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

http://www.mylifeorganized.net/

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.

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

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.

I'll try ToDoList2 and Priorganizer.

Taskline isn't much good for me because it assumes equal value to all projects. You raised some good points, Hugh! My tasks have different values - some require thought and inspiration and therefore need constant replanning; others are mind-numbing and repetitive. Some you can only work on for an hour at a time for various reasons, others could be all day jobs. Taskline couldn't distinguish between them, and just tended to get in the way.

I actually don't have a problem getting things done (though procrastination can sometimes rear its head) - I never deliver late and never overplan. What I do do, though, is have task information in too many different places - piles of paper, programs, jottings - and I want to bring things together to allow me to work more efficiently. So, it should not be GTD-orientated, does not need to include other people, tends to be for short and repetitive tasks rather than long and complex projects

What is must have is:

- EASY access and data entry (otherwise, like Stephen, I'd end up not using it)
- Outlook integration
- Recurrence of tasks
- Task nesting and sorting
- a clear "today" view

Graham

Graham,

Achieve Planner may be worth to look at:
http://www.effexis.com/achieve/feature-comparison.htm

Dominik

Graham Rhind wrote: [snip]

I've been searching for a good task manager.[snip]
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.[/snip]

Can't comment about footprint or sluggishness but, if you feel like it, could you be a bit more specific about not being able to quickly add, edit & list tasks. For example, I assume you know any item can become a desktop shortcut, etc. Do you think it might be a matter of use, i.e. familiarity w UR? It does have a rather steep learning curve & is awkward is some areas for sure.

I also have a feeling Kinook is working on some of these things including a better way to input data along the lines of ADM or Zoot. Although they don't make a habit of commenting on these things, they did mention that while I was testing v3 beta, now v3.06

Likewise I'm a little confused by what you mean about its poor handling of recurring tasks. After setting it up, it's one click to re-set the recurrence.

I, too, am in search of the holy grail but so far I haven't found anything better than URp.

--
Jan Rifkinson
Ridgefield, CT USA

Graham Rhind wrote:

I'll try ToDoList2 and Priorganizer.
What is must have is:
- EASY access and data entry (otherwise, like Stephen, I'd end up not using it)
- Outlook integration
- Recurrence of tasks
- Task nesting and sorting
- a clear "today" view

Graham,

I don't believe Priorganizer has Outlook integration or recurrence of taks, so it probably won't work for you. I just redownloaded and installed it again, and I have to say that I'm still impressed with Priorganizer. It isn't a heavy duty project manager, but it is a straitforward database for managing tasks. I see that the developer has added a calendar view and a contact list (at least I don't remember these being in place last time I tried the program). Documentation is weak, but I find Priorganizer fairly intuitive, so I still think it is work looking into.

Steve Z.

I use two task organizers: Achieve Planner and GoalEnforcer. Achieve Planner is an ambitious program that includes comprehensive task and project planning features. I use it form more global planning, projects and broad tasks rather than for the details of task planning, although if you like a straight up outliner for this purpose, Achieve's outliner is the best I've seen in this genre, having all of the "modern outlining features" I have previously dwelled on. In fact, apart from the mind mappers I'll get to in a minute, Achieve seems the only task planner with a solid outlining infrastructure.

Achieve Planner is under continuous development, sometimes very rapid, sometimes only fast. It allows three levels of meta-outlining (tasks, projects, and result areas); includes a comprehensive master outline; allows different approaches to allocating tasks to time, from an MLO style "task chooser" to a systematic daily and weekly planning module.

In addition to tasks at all levels of molarity, AP has vehicles for setting and organizing goals. In a few months, the developer (Effexis) will release a further innovation, where Goals and Projects are tightly integrated.

For the molecular task analysis I use GoalEnforcer, a graphical outliner with BrainStorm like continuous hoist specially adapted for task analysis. I'm quite taken with the basic design, and I think the developers are smart and ambitious, but it may still lack sufficient features for advanced users who aren't entranced by the vision. However, it is on fast track development, and released of rc versions are anticipated every month. So far the first two of the eight have been released. The Hyperfocus is actually preparatory for a very interesting multiple cloning feature; at its present development, you might not find much use for it. However, a rapid entry/brainstorming feature has increased the usability in rc2, and most importantly in my judgment, multiple selection will be implemented sometime in the upcoming rounds of upgrades.

Everyone is probably aware of the task manager capabilities of Mind Manager. I don't favor it, but those who like to do task analysis in a traditional mindmapping application, reinforced specifically for task analysis and planning, should probably take a look at a new one, Open Mind (Bus. edition). Pricey though.

