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A brain dump of functions for my ideal task/goal management app
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Posted by Stephen Zeoli
Dec 28, 2021 at 02:03 PM
This may not be of any interest to anyone but me, but I recently did a brain dump of what my ideal task/project/goal management app would look like. This list isn’t in any particular order.
- Availability across platforms. I need to be able to use it on my Windows PC at work, but also on my MacBook and—ideally—on my iPad. (I’m less concerned about my iPhone, only because I find that a very weak productivity device.)
- Allows for associating notes with tasks and goals. These notes should be fully formattable.
- Linking of notes, link references and back links are not required, but would be nice to have.
- Tasks should be able to repeat.
- Organization into my life’s areas of responsibility.
- A clean, easy to absorb interface is helpful (the cluttered screen of Amplenote is why I don’t use that app any more… although I am going to consider going back to it).
- Affordable. I don’t know what that means exactly. If I could find the one perfect app and abandon the others, that might be worth $200 a year.
- Ease of sharing information. I want to be able to print notes to share with colleagues. I want to be able to email notes. Publishing notes is a nice feature, but isn’t as crucial.
- Data export to useable formats. This is important for sharing information with other apps, and for ensuring that I can archive my information should I decide to move on to another app or if I am forced to.
- The ability to include supporting files. That is, I can import files of various kinds to enrich my work: PDFs, Word documents, images are the most important of these.
- It needs to make sense to me. This is obviously very subjective. But I need to be able to know what I’m looking at and how to do what I want to do without a lot of fuss and bother. I guess intuitive is the best word for this.
- Goals are separate from tasks, while tasks are associated with the goals they support. That is, I can break down goals into tasks that get me to achieve the goal. Ditto with projects and tasks.
- Tasks need all the regular meta data, including due date, priority, status. Starting date would be nice. I don’t care about associating a length of time I expect the task to take. I don’t need GTD meta data. And I don’t need to track if I’ve assigned a task to someone else.
That’s a long list. And probably far from complete.
Offered for idea stirring only.
Steve
Posted by rafael costacurta
Dec 28, 2021 at 04:18 PM
That’s a fun exercise to do
I’m testing Amplenote again, the first time I tried it didn’t click for me, but recently something changed and I’m trying to track my to dos more or less loosely… Every time I try to do a more GTD strict approach I end up falling of the band wagon…
True GTDers would say it’s my fault, maybe I would agree. But the fact is that I was getting overwhelmed to my thousands of to do itens in todoist….
After this regression, I would say that the perfect app, service should have/be:
- multi plataform, but with the same levels of attention to details and use of plataform specific features that the ones from the indie Apple world receives
- ability to mix notes and tasks freely inside a document (like Amplenote does(
- ability to filter the tasks as well as tasks managers usually do ( like todoist and nirvana)
- tasks should have start dates as well due dates (like Nirvana)
- reminders is a must too , with the possibility of configuring the reminder to keep beeping until marked done (like iOS app Due)
- great keyboard support
- great iPad app with great keyboard support
- back links and wiki [[]] are a must now
- great search capabilities
- saved searches would be nice
- daily jots
- some kind of AI/calculation suggestion of the tasks that need be done (like Amplenote note and Ms TO DO “today view”
- some kind of way to Mark a task as “screw everything else, focus on this only” that is removed in the end of the day (MS TODO)
- recurring tasks without due date (like Nirvana and omnifocus)
- tags inline
- nested tags
- ability to index other kind of files (devonthink)
There is probably more, but will stick with this for now
Posted by satis
Dec 28, 2021 at 10:33 PM
> my ideal task/project/goal management app
I think I wouldn’t want a single app for those because for me they cover different undertakings that are best managed with different tools. For example, although Todoist (which I use) and other apps (like ZenKit, or the keen new inexpensive Tasks app https://apple.co/3151W3N ) offer both lists and Kanban, I unfortunately haven’t found one of those apps that works as well as a solid standalone Kanban app/service. And for some projects kanban is much preferable to task apps.
(For that same reason I dislike task managers that can’t sync dated/timed tasks to Google Calendar - I’ve never found a task manager’s calendar to approach the polish or capability of a dedicated calendar app.)
> clean, easy to absorb interface is helpful (the cluttered screen of
> Amplenote is why I don’t use that app any more… although I am
> going to consider going back to it)
I like a few of the design decisions behind Amplenote, but not enough to drop anything I’m currently using to pay $70-$120/yr for it. Yes, the Notes format bar is a Windows-like eyesore, but the idea of always-available dated Jots that can transform into Notes is pretty neat. For years I’ve simply kept monthly textfiles (or sheets now, in Ulysses) in which I toss random ideas and links which I may or may not do anything with. And years later these little time capsules offer reminders of what I was looking at and thinking about which I’d previously forgotten. So having them all in a space where one can more easily get to them, and flesh them out, is pretty nifty.
My use of a text processor doesn’t make it easy to quickly share/save things however, and I end up having to keep Ulysses open on my Mac so I can copy-paste. (I suspect that I might be able to rig up Shortcuts or Keyboard Maestro automation that could help, but I haven’t looked into it.) And if I’m websurfing I tend to Share automatically into a catchall Todoist project, or maybe into Apple Notes. But Amplenote’s Jots could obviate that all.
> The ability to include supporting files. That is, I can import files of
> various kinds to enrich my work: PDFs, Word documents, images
> are the most important of these.
I am uncomfortable keeping my files anywhere except for in folders on my computer. Sure, let an app be able to point to files, but to retain them (or a copy of them)? Doesn’t work for me.
> Tasks need all the regular meta data, including due date, priority,
> status. Starting date would be nice.
The only time I think I use status is when I have something in Kanban format, where each column indicates a state. For all the rest Todoist is great - except it eschews start dates for the ability to set multiple Reminder alarms. Many people used to other task managers can’t get to grips with that, but I’ve taken to setting a date for a task (either completion date or some milestone) and given myself reminders hours/days/weeks/months in advance as start dates.
Posted by Sarah
Dec 29, 2021 at 07:36 AM
Stephen Zeoli wrote:
This may not be of any interest to anyone but me, but I recently did a
>brain dump of what my ideal task/project/goal management app would look
>like.
Great list, Steve.Thank you for posting this. I have very similar needs & I think many people here and elsewhere do, too.
I didn’t used to have much need for sharing or task management, but things changed fast. And they’ll continue to speed up. With 2022 days away and software being made more for groups and members, less for single users, getting more complicated, while still missing these features that seem basic, I’m getting tired.
Still reading the posts, though, I always admire your attitude. You and some others here never seem to get too disappointed. Maybe you’re starting with a more workable setup?
Thanks,
Sarah
Posted by Franz Grieser
Dec 29, 2021 at 08:10 AM
Thanks for the interesting insight, Stephen.
I use a much more simplistic setup because I strictly separate my task list and my notes.
My task list (to dos) is a spreadsheet. I keep the tasks for one year on one tab. The current file contains the archive for the last 10 years. I started this system in the 1990s.
The xls file is stored in my iCloud drive so I can access it from all my computers, the iPad and the iPhone (I just have to remember to shut down my main machine before leaving the house).
It requires more manual work than a dedicated task manager and has no reminders (I use my calendar in Outlook for entering appointments, for time blocking and for reminders). I tried a number of task managers in the last years, but none of them really clicked with me.
The stuff I need for completing my tasks is either in the project folder or in Notebooks app (I will probably replace Notebooks by Obsidian in January).