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Five of the Best To-Do Apps for iOS
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This isn't a top 5 list. it's a random 5 task apps list. It's just slow news day fodder.
I've tried most of them and have never found anything really better than 2do. It offers everything one could wish for and is vastly customizable.
The only drawback, at least for me, is the Dropbox sync: on every device, after opening the app you always have to wait some long seconds for the sync to complete and the lists to be updated.
As much as I would like to love Things3, I could never accept the fact that you can't see the number of tasks in each list or be able to create smart lists. 2do has all that.
The only drawback, at least for me, is the Dropbox sync: on every device, after opening the app you always have to wait some long seconds for the sync to complete and the lists to be updated.
As much as I would like to love Things3, I could never accept the fact that you can't see the number of tasks in each list or be able to create smart lists. 2do has all that.
Why is 2Do not in the list? It's a very well done task manager - it grows with your requirements. As others have already noted, it is highly customizable, yet very simple to use if you don't need the fancy stuff. A very good GUI and excellent managing capabilities such as smart lists.
It really just sounds like boilerplate. I doubt they're proactively taking steps to scan/analyze list data, not only because they gain very little from doing so, but the complexities of scanning a list for any illegal content would make it very unprofitable.
5 of the best to-do apps on iOS (or macOS), and no mention of OmniFocus, not even at the last place so to speak? Funny. And sad. It is not even possible to write an article on to-do apps for iOS without coming across OmniFocus.
I've found Google's Keep to my goto the last few years. Less focused on to-do specifics, more general note taking/checklist making, but keeps me from forgetting where I took notes and has the benefit of being cross-platform/web-accessible. I really like that I can archive notes/lists and find them later (works great for annual trips that have unique packing lists, recipes with their shopping lists, etc).
Kitchen Wall for me is the best. It's a lot different from the ones listed above (that are more work-related) and the only to-do list app I could convince my wife to use. Kitchen Wall is more a home/personal list-making app with a chalkboard, colored chalks, and cute Artmoji titles (emoji art). Wunderlist is another good one but they are shutting it down.
The thing I really love about Things is the simplicity. I open it up, hit the Spacebar, type my todo and done. When I want to further refine the task I can do it it but for me the most important thing about a task manager is that it's fast and simple. So for me Things perfectly fits my needs.
As a Canadian, I'm deeply offended that 'TeuxDeux' is somehow pronounced 'To Do', or something close to it.
My problem is that I don't really need a 'To Do' app, I want a life scheduler app. That is, I have a bunch of things in my life that happen just about every single day.
I'm using an app called 'Alarmed' right now that's pretty good, but I'm worried that it's not going to be updated anymore, which is the same problem I had with the previous app I was using to schedule my day.
The problem with 'To Do' apps is that they're hard to set up for things like this. It's more like calendar scheduling, which I can already do. In particular, having an app do something like remind me that lunch is over after an hour, but that one hour depends on when I started it is nearly impossible.
My problem is that I don't really need a 'To Do' app, I want a life scheduler app. That is, I have a bunch of things in my life that happen just about every single day.
- 4 days a week I swim
- I go to work every weekday
- I have physio exercises to do every day
- I leave for lunch every weekday; lunch is an hour
- I leave work for home every weekday
I'm using an app called 'Alarmed' right now that's pretty good, but I'm worried that it's not going to be updated anymore, which is the same problem I had with the previous app I was using to schedule my day.
The problem with 'To Do' apps is that they're hard to set up for things like this. It's more like calendar scheduling, which I can already do. In particular, having an app do something like remind me that lunch is over after an hour, but that one hour depends on when I started it is nearly impossible.
I'm always wondering how users of todo apps connect their todos to email.
95% of my tasks come in by or are deeply related to mails.
There was a time when Apple Mail tended to integrate something like a task manager. But that disappeared completely.
95% of my tasks come in by or are deeply related to mails.
There was a time when Apple Mail tended to integrate something like a task manager. But that disappeared completely.
