If you’re like any other minister (youth minister in the house), you have an (over)abundance of things to do and some method to organize and get them done. If you’re like me, that means some form of digital To Do list stored either via email, calendar or some third party software. While I am always looking for a new way to make sure I accomplish my tasks, finding a tool that meets your needs can take as much time as actually getting things done. My wife would say that paper and pencil still work well, and she would be correct. However, I don’t like carrying slips of paper or a yearly calendar. I like digital notes and storage devices.
Since I use a Mac, I decided to look and see if the developer community has managed to create a tool that 1) anyone can use (meaning I don’t have to read the entire manual to get started) and 2) that will integrate with any number of other services and software installed on my computer or available on the Internet. What I found is that there are several options available to suit many tastes. Some look better than others (eye candy) and while some are so functional that it almost tells you what to do before you know it. I wanted something in between. I like the flexibility of a digital list that sometimes is copied off paper where I took notes (my wife would be happy).
So, I looked over and downloaded three (3) possible solutions. In no particular order:
- Omnigroup’s Omnifocus
- Bartek Bargiel’s iGTD
- Objective Decision’s Contactizer
- Things
Overall, they each provide some measure of list management. While I will put up a more thorough overview, I liked Omnifocus the best. It provided the best management for me. It was a little rough at first (Things is easier), but I managed to get my list created and assigned to their respective projects.
[Update]
In case you are unaware, there is now an iPhone version available via the App Store. Yes, I downloaded it, setup the sync and now have it running on both iPhone and laptop. It syncs via my mobileMe.com account (alternatively, you can use a WebDAV server) and keeps the information identical on both platforms. Truly wonderful.
In addition, the iPhone version is location aware. This means you can create lists and view them by location. By using the EDGE network on my iPhone (yes, I have the original), I can view lists according to where I am. Great if I only want to see work or home ToDos instead of both.