A task manager is designed to help you get all the things you need to do out of your head and into a system you can trust.
David Allen, the writer of the seminal productivity book, Getting Things Done, wrote “Your mind is for having ideas, not for holding them.” We’re not good at remembering all the things we need to get done, at the time we need to do them. It clutters up our minds and ties up our brain real estate trying to remember.
A digital task manager is a solution to this problem. It’s the place to hold your ideas.
Criteria for Choosing a Task Manager
There are scores of task managers to choose from — how do you decide which works best for you?
While there are many task managers, a few seem to be the leading contenders in the Mac/iOS world. These are Omnifocus, Apple Reminders, Todoist, and Things.
How do we evaluate all of these different task managers? I suggest the following criteria:
- Ease of entering new tasks. If there isn’t a quick and easy way of entering new tasks into the system, you likely won’t use it. Most good task managers now offer a “quick entry” mode you can invoke with a keyboard shortcut without having to open the app.
- Complex enough to meet your needs, but not overkill for your needs. It’s tempting to go for the task manager that has the most features. However, that also typically means it’s the most complex to set up and use. OmniFocus has the most features of any manager — I tried it but found I spent too much time trying to learn the system and get it to do what I wanted, instead of just using it as a task manager.
- Provides for the kind of recurring tasks you need to list. If you have tasks that need to be done on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of each month (my recycling pickup), you require a task manager that can handle that. Do you have tasks that need to be done every week on the same day, or do you want the next task to be listed a set number of days after you complete the first task?
- Syncs to multiple platforms. I work on my Mac, my iPad, and my iPhone, so I need reliable sync between those devices. If I also worked on Windows, I might want a task manager with a Windows version or a web-based version.
- Aesthetics. Some tech people seem not to care about aesthetics, but I do. Aesthetics make a big difference to me — if I can do my work in a beautiful setting, it makes me feel good, and motivates me to use it. Some task managers were designed with great aesthetics in mind, and some obviously were not.
Why Things is My Task Manager of Choice
I’m sorry to disappoint you if you were looking for a comprehensive review of the major task managers. That’s not what I’m doing here. If you’d like to see a more in-depth review of task managers, I recommend an article in The Sweet Setup. It discusses the criteria for selecting a task manager and reviews some major task managers.
Rather, I’m focusing here on why I’ve chosen Things as my “best in class” task manager.
Here are the 4 major reasons I use Things:
1. Things separates my tasks under my life roles headings. I use a system to live an intentional life based on my life roles. Things is the only task manager I’m aware of that allows me to view my tasks for the day separated under life role areas. This feature is missing from Todoist and Reminders.
In my Today list, the tasks related to my creative work are under one category heading — Guide (Creator/Learning). Tasks related to other areas appear under other headings (such as Relationships, Healthy Person, or Hobbyist).
I love this ability in Things. It helps me to see at a glance what my tasks are, and which role they fall under. This lets me know why it’s important and provides motivation to get it done.
This is the primary feature that keeps me using Things.
2. Things is hands down the most aesthetically beautiful task manager. It was designed specifically for the Mac, iPad, and iPhone, and it shows.
The developers valued aesthetics, as I do. It looks clean, modern, and simple. I enjoy working in Things, and this means I’ll use it more.
I think apps can be both functional and beautiful. Things is a good example of the melding of technology and great design.
3. Things makes it easy for me to add new tasks. When I open Things, there’s a big blue “+” button to add tasks.
I can use the share menu to send tasks to Things from other apps. It also has a quick entry keyboard shortcut, so I can quickly add a task from anywhere. I sometimes use an Apple Shortcut to open a new task.
With all of these entry methods, I can place the task under one of my life role categories. I can also set recurring reminders, and select the date the task will show up in my today list.
4. Things includes all the features I need, without too many unused features. Things includes easy-to-set-up recurring tasks, syncs well to my Mac and iOS devices, includes an option of checklists, has notes, and syncs with my calendar, so I can tell at a glance what events I have that day.
I’ve found some task managers much too complex for my needs (looking at you, OmniFocus). Others are too simple and don’t include features I rely on in a task manager.
Things is easy to set up and maintain. That means I’m comfortable with it and will use it on a regular basis.
Things fits that “sweet spot” of meeting all of my needs, while not being overly complex.
What is the Best Task Manager for You?
I’m a lawyer, so I’m qualified to give you the lawyer’s response — “It depends.”
There is no one “best” task manager. There are many factors to balance, and which factors matter the most are the ones that matter the most to you.
Choosing a task manager is a very personal decision. To evaluate properly, you need to know what needs you have and want. I suggest you make a list of these before you compare task managers.
Most if not all the major task managers include a free trial, or are free like Apple Reminders. Download the free trial and kick the tires for a couple of weeks. See what works best for you.