Whenever I feel disorganized (which happens at regular intervals), I usually respond by trying to use a dedicated task manager. After a while, I find that it doesn't deliver the results I expected - which probably says more about me than the software's functionality.

I like ITSD, especially the clarity and simplicity of its design. But for me, these apps ultimately don't work because:

- tasks, calendaring, email etc work well in an integrated environment. I presume it's one of the reasons why PIMs were developed in the first place.
- project tasks are best outlined in a project management, not a separate to-do environment.

My 2c worth

Jack

I used MLO, and now use Bonsai, but that doesn't fit criteria.
Apart from what was already suggested, I can't think of one more, most that I know are lacking in one or more aspects.
Maybe http://www.safarisoftware.com/mlp.htm MasterList Professional, but I don't remember whether it handles recurring tasks It has Outlook sync, though.

Jack Crawford wrote:

But for me, these apps ultimately don't work because:

- tasks, calendaring, email
etc work well in an integrated environment. I presume it's one of the reasons why PIMs
were developed in the first place.

I have yet to find an all-in-one PIM that is perfect in all aspects. Some try imitate Outlook, others are lacking in one or more areas. There is always some compromise to be made, either having one lacking in desired functionality, or running five apps instead of one.

- project tasks are best outlined in a project
management, not a separate to-do environment.

Life is a project management. I don't have much standalone tasks, most are project related (in GTD terms where anything that has more next action items/tasks is a project)

Jan Rifkinson wrote:

Can't comment about footprint or sluggishness but, if you
feel like it, could you be a bit more specific about not being able to quickly add, edit &
list tasks.
Do you think it might be a matter of use, i.e. familiarity w UR? It does have a rather
steep learning curve & is awkward is some areas for sure.

I can try. Familiarity is certainly an issue, but I did try hard to get UR to work as a task manager, but it just isn't slick enough for me.

I want a task manager to allow me to add a task with a single click/keystroke, show me at a glance what has to be done, and remove the task with a single click.

With UR, to set up a task I need to highlight the task folder, Insert and then add the task. Not a problem as such. But to see what has to be done at a glance, I have to open favourites and choose a pre-saved search (which can be done with a keystroke), but then I have to correct the date in the search to be for today, run the search and then check the results. When a task is done, I have to change a property in the task (e.g. completed -> 100%) and then re-run the search to remove the completed task from the overview.

Perhaps I'm not doing it right, but UR's flexibility just makes it too cumbersome for something that should be simple. Incidentally, though I know the focus is different, Priorganizer also works as an interface on a database, like UR, and it does it so much better - UR could learn a thing from them in terms of ease of use.

I also have a feeling Kinook
is working on some of these things including a better way to input data along the lines
of ADM or Zoot. Although they don't make a habit of commenting on these things, they did
mention that while I was testing v3 beta, now v3.06

Yes, their lack of feedback is bloody annoying, frankly. I was surprised as people mentioned how good their support was before I bought the software. For me support is not just solving technical problems but also communicating with their customers, and they don't do that well in my view.

Likewise I'm a little confused by
what you mean about its poor handling of recurring tasks. After setting it up, it's one
click to re-set the recurrence.

You may have found a way of doing it that I've missed, but recurring tasks is one of those very simple things which about half of all PIMs and task managers miss the point of. There are limited numbers of options and it's easy to program, so I don't know why this is. I mentioned my feelings about not working with reminders in the Kinook forum, but apart from that, the recurring option in the task template allows daily, weekday, weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly. So if I want a task to repeat every Monday and Wednesday? Or every 3rd Tuesday of the month? Priorganizer fails in this too.

Graham

Jack Crawford wrote:

- tasks, calendaring, email
etc work well in an integrated environment. I presume it's one of the reasons why PIMs
were developed in the first place.

I agree, which is why I cracked and installed Outlook 2007 after years of rebellion. But Outlook's task management is a litle cumbersome for those short and quick tasks that get shot at me during the day, so I wanted a supplement to that.

Graham

I'm also a fan of Achieve Planner.

However, when I used it, I didn't find it was particularly good at quick and simple data entry; it didn't have a system-tray "side-note-type" entry system, as MLO has with its text-parsing function. It was also resource-heavy and had quite a steep learning curve. Those drawbacks may have been reduced now. What AP did do very well was provide effective task management for users with relatively long tasks that could be blocked out and scheduled on a weekly basis. That seemed to me to be its USP (although as Stephen says it also nodded in the direction of MLO-style task management with its task chooser).

