Comments on: Review of Things by Cultured Code

By: Oliver.

Oliver. — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 23:37:42 +0000

Things looks really great.
Things seems easy to jump into.

But Things is really HARD if not even impossible to implement the GTD-methodology with. The 4 criteria – it just wont work.

OmniFocus on the other hand:
It looks a bit complex.
It feels a lot higher bar to get over.

But you can really work the GTD-ways like Things never can.

The best GTD-app in the world ever is OmniFocus – but there iphone app lags to much. So Im switching to probably the most loved and beautiful todo-app there is (things).

Jaws will drop. =)

ps. inbox: give the guy some cred – he actually pointed out that he didnt see the point since he’s writing an action. Clearly he doesnt use it for intake. Like many of you, I will.

By: Emily

Emily — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 06:12:31 +0000

only thing holding me back from Things: no CONTEXTS in the iphone app! how can i work on the go and with my mobile without having any contexts!?
also, project notes, and the project screen, does not work on the iphone app. it only displays the first few words of a project, and i can’t access the notes about each project.

By: Barak

Barak — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 22:44:47 +0000

I had two similar concerns as you and made a conceptual twist to ‘fix’ both of them.

I use the projects as contexts. Poof! Everything syncs with the iPod touch/iPhone and the fact that they are always there makes some sense.

By: Pascal Hos

Pascal Hos — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 23:53:26 +0000

You can simply create a wifi network on your macbook and connect the iphone to that. Works great!

By: Samir

Samir — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 06:26:36 +0000

one big issue I have is with limitations for only wifi sync with my macbook.

as a consultant its hard to get consistent access to wifi while on the clients premises. even hotels do not offer wifi consistently (mostly in the lobbies not in the rooms)

By: Rising Dawn » Blog Archive » links for 2008-11-26

Rising Dawn » Blog Archive » links for 2008-11-26 — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 06:03:22 +0000

[...] Getting Things Done with "Things": a Review by Erik Hanberg | GTD Times I spotted some features of Things in here I didn't know existed. Good stuff (tags: software tutorial) [...]

By: Productivity Mega Power Links 11-24-08 « Geeks Guide To Productivity

Productivity Mega Power Links 11-24-08 « Geeks Guide To Productivity — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 10:11:57 +0000

[...] I actually tried to use Things…once. Things is a GTD system designed for Mac computers with mobile applications for the iPhone and iTouch. To any user of David Allen‚Äôs productivity system, Things should look very familiar. Hot keys (or mouse clicking) will bring up a task window for easy entry. To each task, you can add notes, due dates, links to files, and customizable tags, which serve as ‚Äúcontexts.‚Äù [...]

By: ZingerSteve

ZingerSteve — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 21:03:48 +0000

I’ve been a devoted Things user for quite some time. I like the flexibility it offers to adapt your own version of its system, meaning you don’t need to use the inbox if you just don’t find the need. I use it very rarely but I’m glad it’s there for when I can’t take the time to organize a task.

By: matt

matt — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 15:04:45 +0000

“And I have yet to touch the ‚Äúinbox‚Äù feature. For the life of me I cannot figure out what to put in there that I can‚Äôt do with the next action list. Putting items in this folder doesn‚Äôt make sense.”

Thanks for the review, though this paragraph is a little shocking. If you’ve read gtd, things’ inbox should be easily understood. One of the best features of Things and perfect for gtd. It makes me wonder if you really have a full understanding of gtd at all.

By: DanGTD

DanGTD — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 09:59:43 +0000

Regarding the inbox, you don’t put there only next actions, but it’s for dropping anything that comes in your mind that can be organized later. Task ideas, new project ideas, notes, etc.

By: Ken

Ken — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 20:25:41 +0000

“The only downside I have right now is that while it works fantastically with my Macbook and my iPhone, I do most of my GTD-worthy stuff at work, which has the unfortunate circumstance of having a PC. Any suggestions for how to make GTD w/ things work properly when you don‚Äôt have access to your Mac?”

VNC…

I’m logged into to my home computer via VNC all day, so I always have access to Things…

By: Dylan

Dylan — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:36:15 +0000

I’m probably over-engineering a solution here, but I sort of wish that the Inbox worked like album cover art in iTunes. When the Inbox was empty, instead of always being at top of the source list, it would be hidden “above” it, so that the Focus area would be at the top.

If a new task was added that went to the Inbox, then the Inbox would slide out from the top, and the user could also click a button or do a show command, just like in iTunes the album art display can be toggled on/off.