Good to see lots of Omnifocus love 🥰
I've tried a few times to prize myself away, as it's one of the few Mac-only apps I still use, but I just can't do it. I would be lost without it and nothing I've tried (including Microsoft Todo, Todoist, Trello, Things, etc.) even gets close to helping me get things done. I don't think they even deserved to be mentioned in the same comparison, so on that front, the author of the OP has probably done OK 😂
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I've tried a few times to prize myself away, as it's one of the few Mac-only apps I still use, but I just can't do it. I would be lost without it and nothing I've tried (including Microsoft Todo, Todoist, Trello, Things, etc.) even gets close to helping me get things done. I don't think they even deserved to be mentioned in the same comparison, so on that front, the author of the OP has probably done OK 😂
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Omnifocus has a hot key to add e-mails straight into it's inbox
Well it is going away in May and MS Todo doesn't have the same integration to things like short cuts
I'm the same. I once had almost a dozen different to do apps on my phone, but ended up with TickTick. It definitely isn't perfect, but it is good enough for now. I used to use gTasks which synced with Google Tasks, but then that became so inconsistent and flaky that I had to find a new app.
Good to see lots of Omnifocus love 🥰
I've tried a few times to prize myself away, as it's one of the few Mac-only apps I still use, but I just can't do it. I would be lost without it and nothing I've tried (including Microsoft Todo, Todoist, Trello, Things, etc.) even gets close to helping me get things done. I don't think they even deserved to be mentioned in the same comparison, so on that front, the author of the OP has probably done OK 😂
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Omnifocus has a hot key to add e-mails straight into it's inbox
Pretty much every task app has mail to task functionality.
I can't stand subscription apps. I don't want to pay another monthly bill just for a to-do program. That's crazy.
I've tried just about everything I could get my hands on (minus a lot of the subscription ones). The best one I came up with is Trello because you can have multiple to-do lists side by side.
I had hopes for Microsoft To-Do, but as far as I know, it doesn't have multiple levels of nesting lists. Ironically older versions of MS Outlook did. It was great for breaking tasks into subtasks, then into subtasks, then into subtasks.
Since Reminders started nesting, I've been using it more. It's still quite buggy though, and only has one level of nesting.
Otherwise notes can work for to-dos, and you can have unlimited levels of nesting. However you can't easily slide to-dos around to prioritize, nor can you collapse trees to save space.
Reminders and Notes work for 90% of what I need. It integrates well across devices being Apple and it doesn't cost anything.
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I wouldn't be surprised if the featured to-do apps in this article had to pay Macrumours for their exposure.
I've tried just about everything I could get my hands on (minus a lot of the subscription ones). The best one I came up with is Trello because you can have multiple to-do lists side by side.
I had hopes for Microsoft To-Do, but as far as I know, it doesn't have multiple levels of nesting lists. Ironically older versions of MS Outlook did. It was great for breaking tasks into subtasks, then into subtasks, then into subtasks.
Since Reminders started nesting, I've been using it more. It's still quite buggy though, and only has one level of nesting.
Otherwise notes can work for to-dos, and you can have unlimited levels of nesting. However you can't easily slide to-dos around to prioritize, nor can you collapse trees to save space.
Reminders and Notes work for 90% of what I need. It integrates well across devices being Apple and it doesn't cost anything.
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I wouldn't be surprised if the featured to-do apps in this article had to pay Macrumours for their exposure.
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I've been on Omnifocus 2 on both Mac and iOS/iPadOS for nearly 6 years (thanks for the support OmniGroup!), but was wondering if the new players have matured enough for anyone to recommend switching.
I tried Things and Todoist a while back and wasn't feeling they were up to par. Any Omnifocus users have input? I know I'll have to upgrade to Omnifocus 3 someday...
I tried Things and Todoist a while back and wasn't feeling they were up to par. Any Omnifocus users have input? I know I'll have to upgrade to Omnifocus 3 someday...
I tried just about every alternative before making the switch to OmniFocus 2 from Things, and then again before going to OmniFocus 3.
There's just nothing that compares with the user experience of OmniFocus imho
There's just nothing that compares with the user experience of OmniFocus imho
Agreed.
Omnifocus keeps on going development with a suite of other apps.
Glad that I don’t have to consider switching to anything else.
➰
When I hear "bother me relentlessly until I do it", I think of the "Due" app, which can do precisely that. I don't know how well it will fit your other needs.
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Mac-only? Aside from the iOS(/iPadOS) version, I believe they now have a web version, for those forced to occasionally use Windows (or a Mac they can't install things on).