the other.
I have had countless discussions with the systems many opponents and enthusiasts and my view on the problem is clear, do whatever you feel most comfortable with. And luckily, there are apps for both options.
TaskMate, by Ryan Carlson is an app for those of us who need a simple todo list. The app, which is Mac only (there is a paid version for the iPhone, I wasn't able to verify if there is any syncing between them though) offers only the basic options of the basic. The user can add a task, remove it or tick as done. No more, no less. And to be honest, I find it more than enough for an average todo list user.
The app, thanks to the simplicity of it's options is extremely easy to use. There is only one view in it and the user interface is brought down to a minimum. There are only add and remove tasks buttons as well as settings and open drawer ones, that's it. No grouping of tasks, no contexts and so one. Just basic list of tasks and nothing else.
As mentioned, there is an iPhone app version of the app, however the developers website doesn't give any indication whether there is any syncing between them two. Desktop version is free, iPhone app is steeply priced at $1.59.
My verdict: desktop version is absolutely must try for anyone interested in simple to do list.
You can download TaskMate at http://www.gettaskmate.com  

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Nirvana App – Get Organized with This Beautiful GTD Web App

I am not sure if it's a pure coincidence that my very first app reviewed here was an online app and only couple of days ago I made a new discovery, another web based GTD tool called Nirvana.
Nirvana is a new player on the market, the app itself is in closed BETA and you have to request your registration key to be able to set your account. I received mine few days ago and have been using Nirvana since.
To be absolutely honest, Nirvana reminds me a little of another, desktop GTD app called Things. I always believed that Things have achieved perfection with their interface and the way one uses the software and I am delighted that non Mac users will have a chance to experience that thanks to Nirvana. I already started using it for my work and home tasks through my both work machine and my netbook at home. Things, being Mac OS app only allowed me to do so at work only. I found this a huge limitation and Nirvana unconditionally wins in this situation.
Nirvana offers everything a GTD enthusiast would dream of, from projects, contexts, tags and task lists to email reminders, setting due dates, next and someday actions and more. It is simply filled with options but what's important, the app is so well designed that at any stage you don't feel intimidated by the huge amount of it's options.
So far the app does not allow for offline use, which today is a bit of a limitation. However, since Nirvana is still in BETA I hope it's creators already have plans for either offline mode, mobile app or even a desktop one, all of which are slowly becoming a standard for any respectable web app these days.
My verdict? I am absolutely fascinated by this app. I have been using it for few days only so far but already see it as becoming a major player in the GTD apps scene in a very short period of time.
As said, Nirvana is still in BETA and you can request your testing account by going here. It's well worth doing it.

Monday, August 16, 2010

GTD App - Remember the Milk

Getting Things Done is a complex system, no doubt about that and it can be difficult to implement it into real life. Definitely it is a system that demands for dedicated tools to be use. Be it a moleskine notebook, a sophisticated notes system or a software. To me, using the latter seemed like a perfect solution from the start, however, finding a good GTD application proved to be more difficult than I thought. I am still searching.
Remember the Milk is one of the first apps I used to implement David Allen's method. The software immediately caught my attention for few reasons. Firstly, it is a web app which means that I could use it no matter where I am and which of my many computers I am using right now, as long as I have internet connection (although later RTM team solved that problem too but more on that in a second). Secondly, unlike D. Allen's system, the app is easy to use “out of the box” and you don't have to go through any manuals to familiarize yourself with it.
Remember the Milk does not follow David Allen's system rigorously. It seems that it's creators picked the most important aspects of it focusing on the ease to use instead of getting all aspects of GTD system implemented. In my opinion, this was a wise move allowing them to create application that's easy to use yet still offers most of the options an average GTD fan would need.
RTM allows a user to create multiple tasks list, organize them by tags, set contexts, due dates, even add locations (including google maps for reference). Tasks can be set to repeat daily, weekly or whichever way the user would like them too. A time estimate can also be assigned to them as well as notes helping the user to complete it. And it's all done through a simple and clean interface which is an additional bonus.
One of the main advantages of RTM is it's offline mode. The option wasn't available when I was using it and only noticed it now. It definitely is a great add on to the software. You can still access RTM even if you have no internet connection, and all changes you make to your tasks or lists are recorded and uploaded to the server once you are back online. A lack of this feature was something that originally made me to change from a web based solutions to desktop one and I am reconsidering giving RTM a chance once again.
Overall with the addition of offline mode RTM has become one of the most powerful, yet simple to use GTD applications out there and should satisfy every enthusiast of this productivity system.
You can try Remember the Milk yourself here.