In the prior installment of this series I wrote about HiRise which is a remarkably complete - if somewhat expensive - task management utility. In this installment we’ll take a look at Things by CulturedCode.

Things is currently my application of choice for task management. It has, at least for my current approach, the right mix of simplicity and comprehensiveness that makes it feel capable without having an overwhelming number of features or functions which either will never be used, or which requires that I take a course in how to use the application in order to actually be able to put it to productive use.

Things looks and feels lightweight - it has a clean, Aqua interface and even though you can see a lot of information at a glance the display still manages to look uncluttered and clean. The application supports tags (and also allows you to enter the same tag again with a minimum of keystrokes) and it has the ability to manage nested tasks by allowing you to create projects and then assign multiple individual tasks to each one.

Because things is so closely patterned around GTD, it has a familiar and useful layout that includes an “Inbox” (for everything you typically collect), a “Someday” box (you know what this is for), a “Scheduled” for calendered items, repeating “to dos” and scheduled projects. Projects can have hierarchical tasks and can also be maintained in another box called “Areas” which is earmarked as the place where you store projects and where you can also show areas of responsiblity and indicate whether they are active or inactive at the present time.

Things has a “quick add” feature that makes it fast and simple to add new items to the application and other common tasks can be easily accessed by clicking an icon at the bottom right of the display or by using the menu/navigation bar on top. You can also add teammates to Things - although this did bring up one thing that is either an oversight or a bug. You can’t add a team member that isn’t already in your address book. Not a show stopper to be sure, but it would be convenient to be able to add someone ad-hoc if necessary and even better if adding someone directly into Things also gave you the option of adding that same person to your address book as well. The application is still in beta so I imagine it is always possible that this feature could be added in down the road.

Also still to be added in is “drag and drop” functionality from the sidebar to the main display area and also within the side bar (to rearrange tasks, for example). It is, however, possible to “drag and drop” within the main display to move tasks from one project to another, etc.

Completed tasks are placed in a section called “Logbook”, while the “Next” section allows you to see what’s coming up on your calendar or due dates of tasks and/or projects that are more than a day or two out in front of you. I especially liked the “Heads Up Display (HUD)” for quickly entering data and the tag menu can be visible or only made visible on demand as you prefer.

Still lacking from Things was a dedicated synching utility, although the data is all formatted as XML so someone with some skill could solve that issue pretty easily. Not so easily fixed is the fact that Things has been developed for Leopard. This makes it tough to use for PC operators, though the company says that a fully formatted version of Things will be available via the web making the application essentially universal.

CulturedCode also is advertising that there will be an iPhone version of things available in June of this year; as they put it:

“And we are not just talking about a simple to-do list. We’ll put the whole application in your pocket.”

About now you’re probably wondering what this whole thing is going to run you. The answer is it depends. That’s because right now, while things is in beta, you can download a preview version free of charge. Once the application goes gold you’ll have to pay and then it still depends. If you are a subscriber to their newsletter you get $10 bucks off which makes the app $39 and IMO a very nice value. Those that don’t subscribe to their newsletter can pay the full price of $49 which is still a deal as far as I’m concerned.

Personally though, I’d hustle over and download the preview version now, if nothing else then to give it a test run and see how you like it. So far it works for me, it might just work for you, too.

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Editor’s Note: This is the first intallment in a quick 3-part series on web-based task management applications. Today we take a look at Highrise from 37 Signals

As I continue to learn about the practical application of GTD in my everyday work and personal life I have realized that task management is going to be critical in many respects. Because GTD is so task oriented and because so many things in today’s work environment are collaborative in nature it is essential that you have the ability to track not only your own tasks and deliverables but those of the people to whom you’ve Delegated something as well as those someone else may have delegated to you.

So far I haven’t found the perfect task management solution for me but I have come across a couple of strong candidates. Today I’ll give you a quick rundown on three and see if perhaps someone can help me see which one would be best for GTD use.

First up is Highrise

(click the image for a larger view).

Highrise is a strong contender for sure. It is a lot more than just a task management utility and in reality should probably be classified almost as a lightweight CRM tool since it has a substantial number of features oriented towards contact management in addition to handling tasks. The thing is, these features make it especially good for managing the deliverables of delegated tasks. I also like the task dashboard that makes it possible to see your whole list of tasks broken down by when they’re due as well as their other associations. Is the task an email, does it relate to a document, or perhaps it is tied to another person? All of these scenarios are accounted for in Highrise. Another thing I liked about Highrise is the fact that you can see at a glance what needs to be done today and horror of horrors, what SHOULD have bee done yesterday (in case you’re Not Getting Things Done as quickly as you needed to).

Task entry is quick and easy which is something you should demand from any task management software - after all, if it’s any more difficult than writing the task on a piece of paper it probably isn’t going to be efficient and that should be cause to consider seriously if it will actually help you Get More Done or simply chew up valuable time while you futz around with the software.

The two issues I had with Highrise are the depth of the application (it really is more suited for teams than individuals with all these features), and the price. For the lowest cost setup that I though would be adequate for my needs they have a solo special (for Freelancers, they say) at $29.00 per month. This is almost as much as I pay for my 6 Meg pipe and it seems a little steep considering that some applications with nearly this much functionality are free.

Google has yet to come out with Task Management but they’ve so spoiled me with some of their free applications that these days I have a much harder time opening up the old wallet (and especially to the tune of almost $30 Bones a month just to manage my task list.

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