Comments on: Need Mac ToDo!

Question: Need Mac ToDo!

Gideon — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 15:11:45 -0800

I need a better todo/tasks management system. I'm on a mac, and iCal isn't getting the job done...

I've been using Outlook 2007 for a while, and really enjoy its approach to tasks - but Office for Mac is not particularly reliable and so it is not really an option. Here's what I need:

Tasks I can view by date (not all in a row by date, but just, say "Feb 3rd") and an ability to sync with iCal so I can sync it with my windows mobile device. Ideally, I can use the software with Quicksilver as well.

GTD support would be fine, but I prefer it not be forced. Thanks!

By: chudder

chudder — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 15:24:00 -0800

I use Ghost Action, which allows for iCal sync, but it is designed for GTD on the Mac.

By: cschneid

cschneid — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 15:45:44 -0800

Overkill a bit, but I use Kinkless GTD with Omnioutliner. I can throw tasks into my inbox with quicksilver in a few seconds. It can also sync with ical. The downside is that it requires a pro version of omnioutliner which is expensive for the full license, although it's a great program in and of itself.

By: justgary

justgary — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 16:19:21 -0800

I wouldn't buy omnioutliner to use with kinkless at this point. The kinkless author has been working with omnigroup and they're coming out with omnifocus later this year.

(Unless you need an outliner in which case I love omnioutliner)

By: Happy Dave

Happy Dave — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 17:05:35 -0800

Isn't Omnioutliner bundled with Mac OS X these days? I have it on my Intel macbook....

By: chrismear

chrismear — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 17:39:31 -0800

I think you get the basic version bundled, while KGTD needs the Pro version.

By: kirkaracha

kirkaracha — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 22:31:56 -0800

Maybe OmniPlan? Allegedly it's "Project management made painless." (I haven't used it, but I like OmniOutliner and OmniGraffle.)

By: filmgeek

filmgeek — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 23:26:45 -0800

I shudder to think what sort of software the OmniGroup will have if they follow kinkless.

Midnight inbox or thinking rock are better GTD apps.

And GTD is SOOOOO the way to handle this sort of stuff.

By: DudeAsInCool

DudeAsInCool — Sat, 03 Feb 2007 00:14:05 -0800

I like Hotplan:

http://www.intuiware.com/Products/MacOSX/HotPlan/

You can set up your to do lists in categories, and individually--and each entry has a completion bar so you can monitor your progress.

I find it far more effective than what is mentioned above, which I found to be overly complicated

By: adamwolf

adamwolf — Sat, 03 Feb 2007 10:34:03 -0800

I love Actiontastic. It's GTD-oriented. It syncs to iCal / iPod, and its free. Works with Quicksilver. It's free, now, but the author seems to insinuate it won't be as soon as it hits 1.0.

By: WCityMike

WCityMike — Sat, 03 Feb 2007 17:59:50 -0800

I personally find web-based systems to be far nicer, since they're accessible from anywhere. Try Remember the Milk -- it's even got iCalendars that will let you have a local copy on iCal.

By: timmins

timmins — Sat, 03 Feb 2007 22:07:55 -0800

Well, you didn't specify whether you need a local client or a web client. I can recommend a couple from the web side and one from the local side:

web:
- Alex King's Tasks
- voo2do
- 37signals backpack

local options:
- omnioutliner (like many others have said)

I like Alex King's offering because it's lightweight and full of features, including a mobile interface. Voo2do just gets it right for the kind of work I do for a living. And 37signals Backpack just makes sense for a ToDo pad.

By: Gideon

Gideon — Sun, 04 Feb 2007 22:03:11 -0800

Thanks for all the suggestions. It looks like I'm goin to embrce kGTD.

I really don't like web solutions much as I so often find myself without net access - so, while many web programs are amazing the lack of local versions really muck with it.

By: Gideon

Gideon — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 01:55:07 -0800

Also, I already had the pro version of omnioutliner - so it was a free option.

Inbox seemed nice, but.. not quite there yet. I looked at Easytask, but the documentation was atrocious. Actiontastic just didn't seem robust enough, I'm not sure why.

Now that I've gotten used to kinkless, however, I'm really fond of it.

By: filmgeek

filmgeek — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 00:34:06 -0800

Gideon - really. Try out thinking rock. It's free, cross platform. It's biggest flaws are that it's java based.

Gary,
What makes you think I don't like Omnigroup? I own Omni Outliner, Omni Graffle and Omni web.

It's just an outliner doesn't do this job right. I used kinkless for two months. And then found software that works.

How did my software go? I don't design software for a living. So, I guess I fulfilled that just fine.

Next time either ask me what flaws I found in the poorly scripted, awkward, data losing, non-intuitive kludge that kGTD is, or insult me directly via my email. Doing so here is a bit crass.

By: 4ster

4ster — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 07:49:16 -0800

I have nothing to add, but I just wanted to thank everyone for these posts. After switching to the Mac this week, they are exactly what I was looking for.