There was a time when I found productivity to be a laser dot gliding along the floor and I was the cat bounding after it, desperately hoping to catch my prey. I’m never as productive as I’d like to be, but I’m much more productive today than I was even a year ago, which is the result of embracing the much lauded Things. However, Things is an app with a single focus on getting things done. To cover my productivity bases, I also use Evernote in concert to keep notes on my various projects.
While I find comfort in utilizing this approach, productivity works differently for each individual and often requires a different approach. For instance, instead of relying on multiple apps to create notes, lists and to-dos, some individuals prefer using a single app for all three tasks. If you find yourself in this camp, Listacular may just be the app you’re looking for.
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Getting Started
After your initial launch of Listacular you’ll need to go through a brief tutorial that can be reaccessed in the settings. Once finished, you’ll be asked to link your Dropbox account — an optional, but recommended step. By linking to Dropbox you’ll not only back up your lists (since there is no iCloud integration), but you’ll be able to access and edit your notes, lists and to-dos from your computer.
Lists & Folders
When you’ve completed the setup process, you’ll find yourself in the default view — identified by the Listacular header at the top, or the title you used when creating the Dropbox folder. From here, you can access and fiddle with the settings by tapping the gear icon in the upper left, and create a new list or folder by tapping the + icon in the upper right. Lists is a misleading term, as it’s used to describe the universal tool in which you’ll also enter notes and to-dos. Folders can be used to create lists under a specific task or project (you can also create sub-folders, if desired).
The main view hosts all of your lists and master folders.
At the bottom of the screen a count of your total to-dos is displayed, and by tapping the button you’ll be transitioned to the To-Dos view. This acts as an umbrella for all of the to-dos you’ve created, and the parent list is noted by the inconsistently titled prefix “From note” followed by the list’s name. If you add a due date to a to-do, the to-do will be displayed in corresponding sections (e.g. overdue, today, tomorrow, in the future).
The To-Do view is where you can quickly glance at all of your tasks.
Working With Lists
When you create a new list, your first task is to rename it by tapping the header and entering the new title. To create your first entry, tap anywhere below the header. Whether you’re seeking to create a note, list or set of to-dos, you’ll need to utilize a set of formatting options displayed above the keyboard. Starting from the left you’ll find increase and decrease indent buttons, a text button for notes, a bullet point button, and a checkmark button for to-dos.
Transitioning to/from a note, bullet or to-do could not be easier.
Once you’ve finished with your first item, you can add additional items by tapping the return button in the bottom-right. If you copy a group of text from another app that includes hard returns, Listacular will automatically create individual entries for each hard return, which is tremendously handy. When creating your list, in a general sense, you may use all the formatting features if desired. For instance, I created a list for this review that included both notes, sub-bullets and to-dos.
Making use of all three formatting options within a list is one of Listacular’s main strengths.
When you’re finished with a to-do, you can tap the checkbox or swipe short right (a gesture familiar to Mailbox users) and the to-do will be marked as complete. You can delete a to-do, or any other item, by swiping it long right. If you wish the remove multiple completed to-dos, tap the hamburger icon in the upper-right and tap the “Remove completed to-dos” option. From this menu you can also view the list in plain text, which is handy to get a feel for how the app utilizes basic markdown text formatting, and email the list.
Only to-dos make use of the short swipe right feature.
As mentioned before, you can add a due date to a to-do. To accomplish this task, swipe left on the to-do and then select your desired date and time, and whether you wish to be alerted. Performing the same swipe left action on a folder or list will present you with several options, such as renaming the list/folder, emailing the list/folder and sharing the Dropbox link associated with the list/folder.
For a simple app, the ability to set a due date and get alerts is a killer feature.
Dropbox & Markdown Formatting
If you choose to sync your lists with Dropbox, you can actually create and edit folders and lists using any plain text editor. When you open an already created text file with bullets and/or to-dos, you should be able to pick up on the Markdown formatting that Liscular uses — asterisks for to-dos and dashes for bullet points, making sure to add a space afterward.
Open plain text files and create lists from anywhere you’re connected to your Dropbox account.
Instead of creating new lists in Listacular, you can instead create new plain text files in the proper Dropbox folder and your new list will appear post-sync. This method of list and/or to-do management isn’t anywhere near as elegant as accessing a web app or desktop version of the app, which is one of my favorite features of using the Things suite of apps, but I find it to be a fun way of creating syncable notes on the fly.
Areas for Improvement
For a version 1.0 app, Listacular is very well designed, but like any initial version it does have a few setbacks. If you create a new entry but decide that it’s not actually needed, a blank entry remains until it’s manually deleted; most apps automatically delete blank entries of this nature because it’s much more convenient. When you delete a list or folder an alert pops-up asking if you’re sure about the decision you’ve just made, which is pretty standard. Deleting a note, to-do or bullet comes with no such alert or any option to undo a possible accidental deletion. You can create an entry at the top or bottom of a list, but there’s no method of adding an item in the middle of a list, which would definitely be useful. None of these issues are dealbreaker, but I hope to see most of them addressed by developers Bloomingsoft in future updates.
It’d be great if blank entries were automatically deleted.
The Bottom Line
Listacular is a fantastic all-in-one productivity tool. The minimalistic design works in favor with the app’s simple workflow, ensuring that most individuals will be able to pick up Listacular and start using it with ease. The ability to create notes, lists and to-dos within a single app in such an easy to use format is unique to Listacular (yes it’s capable in Evernote, but it’s nowhere near as intuitive) and works very well. During my time with the app, Dropbox syncing was solid nearly all of the time, although I did experience a few crashes during syncing.
If you’re in the market for a simple, yet powerful productivity app that is capable of managing your notes, lists and to-dos, Listacular is worth looking into. The app is free to download and try, but limits users to three lists. You may find this to be more than enough for your use, but if not an $2.99 in-app purchase will grant you access to unlimited lists and is well worth the cost.