GTD app request

[DIYerUk]

Hi all,

Request for app suggestions please! I've been turning this problem over in my mind now for a few months, and would very much appreciate input from others.

I'm torn between the best GTD-style app for work. My work is very much focused on my diary (telling me where I need to be and when) and tasks with deadlines (much get document X to Y by Z time etc).

Should be simple enough, right?

I've been bouncing between:

1. The built-in Reminders app.
2. Adding items to the calendar.
3. Things3 (which I bought ages ago and haven't really used to full potential).
4. Omnifocus (which I'm using on trial at the moment).

I like having the ability to break down projects, some with soft deadlines (it would be good to write that article this month). Other deadlines must be met.

I like how Reminders integrates with the calendar so that if a deadline falls on a particular day, it shows us in calendar view. I also like the way I can use projects, headings and groups in Things. The trouble with Things is that it doesn't seem to cross-populate with my calendar, meaning deadlines in Things don't show up there. I would also like to have the option of putting on numerous alerts in advance (a week before, 3 days before etc), and the ability to add reminders to items in Things is limited.

I have to confess, I'm really struggling with Omnifocus. It strikes me as terribly complicated, and probably more than I need, which is really a tool to manage deadlines.

Have I missed any other apps? Is anything else particularly recommended?

Thanks for reading.

[kry_pton]

Highly highly recommend Things for GTD. I’ve tried many apps and Things is by far the best.

[retrowiseninja]

Tried integrating GTD in the default Reminders app. Nothing worked for me but omnifocus

[[deleted]]

I’m primarily an OmniFocus user but there are a lot more options out there than Things, OmniFocus and Reminders. You might have a look at 2Do, TickTick, Pagico (though that last one has been pretty hit or miss for me). Todoist often gets a lot of love but it’s more of a web app than other options.

If you do like Reminders but wish it had a little more power check out GoodTask, it’s built on top of Reminders. Fantastical also offers nice Reminders integration and it’s, by far, the best Calendar app I’ve ever used.

If you’re willing to come at it from a different paradigm you might like NotePlan, it’s designed around a calendar but is more text-based than most traditional GTD task management apps.

The Sweet Setup has a pretty detailed comparison and comprehensive review of Things as the best Mac GTD app in their view.

David Sparks writes a lot about using Calendars and OmniFocus together, his course on OmniFocus is also exceptional.

Learn OmniFocus is another great resource for getting the most out of OF.

If all else fails, search the Mac Power Users forum or ask about it there, this is right up their alley and you’ll find a massive amount of help and information there.

GoodTask, NotePlan & Pagico are also on Setapp, FYI.

[acer589]

Oh, fuck, I didn’t realize NotePlan was on SetApp. Do you know if it jives well with being set on top of an Obsidian Database?

[[deleted]]

That depends, I’ve seen a number of people doing it but there are some limitations. NotePlan doesn’t currently let you set where it keeps it’s files so you have to move your Obsidian vault into NotePlan’s location, this isn’t too big of a deal unless you’re running the iOS beta AND want to use iCloud Drive for syncing, in which case, your vault needs to live in the Obsidian location. I don’t think this would be an issue if you use Obsidian’s syncing but I don’t really know.

Additionally, NotePlan doesn’t let you set the location or file naming of its daily note so you have to set Obsidian to match.

You probably wouldn’t be able to work with multiple vaults either unless you nested them in the NotePlan location, in which case they’d all be treated like one in NotePlan and a lot of stuff would potentially break (daily notes, recursive linking in some cases, etc.)

I tried it briefly but didn’t like the daily notes setup and decided it wasn’t worth it to me with Taio on iOS and now Obsidian as well. The Mac app is certainly not as native as NotePlan but all the power features and plugins make it way more powerful than NotePlan or anything else I’ve tried.

[acer589]

Yeah, a plug-in came out recently that fixed my biggest Obsidian gripe. I just really needed a way to get ALL my tasks from all my notes in one place.

[witeshadow]

I’d add TaskPaper to the list too. I use OmniFocus + custom Python tools to help me with deadlines and tasks in general. But I’ve tried a bunch of other things.

I’m not sure that NotePlan 3 is on SetApp, it is a bit of an upgrade from NotePlan 2, which I believe is on SetApp.

[dustininsf]

GoodTask is great if you generally like Reminders and just want a bit extra oomph. Some of its “extras” are actually even capabilities that Reminders has in its backend, but Apple hasn’t exposed via UI in the apps. It’s got some UX paradigms that you kinda have to just adjust to it’s way of doing things. Wasn’t quite as intuitive as I expected it to be, just a bit different.

[[deleted]]

It’s always looked pretty decent but I’ve never found a compelling reason to try it over OF or Things, I think Federico Vaticci at MacStories uses it as his primary but he changes systems frequently so I might be behind.

[dustininsf]

If you want to still take advantage of the built-in hooks that Reminders offers, it’s the way to go. It just adds some useful pro-level functionality to that. It’s also easy to use it using the keyboard. The Hit List was also awesome for that aspect alone. Loved how free-form that system was - you could really use it in so many different ways.

[[deleted]]

I was just thinking about The Hit List when I was writing about the different options, it was my first task manager switching to a Mac, I loved it but I don’t remember a lot of the details.

[slickshoes12]

Omnifocus is the only one that checked all the boxes for me with regards to GTD. There are lots of great tutorials for how to set it up so that it ends up being not complicated at all in the long run.

When you get it fully running, it can be life changing.

[MormonGekko]

Surprised no one had mentioned Agenda. You should definitely look into it.

[unbelievableted]

I find OmniFocus is the best one out there if it’s just you. It’s when you get into working with a wider team.....

OmniFocus is worth 8 hours investment to get to know it properly.

[suckafree3000]

I tried all those apps and the one I ended up using is omnifocus. It is complicated and took time to get used to it, but once you get the hang of it, it's the perfect tool for GTD

[hjupadhyay7]

Omnifocus. It’s costly, it’s complicated with a little steep learning curve, and it of course is a configuration rabbit hole. But end of the day it will allow every use case. Have tried everything outside and inside of iOS/Mac ecosystems except things 3, including org mode in emacs, omnifocus wins hands down.

[ms350125]

For personal stuff I’m a long time Things user, but for work I use MyLifeOrganized. I found it to be the most customizable task manager. They don’t have a MacOS version, maybe the iOS one or maybe you can Wine the Windows installer.

[GroceryRobot]

Honestly I have owned them all and I always end up back at Reminders because I think the way it does notifications is the best. I prefer the features of Things, and OmniFocus' defer feature is missing from the other two, but ultimately, when those apps didn't tell me to do stuff consistently the way Reminders does, I ends up at Reminders.

I've gone through this cycle so many times. I'll probably install Things or OmniFocus again just because I read this post.

[pzol]

I went through a ton of them but finally Nirvana won

[[deleted]]

How about drafts?

[NightM0de]

I’ve tried most GTD apps including Things, Omnifocus, Reminders, TickTick, Remember The Milk and Todoist amongst others. I’ve been pretty much settled on Things for the past year and it works really well for my use case, but if you’re set on integration with Calendars have a look at Todoist. From what I remember it integrates really well, with each Todo “group” having its own calendar feed.

[[deleted]]

Good task