Things 3 Is The Best Productivity And Gtd App For Mac

Things 3 Is The Best Productivity And Gtd App For Mac Download
Things 3 Is The Best Productivity And Gtd App For Mac

Below are all the results for 'Productivity Apps'. Productivity nerds for a long time, and with version 3 for Mac it's gotten even better. Things 3 is available for the Mac, iPhone, and iPad and includes syncing between all three platforms. Mike Schmitz did a fantastic job of teaching us the Getting Things Done philosophy in.

Dates and Deadlines Interact I love how these different dates interact with each other and it means I can plan things well in advance. To use the birthday present example, I would use a combination of a date and a deadline: I’d set a deadline for the birthday itself, because I mustn’t miss it, and it’s helpful having the countdown. But I don’t want to have to think about a July birthday, when it’s only the middle of January. Instead, I set a (start) date a couple of weeks before the deadline. This will give me time for researching, buying the present, and wrapping it. Now, I can safely forget all about buying this present. I can focus on what needs doing today, safe in the knowledge that the task will surface only when I need it to.

If you’re into the GTD approach, this is the closest a task manager app has come to a “tickler” file. And if you’ve no idea what a tickler is, then don’t worry, it’s only for the complete productivity junkies among us! 😉 Things 3 Review: Repeating Tasks Tasks can be set to repeat on a regular basis. There are two schools of thought on this:. Tasks should repeat on a specific date (I must put out the rubbish every Thursday night).

Tasks should repeat, only when I have completed the previous task (I want to send a letter to uncle Bob around once per month, but no sooner) Thankfully, Things 3 embraces both schools and displays a slightly different dialog, depending on which type you choose. You can also say up front whether you’d like reminders or deadlines on each repeated task. Through these choices, you can pick pretty much any schedule you can think of. I tend towards the simplistic side of the spectrum, but I’ve yet to find a combination that isn’t accounted for. The one chink in Things 3’s armour, is that it took me a while to find out how to make a task repeat.

Things 3 was released May 18th by Cultured Code. It is an app for 'personal task management' that syncs seamlessly across Apple devices: iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad and Mac.
Jul 19, 2018 - But sifting through thousands of productivity apps or trying to juggle projects. Things Done” is a productivity philosophy based on the best-selling book of the. The most recent update—OmniFocus 3, released in the spring of. The curiously named “Things” app started as a Mac program by German.

The procedure is as follows:. Open the task, so the task details are displayed. Look at the bottom of the screen (not the task): tap on the three dots icon “”. Select Repeat, enter the options and you’re good to go. Later, I realised there is a menu option on Mac.

But who thinks to use menus, when we’re used to apps doing everything through the interface?.FYI, the 3 dots icon also gives access to “advanced” options, where you can duplicate or share a task, and convert it into a project. I don’t know if it’s just me, but this icon seems a little misleading for what it actually does. Still, it’s a very small misstep in what is otherwise a great app.

Things 3 Review: Checklists Checklists are a way of breaking down a task into smaller steps. Click the checklist icon and the first step is added for you, with the cursor positioned next to it. Type your first entry, then press return to add another. Rinse and repeat for as many as you need. You can reorder and tick/untick checklist items in exactly the same way as tasks.

The only thing you can’t do is add dates, tags, and so on. Convert task to project However, if you find yourself needing a bit more control, Things 3 once again comes to the rescue: Just tap the 3 dots icon and choose convert to project. Things will take the task name as the name of the project, and the checklist items become individual tasks inside. This is incredibly useful. Sometimes, I start with a checklist but soon realise there’s too many items. Other times, I know a project is coming up, but don’t want to get too formal with it yet.

I simply start a task to brainstorm the first few steps. Then, when I’m ready for action, I convert it to a full blown project. Things 3 Review: Tags As you’ll have gathered by now, Things 3 is in the main, designed around the GTD task management process. However, one of the (many) things I like about Things 3 is that it doesn’t tie you to any particular system. If you want to follow GTD, you can, but if you want to do something else, Things gets out of your way. GTD purists might balk at that.

