Best GTD Apps

Longstreet said:
No, I have not. But since I use Nirvana, I don't see any reason to switch based on what I see on their website.
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People complain that Nirvana, Nozbe, and Todoist are subscription based. They want free apps that sell their profiles to advertisers or "No SaaS. Pay once, use forever" like Everdo which is not a sustainable business model. One should not believe in apps paid once and then updated eternally... Just saying. @Mateusz
 
I understand it differently. The term “pay ones and use forever” means that I can use forever what I have bought. It doesn’t mean that I will get access to every new version in the future. I believe one of the most famous app is a good example how it works. Namely OmniFocus. If you want to have a new major version than you have to buy another license but it is not oblige. You can still use what you have. Everdo has another fundamental difference which is no cloud needed. All data is stored locally.

BTW nirvana has added a life time license which is even worse business model. There is no way to grab additional money from users who have bought that license. Access to all future updates is guaranteed by license agreement.
 
TesTeq said:
People complain that Nirvana, Nozbe, and Todoist are subscription based. They want free apps that sell their profiles to advertisers or "No SaaS. Pay once, use forever" like Everdo which is not a sustainable business model. One should not believe in apps paid once and then updated eternally... Just saying. @Mateusz
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In my experience, your statements have limited applicability to the kinds of apps people use for GTD. Developers of software like Omnifocus and Things are not pretending to sell a lifetime license. Although people complain about the high cost, I think these are pretty good values. I’m not sure about some competing subscription software, which over five years cost more. Nirvana does offer a lifetime subscription, which I assume is priced according to some pricing model that makes sense. I also don’t know of any popular apps in this space that sell your profile, unless you include Google.
 
Mateusz said:
I understand it differently. The term “pay ones and use forever” means that I can use forever what I have bought. It doesn’t mean that I will get access to every new version in the future. I believe one of the most famous app is a good example how it works. Namely OmniFocus. If you want to have a new major version than you have to buy another license but it is not oblige. You can still use what you have. Everdo has another fundamental difference which is no cloud needed. All data is stored locally.
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I have several "pay once" apps that no longer work due to iOS upgrades which are obligatory when you buy a new iPhone/iPad. And you have to buy new a hardware since batteries can be replaced by an authorized service only and are very expensive.
 
mcogilvie said:
In my experience, your statements have limited applicability to the kinds of apps people use for GTD. Developers of software like Omnifocus and Things are not pretending to sell a lifetime license. Although people complain about the high cost, I think these are pretty good values. I’m not sure about some competing subscription software, which over five years cost more. Nirvana does offer a lifetime subscription, which I assume is priced according to some pricing model that makes sense. I also don’t know of any popular apps in this space that sell your profile, unless you include Google.
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Everdo sells "use forever" license. "Forever" > "human lifetime", I suppose. ;)
I don't have any evidence that free apps are literally "selling" user's profiles but they do it indirectly by displaying ads. For example a free version od Overcast podcast player displays podcast ads tailored for me.
 
I’m new to GTD, so it took me a while to find an app that works for me. Most of the ones I tried were too complex and designed to help me in ways that hindered my learning of the GTD system. It wasn’t until I saw someone mention GoodTask at the bottom of a thread that I found an app that suits my needs.
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It would be great if we could compile a list of the most recommended apps that people in this sub use. That could make it easier for newcomers (and veterans) to find an app that works for them. I’ll list a few that I’ve tried.

 
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Vishnu Kumar said:
I’m new to GTD, so it took me a while to find an app that works for me. Most of the ones I tried were too complex and designed to help me in ways that hindered my learning of the GTD system. It wasn’t until I saw someone mention GoodTask at the bottom of a thread that I found an app that suits my needs.

It would be great if we could compile a list of the most recommended apps that people in this sub use. That could make it easier for newcomers (and veterans) to find an app that works for them. I’ll list a few that I’ve tried.

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Those are all reasonable apps to look at (except for Marvin- isn’t that an ebook reader?). I think a fair number of people would add Todoist to your list, and of course some people are stuck with Outlook. But choosing an app is such an individual thing. For example, GoodTask reminds me of the Palm app Datebk5 by the gorilla haven guy. They are both very clever programs that add functionality to a built-in app by storing metadata in the Note field. I know what the problems with that are, and I’ve decided against going that route. But that’s me.
 
