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Task managers
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Posted by Graham Rhind
Apr 19, 2007 at 02:41 PM
I’ve been searching for a good task manager. Not having found much about them in this forum, I’d like to solicit any experiences from users, and express my own experiences in case they prove useful to others.
I’ve looked at about 10 packages and, inevitably, I can’t make up my mind which of the short-list to go for. I’ve tried to summarise some of the pros and cons of each below.
1) UltraRecall. UR can be used as a task manager, and it has the advantages (for me) of Outlook synchronisation, allowing nested tasks and allowing task information to be integrated into the existing data repository there. Against this is its awkwardness in use when trying to quickly add, edit and list tasks, its poor handling of recurring tasks, its large footprint and its sluggishmness.
2) TaskPilot. This is powerful, and has something of the UR about it, though task orientated. It has a busy interface, though a version 3 beta is due out within a week and promises improvements in that respect. It has Outlook synchronisation, fast data entry and sorting by user-defined priority. On the con side, it (strangely) only gives dates in the US format, even though my system is set up to show European format; and its support department haven’t responded to that (and support is very important to me in any choice I make)
3) FusionDesk. This is young software with an extremely slick interface. It has a small footprint, fast data entry, the best reporting and export options I’ve seen anywhere, and task listing by context (i.e. place), and the developer seems to have big plans. Against this is buggy Outlook synchronisation, the inability to nest tasks, poor support of recurring tasks, and no “today” view. The developer seems to be a one man band, and posts to the forum are either not answered or answered late, so I would want to see more stability before going for this one.
4) ITSD. I’m leaning towards this one at the moment mainly because of their (ADM-like) capture icon which allows dragging of text to it, which then get added as a new task. It has a reasonable interface, small footprint and good support for recurring tasks. Against this is that it has no user-defined sort or nesting of tasks, and no Outlook Synchronisation (in fact, no import or export at all!). I’ve shot off a support request to see how well they respond .... it seems that some of the best packages have the worst support.
I’m curious about whether others have any input to make on these (or other) packages.
Graham
Posted by Hugh Pile
Apr 19, 2007 at 02:46 PM
http://www.mylifeorganized.net/
Posted by Stephen Zeoli
Apr 19, 2007 at 03:40 PM
While the idea of a task manager is very appealing to me, I have never been very good at maintaining the discipline to use them effectively. I say this to put the following recommendation in context (i.e. you might not want to pay any attention to me). However, I have been impressed with one task manager in particular, because it is not loaded with a lot of whistles and bells, yet seems quite smart and handy. It is called Priorganizer:
http://www.todolistmgr.com/product,priorganizer,product.aspx
I like that it has a dedicated sub-task window, so you can focus on one task at a time.
It seems like it is a one-man project and I am not sure how much further development it will get, but I do think it is worth taking a look at.
Steve Z.
Posted by Graham Rhind
Apr 19, 2007 at 03:40 PM
I didn’t warm to MyLifeOranized, I’m afraid. It is far too controlling - it won’t even let the user alter the completed amount in a project, and a single data entry error could mean that a task never appears on the immediate to do list! Also, its Outlook integration is buggy in as much as it strips the recurrence information from Outlook tasks on import.
Graham
Posted by Hugh Pile
Apr 19, 2007 at 05:23 PM
OK Graham, here’s another: http://www.codeproject.com/tools/ToDoList2.asp
And another that’s essentially an Outlook add-on: http://www.taskline.com/
More generally, as I’m sure you’re aware, there are dozens. Most are “much of a muchness”, as my grandmother used to say (though not about task management software…).
A discriminator in deciding between them that I’ve found useful is deciding what kinds of tasks I’m likely to want to manage. For example, will the tasks tend to take up large, relatively predictable blocks of time (like a technical writer’s), or will they tend to be briefer and less predictable (like, say, an IT helpdesk manager’s)? Will some of the tasks be delegated to others? Will a GTD system be used, or will the tasks generally be firmly scheduled? Will the work involved all be in one place, or on the move? Etc etc. Several consequences flow from such choices.