Needless to say, the Mac world also has some neat task-management tools, such as iGTD and Kinkless/OmniOutliner, which somehow seem to hit the nail rather more directly on the head than some of their Windows rivals.

Graham Rhind wrote:

What is must have is:

-
EASY access and data entry (otherwise, like Stephen, I'd end up not using it)
-
Outlook integration
- Recurrence of tasks
- Task nesting and sorting
- a clear
"today" view

Graham

Graham,

What I intended to post above was:

There is of course also wonderful old Zoot, which I'm sure could be made to fit your criteria, subject to:

- your owning and understanding it already

- your not requiring to work under Vista.

H

Hugh Pile wrote:

I'm also a fan of Achieve Planner.

However, when I used it, I didn't find it was
particularly good at quick and simple data entry; it didn't have a system-tray
"side-note-type" entry system, as MLO has with its text-parsing function. It was
also resource-heavy and had quite a steep learning curve. Those drawbacks may have
been reduced now.

AP has rapid entry now. I've heard it's convenient, but I haven't used it yet.

Hugh Pile wrote:

There is of course also wonderful old
Zoot, which I'm sure could be made to fit your criteria

:-) I'm one of the ones who just don't get Zoot, I'm afraid. I do keep an eye on its discussion group, though, and may look again if a new version comes out

Graham

Graham Rhind wrote:

I want a task manager to allow me to add
a task with a single click/keystroke, show me at a glance what has to be done, and remove
the task with a single click.

Don't think it can be done but:
click #1 = Favorite or desktop shortcut to Task branch
click #2 = insert (make sure option | miscellaneous | hoist item is selected

to see what has to be done
at a glance, I have to open favourites and choose a pre-saved search (which can be done
with a keystroke), but then I have to correct the date in the search to be for today, run
the search and then check the results. When a task is done, I have to change a property in
the task (e.g. completed -> 100%) and then re-run the search to remove the completed
task from the overview.

Advanced Search as Favorite is right approach IMO but to your criteria, add date = today & then check make date relative so it will keep updating to day. To complete a task, just add completed check mark i@ item n explorer C & make sure you have 'Flag not equal to completed' in Advanced Search. That will eliminate done items

Perhaps I'm not doing it right, but UR's flexibility just
makes it too cumbersome for something that should be simple.

I think this is a valid observation but I also think Kinook is working on a more sophisticated calendering system which may simplify these tasks. In the meantime, setting up a good advanced search works very quickly. I'm using GTD & it reminds me & lists every day all the things that I need to do basically with one click. Then I get weekly reminders to clean up & monthly reviews.

[Kinook's] lack of feedback is bloody annoying, frankly. I was
surprised as people mentioned how good their support was before I bought the
software. For me support is not just solving technical problems but also
communicating with their customers, and they don't do that well in my
view.

I couldn't agree more especially after having been burned so badly by ADM's Eric Sommer. When I was testing beta, replies from Kinook were patient & daily (if not almost immediate) from the support email address. However, once V3 was released their participation on the forum where they asked me to address all comments after beta is sporadic at best.

[snip] recurring
tasks is one of those very simple things which about half of all PIMs and task managers
miss the point of. There are limited numbers of options and it's easy to program, so I
don't know why this is. [snip] recurring option in the task template allows
daily, weekday, weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly. So if I want a task to repeat
every Monday and Wednesday? Or every 3rd Tuesday of the month?

Good point. Depends on what you want. For example snoozing can be any value, i.e. if 3 hours is not included in the list, write it in & you will get a snooze in 3 hours. Reminders are based on begin date.

Recurring just comes up every recurring date which seems to be laid out for longer periods and are limited but they work with end date, i.e. recurring will not go past end date.

Different time/day recurrences can be added manually in the system attributes.

From Help:

You can either select one of the predefined Recurrence values, or enter a manual value (a non-zero number + a predefined denomination):

· Daily
· Weekday
· Weekly
· Monthly
· Quarterly
· Yearly

Some manually entered Recurring value samples:
· 2 days
· 3 weekdays
· 8 weeks
· 2 quarters
· 3 years

The only problem is I don't know what the 'rules' are, i.e. Agenda understood almost any combo, i..e 'every other weekday', etc. so I think Kinook has to supply rules to know how to build a date filter. I've asked for this on the forum. Let's see what happens. I will ask support directly if I don't get an answer on the forum.

