In the continuing search for the perfect task management app, I’m trying out Organize:Me. More than just simple todos, Organize:Me gives you lots of awesome tools for creating and organizing everything you need to get done. With smart lists included, plus projects and categories, I should be able to finally stay on track.
Will Organize:Me be able to unseat my favorite task manager? I’ll take a look and see if it has all the features I need in a great todo app!
Get More Done
Organize:Me is one of those todo apps that I sort of find overwhelming. I take a look at it and think maybe I’ve gotten myself too deep into Getting Things Done territory, and I don’t have a map or compass to find my way back. There’s a lot going on, and not all of it makes sense right away. (What the heck is a “Context”?) That’s okay, because my eyes alighted upon the Add Task buttons like lanterns in the dark, and I know what to do with those.
Get organized in the main window.
Yeah, I’m going to add some tasks. There are two ways to create new todos. You can hit the plus sign and add a new task with all of the options, and there’s just about everything there that you need. Set start dates, end dates, and even review dates if you want to check in with a task. If the task repeats, this is the place to make that happen.
All of that may be too much for you right now and you just want to get your task into Organize:Me. That’s fine. You’ve got stuff to do, we all do, and spending a lifetime organizing your todos before you actually go out and do them may not be a priority. If that’s the case, take a look at Quick Add. There are only a few fields to fill out, and bam, you’ve got your task into the app. When you do find the time to get really particular about all of Organize:Me’s specifics, you can go back and edit the task.
There are a couple of different ways to add your tasks, and I like Quick Add.
There’s an inbox that will catch all new tasks. Your tasks will sit there until they’re completed, so they’ll be easy to find. If you need more organization from Organize:Me, though, check out the Focus categories. They’re sort of smart lists for all of your tasks, and your tasks will make their way there if they are flagged or are priority tasks.
Maybe that’s not enough organization for you. Maybe you’ve got to have all sorts of projects and categories for all of your tasks. Okay, then. You do you. Organize:Me has got this. You can create projects and “contexts” for your tasks. Context, as far as I can tell, is just a fancy word for category, but you can use projects and contexts to subcategorize all of your tasks to your heart’s content. Highlight your tasks with different colors to make them stand out, and use some rich text editing to fancy them up, too.
Change the context of your task to slot it into a category.
Does It Sync?
For my money, todo apps are really only useful if there’s a way I can see my tasks on other devices. I’m constantly checking in and checking things off my lists, and most of this happens away from my desk. I need my tasks on my iPhone, and lack of at least browser support so I can take a look at what I need to get done on the go is a dealbreaker. Luckily, Organize:Me has native apps for iPhone and iPhone. There’s also a Windows version if you’re using a Mac and a PC to tackle your massive task list.
There’s cloud sync available, and that’s what’s going to make all of those apps on different platforms work together. It’s not iCloud, though, is being handled by the developer, and is in “preview” right now. Even if you’re not planning on accessing your tasks on any other apps, syncing isn’t a bad idea. If anything ever happened to your Mac, your tasks would be one less thing you’d have to worry about losing.
Sync your tasks so you can access them on the go in the other Organize:Me apps
Final Thoughts
I really liked the ability to set review dates for tasks, something I’ve seen in super complicated apps before but is often absent from more easily accessibly apps for getting things done. Organize:Me does look like it’s got a lot going on, and that’s not to say it doesn’t, but it’s manageable. You won’t have to learn a whole new language of task management to use Organize:Me.
Take on board as many of Organize:Me’s tools or as few as you want, it’s up to you. It’s free for a 14-day trial, and then it’s $39.99 after that. While not inexpensive, you do get a chance to try it out and see if Organize:Me is the app to get you on track. With syncing, this is one of the most customizable todo apps I’ve seen. It works great, too, and has lots of options to make your workflow work better.
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