Why do we need to sync our smartphone to do list with a web based one or desktop one?

[humblepie]

Ok i been fiddling with enough smartphone todo list on the iphone and android as well as the web.

So it suddenly occur to me, that one selling point alot of them make is that the tasks are synchronized across the web so that you can do it in different location.

my question is that how many of you switch between smartphone and desktop very consistently for this to be helpful?

in my opinion the smartphone one is portable enough for you to review it as your single manager so you don't really need another one.

fruit for thought.

 

[Oogiem]

So it suddenly occur to me, that one selling point alot of them make is that the tasks are synchronized across the web so that you can do it in different location.

my question is that how many of you switch between smartphone and desktop very consistently for this to be helpful?

I go back and forth between my Mac desktop and my iPod all the time and can't even imagine not having both. I use Omnifocus and while it's good for the doing part the iPod/iPhone version falls down in review and in capture.

For me the critical component of a portable version is the ability to quickly see my contexts and actions and check things off as I do them. I need a quick overview of which context has the most things to do in it because I can usually choose to move to a different context anytime. I also need to be able to quickly see if there are any overdue items and what is due soon. Flagging is not something I use often but when I do I need to quickly pull up all flagged items and then both set and delete flags easily. For that the iPhone version works great. If I need to add a quick action I can but the iPod keyboard is not designed for fast typing.

When I am in the house back at my desk I can type much faster on a real keyboard so editing and adding actions and new projects is easier. The real key is during weekly review. I use the OF review function to go over every project in sets (active, stalled, pending and on hold) and that is not part of the iPod version at all. Without that structured review I get lost as I typically have over 600 projects in my system and several thousand next actions. Many of those are on hold but I still need to review them. Synch is critical because I don't want to have to re-enter or update info when I switch from one to the other.

I use the bonjour synch on my system because I am not comfortable using cloud services for that function. So I separate cloud vs sync.

 

[mcogilvie]

in my opinion the smartphone one is portable enough for you to review it as your single manager so you don't really need another one.

fruit for thought.

Arguments against your position:

1) Back-up
2) Ease of viewing, especially the big picture
3) Ease of entry, e.g. from other programs
4) Ease of reorganization
5) Why should I pull out my iPhone when I'm working at a computer or using my iPad?
6) Back-up

I don't know how many people have told me they lost all their information when they lost their phones. Never happening to me.

 

[humblepie]

thanks for the feed back. for one i dun really find reorganization tat difficult on an iphone but i think the big picture could be an issue.

i for one have never lost a phone (except once when it was stolen) and while i think cloud sync provides the best form of backup, there are people who like to sync it once the apps are launched.

if i want to collect a thought into an actionable task, this actually slows me down.

 

[PeterW]

Agree 100% with mcogilvie.

I work mainly from a desktop so my cloud-based system is perfect - I can access it on both my work and home computers and when I'm away from both, I use my iPhone.

 

[bradenchase]

Personal Opinion

Smart Phone - Perfect for "Reviewing" and "Doing." Not so great with the other parts of the GTD system.

Ex. What takes me a whole "drag-and-drop" motion on my iMac takes me about 7 taps on my iPhone.

Conclusion: Smart phones (or any equivalent) is only a useful part of any good system.

 

[clango]

+1

Smart phones (or any equivalent) is only a useful part of any good system.

Great! I agree!+1

 

[clango]

Globalization of system

I can access my system on both my work and home computers and when I'm away from both, I use my....

I use an Android but it's pretty the same

 

[TonyMo]

I'm not convinced we do need sync on our smartphone devices.

A well designed app should be able to capture our thoughts without excessive tapping, tagging and shuffling stuff around different lists. It seems to me, the fact we need to sync at all is a tacit admission that the tools we have so far have in fact failed. All to do apps, including the major league players are just a rehash of the same old interface. A field here, and sub page there..... with no clear design statement and cohesive view of the whole.

This is a direct consequence of taking a computer desktop app and shoehorning it into a small smartphone space.

We need a new improved way of pushing stuff into our smartphones with minimal fuss, with the software actually doing the organizing for us. That way, I could leave my desktop behind and actually get on with doing stuff for real...

I can see a need for backing up data, but not for sync itself. I want all my data in one place, with me at all times, without the need to sync back to a master workstation which lets me input things better than I can on the phone....

