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iPhone

Things - a stylish GTD package

Ondrej Holzman
16

Anyone who has ever been interested in GTD (or any other form of time-management) on Mac and iOS has definitely come across the application Things. I've wanted to do a review of one of the most famous apps of its kind for a long time, but I'm finally coming up with it now. The reason is simple - Things finally offers (albeit still in beta) OTA sync.

It was precisely because of the lack of cloud data synchronization that users often complained to developers. Cultured Code kept promising that they were working diligently on OTA (over-the-air) sync, but when weeks of waiting turned into months and months into years, many people grew resentful of Things and switched to the competition. I too have tried many alternative programs for managing my tasks and projects, but none have suited me as well as Things.

There are indeed many applications designed to run GTD, however, in order for such an application to be successful these days, it should have a version for all possible and widespread platforms. For some, only the iPhone client may be enough, but in my opinion, we should be able to organize our tasks on a computer, or even on an iPad. Only then can this method be used to its full potential.

This would not be a problem with Things, there are versions for Mac, iPhone and iPad, although we have to dig deeper into our pockets to purchase them (the whole package costs about 1900 crowns). A comprehensive solution for all devices is rarely offered by the competition in such a form. One of them is similarly expensive OmniFocus, but which removed Things from one of its functions for a long time - synchronization.

This is because you need to work with such an application all the time and not to solve why you have different content on your iPhone than on your Mac, because you forgot to synchronize the device. The developers at Cultured Code have finally added cloud sync to Things after months of waiting, at least in beta, so those included in the testing program can try it out. I have to say that so far their solution works great and I can finally use Things 100%.

It makes no sense to describe applications for Mac and for iOS separately, because they work on the same principle, but understandably have a slightly different interface. The "Mac" one looks like this:

The menu – the navigation panel – is divided into four basic parts: Collecting (Collect), Concentration (Focus), Active projects a Places of fulfillment (Areas of Responsibilities).

inbox

In the first part we find inbox, which is the main inbox for all your new tasks. The Inbox primarily includes those tasks for which we do not yet know where to put them, or we do not have time to fill in the details, so we will return to them later. Of course, we can write down all the tasks in the Inbox and then browse and sort through it regularly in our free time or at a certain time.

Focus

When we divide tasks, they appear either in a folder Today, or Next. It is already clear from the name that in the first case we see the tasks that we have to do today, in the second we find a list of all the tasks that we have created in the system. For clarity, the list is sorted according to projects, we can then filter it further according to contexts (tags) or have only those tasks listed that have a time limit.

We can also create a task that will be repeated regularly, for example at the beginning of each month or at the end of each week. At the pre-set time, the given task is then always moved to the folder Today, so we no longer have to think about having to do something every Monday.

If we come across a task in the system that we can't do right away, but we think we might want to come back to at some point in the future, we put it in a folder Someday. We can also move entire projects into it, if necessary.

Projects

The next chapter is projects. We can think of a project as something we want to achieve, but it cannot be done in one step. Projects usually have several sub-tasks, which are necessary in order to be able to "tick off" the entire project as finished. For example, the "Christmas" project could be current, in which you can write down the gifts you want to buy and other things that need to be arranged, and when you've done everything, you can calmly cross off "Christmas".

Individual projects are displayed in the left panel for easier access, so you have an immediate overview of the current plans when looking into the application. You can not only name each project, but also assign a tag to it (then all subtasks fall under it), set a completion time, or add a note.

Areas of Responsibility

However, projects are not always sufficient for sorting our tasks. That's why we still have the so-called Areas of Responsibility, that is, areas of responsibility. We can imagine such an area as a continuous activity such as work or school obligations or personal obligations such as health. The difference with projects lies in the fact that we cannot "tick off" an area as finished, but on the contrary, entire projects can be inserted into it. In the Work area, you can have several projects that we have to do at work, which will allow us to achieve an even clearer organization.

Logbook

In the lower part of the left panel, there is also a Logbook folder, where all completed tasks are sorted by date. In the Things settings, you set how often you want to "clean" your database and you don't have to worry about anything anymore. An automated process (instantly, daily, weekly, monthly, or manually) ensures that you don't mix completed and uncompleted tasks in all your lists.

Inserting notes and tasks

For inserting new tasks, there is an elegant pop-up window in Things that you call up with a set keyboard shortcut, so you can quickly insert a task without having to be directly in the application. In this quick input, you can set all the essentials, but for example just write what the task is, save it to Inbox and return to it later. However, it is not just about text notes that can be assigned to tasks. Email messages, URL addresses and many other files can be inserted into notes using drag & drop. You don't have to look anywhere on the computer to have everything you need to complete the given task.

 

Things on iOS

As already mentioned, the application works on the same principle on both iPhone and iPad. The iOS version offers the same functions and graphical interface, and if you get used to the Mac application, Things on the iPhone will not be a problem for you.

On the iPad, Things take on a slightly different dimension, because unlike the iPhone, there is more space for everything and working with the application is even more convenient. The layout of the controls is the same as on the Mac – the navigation bar on the left, the tasks themselves on the right. This is the case if you use the iPad in landscape mode.

If you turn the tablet to portrait, you will "focus" exclusively on the tasks and move between individual lists using the menu Lists in the upper left corner.

Reviews

Things have been hurt for a long time (and may be for a while longer) by not having wireless sync. Because of her, I also left the application from Cultured Code for a while, but as soon as I got the opportunity to test the new cloud connection, I immediately returned. There are alternatives, but Things won me over with its simplicity and great graphical interface. I am completely satisfied with how the application works and what options it has. I don't need a more demanding Omnifocus solution to be satisfied, and if you're not one of those "demanding time managers" by all means, give Things a try. They help me every day and I did not regret spending a larger amount of money on them.

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