Things for Mac
Over the last few weeks I have been playing with an application entitled “Things” Things is a GTD manager (Getting things Done). Firstly I would recommend anyone looking for a more efficient way of working gets their head around the GTD system. Although I found this application a massive benefit I am able to get much more out of the application with a grasp of the GTD basics.
Things is still in beta but is already a slick, full featured task management application that is very easy to use. Taking Things on the road is also made easier with the iPhone sync capabilities over a wireless LAN.
The GUI is particularly stunning and really makes Things a breeze to use. Projects are broken down into mini tasks (next actions). You can quickly create a project and populate it with next actions that can then be dragged and dropped into any order. You can also control the number of next actions visible for each project when using the ‘Next’ tab.
Tasks can be quickly added to Things using the Quick Entry system. These appear in the ‘In box’ to be then dragged to the appropriate project when you have the time.
I am no GTD expert, in fact I only really have any sort of idea after a talk at CreativeCamp Belfast but anything I describe is basically how I use the use Things to get the most of my time. I have opted to use tags as location indicators. For example, Home, Office, Phone etc. I can then tag a task as Phone and using the top navigation bar clicking phone shows me all the tasks tagged appropriately and thus things I can do when at the phone. It might not be the correct use but it really works for me, it is amazing what you forget and Things has already reminded me of things I need to do I would have forgotten about otherwise.
I have not explored the use of ‘People’ and team management although I can already think of two or three applications where it would be useful.
Iphone
An iPhone version of Things is already available on the iTunes Apps store (around £6). The software syncs over the air but at this stage only over the Local Area Network. I am hoping to see over the air syncing via Mobile Me and the ability to sync with two computers but it is a beta and early days after all.
The sync seems to work really well although I have had a few ghost items in the inbox on the iphone after a sync but no doubt this will be ironed out with the final release.
I could rave on about how good Things is for quite a while. Many of my mac friends swear by Omnifocus but although I have tried Omnifocus and really like it I am finding Things really works for me (and is really nice to look at).
To get a copy of the beta application (free) visit Things If you are using Things or another GTD application we would love to hear your comments on getting the most of the software.
David Allen Talks GTD :
Other GTD software products are available.
Quick review of two:
Things: looks nice, cheapish
Omnifocus: More powerful, more expensive
Vox
For a college student like me, I think Things will be suffice for everyday use. I feel Omnifocus a bit too much. Having said that, I already bought the iPhone version of the Things and patiently waiting until the Things comes out of beta.