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Task Manager that Syncs with Mac??

R

Ruffian829

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 17, 2008
319
2
I am looking for a task manager app- mainly for homework- that has a mac desktop component to sync with and I cannot seem to find one for the life of me??... I know that Things and Omni Focus sync with a desktop client but they are both a) pretty pricey and b) GTD focused... I am not a GTD person, I haven't read the book and I really dont want to learn the process-
I got iProcrastinate because I thought that the phone app would sync with the desktop app but unless I am missing something it does not?? Something on the lines of that program would be awesome if anyone knows of one (I dont mind spending money if it is the "right" app...)

Any suggestions??

P.S. I'd like it to sync with a mac desktop client, not with iCal (or a webpage...) if such a program even exists...
 
If you can get past the price you already mentioned, Things is not nearly as GTD-focused as OmniFocus is. You really need to be a serious GTD-head to use OmniFocus, imo. Things, on the other hand, can go either way. You can use the GTD system, use it as a regular to-do list, or create your own system.

My system borrows from GTD, but it's MUCH more basic.
 
Ruffian829 said:
I am looking for a task manager app- mainly for homework- that has a mac desktop component to sync with and I cannot seem to find one for the life of me??... I know that Things and Omni Focus sync with a desktop client but they are both a) pretty pricey and b) GTD focused... I am not a GTD person, I haven't read the book and I really dont want to learn the process-
I got iProcrastinate because I thought that the phone app would sync with the desktop app but unless I am missing something it does not?? Something on the lines of that program would be awesome if anyone knows of one (I dont mind spending money if it is the "right" app...)

Any suggestions??

P.S. I'd like it to sync with a mac desktop client, not with iCal (or a webpage...) if such a program even exists...
Click to expand...

Get ToDo or Toodledo. Evernote, while a solid app, is not meant for task management. As you have said the desktop version of Things and Omnifocus is expensive and both the earlier apps mentioned sync up to Toodledo.com and both have push notifications. This way you can have your tasks available on any computer you use in case yours is not working.

Another alternative I'd rather recommend is to not buy the desktop version of Omnifocus and Things but just use the iPhone app. I have both apps (desktop and iPhone of each) and while I prefer Omnifocus (for now due to features) I work 90% of the time from the iPhone app. You don't really need the desktop version unless you need to do a backup. While Omnifocus for has more features, Things has said that their upgrade path will include include recurring events (Omnifocus has) and push notifications (Omnifocus does not have). Omnifocus is the best and I also have not read the GTD book but if you go to their website they will give you a screencast on how to use it. If you spend one day learning how to use it, you will understand it. It's not as difficult as it may seem.

BTW a GTD app is meant to serve as a guideline and reminder of what you are to do. Any scheduled events (important ones) should always be made through your calendar. If a task is necessary to be done by a certain time, rely on iCal and not you looking at your task app or push notifications. This way you are guaranteed to get an alert at the time you need.
 
str1f3 said:
Get ToDo or Toodledo. Evernote, while a solid app, is not meant for task management. As you have said the desktop version of Things and Omnifocus is expensive and both the earlier apps mentioned sync up to Toodledo.com and both have push notifications. This way you can have your tasks available on any computer you use in case yours is not working.

Another alternative I'd rather recommend is to not buy the desktop version of Omnifocus and Things but just use the iPhone app. I have both apps (desktop and iPhone of each) and while I prefer Omnifocus (for now due to features) I work 90% of the time from the iPhone app. You don't really need the desktop version unless you need to do a backup. While Omnifocus for has more features, Things has said that their upgrade path will include include recurring events (Omnifocus has) and push notifications (Omnifocus does not have). Omnifocus is the best and I also have not read the GTD book but if you go to their website they will give you a screencast on how to use it. If you spend one day learning how to use it, you will understand it. It's not as difficult as it may seem.

BTW a GTD app is meant to serve as a guideline and reminder of what you are to do. Any scheduled events (important ones) should always be made through your calendar. If a task is necessary to be done by a certain time, rely on iCal and not you looking at your task app or push notifications. This way you are guaranteed to get an alert at the time you need.
Click to expand...

I need to have both- the desktop and the phone. I want to be able to put my work into the desktop client as it is assigned (since I take notes on my laptop) and then have it synced to my phone, so if I am doing anything else I can see what has to get done.
OmniFocus, IMO, is ridiculously priced, and as I have no desire to learn GTD, it doesnt even come close to being worth it.