I'm not the ultimate URp user nor am I hawking for Kinook but if I can be of help with URp let me know on list, forum or privately to janrif@yahoo.com

I think it's an interesting program because it is so 'programmable' but that's also its difficulty & I hope not its downfall. But once it's set up, it's pretty straight forward IMO.

HTH

--
Jan Rifkinson
Ridgefield, CT USA

Thanks for the UR tips Jan. I do use UR because I have been able to replace 3 other programs with it and it gives me a complete customer view in one place. I hope it gets better, and I hope Kinook does something about the poor documentation and communication :-)

Graham Rhind wrote:

Thanks for the UR tips Jan. I do use UR because I have been able to replace 3 other
programs with it and it gives me a complete customer view in one place. I hope it gets
better, and I hope Kinook does something about the poor documentation and
communication :-)

Yup. Here's a cc of my post to the support address

(1) Can I assume that recurring reminder can be set with begin date +
recurring span only, i.e. no reminder?

(2) What are the rules for creating additional recurring values in
recurring attribute properties, i.e. Every other Tue or Mon and Wed.

(3) what's the interplay between reminder 4 days or recurring Tue
(starting from today)?

Thank you.

_____________
Jan Rifkinson
Ridgefield CT USA
w2k-sp4

PS: May I humbly suggest that a lack of communication from Kinook on
the forum makes a lot of people nervous about the product. Call it
hand holding or public relations or what have you. IMO, it is part &
parcel with of a successful business even in a busy environment.

Graham Rhind wrote:

With UR, to set up a task I need to highlight the task
folder, Insert and then add the task. Not a problem as such. But to see what has to be done
at a glance, I have to open favourites and choose a pre-saved search (which can be done
with a keystroke), but then I have to correct the date in the search to be for today, run

set in the search dates to be stored relatively!
And if you want one click to see what has to be done (without opening favorites and then choosing a pre-saved search and changing it to today), why dont you have your favorites toolbar shown, place the search in the toolbar, so that ONE click on the toolbar button shows you straight away what has to be done today!

the search and then check the results. When a task is done, I have to change a property in
the task (e.g. completed -> 100%) and then re-run the search to remove the completed
task from the overview.

how else would you like to do it? You can delete it and then you dont need to re-run the search, it refreshes

Perhaps I'm not doing it right, but UR's flexibility just
makes it too cumbersome for something that should be simple ...

yes, the flexibility is the point, there are hundreds ways how certain thing can be done. If I dont like how tasks are managed, I change it MY way. OK, there will be a click here and click there ... but that's it! I'm not constrained by how certain programmer thinks I should manage my tasks, or my time ...

Graham Rhind wrote:

Thanks for the UR tips Jan. I do use UR because I have been able to replace 3 other
programs with it and it gives me a complete customer view in one place. I hope it gets
better, and I hope Kinook does something about the poor documentation and
communication :-)

Jan Rifkinson wrote:

PS: May I humbly suggest that a lack of communication from Kinook on
the forum makes a lot of people nervous about the product. Call it
hand holding or public relations or what have you. IMO, it is part
& parcel with of a successful business even in a busy environment.

Although I agree that the UR Manual leaves a lot to be desired - it's shortcomings are fairly common, good at explaining what the program will do but lacking in examples of why and how - this is fairly common in the software world. Actually, UR's manual is better than most.

I have been impressed with the responsiveness of Kinook (Kevin and Kyle) via the support-email and have generally gotten a response within 24-hours, both during the v.3 beta and beyond (and some of my emails have been on the long side).

I am also surprised by the level of response by Kinook personal on the message board. Granted they do not respond it each message, but the Forum is more about users-helping-users and they do jump in to correct our mistakes and add insight.

Actaully, I've learned more from the user contributions and am thankful for the discussions. Even if the topics are not on an area of the program that I am currently working thru, I know that those discussions will be there when I do need to begin using other parts of the program.

Maybe I'm so used to having to figure things out for myself - due to poor docs, poor or nonexistent forums - that I'm to the point where anything is better than nothing.

Later,
KenA

Here is one that I use & nobody really talks about.... PlanPlus for Outlook from Franklin-Covey.
Here is a link:
http://shopping.franklincovey.com/shopping/catalog/productsoftware.jsp?id=prod289&sc=0605-planplus_outlook_spotlight&c=0605-planplus_outlook_spotlight&product=PlanPlusforMicrosoftOutlook

They do a very nice job of integrating INTO (not with) Outlook.

Plus they have figured out hope to nest tasks within Outlook.

You can download a demo version (90+mb!)

It is a little slow, but the functionality makes it worth it.

-jj