There are enough third-party task managers available for iPhone that it could be totally possible to review a new one every week on AppStorm. I’ve used a lot of different task managers in my day; as a writer, I’m a professional procrastinator and need help to keep my life organized (I’m a total stereotype). That’s why Finish appealed to me: It was made by two high school students, the only existing demographic that can procrastinate more efficiently than a freelancer. Finish claims to do things differently than other task managers to help beat your procrastination, and that’s a claim worth investigating.
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Bringing Your To-Do List Into Focus
Finish is all about getting things added to your to-do list as quickly as possible. Adding a task is as easy as punching it in and selecting a due date. There’s no way to select a time of day a task needs to be done by, which some won’t like, but users who need that kind of powerful organization should look elsewhere. It’s not offered here.
Keeping it as simple as possible.
For some, getting rid of all those options is going to be a blessing. In fact, the app doesn’t even break down your tasks by day, instead breaking them into short-term, mid-term and long-term due dates. If something is overdue, the text glows red. And instead of telling you what day the app is due, it tells you how long you have to complete it. You can adjust the length for each term in the app’s settings, so if short-term is two days for you, mid-term is five days and long-term is six days plus, it’s easy to fit the app to your preferences.
At that point, the app will alert you whenever something gets closer to its due date. Specifically, if a long-term due date becomes a mid-term due date, the app will remind you. It will also remind you on the due date itself. In other words, that means you could be reminded about a task three times as it slides up the timeline and creeps up on you. For some people, this will be exactly what they need.
Notifications tend to pop up at midnight.
Finish also includes what’s called Focus Mode, which shows only the most important tasks in your list and collapses the rest. It’s designed for efficiency: A quick glance at the app will tell you what pertinent things need to get done soonest. I’m a big fan of apps that respect my time and help me get things done as efficiently as possible, so I think is a great feature. To reveal a collapsed task, just tap or pull-down on the to-do list. The settings are fairly broad though, so you can choose to display all of your upcoming tasks at once if you’d rather.
Get It Done
Swiping from right to left presents a small menu bar like the one present in the Twitter app. You can check an item off your to-do list, star it, share it via Facebook or Twitter, or modify its due date and allow it to repeat once. Starring it is a useless feature, since it doesn’t seem to modify a task’s level of importance in any way. And repeating a task isn’t like setting up a weekly reminder to take out the trash; the app defaults to simply reminding you to do it again that day (or before the due date).
Each task gets a mini-menu when you swipe from right to left.
Finish’s design is as simple as its workflow. The app comes with a built-in tutorial, but in all honesty, you’re never going to need to use it. Its layout and interface is obvious and practically spelled out for the users. That’s not to look down on the app, but rather to say that it’s doing it right by respecting its users and keeping things simple.
Most people should be satisfied with the app’s options.
That being said, there’s plenty of space for growth. As the developers grow and mature, unless they lose interest, I’m sure their app will too. The colour scheme isn’t necessarily the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, but what’s worse is just some of the spacing or the fact that task titles have to be kept short and sweet. That’s not to say that the app is ugly, it could just use some refinement. Considering the age of the developers, I’m impressed.
That’s what it really comes down to: This is the debut app from a couple high school kids who show a lot of talent. Their app works really well for a specific set of people who can use it, and most people aren’t going to mind the design. The app is made by high school kids for high school kids, and I get the feeling that their task management philosophies are more niche than many. But the app’s got some personality as a result.
Is Finish for You?
Finish’s philosophy is different than other getting-things-done apps. It’s all about minimalism. In some ways, the app’s simplicity is a reflection of what it allows you to accomplish: it doesn’t allow you to view any task with a title longer than a couple words or set up recurring tasks or subtasks. This is about minor tasks. I can see how it would apply to high school students, but people who run their own business (for example) will need something with more option.
In other words, Finish doesn’t mould to my workflow. I’m a freelancer with several employers and a full-time student; I’ve got a full course load and I’m essentially running my own business. Finish doesn’t allow me the power or flexibility I need to manage all that, but most people aren’t like me. Some just need to see what they have to do that day, and for them, Finish is going to be perfect.