WOT?
Do I need a To Do list program? I’ve got a calendar, can’t I use that? If not, which To Do list program should I use?
SUMMARY
Yes, get a To Do list program. Specifically, get TickTick – Todo & Task List. While a calendar can do some of the functions that a To Do list provides (set an event, set a time), it doesn’t do everything. You’ll wind up forgetting to do some important things on your list. TickTick provides everything you need to keep track of the things you need to do. It’s very powerful but not overly complex.
WHY?
While I love tracking my calendar, contacts, etc. on my Android device, I’ve never committed to using a To Do list, even when I first started using the PalmPilot Pro in 1997. To Do list programs were either not powerful enough, too powerful or overly complex. I also didn’t want to remember to launch yet another program every day to see what’s on the schedule.
I tried hard to manage my to do’s with the calendar. The problem is that calendars are designed to do specific things on specific days. You can set an alarm but if you’re not ready to commit to doing the task, you’ll either snooze the alarm over and over, or you’ll cancel the alarm. If you cancel, the event stays put on the calendar, and when tomorrow rolls around, the to do item is out of site (and out of mind) on yesterday’s calendar.
A To Do list manager is really the best tool for the job. When looking at the choices, the following are important to me:
- Simple to use: I don’t want too many options. If there was too much to do, I wouldn’t want to use it.
- Attractive interface: I want the interface to be attractive and well thought out.
- Ability to share: I want to share my To Do list with wife as well as our Nanny so that we can all keep track of what needs to be done for the house and kids.
- Doesn’t cost a fortune: I don’t mind paying money to support a developer, but I don’t want the cost to use the app to be cost prohibitive, especially if all the users I want to share with have to pay.
- Access through a browser: In addition to being able to create content and access it through my phone, sometimes it is easier to enter large volumes of data at a desktop computer. Plus, you can get access to your data from anywhere, even if your phone battery is dead.
- Reminders that aren’t annoying: I understand that a To Do list’s job is to be sure that you get things done, but I don’t want to be harassed by the program that’s helping me to organize.
- Easy to postpone and reschedule items: When the alarm goes off to do a To Do item, you’re not always ready to get it done. It is very important for items to be easily rescheduled.
- Ability to set a To Do for a specific time on a day: I’m not only interested in doing an item on Tuesday, but sometimes I need to be reminded at 3:oopm on Tuesday.
- Not interested in project management: Some To Do list options give way more functionality than I need, such as: Setting time estimates, assigning resources, etc. I’m not interested in this type of control simply to run a household.
I tried many options. First I tried all of the top To Do list apps in the Google Play Store, including:
- Wunderlist
- Todoist
- GTasks: Ties in with Google Tasks, a huge plus, but it didn’t provide everything I need.
- Tasks Free: Also ties in with Google Tasks but not strong enough.
- Any.Do: Beautiful app and one I really, really wanted to like.
I then tried other apps that I thought could do the job:
- Google Keep: Rats. It doesn’t handle To Do’s, so it’s out.
- Evernote: While I use this program to store notes, it just didn’t make the cut for managing my To Do’s.
Finally, I tried created my own Google Sheets spreadsheet. This actually worked fairly well, but it wouldn’t have provided alarms and the filtering that’s available through the desktop browser didn’t show up on the device app. As a result, it would have been impossible to filter and sort the list properly.
I didn’t try TickTick until after all of the above options and I was shocked to see that it did everything I need, and more! I like supporting developers, plus sharing with 2 people requires a Pro account, so I upgraded without hesitation. I was concerned that each person accessing the To Do list I created would need to upgrade, but that wasn’t the case. Money wells spent and highly recommended! It’s been a few months now and it I couldn’t live without TickTick.
Honorable Mention
I wanted to track my To Do’s from work at well, but I didn’t want to mix business with pleasure. Also, I use Outlook with Microsoft Exchange. Outlook already has a To Do function built-in, so I wanted to see if I could find something that would sync with it.
I discovered Tasks & Notes which fit the bill perfectly and does what I need to track work To Do’s. My personal To Do’s are now separate from my work To Do’s and having the list sync up with Exchange is really great! In addition, Tasks & Notes has a nice Android Widget which lets me see at-a-glance what I’ve got to do. Super handy!
TickTick
Tasks & Notes