☑ Choose a todo application

I’ve been looking for a way to manage my tasks for a few years now. I’ve tried web based approaches as well as desktop apps. After years of misery here is the current state of affairs.
I use iCal which comes with simple to-do list functionality. Unfortunately, it is too simple. It ends up being a long list on the side of the window and there really is little one can do to ‘manage’ the items. Having said that, most todo applications sort items in some reasonable fashion. What really bugs me with most though is the time tracking ability. I would like to be able to actually track the time for some of the tasks that I do, and derive meaningful information from the data. The additional requirement is being able to share some todo lists with others.

Given the collaboration requirement, I immediately narrowed my search to web-based solutions. There one can find Ta-da List, by the 37 Signals crowd. It has a simple user interface and it is very easy to use. It also doesn’t do much more than what one could do with a text file. So that one was clearly out.

I looked at “Remember the Milk”. The user interface here is far from intuitive or pleasant to look at. Each todo list is a separate tab and if you add too many, the layout gets quite ridiculous. Not to mention that new lists must be added through the settings page. In order to make changes to each todo item one must tick a check box next to it and then choose an action from a drop-down box. The catch is that the check boxes look more like something one would click to complete the task. Hence the confusion. In order to actually complete the task one needs to check the box and then click complete. There were other UI issues, but the most puzzling thing was the ability to add a time estimate for a task, yet no place to enter the actual time it took to do the task.

Then I tried “voo2do”. It does time tracking. That’s all the good I can say about it. The colours for the user interface seem to have been inspired by Windows 1.0. The user interface overall looks more like a draft mock-up of something with potential if one were to put more work into it. Finally, it doesn’t do collaboration, so it’s of no use to me.

Next: Toodledo. The user interface leaves a lot to be desired. It took me 5 minutes just to add the first task. The interface feels a little cluttered. It has the benefit of some customisation, though at the same time one really must customise it before using it, since the default look is quite useless.

I took a quick look at TODOIST. Probably the one I like the most, but unfortunately it doesn’t do time tracking. Otherwise it would have been as close to perfect as one of these things will get at this stage. I used TODOIST for some time and discovered that having a web based todo application isn’t necessarily that convenient. The main issue is the dependence on web access.

Recently I started using an iPod Touch and for now that has settled my todo dilemma. That is because I installed a Mac application called Things, which also comes with an iPhone application. I can enter and see todos on the go as well as on my laptop. Things is still evolving and is still missing the collaboration features, though once added it will be rather handy. Finally there is no time tracking incorporated.

So the main features I am looking for still elude me. Integration of Things with the iPod offsets some of the disappointment, but I guess my search for the perfect todo application continues. I better add that todo.