This would allow those of us who don’t use the Inbox (or use it infrequently) to keep it out of the way when it’s empty.

By: Kelly

Kelly — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:50:39 +0000

Great Review! I use this exact setup and read David Allen’s GTD book because of Things promotion of it. Props to Things for the iPhone app also…I wasn’t totally sold on Things, debating between Omni Outliner, Remember the Milk and others…but Things iPhone app changed the game and solidified my setup.

By: Alex Romayev

Alex Romayev — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 14:47:06 +0000

I have the same problem with Things working extremely slow – what did you do to fix.

Regarding Inbox. If I’m in a middle of a meeting and need to capture a to-do (or working on something and my wife comes in with “can you fix the garage door”, I just use a shortcut to type the title and stick it into the Inbox, no time for tagging and moving to an Area. When the meeting is done, I can go through my Inbox clean it up.

By: Nick Bertolino

Nick Bertolino — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 14:06:45 +0000

We are big fans of Things. It is elegantly designed, with few issues (even in a beta state). We are looking forward to the launch and more collaboration features.

By: Mark Ayers

Mark Ayers — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 21:50:50 +0000

The inbox!

Scenario 1. I am in the middle of writing this comment when a phone call comes in with something I need to do later. I want to make a note of that and keep working. I hit the key combo for the things quick entry and off goes a reminder to myself into the Things inbox. Next time I process my inboxes I will decide what is this ’stuff’ and what I will need to do.

Scenario 2. I’m travellig down the street on a wonderful lunchtime walk when some bit of stuff waiting for me at home needs to be taken care of. Out comes the iPhone. I open Things and enter a note for myself. I enjoy the rest of my walk. Next time I process my inboxes I will decide what is this ’stuff’ and what I will need to do.

By: Erik

Erik — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 19:57:30 +0000

I’m loving Things. It’s super. The only downside I have right now is that while it works fantastically with my Macbook and my iPhone, I do most of my GTD-worthy stuff at work, which has the unfortunate circumstance of having a PC.

Any suggestions for how to make GTD w/ things work properly when you don’t have access to your Mac? I don’t want to constantly use my iPhone and drain the battery, plus it really throws off my flow when I have to stop what I’m doing and spend a full minute getting everything set up in there when I could do it in about 20 seconds on the Mac.

By: first computer bug | Digg hot tags

first computer bug | Digg hot tags — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 19:31:11 +0000

[...] Vote Getting Things Done with ‚ÄúThings‚Äù: a Review by Erik Hanberg [...]

By: Lynn O'Connor

Lynn O'Connor — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 19:13:02 +0000

Thanks for the review of “Things.” I’m still devoted to “Vitalist” as home to my next actions and project lists –and I have the same comment to make about the famous “Inbox.” I have the Next Action page of Vitalist in front of me all day, with a quick entry box. It would double my work to put something into “Inbox” and then deal with it again later. I have had this same situation with all the programs I’ve fooled around with. In Omnifocus, however, which I’ve just started playing with again, the “Inbox” is the same thing as “quick entry” in Vitalist, so there is no need to repeat, renter, or add details to any data. Obviously others use the inbox but some of us don’t. I was glad to read your review as I have wondered if I was missing something, some helpful function, by ignoring the inbox. If there are at least two of us with the same thought/way of working –well it made me feel that I was not so off in ignoring the inbox.

Inboxes aside, thanks for the review of Things, I had forgotten about that one.

Lynn

By: outlook contacts to mac address book | Digg hot tags

outlook contacts to mac address book | Digg hot tags — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 12:52:32 +0000

[...] Vote Getting Things Done with "Things": a Review by Erik Hanberg | GTD … [...]

By: Chris

Chris — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 04:09:48 +0000

‚ÄúAnd I have yet to touch the ‚Äúinbox‚Äù feature. For the life of me I cannot figure out what to put in there that I can‚Äôt do with the next action list.‚Äù

The Inbox is just what it sounds like‚Äîa collection bucket. Items that should go in there are things that pop into your mind when you are busy working and do not want to stop to process right then and there.

This is why the quick entry panel is so helpful. If I’m working away in another application, I can use the shortcut to invoke the quick entry HUD, get whatever is in my head out in to the application and barely break out of my workflow. I do not always want to switch applications and process all my items.

I typically use the Inbox when I have an intriguing idea that I want to spend some time thinking about, but do not know what the next action might be. I’ve listed my own use of Things here:

http://theweeklyreview.ca/2008/04/18/gtd-overview-part4-task-management-using-things/