The Best To-Do List Apps in 2024

Summary

This video explores the best to-do apps for managing personal and team tasks, highlighting Todoist for its lightweight design and organizational features. It also reviews other apps like Things 3 for its Apple design, OmniFocus for customization, Tweak for minimalist task tracking, Apple Reminders for native Apple users, Microsoft To-Do for integration with Microsoft ecosystem, Google Tasks for Gmail users, Notion for all-in-one solutions, and ClickUp for detailed collaborative task management. The script emphasizes the importance of choosing an app that fits individual needs and offers a free Skillshare trial for further learning.

Takeaways

• 📝 Todoist is praised for its ease of use and versatility in managing both personal and team tasks across all platforms, with synchronization to Google Calendar.
• 🗓 Todoist offers various organizational features, including projects, nested projects, and multiple viewing options like list, board, and calendar views.
• 🧩 The app allows custom filters and AI assistance for task organization, simplifying the process of sorting through to-dos.
• 📌 Todoist's Team Works spaces feature enables the combination of work and personal tasks in one place, with clear separation.
• 💬 The developer's active communication and rapid development of Todoist are highlighted as positive aspects of the app.
• 🚫 A drawback mentioned is Todoist's lack of support for start dates, requiring workarounds until the feature is implemented.
• 🎨 Things 3 is recognized for its Apple Design Award-winning interface and user experience, available exclusively on Apple devices.
• 🔄 Things 3's 'when' and 'deadline' system provides an intuitive way to schedule tasks, with areas and projects for organization.
• 🚫 Limitations of Things 3 include the inability to attach files to tasks and a lack of location-based reminders.
• 📚 OmniFocus 4 is noted for its high level of customization and review functionality, ideal for those following the GTD system closely.
• 🚫 OmniFocus faces criticism for its less intuitive interface and steeper learning curve, as well as limited web version usability.
• 📝 Tweak is a minimalistic app that resembles a paper planner, focusing on high-level tasks and available as a printable version.
• 📱 Apple Reminders is a first-party app with templates and smart lists, seamlessly integrated with other Apple apps but lacking in customization and calendar integration.
• 💼 Microsoft To-Do integrates well with other Microsoft products, offering features like 'My Day' and task suggestions from AI, but with room for design and customization improvements.
• 📧 Google Tasks is a lightweight, integrated solution within Gmail for quick task capture from emails, though it lacks advanced organizational features.
• 🔧 Notion is an all-in-one solution for task management, project tracking, and more, with high flexibility and collaboration features, but requires setup and lacks quick entry convenience.
• 🔄 ClickUp is a detailed collaborative task manager with features like task dependencies and automation, though it has a steep learning curve and is best for teams.

Q & A

What makes Todoist a good choice for managing both personal and team tasks?

Todoist is a lightweight app that's easy to use and learn. It's available on all platforms, syncs with Google Calendar, and offers features like projects, nested projects, and various task views. Additionally, Todoist's new Team Workspaces feature allows users to manage personal and team tasks in the same app, making it great for planning both simultaneously.

What are some limitations of Todoist?

Todoist does not currently support start dates, which means you can’t plan when to start working on a task that's not due yet. Users have to use workarounds for this limitation, but it's a feature the developers are working on for the future.

Why is Things 3 considered the best-designed to-do app?

Things 3 is known for its beautiful and intuitive design, which even won an Apple Design Award. It features a unique 'When' date versus 'Deadline' system for scheduling tasks and has a well-organized areas and projects system. However, it's only available on Apple devices.

What are some of the downsides of using Things 3?

Things 3 has limitations such as the inability to attach files to to-dos, the lack of location-based reminders, and the restriction that repeating tasks cannot be completed ahead of time.

Who would benefit most from using OmniFocus 4?

OmniFocus 4 is ideal for Apple users who need a highly customizable task manager that can track tasks in great detail. It's particularly suited for those who follow the GTD (Getting Things Done) methodology and appreciate features like sequential projects and built-in review perspectives.

What are some challenges users might face with OmniFocus 4?

OmniFocus 4 has a steeper learning curve due to its complex user interface. Additionally, scheduling tasks ahead of time is not as intuitive as in other apps, and the web version is limited compared to the full app.

Why might someone choose Tweek as their to-do app?

Tweek is great for users who prefer a minimalist approach to task management. It resembles a paper planner and focuses on high-level, important tasks, reducing the likelihood of spending excessive time organizing to-dos.

What are the limitations of using Tweek for task management?

Due to its minimalistic nature, Tweek may struggle with tracking less impactful tasks, and it offers limited options for customizing repetition schedules.

How does Microsoft To-Do integrate with other Microsoft products?

Microsoft To-Do integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft apps, such as Outlook and Planner. For example, flagged emails in Outlook automatically show up as tasks in To-Do, and tasks assigned in Planner are also displayed in To-Do.

What are the strengths and weaknesses of using Google Tasks?

Google Tasks is very lightweight and integrates directly into Gmail, making it convenient for users who primarily manage tasks via email. However, it offers minimal organization features, lacks a 'Today' view, and does not support task attachments.