Further, they may be shocked to hear that the one thing that seems to be missing from Things 3, is contexts. For those who think this sounds like a load of arcane nonsense: A context is a place or resource that is required for a task to be worked on. A context might be as specific as “mobile”, for when you need to make a phone call. It could be as general as being at “home” or in the “office”. The way it’s supposed to work in a task manager app, is that you assign a context to each task.

Then, when you look at your list for today, you filter it by your current context. That way, you get to focus on only those tasks that are relevant right now. After all, it’s no good looking at a list of household chores, when you’re sitting at work. Tags as contexts Tags are as close as Things 3 gets to GTD style contexts. If you want, you can add tags to all your tasks, and use them in just such a way. Things 3 will display a list of available tags at the top of any of its lists. Just click the tag, and Things 3 will happily filter the list.

Personally, I’ve never really got the hang of contexts. I understand the concept, but whenever I’ve tried to use them they either don’t make sense for my life, or they quickly get out of hand. I end up with so many contexts that it takes me too long deciding which one to use. Or, I try to add contexts to every single task and spend more time organising, than actually doing. IMO, our modern day connected workforce means that contexts are less relevant. In some cases, such as remote working, they’ve been rendered pretty much obsolete.

I do use one or two tags in Things 3, but not always as contexts. In practice, I mostly stick to using Areas or Projects (I’ll get to them in a minute).

I use some projects to represent my longer term goals. Things 3 Review: Areas and Projects So far, we’ve discovered a lot of functionality in Things 3. Much of it is wrapped up in the built in lists, tasks and their constituent parts. But there’s more! You can create your own lists, beyond the built in ones. These are known as Areas and Projects.

Areas and projects are like higher level “folders” to contain your tasks. Together, they provide a different perspective on your lists. But they also work seamlessly with the standard views.

Areas Areas are shorthand for “areas of responsibility”. They represent the different hats you wear in your life. You can have as many or as few as you like, although I generally find that less is more.

I currently have “home”, “work”, “personal”, “church” and “writing”. Areas are just like folders, and can contain both tasks and projects. The main use of Areas is to break up long task lists into smaller ones, so you can review them more easily. Projects Projects may be used by themselves, or can sit below an Area. They are easiest to define as a set of tasks that together accomplish a particular outcome, e.g. “decorate the bedroom”.

I’m using projects for all my major goals this year. And I keep my goal projects separate to Areas, so they stay front and centre, just below the main Things 3 lists. You can add, edit and rearrange tasks inside a project, in the same way as in any other Things 3 list. However, projects have a few extra bells and whistles. Projects automatically get a checkmark next to them, once all the tasks inside are completed.

They also have a little “pie chart” next to the project name, to show you how far you’ve got with the tasks inside. This gives you an idea of how you’re doing, without having to open up each and every project from the main screen. You can set start dates, deadlines and reminders on projects, just as you can on individual tasks.

This means that you can defer a project until you really need it. Project Headings The unique feature of projects in Things 3 is that you can add headings. Instead of having all your project tasks in one long list, you can split them into relevant subgroups. Examples might include:. Milestones. Project phases. Research tasks.

Habits you want to establish Unusually, on iPad, you add headings to a project in the top right view menu, not in the project menu itself. On Mac, the option is at the bottom of the screen instead.

Compared to the rest of the interface, this feels slightly counterintuitive. However, headings are an excellent addition to an already solid app. Things 3 Review: Sync One thing a multi platform app must do, is ensure its data stays current on each one.

This is another area where many task managers seem to fall down. Not so, with Things 3: You set up sync by switching on Things Cloud in the app and registering an account. It’s painless and quick to setup. And once it’s running on one device, it’s a doddle to switch on elsewhere. Sync works extremely well, taking just a couple of seconds or so, to catch up. I only notice sync happening if I have made lots of changes in one app, and then switch to a different platform. Strangely, the more tasks I have thrown at it, the quicker it seems to have become!

