The Verge: The best to-do list app will always be whatever works for you. One reason for the enduring popularity of pen-and-paper-based methods is that they can map perfectly to your individual needs. Bullet journals, which have surged in popularity in recent years, encourage you to pepper them with your own idiosyncrasies: widgets to track various goals, say, or lists of books to read, nestled alongside your daily chores. You impose your own point of view on a paper to-do list, for better and for worse.
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9 comments:
I've always used pen and paper to make my to-do-lists and write my homework assignments and such. However, many people are starting to rely more heavily on technology for their everyday planning and tasks and I think it's great that there are many new innovative apps that people can try to help them stay organized.
Figuring out a system of organization that works for you is vital. While I find bullet journals an attractive idea, Instagram has aided me in constructing an inferiority complex around the “aesthetic” of my to-do lists. Google calendar drives me up a wall. It has something to do with the number of clicks to input a repeating event that doesn’t continue forever, the constant notification that must be disabled with more clicks, and how tasks are inputted and display on the calendar. I personally like to use “Remember the Milk”, which is ranked second to last in this article. I work off the free version, and it can be cumbersome at times. I cannot make sub-tasks within projects without paying. It does not allow for an item to span multiple days. Honestly, I mostly use the app to keep track of upcoming homework assignments, multiple readings, and my grocery list. I used to try to put in the “daily” stuff (like “take your vitamins”, “go to the gym”, comments, and “contemplate the meaning of life”) but it is hard to place an end on repetition (which google can do but in an annoying way) and I ended up with a couple hundred uncompleted tasks after going offline for a few weeks. Also, fun fact: you cannot delete multiple items at a time with Remember the Milk. For my calendar I have a running excel spreadsheet with a weekly schedule that I update daily and a gantt chart for each semester. While I can see how this app might be a great idea and much more easily managed than my current system, what I am doing works fairly well for me. I haven’t double-booked myself since implementing my method. I get things done on time. That is all that really matters.
I thrive off of to-do lists. If I need to get a list of things done I make a list. Like Ella, I've always been a pen and paper list maker (with the addition of strategically placed sticky notes everywhere), mostly because I'm not a very tech-savvy or tech-trusting person. I use the iPhone calendar app because my father had always put all family and work schedule events in there, and for regular reminders I use the built in iPhone reminder app – again, mostly out of convenience. It works for me for the most part, unless I decide not to (or forget) to look at my notebook, and I wonder if switching everything to be from my phone – which, at this point, I have to have with me all the time – would make things more efficient. I agree with Laura – Google calendar drives me crazy too, with the exception that I can link it to my phone. My friend uses Plan, which is kind of similar to Google calendar, but she loves it and will spend 15 minutes every Sunday putting her entire weekly schedule and then add little things like homework as the week goes on. I will take a look at "Remember the Milk", and maybe some of the other recommended apps as well.
I'm really intrigued by this article and the apps that it presents. I'm going to give To-doist a try as I have had issues in the past using the google stock apps for event planning and tasks such as Keep and Calendar. I'm a very organized as is but I would like to keep as much of it in one place as possible. That's why I like Google calendar because it allows me one "place" over a multitude of physical places and platforms to present myself the information so that I don't lose it. But I feel that the system more then the program that use to organize yourself is more important then anything. Like for example I have color coordinated all of my computer files and logged years and file types for years in order to make my work flow as efficiently as possible. The system has allowed me to use my desktop as a sort of "work bench" so that I can see all of my active projects and put them in the correct place depending on their stage of production. Like printing or finished or questions/teacher info needed. But I'm interested and excited to see if I can incorporate that into this scheduling system moving forward.
I agree with Ella about writing things down. I agree when the article says that the Apps don't add a personal preference as well as hand written notes do and that, is one of the main reasons why I don't use the To-Do List Apps besides my notes app. I actually read the article because I wanted to see what the apps are and see if there are any apps that I might want to check out. I looked at all the apps presented (minus the 40 dollar one) and I found that all the apps in the basic form were pretty similar though I do like how Todoist can syncs up with my Google Calendar, though some of the more helpful features cost money. I found Any.do not a good site to use as it was cumbersome and hard to add new tasks to and Remember the Milk, My Day and Onus WeDo to all look and act the same. This article and checking these apps out just reminded me of how I like my tried and true method of writing things out, though I'm glad people have online options for to-do lists.
When I first saw the title of this article I was skeptical simply because I do not think there is a such a thing as a “best” to-do list app, but I was curious what app they were suggesting since the only one I tried was Remember the Milk and I found it less helpful than just having my notebook with a check list. Todoist seems pretty cool, especially the location specific notifications, though I do wonder how many of the really helpful features are only available when you pay, not that just under $30 a year is unreasonably expensive. I went ahead and downloaded it and poked around a little and I’m thinking I’ll give it a try. The biggest issue I had with Remember the Milk was that I couldn’t have subtasks for a project with the free version, but Todoist allows that and overall seems to be pretty easy to use. It doesn’t seem revolutionary or anything, but it does seem well designed.
I’ve never really been one for to do lists. Well, that’s not entirely accurate. I’ve never been one for digital to do lists. For whatever reason, digitalized to do lists never quite seem real to me. Maybe it’s because digital items seem more fleeting and less permanent than paper lists. By writing a paper to do list I’m actually forming the information myself, as opposed to typing it out. However, with Todoist maybe my mind will be changed. I have a small list going right now, mainly to write comments, and that’s about it. I don’t know, I’ve set on this list for a few days, and I don’t like electronic to do lists. They’re not enough for me, I need the satisfaction of crossing a chore or assignment off my paper to do list is the best way to go. I’ll stick with paper until there’s no tress left.
I always love commenting on “Top” list articles because I love saying how much I dislike them. It is so objective. Obviously no one is saying this is law but I wish all “top” lists were “My Top” lists. Anywho, I use 2 “to-do” esque apps. One is called “myHomework” and it tracks and maps…my homework. The other is called “Wunderlist” and I use it for my general to do list. For me pen and paper works so much better but the problem with that in my current state is I always work in different locations and it is hard to keep track of a tiny piece of paper. I lose stuff more than I’d like to admit so one more thing to keep track of is hard. Both of the apps I use sync with my computer and phone so I can even lose one of those and still be fine. I think customization is key and as the article says, the app makes you think in its way. If you can find an app that thinks like you (or better than you) go use it!
Yes! I’ve been using Todoist for over two years now and Todoist Premium for about a year. I know everyone has their opinions on which app is the best, but I have gone through so many and as soon as I tried Todoist, I never looked back. One of the best parts of the premium plan is the location based reminders. This feature is extremely useful if you use the Getting Things Done method. From that idea, you should keep lists of things to do based on your location. For example, if I am on the bus, these are the things I should be doing. I use this feature for when I arrive at school or when I arrive at home. To have that little notification remind me is so helpful. And with Getting Things Done, the point is to have your system work for you, not the other way around. Free up your brain power to do the tasks, not to remember to do them.
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