I realized I had 7 To Do apps on my phone. I decided needed to make the jump and cut that number as I need my to do lists mostly in 1 place or maybe just in 1 or two locations. I like features of several of them however nothing has hit that sweet spot of having all the features that I want. I need to do lists that reach out & grab my attention to what I need to do.
Valuable features to me:
- Reminders: I need to be reminded. When I arrive. When I leave. At a certain date or time. If I’m not reminded I’ll forget.
- Available anywhere: I have 3 computers an iPad and an iPhone. I like to put something down & pick up when I pick up a different device.
- Lists: I make lists with no specific “has to be done by XX/XX/XXX” all the time. A lot of these has been gear wish lists for my world of warcraft characters.
Reminders on the iPhone has a great location aware alerts. This comes in handy also that it syncs with my computers and I can add to the list from the desktop. However it doesn’t offer repeating tasks or easy lists.
ToodleDo has great sync anywhere capabilities and repeating tasks. That does a poor job with alerts and the website is hard to use to the point I only use it through another client.
Evernote has great list making capability but it doesn’t give you email or alert reminders of the upcoming to do items. However a TON of my notes, etc. are here.
Nimbulist is a great app for making list in Evernote and for like Gear lists however same problems with Evernote no reminders or due dates to them.
Remember the milk has email, Twitter & text alerts, as well as repeating tasks. However the price it you have to be paid and the iPhone app isn’t the most user-friendly. Location based tasks doesn’t give you a reminder for them.
Clear is a great fun iPhone app with the slide to cross out a task. however there are no due dates or reminders. There is not any synchronization between your phone and computer.
Astrid has due dates & repeating tasks. It doesn’t have SMS reminders but it does have app alerts. Lists (IE subtasks) are not so easy.
So I sketched out a chart.
| sync computer & phone | location aware alerts | repeating tasks | alerts | Mobile app | price point | lists capable | ||
| Reminders | yes, native with my iOS | yes, pretty well | no | mobile & desktop alerts | yes | free with OS | yes, but awkward | |
| ToodleDo@toodledo | yes, with button pushQ 1 min | yes, with 2nd party app, but poorly functioning | yes | mobile app alerts | yes | subscription fee | Yes, but awkward | website client is extremely difficult to utilize |
| Remember the Milk@rememberthemilk | yes, with button pushQ 24 hours | list by location, but not aware, awkward to use | yes | mobile appSMS |
yes, but can only sync q 24 hrs unless paid subscription | subscription fee | Yes, but slightly awkward | |
| Evernote@evernote | yes | no | no | no | yes | free | yes | I use this heavily for notes |
| Nimbulist@nimbulist | yes, with button push to Evernote | no | no | no | yes | paid app | yes | syncs with Evernote |
| Clear@UseClear | no | no | no | no | yes | paid app | yes | |
| Astrid@WeLoveAstrid | yes | no | yes | mobile app | yes | free | yes, not as easy as Evernote though | |
Conclusion: I decided to keep 3 services though it’s 4 apps.
I went with Reminders for everything non-repeating. I’m primarily an Apple user & it nags very well. Plus I was going to keep it anyway because it is the BEST at location reminders.
For repeating tasks, I’m going with Astrid. It’s the new oohhh shiney for now. It’s got the basics for me covered & will be replacing ToodleDo & RTM.
For lists, I have to say I’m going to stick with my Nimbulist/Evernote combination. It’s quick & easy & puts my lists
