GTD: Getting Things Done Applications

Whether it is for school or work, you need an application to help you remember what you need to get done but, with so many applications and website to choose from, how do you know which one to choose? In this post, I am going to tell you my favorites and why I like them. The rest is up to you.

1. Things - $49.99

Compatible with: Mac OS X, iOS

First up in the list is Things. Right now, Things is only for Mac computer OS but they also have an iOS application. This is probably one of the more expensive application for a GTD application but like always, you get what you pay for. Things has won many design awards and is all around, a great application. With a simple shortcut key you can easily create new projects, tasks, mark tasks completed and more. You can also organize your tasks by tags and search for them later on if the application becomes too cluttered with all of your tasks. Some of my favorite features of Things include its ability to sync with iCal, iOS compatible, the dock badge (show your how many tasks are due and overdue), and it is spotlight compatible which means you can easily view your to-do's in Spotlight. 

2. Asana - Free

Compatible with: Web Based, iOS Application

Asana is a website that I told to use back when I worked with AppleWizdom. This has all the great features of Things but it is compatible with all operating systems and it has an iOS application. If you do not have iOS, there is no need to be concerned with having a lousy web app because their mobile website is simply amazing. The only reason I would not choose this as my number one application is because of the lack of desktop application. This means you lose all the features but this website is far from lacking. If you do want a desktop application of the website, use Fluid. Another thing to note about Asana, it does sync with iCal so you can have reminders sent straight to your iOS device when a task is due.

3. Reminders

Compatible with: iOS 5 Devices

While to many who do not use iOS, this may seem a bit odd but Reminders really can do wonders. With its Siri integration, it becomes really simple to add tasks. I wouldn't use Reminders as my main Getting Things Done application but for basic tasks like studying for a test, this will never let you down. One flaw in Reminders that I have noticed is that you need to make sure you said AM or PM after the set time because my iPhone has reminded me to Study at 5 A.M the next morning when I meant for it to tell me at 5 P.M.

4. Remember the Milk (RTM) - Free Online

Compatable with: Web Based, iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Outlook, Google

This application has been the one that I've been signed up for the longest but for me, it just does not work as fluidly as the others. Although, most of the others are mostly only compatible for iOS, this is available for Android and Blackberry as well. If you're on a budget and use a BlackBerry or Android compatible device, I would defiantly go with this. It has most of the features the other applications do but, I feel that it does lack some features that I really love about the others.

Conclusion?

When choosing an application for task management, you really need to make sure that you enjoy the application or website you use to better the chances you are checking back on tasks often. For me personally I prefer Things for Mac over all of the rest because it is fluid with the OS, syncs with iCal, and the Spotlight support and overall design is simply amazing. If you do not want to spend $50 without knowing if you like it, they have a trial version and if you still don't want to pay, go with Asana. It really is the best free option that I have found. If you want a desktop application for it, I will have a tutorial on how to do so coming soon.

Tutorial Coming Soon!

Patrick Fassler

Twitter | YouTube

Google Apps for Your Domain

I've been using the internet since 1995, and since then have gone through 20 or more different e-mail addresses. I've had one's provided for me in school, ISP addresses, and of course have used web based versions like Yahoo!, Hotmail, GMail and most recently MobileMe. Now maybe this is because I have OCD (not officially, but I'm sure I do) but I've never ever been happy with any of them. They've annoyed me in many different ways, ISP emails have included very long domain's (@warp.nfld.net & @nf.sympatico.ca), I've never trusted emails provided by schools to be secure and private, and usually my main complaint with web based email is that I can never get the username I want, I'm usually stuck with adding random numbers to the end of my name.

Up until 2008, GMail was the best I had ever found. It's spam filter was far superior than anything I had ever used, it's interface and features was much, much better than what I had experienced with Hotmail or Yahoo!, plus ads, which are always going to be present with anything free on the internet wasn't in your face, it is artfully put in a place where it doesn't get in the way of using it. I should have been happy, right? But I wasn't, as I mentioned earlier I couldn't find the username I wanted. Steven Davis is a rather popular name, so I was forced to add numbers at the end. This bothered me far more than it should have, given the awesome feature-set GMail has.

Then along came Apple's MobileMe. I had an iPhone & the though of true pushed email intrigued me. Plus, since it was a new service & it cost $100/year the name I wanted was available, without numbers! Beyond the email it also allowed me to back-up application data of various apps on my iPhone, which was very important to me. I didn't have a Mac at the time, so syncing to desktop versions of apps like OmniFocus (GTD, todo list app) wasn't possible. I had extra cash last summer, and given all of these features and the pretty looking online interface I made the purchase. I finally got what I wanted, I definitely should be happy now... right? Not bloody likely.

I missed GMail, plus MobileMe tends to only work when it wants to, it's much improved from the early days but it still has it's issues. I don't really know how to put this other than saying MobileMe lacks pretty much all the "geeky" features that everyone loves with GMail.

Then a few weeks ago, the sky opened and the lord spoke to me. Not really. It was just an old archived blog entry at lifehacker.com about Google Apps for Your Domain. Basically it allows you to add Google provided applications like GMail, Google Calendar, and Google Docs to your domain, plus you don't even need a hosting plan for a website, you just need to purchase a domain. At this point I don't really need a web hosting plan, I'd like one, but right now I just don't have the extra cash for it, since I'm in school. So i picked up a domain at GoDaddy.com for around $15/year signed up for Google's service, went through the relatively simple set-up process and it was done. It took less then a half hour of actual work, and now I have a GMail email but using my domain. For example: samplemail@stevend.ca .

So now I've got everything I wanted. The domain is short, all the GMail features, and any user name I want. It's amazing. And now that Google is offering full exchange support for contacts & calendars it's gotten even better. I suspect email exchange is coming soon, but for now IMAP on my iPhone is perfectly fine! I'd recommend this to anyone and everyone! Google's services is compeltly free (there is a pro version, but I have no need for that), so all it's going to cost you is the cost of a domain!

Have fun trying this stuff out! I'd aslo like to thank David for giving me the opportunity to write on his social blog! If you're interested in reading more of my stuff or following me on twitter I can be found here:

http://stevend.ca

http://twitter.com/stevendavis