Getting things done software – Does it get things done?

I could talk all day about getting things done software and we could pontificate all day long about how we like to use GTD software, but the software on its own, is not a lot of good. In terms of being organised and getting things done, then it is more a way of thinking and doing, than it is about having a software tool that you can put onto your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch.

Making a list and checking it twice

No Santa Claus is not coming to town to see if you’re naughty or nice. It is about whether you are completing your tasks when you say that you’re going to complete them. It is true to say though, that the best of the getting things done software, is going to be the simplest. What is this type of software anyway other than having a list that you can look at a list items that are still needed to be done. Software that also gives you an option to put a tick in a box when a job has been completed. Maybe all that you need to be able to organise yourself is to use the Reminders application that comes with iOS five. If you only have a small number projects that you need to keep track of, then something simple could be just perfect for you.

Remember The Milk – List and task management software

One of the earliest applications that became available for using as Getting Things Done Software when the iPhone came out, is Remember The Milk. To use this software you do need to have an account at the Remember the Milk website. This is so that when you use the software on your iOS device, then those reminders you have created will also sync back to the web service. On the website they say that this app and service used together is the best way to manage your tasks, so that you don’t forget to do anything that you need to do. Not only do they do applications for the iOS devices, but it is also available on BlackBerry, Android and it also works with the Google calendars.

It is possible to sign up for the service free and of course they do have a paid for version, which will give you more facilities. Right now I’m looking at the Remember The Milk application on the iPod touch. When you first open it up you will see a task list for today, if you press the second tab on the lower menu bar, you can see what tasks are lined up for tomorrow, or for next week. You can categorise your tasks into various lists. As standard, it comes with inbox, personal, study, work and sent lists and if you want to you can choose to look at all of tasks in one long list. You can make new lists for yourself by tapping on the edit button in the list view. Give your list a name and choose how that list will be viewed. You can then set it so that it is viewed by priority, due date or by the task name.

Loads of GTD choices in RTM

It is as simple as pie to add a new task. Underneath your view of lists, you will see a plus button. When you add a task you can first of all give the task a name, choose which list that you want the task to be in and then you can set the priority, either as none, high, medium or low. The next thing to do is to choose when the due date is. In the basic view you can choose, never, or one of the days over the next week. In the picker view you can choose a particular date and time. There is one more view called custom, which allows you to put in things like next Friday, end of the month, at 6 PM. So as you can see you have plenty of choices for how you’re going to set up your task. There is one more thing that you can do when setting up a new task and that is to add a field. From this list you can choose repeat, time estimate, tags, location or URL. I have just added location to a task and all I have available in the list is none. Looks like I need to do something in order to add some different locations.

Getting Things Done Software

So as an overall verdict of Remember the Milk as a Getting Things Done software, we can say that it is a good way to create lists of things that have to be done. There are basic features that allow you to categorise your lists and add dates. The all important feature is that you are able to synchronise your tasks back to the Remember the Milk web service. The cost to upgrade to the pro account per year is $25. I haven’t tried the full pro account version of the RTM – Getting Things Done for iPad, but I suppose that you do get more capabilities within the software and a warm fuzzy feeling for supporting a software developer.

I’m just looking at Wunderlist on my iPad at present and, left-hand side I have my list of lists and at the bottom of that section I can choose which of my tasks I want to see. The first icon which looks like number eight its side, is the one that you tap, if you want to see all of your tasks, whichever list they are in and whatever the priority situation. The next icon is a star shape and that is when you want to just look at your tasks that have been given priority. Following that in the icons to choose from, you have Today and Tomorrow, giving you easy access to the tasks you have for the day in hand and also for the following day. Then you have a list of overdue tasks, of course this is the list that you don’t like to look at, as it means that you have set tasks and neglected to actually do them. There is one more button you can choose and a list of options pops up with options. You have tasks that you have done, tasks for the next week, tasks that are for later and also another option for tasks which have no due date. So as you can see, Wunderlist as a task manager is pretty comprehensive and that is why it is my favourite at the moment.

iOS 5 Reminders and iCloud

With the advent of iOS 5 there is an application called Reminders, which is a simple and straightforward application. Very handy in that you can, if you have an iPhone 4S, speak your reminders into it using Siri. Mostly this will be useful if you are unable to use your hands. You could be driving, or walking or even perhaps running and Siri allows you to create tasks in this reminders application.

Talk to us about your favourite GTD apps

Please leave a comment in the comment section below and tell us what is your favourite getting things done software. It is quite likely that you have something that you would like to tell us about because there are so many software is of this type available.