In this new age of relying on computers and our devices to remember things for us, it can certainly be assumed that some of us are partial to the task management app. As Apple announces the inclusion of its very own task management app in its upcoming release of iOS 5, this is yet more confirmation that a good portion of us are relying increasingly on technology to do the remembering for us.
When you’re not just looking for a simple solution but are indeed looking for a fully-featured web app to manage tasks, look no further than Todoist. Read on to find out more.
Overview
Todoist is a task management web application that provides its users with the features needed to organise tasks, projects and more inside its sleek and easy-to-use interface. With support for a simple and speech-like syntax, creating recurring tasks or simply ones for the following week can be a breeze and all in a matter of seconds.
Overview
Despite being freemium, the free version has just enough features for the average user to create and manage their tasks using the app, with the premium version costing a mere $3 per month to use. It can be safely said that Todoist is the perfect app for those who are list-crazy (and even those who aren’t). It even comes complete with some addons and a dedicated desktop app (Mac only) for those who don’t want to be limited to the web interface when managing their tasks.
Adding The First Project
Before tasks can be created in Todoist, they must first be assigned to a specific project. Projects are great for organising tasks without having to worry about adding labels if it’s not a feature you’re too keen on or can’t afford. This is equally useful if you’re using Todoist for business purposes as the projects feature is extra useful for when you’re working with actual projects.
Creating a New Todoist Project
Adding them is simple and once you’ve entered the name, it’s automatically created and ready for you to populate with tasks. You can also colour-coordinate the project by choosing one of a range of colours to help identify that project from others. When more projects are added to the account, they can be rearranged to increase visibility and ordering them based on priority is made ever so simple.
Tasks and Syntax
Once a project has been created, it is then possible to add tasks to it. Adding tasks is incredibly simple and all that is required is a brief description of that task for self-reference and a time or date deadline by which the task must be complete. The task’s due date can easily be chosen on the mini calendar when the field is clicked but the app also supports a range of actual or contextual dates through its handy syntax.
Contextual Dates
The app is quite useful when it comes to interpreting human dates and it sports a handy little syntax that is converted by the app into an actual time. The first type of these are contextual dates – a format whereby the date is represented in a recognisable syntax, often not dissimilar to that of human speech.
Adding a Contextual Date to a Task
The easiest example of this would be “tomorrow”, which would be understood by the app as the day immediately following the current date and when this is entered, the app then converts this into an actual date and associates that with the current task. The app also understands days of the week, so “thursday” or “friday” would correspond to the next occurrence of that day and “next friday” would add an extra 7 days to that interpreted date. Times can also be added in a similar format, meaning that “next friday at 5pm” would convert itself into the actual date and time.
Actual Dates
In addition to these, actual dates can be used to allow tasks to be added quicker and for a more precise addition. A variety of formats can be used for these which are detailed within the app but it can assumed most common methods of formatting dates (“30/06/2011” or “30th june”) are supported.
Adding an Actual Date to a Task
Recurring Tasks
There’s always an occasion when you need a task to be performed more than once and if this is regular, it can be easier to add it to Todoist as a recurring task. These are, as expected, tasks that are added to the project on a regular basis and these can be especially easy to add thanks to the really simply syntax that the app comes equipped with. If you hadn’t already guessed, adding recurring tasks is as simple as just typing “every wednesday at 1pm” or “every day”, with the tasks then being automatically added to the system at the designated time.
Adding a Recurring Task
When tasks are complete, they can then be ticked off easily with a simple click.
Premium Features
Despite being free to simply add and organise tasks, Todoist also offers various features that come at a price. Being particularly feature-rich for the price, the app allows its premium users to do a lot more with the app for the small matter of $3 per month.
Premium Features Overview
Firstly, reminders can be added to tasks, meaning that when a task is due, users can be reminded either via email or SMS – meaning that being away from the computer is never an excuse to miss a task’s completion. An improved label system also comes with the premium plan, ensuring better organisation of tasks and meaning an extra layer of filtering can be applied in addition to the project organisation.
Some of the other features include adding tasks via email, SSL security for added protection of your Todoist connection, exporting tasks to the iCalendar format and also individual task search to allow tasks to be located within seconds.
Final Thoughts
I’ve never been able to stick with a task management application because I always find one that matches my requirements and then I come across another with a better set of features. It can safely be said that Todoist is one of those apps that comes along and just stands out due to the sheer list of possibilities for the app. It appears to be perfect for both business and personal use, meaning that the possibilities for its use are endless. With the premium plan costing so little, it can be an affordable investment for businesses of any size – meaning that Todoist really is one of the best GTD apps for just about anyone.