 

[JohnV474]

one reason

One reason: dropping your phone in the toilet.

TonyMo, based on what you're describing, you may want to take a look at Rexwireless (if your smartphone is a blackberry). Much smartphone software IS a rehash... because it has to be extremely intuitive for people to get hooked on it during their 15 day free trial. If something required a ton of new learning (e.g. emacs org-mode), most people wouldn't bother to give it a shot.

If you are willing to learn a bit, Rexwireless' software suite can do more for GTD implementation than any software I have ever seen. Yes, Outlook can do a lot of amazing stuff, but it's tough to use for GTD.

JohnV474

 

[PO-COM]

i fully support the idea of having one app in one place for all my todo's so much, that i made that the premise of my own to-do app! I think if you are a "hard core" GTD follower, with an extremely sophisticated system, then that may not work. but, if you are a general GTD user, or even a casual user like myself, then i think syncing and multiple lists just add complication, really. i think for 80% of the people out there, just having one nice, but easily sortable, list of tasks in one place is just fine.

the other driver besides added complexity with syncing, was added cost. most of the "top-tier" to-do apps that sync cost a fair amount, at least in terms of app store prices. also, my impression is syncing is a technical minefield - in pre-research, pretty much any to-do app that had syncing had negative reviews about how their syncs fail.

and thus, i made taskList. i think it qualifies as a "nice" GTD app. it's not re-inventing the wheel, as perhaps what TonyMo is looking for. but, i think it does what it needs to, in a clean interface, and with as little complication as possible. i am thinking about sync, but it is at the very end of my list of features to add (and, non-sync related backup of some kind is on that list, too - and much ahead of some kind of full-featured sync).

if you are an smartphone user, when do you not have it with you? mine is sitting right next to my keyboard, now. it's with me when i sleep, even. so, i believe NOT having sync can be more of a selling point than having it, for the majority of people.

 

[bishblaize]

I suppose it depends on you like your system. Personally I like to keep all my support material digital and in the same place as my projects. This wouldnt be possible on a phone. However having made my lists on a desktop, i still want to see them when i go to the shops or whatever, so I sync them.

However if you just like lists of lists of lists, then your phone will probably do the whole job for you.

That said you'd be advised to sync it somehow to make sure its backed up.

 

[rdgeorge]

Entering data with a keyboard is a different level of efficiency than anyone's smart phone. Capturing "on the spot" is easily and quickly done with paper.

With Omnifocus, the applications for a Mac descktop, an iPad and the iPhone/iTouch, while not identical, are sufficiently similar enough to avoid the issues raised. Snyching these is easy, and provides back-up in the clouds. Each one has its strengths and is best for certain locations or times of day.

I completely disagree with the naysayers. Others mileage may vary.

rdgeorge

 

[JohnV474]

keyboard efficiency

I agree that entering data with a keyboard is in a different league compared to a smartphone, in terms of efficiency.

On the other hand, compared to capturing on paper and then later typing at high speed on a keyboard, many (myself included) can enter data into a smartphone far faster than we can write by hand.

Now, if there were a way to carry a full size keyboard around and enter data at will, I would probably ignore the geek factor enough to do so.

 

[bishblaize]

I agree that entering data with a keyboard is in a different league compared to a smartphone, in terms of efficiency.

On the other hand, compared to capturing on paper and then later typing at high speed on a keyboard, many (myself included) can enter data into a smartphone far faster than we can write by hand.

Now, if there were a way to carry a full size keyboard around and enter data at will, I would probably ignore the geek factor enough to do so.

If you have an android phone id highly recommend Swype, which is a slightly different way of using a keyboard. Rather than hunt-and-peck the keys, you slide your finger from one key to the next and it predicts it for you. Personally I find it at least twice as quick as normal typing. That said other people have reported its not for them, so as ever try it and see.

 

[Suelin23]

I don't sync my lists to the desktop, my work doesn't support the iPhone, so I couldn't do it if I wanted to. I have action lists in email, but if the tasks are important or have a due date I also put them in the iPhone as it is my main list manager. I like having a separate system from work anyway, so I can put my personal stuff there and know it is private.

 

[JohnV474]

swype

If you have an android phone id highly recommend Swype, which is a slightly different way of using a keyboard. Rather than hunt-and-peck the keys, you slide your finger from one key to the next and it predicts it for you. Personally I find it at least twice as quick as normal typing. That said other people have reported its not for them, so as ever try it and see.

