Favorite Mac Apps: Things

I know that I haven’t written in a while, but my hope is that I’ll be able to get something out at least once a week from now on. I’m trying a new method that I hope will make the process easier for me and, if it works, I’ll likely blog about it later.

For today, I’d like to feature one of my favorite Mac apps. Things is a powerful to-do list/planning application from the folks over at Cultured Code. The beauty of the application is that it is easy enough for someone with basic to-do list needs to figure out quickly but it also contains powerful filtering, organization and project tools for the most complicated of task-management needs. Another wonder of the application is that the interface keeps the power-user stuff from cluttering up the work environment so that basic users don’t feel overwhelmed by all of the options.

Things is based on the Getting Things Done model (GTD) but you don’t have to use that system of planning to use the application. Again, the folks at Cultured Code have managed to provide those features without making use of the application cumbersome for beginners. I’m not a full-fledged GTD guy although I appreciate the system. I do like the idea of a general inbox for all tasks and then some provided filtering categories such as Today, Next, Scheduled and Someday for more focused planning. This allows you to quickly create a list of tasks that need to be done Today so that you only have to look at the that subset all day instead of your possibly overwhelming master list. The Someday category is nice too. You can throw anything in there that you want to get to eventually but don’t want to see every day – like house projects. 🙂 The application also lets you assign tags to each task so that you can filter large lists by related characteristics or locations. For example: Phone, at Computer, at Home, in Car, with Bob, etc. This helps you not bounce back and forth between the phone and computer or the office and home as much.

One of my favorite features is the Projects section. Things will allow you to create individual projects with their own set of tasks. If you are like me and work better with larger chunks of time, this is a great help. Being able to focus on one particular project at a time is really helpful for me. It makes me feel like I’m making more significant progress on my work. This is just another way of keeping only the tasks you need immediately in front of you.

For those of you who are Franklin/Covey fans, Things will allow you to create Areas of Responsibility and assign tasks accordingly. This feature works similarly to the Projects section but encourages thinking in terms of Roles and Responsibilities rather than Projects.

Another favorite feature is Things’ ability to sync with their iPhone/iPod touch and iPad apps. It is completely beyond me why Apple has not made a single visible effort to provide syncing of tasks between iCal and the iPhone/iPod touch. That one seems like a no-brainer to me, especially if they already allow syncing of Contacts, Calendars and Mail. It makes me wonder how the folks at 1 Infinite Loop handle their own mobile task-management needs. 🙂 Currently, Things does all of its syncing via wi-fi but the company is working on a “cloud sync” feature for a future release. I don’t always need my entire laptop with me so it is nice to have all my tasks with me on my iPod touch when I’m out and about.

Things for Mac is a little pricey at $49, but the project management features and its ability to sync with the iPhone/iPod touch made it worth it for me. Things for iPhone and Things for iPad are sold separately and are priced at $9.99 and $19.99 respectively.

(Image property of Cultured Code)