I understand the difference between using a calendar and a task manager... I am not going to load all of my ongoing homework that is assigned regularly into iCal however- so I dont want an app that only syncs back to iCal. I did say in the OP that I was looking for something to keep track of homework / reading that I have to do.


I'll definitely give Simple Task a look!!
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_0_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7A400 Safari/528.16)

ToDo for sure. It can sync with iCal tasks too.
 
I use Things in conjunction with iCal and I love it. I have both the iPhone app and the Mac app. I really have no idea what GTD is about, so I obviously don't use it in that fashion, at least not knowingly. I am a criminal defense attorney, and Things allows me to create different areas for my projects: pretrials, sentencings, trials, etc. I put all of my court date and times into iCal for simply tracking, rather than carrying a calendar. For my more involved cases that require preparation and constant tracking of work that needs to be done, I also put these cases in Things. This allows me to open Things and go to Pretrials, for instance, and scroll through all the upcoming cases and see what needs to be accomplished before the court date. Without Things, I'd be constantly going through my file drawers and pulling files to see dates and look at notes and consider what I need to do. It's an excellent organizer and time saver. I use the desktop app more than the iPhone app, but having it on my phone allows me to make entries while in court which is indispensable. I use the inbox for quickly entering tasks that need rather immediate attention. I'm constantly refining the way I use Things, and getting more out of it as time passes. I find it to be perfect for my needs.
 
swindmill said:
I use Things in conjunction with iCal and I love it. I have both the iPhone app and the Mac app. I really have no idea what GTD is about, so I obviously don't use it in that fashion, at least not knowingly. I am a criminal defense attorney, and Things allows me to create different areas for my projects: pretrials, sentencings, trials, etc. I put all of my court date and times into iCal for simply tracking, rather than carrying a calendar. For my more involved cases that require preparation and constant tracking of work that needs to be done, I also put these cases in Things. This allows me to open Things and go to Pretrials, for instance, and scroll through all the upcoming cases and see what needs to be accomplished before the court date. Without Things, I'd be constantly going through my file drawers and pulling files to see dates and look at notes and consider what I need to do. It's an excellent organizer and time saver. I use the desktop app more than the iPhone app, but having it on my phone allows me to make entries while in court which is indispensable. I use the inbox for quickly entering tasks that need rather immediate attention. I'm constantly refining the way I use Things, and getting more out of it as time passes. I find it to be perfect for my needs.
Click to expand...

Thats really helpful, thanks. I'm an 1L law student going to law school after having worked for a litigation firm for years... Things sounds like it might be a good solution that I can use after law school as well... if I can just find a place for it in my budget after purchasing all my law school books...
 
Nikhil72 said:
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_0_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7A400 Safari/528.16)

ToDo for sure. It can sync with iCal tasks too.
Click to expand...

I looked up ToDo and found its website but when I click on the download link it says link not found...??
 
upon inspection simple task is a bit too simple... with no due dates or anything, and as I want it mainly for assignments, it wont really work
 
I have Appigo Todo and love it - on my phone. Syncing with iCal isn't as 'clean' as I'd like. Now it DOES sync and there's no issue there but you end up with additional calendars. (unless i'm doing it wrong)

ToDo's default task list is called 'inbox'. So, when you sync with iCal a new calendar is created whether you want it or not. Rinse and repeat for any additional lists you make in ToDo. I'm not saying that's a bad thing just can get a little cluttered.

After experimenting, I realized that I really only need a task list on my phone since that's with me wherever I go. I keep my events in iCal and manage tasks using ToDo.

Oh and ToDo's push notifications work great too!
 
jbennardo said:
I have Appigo Todo and love it - on my phone. Syncing with iCal isn't as 'clean' as I'd like. Now it DOES sync and there's no issue there but you end up with additional calendars. (unless i'm doing it wrong)

ToDo's default task list is called 'inbox'. So, when you sync with iCal a new calendar is created whether you want it or not. Rinse and repeat for any additional lists you make in ToDo. I'm not saying that's a bad thing just can get a little cluttered.

After experimenting, I realized that I really only need a task list on my phone since that's with me wherever I go. I keep my events in iCal and manage tasks using ToDo.

Oh and ToDo's push notifications work great too!
Click to expand...

so... if ToDo creates a new calendar in iCal for every "list" / inbox type of thing... If I add to that calendar it created in iCal will the addition then show up in ToDo?
 
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