Alternate to FacileThings / Purest GTD App

ivanjay205

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Hi everyone, I have tried quite a few mobile and paper based systems. I really need to be in a digital world. My phone is always with me to capture ideas and it just works best.

I stumbled on FacileThings and want to love it. It is so pure to Gtd it really keeps me in the system. Love that.
But it is very dated looking, mobile app stinks (they say a new one is coming but who knows how accurate as it is very slow) and its a tiny development team. I get the feeling it is not going to progress much.

biggest issue is the sync between mobile and web is not good so the phone is only food for capturing.
Any other really pure apps out there? I dabbled with Nirvana which could work but I do love the auto calendar sync in FacileThings and guided week in review process. And Nirvana doesnt seem to be actively developed either.
I have an iPhone, iPad, and Surface Book so I need something for ios and windows/web.
Thanks in advance!

Ivan
 

Ger80C

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I have heard a lot about Nirvana but did not test it myself yet. From what I have read I think the implementation is close to the book/main GTD model. I use OmniFocus for my private system and can reccomend it .
 

ivanjay205

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Definitely you should give Nirvana a try
I did try Nirvana. The review was one thing and I missed and calendar sync. Does anyone know if it does that? With FacileThings I can set a day and time for calendar dependent activity, preview it against my committments on my outlook cal (within facilethings) and have it book it. Makes it real convenient.

The weekly review I could organize on my own without the guided tour as done in FacileThings
 

mcogilvie

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I tried it, no calendar sync and I hated the english translation to dates. Fouled me up so many times with more complex recurring items.

OK, you're close to being out of lives. You could try Toodledo or Remember the Milk. They sort of date from the Triassic in internet years.

Since I have a Mac Book Pro, not a Surface Book, I am happily using Things, BTW.
 

Ger80C

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Have you tried Omnifocus? It includes a weekly review function, and the preview integrates with your calendar (not the other way around, but maybe you can also display OF in your calendar indeed)
 

ivanjay205

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OK, you're close to being out of lives. You could try Toodledo or Remember the Milk. They sort of date from the Triassic in internet years.

Since I have a Mac Book Pro, not a Surface Book, I am happily using Things, BTW.
Lol yea that is what I was afraid of, I have been searching hard on this one
 

ivanjay205

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Have you tried Omnifocus? It includes a weekly review function, and the preview integrates with your calendar (not the other way around, but maybe you can also display OF in your calendar indeed)
I would love to but I am pc based (plus iPad and iPhone). I heard it is seriously stripped down on the web interface. Is that accurate?
 

ivanjay205

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Maybe you should consider Nozbe? I used to use it for many years and it’s really good software with outstanding support. It has a sync with google calendar. @TesTeq
I did reach out to them earlier (waiting for support to open during the week) to see if they sync with Outlook. If so maybe one worth trying.
 

Longstreet

Professor of microbiology and infectious diseases
I am an avid Nirvana user. It is an outstanding GTD system. Web app, iOS apps, and Android apps.
 

ivanjay205

Registered
Good suggestion. A not Bad successor to Wunderlist. The downsides I see are no project linking, and no use nice features of iOS like share sheets.
I think I will stick with FacileThings. Thanks for the help all around! At least I know I exhausted my options.
 

Brian Cohen

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@ivanjay205 I use FacileThings as well. I am actually totally fine with the web UI. Yes, it could be snappier in some places, and some optimizations could help (like you move something out of the Waiting For list, but then you have to go find it in the Next Actions list to edit Urgency, time, etc. Would be cool if you could do that during the move to Next Actions....anyway..) . I agree on the Calendar sync and view vs. Next Actions in the Engage view, my favorite part of the app.

I also agree on the mobile apps, it needs a lot of work, and they are actively working on it, especially the sync. So given the release frequency and communications in their blog (and their response via support tickets) I have confidence it will move forward in the 1st part of 2020. I actually mosty use it via the Engage view on mobile at this point. I am iOS, and I have created my own custom iOS 13 Shortcuts to capture Inbox, Focus, Calendar tasks using Mail and Evernote, w/o ever using the Capture view on the mobile app. So for now, between the mobile app's Engage view and Fantistical (my iOS/Mac calendar of choice) I can check off tasks. I would love an easier Clarify section on mobile of course, followed by Organize. It's passable right now, but just barely. But again, I expect some leaps forward this year.

I went round the horn recently, and for my $, if . you want to really practice GTD somewhat strictly in a digital format, it's the best solution, in partcular if you are a current Evernote and Google Calendar user. I will say that if NirvanaHQ had better (any) integration with Google Calendar, Evernote, etc, I may very well have stuck with it. But it's so darn isolated from every other app ecosystem. But I do like NirvanaHQ a lot.
 

ivanjay205

Registered
@ivanjay205 I use FacileThings as well. I am actually totally fine with the web UI. Yes, it could be snappier in some places, and some optimizations could help (like you move something out of the Waiting For list, but then you have to go find it in the Next Actions list to edit Urgency, time, etc. Would be cool if you could do that during the move to Next Actions....anyway..) . I agree on the Calendar sync and view vs. Next Actions in the Engage view, my favorite part of the app.

I also agree on the mobile apps, it needs a lot of work, and they are actively working on it, especially the sync. So given the release frequency and communications in their blog (and their response via support tickets) I have confidence it will move forward in the 1st part of 2020. I actually mosty use it via the Engage view on mobile at this point. I am iOS, and I have created my own custom iOS 13 Shortcuts to capture Inbox, Focus, Calendar tasks using Mail and Evernote, w/o ever using the Capture view on the mobile app. So for now, between the mobile app's Engage view and Fantistical (my iOS/Mac calendar of choice) I can check off tasks. I would love an easier Clarify section on mobile of course, followed by Organize. It's passable right now, but just barely. But again, I expect some leaps forward this year.

I went round the horn recently, and for my $, if . you want to really practice GTD somewhat strictly in a digital format, it's the best solution, in partcular if you are a current Evernote and Google Calendar user. I will say that if NirvanaHQ had better (any) integration with Google Calendar, Evernote, etc, I may very well have stuck with it. But it's so darn isolated from every other app ecosystem. But I do like NirvanaHQ a lot.
Thanks, Brian! I am committing to it as well. I agree the web is not so bad, biggest frustration is like last night I checked off about 6 things from the mobile app to find they were not checked off on web. But, as you said, if I reach out to support the owner responds himself promptly the next morning (time zone difference I am sure is the reason next morning). And he has told me the brand new full replacement app is coming out in a few weeks.

But the system really keeps me honest to the GTD system which I appreciate.
 
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