Thanks for the suggestion, but I'm afraid Swype wouldn't be a match for me. I couldn't find an Android phone with a keyboard that permitted even 40-50 wpm typing. On-screen keyboards are an impossibility, as the user is required to look at the screen to enter data. Short of a regular computer keyboard, there are only a few on the market that permit faster speeds and also do not require looking at the keyboard.

For some users, I can see how Swype would let them speed up, but in my case the learning curve and added complexity would slow me down.

 

[JohnV474]

Smart Phone - Perfect for "Reviewing" and "Doing." Not so great with the other parts of the GTD system.

Ex. What takes me a whole "drag-and-drop" motion on my iMac takes me about 7 taps on my iPhone.

Conclusion: Smart phones (or any equivalent) is only a useful part of any good system.

This generalization neglects a lot of evidence. The fact that a particular tool requires more work than another tool does to accomplish one particular task applies to ANY two tools. I can draw a sketch on a piece of paper faster than I can on a computer but I can carry 10,000 sketches on something the size of one sheet of paper.

The iPhone requires 7 taps, but those 7 taps can be done before the Mac is even booted up... and therefore under some circumstances the iPhone would actually be better/faster... depending on how often you are on the move.

A smartphone can help someone Collect, Process, Organize, Review, and Do better than any single tool... almost by definition--because no other single tool has a smartphone's capabilities.

That being said, having a smartphone will not make you any more productive any more than having a Corvette will make you a race driver.

 

[JohnV474]

Entering data with a keyboard is a different level of efficiency than anyone's smart phone. Capturing "on the spot" is easily and quickly done with paper.

With Omnifocus, the applications for a Mac descktop, an iPad and the iPhone/iTouch, while not identical, are sufficiently similar enough to avoid the issues raised. Snyching these is easy, and provides back-up in the clouds. Each one has its strengths and is best for certain locations or times of day.

I completely disagree with the naysayers. Others mileage may vary.

rdgeorge

I'd like to point out that if your capture requires more than about a few seconds of writing by hand, then many smartphone users can capture faster into their phone.

I would also like to point out that if the captured information is later transferred to the computer, the increased efficiency of the keyboard will rarely offset the additional time and attention required to keep track of the captured note, remind yourself what it was all about, and then direct that information into the appropriate file or database.

For example, if I am given someone's phone number, I may take an extra 10 seconds to type it into my phone compared with scribbling it on a piece of paper... except then I have it in its permanent location, once and for all. It will take longer than 10 seconds to review the note and enter that into a computer.

The larger the volume of data to be recorded by hand, the greater the difference.

Now, if someone types 5 words per minute on a smartphone and writes 15 wpm by hand, the situation is different.

60 wpm on some smartphones is not unheard of. 30 wpm is not difficult to achieve. This is far faster than writing by hand.

 

[alsa]

I use Things on my Mac, on the iPad and on iPod Touch

I have to say, my iPad version of Things get the least workout of the three. Here's a rough outline of how I work with Things.

On Sunday, during my Weekly Review I work exclusively with the Mac version of Things going Area by Area moving things out of NEXT into SOMEDAY and out of SOMEDAY into NEXT. I also adjust SCHEDULED (=calendared) and REPEATING tasks in each Area of Responsibility (I have about 11 areas).

After I am done with my Weekly Review, I sync all changes to iPod Touch and iPad.

During the week, I work mostly with the iPod Touch version of Things.

Every morning, I sync all three versions just after I wake up. All I have to do is turn all three devices on, and it takes less than 2 minutes to sync al three (Older version would go for up to 5-6 minutes).

I then star anything in NEXT for TODAY if it's not TODAY'ed yet or vice versa knowing the forecast of my workload for that particular day (I intuitively sense how much I can get done)

That's it! For the rest of the day I work out of the TODAY list (which is essentially Priority 1 subset of the NEXT list). TODAY list is simplu items in my NEXT list that I have deliberately chosen to work on. Each day I have roughly 15 tasks in TODAY and each week I have about 40 tasks in the NEXT list altogether across all 11 areas. I only touch the SOMEDAY list once a week during the Weekly Review.

Those who are familiar with THINGS way of working GTD would know exactly what I am talking about.

The cloud syncing for Things is still in the works and is eagerly awaited by many. I just remember to sync one a day.