Task list apps: gootodo

December 6, 2008

How I manage my task list is a very personal choice to me. 1 Task list applications are the perfect example of why the YMMV (your mileage may vary) acronym abounds.  So, if you’ve found a task list app that works for you, I salute you, move along, nothing to see here.  If, however you struggle with finding a good task list app, may I humbly suggest you give the following two applications a try.

The first application is gootodo.com.  This is a web-based application that costs $3 a month and is drop-dead simple to use.  Like other applications I love (30boxes and tripit) the main interface for gootodo is your email. 2

Once I  have created my account on gootodo and indicated which emails are to be included in my account, I am good to go.  Let’s say I get a document that I need to review from a client, but I know that I am not going to have time to look at it until next Wednesday, I simply forward the email to wednesday@gootodo .com and it sends the email to my gootodo account.  But the beauty comes from the fact that if I go to the gootodo site tomorrow (Monday) that task will not show on Monday’s list.  When Wednesday rolls around, lo and behold there it is waiting for me.  And if I don’t have time for it on Wednesday, it rolls to Thursday.  

The email forwarding is the best part of this.  They have built a lot of intelligence into what gootodo will accept, so I can put a day of week like above, or a specific date like dec14@gootodo .com.  Another great example is following up with people.  Let’s say I send an email to a prospect introducing myself and tell them that I will follow up on a proposal I sent them in a week.  I will blind copy 7d@gootodo .com and in seven days the email I sent to the prospect will appear on my task list and I will then remember to follow up with that person.

The creators of gootodo have continued to improve the web interface as well, but with usability improvement not feature-creep, which is great since the fundamental key to the service is ease of use.  Creating a task you have a date and a description.  You can also easily arrange the order of your list on the web site. 

If you are a proponent of inbox zero, give gootodo a try.  And if you’re not sure, the makers of gootodo have a book called "Bit Literacy" that I urge you to read first.  It’s a great read and has helped me better manage my digital life.

1 {It took me 10 minutes to write that sentence.  I started with to do list, then to-do list, then ‘to do list’, you get the idea.  I think of TODO as one word but cannot get my mind around a standard for usage.  I looked back at past writings and emails and think I’ve used every conceivable configuration and Strunk & White have not seen fit to write a chapter on the proper way to use to do.  It ranks up there with log in (login) and set up (setup, set-up) for mental anguish.  So I punted and wrote ‘task’ instead.  Problem solved.}

2 {Let me  discuss my goals for a task list app so that you can still jump off this blog early. The number one criteria I have for a task list app is to reduce anxiety and keep things out of my head.  You know the kind of anxiety I’m talking about, the kind where at fpm you are trying to tell your mind "remember when I am at my desk tomorrow that I need to call Tom, remember when I am at my desk tomorrow… "  I want the app to be so easy that any time I even think of a task I won’t hesitate to put it in the app.   I want one place to have my tasks, and email is not that place.  While I am not a GTD (getting things done) hard core disciple, I am a kool-aid drinking apostle of inbox zero.  My inbox is not where I keep my tasks, it is too anxiety inducing for me to have follow-ups, unread messages, sent messages for which I am awaiting a reply, and something I don’t have to respond to for 3 weeks all sitting in my inbox.  Nevertheless, I fully acknowledge that a decent chunk of my task creation comes form something that I get from others in my inbox.}

Next Post – Omnifocus

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