Several times, I’ve opened Things 3 on iPad, following some edits on iPhone, and noticed it’s already up to date. Things 3 Review: Universal Quick Search Things 3 features universal search, which you can access on iPhone by swiping down to reveal the search bar. Search works on all three platforms, but really comes into its own on Mac. In common with many other apps on the Mac, you can press CMD + F to start a search in Things 3.

However, what makes Things 3 search one of its “killer” features is a combination of these:. You can just start typing (without the CMD+F combo) and Things will start searching. Things will find lists, projects, or individual tasks and allow you to change to any of them instantly. If you are looking for a task, Things 3 will take you directly to the relevant list.

The task is then highlighted briefly, so you can see it in context. This makes it incredibly easy to find anything. Suffice it to say, that search has become my default method of navigation. Things 3 Review: Support Of course, it’s not just the features and interface that make a winning app, but the support that goes with it. The online help pages are reasonably clear: there isn’t masses of information present, but the most important questions are answered. A contact form is available on the website and I used it to report a couple of minor bugs. The first reply (after the ubiquitous “it’s in the queue”message) was several days later, although they did apologise for the delay.

They did however, email me again a few days later, to say they had fixed one of the bugs and it would be in the next release. So not brilliant in terms of initial support. But fairly snappy for developer response. I would like to have seen a dedicated email address or ticketing system for paying customers. Things 3 Review: Issues Other than some minor inconsistencies in the interface, some of which I already mentioned, there’s not much bad to say about Things 3. Of course, the elephant in the room is that Things 3 is Apple only.

Cultured Code say they like native code and I get that. But the absence of even a web app means I couldn’t recommend it at my workplace. If you’re already firmly embedded in the Apple ecosystem, then it would be hard not to recommend Things to you. But if you are Windows based, or only have an iPhone, then I’d say look elsewhere.

This is a shame, because Things 3 is so great at what it does. I’d love to see what Cultured Code could do with a Windows/web version. Things 3 Review: Future Speaking of which, there’s a lot I’d like to see in future releases. Here’s a list, in no particular order:. Quick Inbox option to add multiple tasks at once, one per line.

Ability to set “evening” in advance, for future dates. Errands or Lunchtime section, in addition to Evening. Support for multi-markdown in notes. Weekly and quarterly reviews built in to the app. Keyboard shortcut for adding tags. Extend natural language to task creation, not just dates.

Better integration with Evernote and other tools. Display of other tasks happening on a day when I schedule a task. Automatic dates added to notes (Nozbe has separate dated sections for each note within a task). Better import options, particularly from plain text, that doesn’t rely on Apple scripts. Reusable task templates. Sorting and filtering of the logbook.

Please don’t misunderstand me: these ideas are not complaints, but a mark of great software. I can see how good Things 3 is and it’s an absolute pleasure to use. So I naturally want to help improve it! Things 3 Review: Ergonomics I always like to evaluate hardware and software for its ergonomic benefits, or otherwise, and Things 3 does not disappoint. It’s superb from an ergonomic standpoint, both on Mac and on iOS.

The extensive keyboard support on the Mac, coupled with design features such as instant search, is second to none. Nearly all actions, from navigation, to task entry and updates, can be achieved without recourse to the mouse.

On iOS, we have a similar picture. Intelligent use of gestures, plus intuitive drag and drop, make Things 3 a cut above any other app I have come across. Things 3 Review: Price Things 3 is available for purchase from the app store and is currently priced at:. iPhone: £9.99/$9.99 (includes Apple Watch app).

IPad: £19.99/$19.99. Mac: £48.99/$49.99 I understand the parity of prices between the US and UK is due to the vagaries of the app store, and VAT within the EU. There is also the issue of the lack of a universal app for iOS, which would make Things 3 more appealing for many. Cultured Code defend this position by saying that not everyone has an iPad, and the price reflects extra features not present on the iPhone. I get where they’re coming from, but I’m sure it will be an irritation for some. Things 3 Review: A great deal on iOS Despite this, I think Things 3 is still a great deal on both iPad and iPhone. With the Mac version, I’m not so sure.

