Here's Mickey's list of what he looks for in a task organizer with the things I've added (in highlights) or crossed out:
- Web-based
- Android app (or at least an iPhone compatible version).
- iPad version
- Subtasks
Project based. Call it something else (“queues” or whatever), but I need to be able to group things.
“Next Actions” or “Starred Items” or some kind of nice overview. I don’t want to see everything at once; just the items I’ve selected.
- Have items due today (or overdue) show up on that overview page.
- Recurring events. Nothing fancy here. (absolutely important)
- Sharing. Just have shared projects show up along side my non-shared items, not tucked away in some special “sharing” section. (great, but not a deal killer for me since my to-dos are usually private to me and not group-based)
- a desktop version of some kind or some kind of offline management (Windows since I use Windows)
- ability to make notes for a task
- email tasks
- natural language
- tags
- integrates with Google calendar
- integrates with Google tasks (ideal)
- Producteev
- RTM
- Toodledo
- Todoist
Producteev | RTM | Toodledo | |
web-based | X | X | X |
Android | Astrid | Yes (pro users only, $25/yr) | Yes (DGT GTD-Free) (Ultimate To Do List) |
iPad | iPhone version | Yes | Yes ($3) (Toodledo) |
Subtasks | -- (coming) | -- | X |
Due today, filters, etc. | X | X | X |
Recurring Events | X | X | X |
desktop / offline management | -- (Google Gears, but doesn't work well) | -- (Google Gears, but doesn't work well) | |
Notes | X | X | X |
email tasks | X | X | X |
natural language | X | X | X |
tags | X | X | X |
Google Calendar | X | X | X |
Google tasks | X* | -- | -- |
cost | FREE basic account | $14.95/yr (subtasks ability; total cost would be $22.95 (more if you want to buy desktop app)) |
As you can see, the real differences are really with only 3 things: subtasks, offline support, and Google Tasks integration and, of course, cost. Producteev seems to really win here, it's FREE, syncs well with Google Tasks, but unfortunately, I’m one of those people who REALLY THRIVE on subtasks—call it a hierarchal mind, whatever, but I like breaking up my tasks into their component parts. I have to say after staying with both RTM and Producteev for some time, I may be finally switching to Toodledo and giving it a try.
I used the free version of RTM for ages, but when I realized that I had to go pro in order to use it on Android, I looked for something else. And Producteev was great for a long time, but I still find it a little clumsy to use. Toodledo requires a bit more upfront work and the appearance is not nearly as fun as RTM or Producteev, but those subtasks…To be fair Producteev is supposed to getting this, but I haven’t seen much movement on this front…it’s like Producteev is trying to be a project manager without all the bells and whistles of a full-fledged project management app. I’ll do a full review of each in a few days.
*Producteev syncs with Google Tasks but can be kind of a pain. Only integrated Workspaces will show up in Google Tasks but if you sync more than one Workspace, you end up with tons of repeating tasks. In other words, say you have Workspace 1, Workspace 2, and Workspace 3 set up in Producteev, but you integrate only Workspace 1 with Google Tasks. Your tasks in Workspace 2 and 3 won't show up in Google Tasks. So if you plan to integrate Google Tasks with Producteev, it works best if you only use one Producteev Workspace.
However, you can have multiple Lists in Google Tasks that will show up in Producteev. The main drawback of this set up of course is that there's no way to view all your Google Tasks across all Lists in Google Tasks. So if you want to see your tasks across all Google Tasks, you'd have to look in Producteev.
In short, I find the whole set up a little clumsy.
No comments:
Post a Comment