What do you get with the Mac app, that you don’t on iOS? The interface looks the same, so it would be easy to assume there’s not much difference. However, integration with other apps is better, functions like copy/paste will always be better on a Mac, and the keyboard support is awesome. Even with these abilities, I think I would be hard pressed to sink nearly £50 into it.

It’s a tricky one. Personally, I’d feel a lot more comfortable recommending it, if they dropped the price of the Mac app by £10-15. I think they could justify the Mac app cost much better, if they threw in a web interface. I for one would then be able to use Things 3 at the office, a Windows only environment. That said, for those like me who don’t want to pay a subscription, Things 3 compares very favourably with competitors like Nozbe.

Many of them would have you paying more across the years, for less functionality. If I started with the iOS editions, I’m not sure I would have shelled out for the Mac app, but now I have it, I don’t want to give it up! Things 3 Review: Should you buy it? So what is a prospective customer to do? In my opinion, the 3 apps work best in the following areas:.

The Mac app is best for planning tasks and projects. The iPhone app is best for doing. The iPad is best for reviewing your tasks (but could also plan, if Mac price too steep) If you just want to try it out, then by all means start with the.

You can set it up to sync with Things Cloud, so if you later ditched it, but bought one of the iOS versions, you’d still have all your tasks to hand. Otherwise, I’d recommend starting on iPhone, as it’s the smallest investment. You’re also more likely to carry it with you. This will give you a feel for the app, while you begin adding tasks, so you can decide if you like it.

Then, once you’ve got a few projects under your belt, plump for the iPad edition. Hopefully, this will give you all you need, without making a hole in your wallet. Things 3 Review: Conclusion Things 3 is a beautifully designed, ergonomic task manager for Mac, iPad and iPhone. Cultured Code have successfully leveraged the benefits of each platform, to provide a fully integrated, productivity dream for individuals.

But if you want to share tasks with your team, you’d best look elsewhere. However, what Things 3 does, it does better than pretty much anything else out there.

If you’re tired of searching for the perfect task manager, you won’t find it, but Things 3 comes awfully close. Things 3 Recommendations What I liked:. Beautiful, ergonomic interface, joy to use.

Brilliant combo of built-in lists (Today, Upcoming), plus Areas and Projects. Quick search makes navigation a breeze. Seamless sync. Lots of little things. No subscription. Finally, a task manager that gets dates right!

What I didn’t like:. Not cross platform, no web app.

Integration with other apps could be improved. Limited sharing and teamwork features. Occasional (minor) non-intuitive controls Who it’s for:.

Individual high achievers and Solopreneurs, who want to be super productive Which app to get:. Mac app best for planning (free trial available). iPhone app best for doing (customers start here). iPad best for reviewing Recommended: Definitely! (If you’re an Apple junkie).

SUBSCRIBE FOR WEEKLY TECH VIDEOS: Things 3 launched last week and in today's video we'll explore some of the features and functions which make it useful for everyday activities. The experience is very well crafted and perfect for clipping daily activities, so we'll go over creating projects, tasks, and routines inside of Things 3. // THINGS 3 LINKS ▸ Learn More: www.thingsapp.com // SIGN-UP TO THE MONTHLY NEWSLETTER // // GET IN TOUCH ▸ twitter ▸ email me questions cesidalessio@gmail.com ▸ instagram ▸ snapchat francescod42 ▸ facebook ▸ blog —— // ABOUT ME My name is Francesco. I’m a student based in the South West of the UK, I also work with FlashSticks and Newton Mail with their marketing teams. I’m mad about technology - especially apps and software.

I’ve been on YouTube since 2014. I’ve been making videos about how to use productivity tools and resources. The mission has really been to create handy tools for anyone to use to understand and implement a tool, with some extra support thrown in. I don’t believe productivity tools can solve your organization problem, but equipping you with the right ones can put you one step further.