I've been an OmniFocus user for over 5 years but my work computer was switched from a Mac to a Windows machine late last year. I was testing OF for the web but it is missing a lot of regular OF functionality (the big one for me being the Schedule view) so I began searching for a new solution. Prior to using OF, I had tried Nirvana, Toodledo, etc.

In the end I went with an app that I already had Notebooks App. I was using this as my place to store notes but it has task functionality built in which I'd never looked at. Syncing between the iOS version (both iPhone and iPad) and desktop (both Mac and Windows) is via Dropbox so there is no subscription cost.

Notebooks App is nowhere near the level of functionality of OmniFocus but when I reviewed my use of it, I realised that I was no OF power user and in some ways all of that clever functionality simply got in the way for me as it was more complication than I needed. Notebooks works simply for me, and the great thing is that all my support notes are in the same place. A "one-stop shop".
 
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PeterW said:
In the end I went with an app that I already had Notebooks App. I was using this as my place to store notes but it has task functionality built in which I'd never looked at. Syncing between the iOS version (both iPhone and iPad) and desktop (both Mac and Windows) is via Dropbox so there is no subscription cost.
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I've never heard about this app and it looks very interesting! Is it reliable? How long do you use it? How many notes do you manage in this app. Is it really a Swiss army knife for notes for iPad (one Polish user has left such comment in the Apple app store).
 
TesTeq said:
I've never heard about this app and it looks very interesting! Is it reliable? How long do you use it? How many notes do you manage in this app. Is it really a Swiss army knife for notes for iPad (one Polish user has left such comment in the Apple app store).
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I've been using it for about 3 or 4 years. It's very reliable on all platforms, and the developer is responsive to support emails. The app screen shows that I have 80 books (folders), 605 documents (either notes or tasks) and 87,011 words totaling 90MB.

There is no limit to the number of notes you can store that I am aware of, and notes can be almost any file format e.g. plain text, markdown, HTML and you can also import existing files such as PDF, Excel etc which are not editable but will be displayed in the app and sync.

I initially purchased Notebooks App because I wanted a more structured notepad than the standard iOS app (i.e. with folders and sub-folders) and I also wanted to be able to secure notes or folders with a password or thumbprint.

I would agree with the Polish user that you mentioned - it is very much like a Swiss army knife.
 
PeterW said:
I've been using it for about 3 or 4 years. It's very reliable on all platforms, and the developer is responsive to support emails. The app screen shows that I have 80 books (folders), 605 documents (either notes or tasks) and 87,011 words totaling 90MB.

There is no limit to the number of notes you can store that I am aware of, and notes can be almost any file format e.g. plain text, markdown, HTML and you can also import existing files such as PDF, Excel etc which are not editable but will be displayed in the app and sync.

I initially purchased Notebooks App because I wanted a more structured notepad than the standard iOS app (i.e. with folders and sub-folders) and I also wanted to be able to secure notes or folders with a password or thumbprint.

I would agree with the Polish user that you mentioned - it is very much like a Swiss army knife.
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Thank you!
 
TesTeq said:
I'm ready. And I can encourage Michael Sliwinski (Nozbe founder and CEO) to join us in the mud! Maybe @Longstreet can encourage NirvanaHQ CEO and @Oogiem - Omni Group CEO... ;)
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Sadly, I won't be able to attend the summit.That weekend is the memorial for a good friend who passed away this winter. It's being held in another town where he spent many years and a group of us from here are all driving over to stay there and attend it. It's going top be a huge event.
 
mcogilvie said:
Those are all reasonable apps to look at (except for Marvin- isn’t that an ebook reader?).
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I think he meant "Amazing Marvin" which is a to-do app. :) But you are right there is an ebook reader called Marvin.

Here is an older video how a GTD setup with Amazing Marvin can look: https://www.loom.com/share/174eac7a1efe46e6a301b5af7f252705

The nice thing is that it is highly customizable so you can get it set up exactly how you want to.
 
Christina said:
The nice thing is that it is highly customizable so you can get it set up exactly how you want to.
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IMHO most people don't want "highly customizable tools" that are made by geeks for geeks that like to customize tools endlessly. For the rest of us @kelstarrising preapares great guides how to use the tools to Get Things Done (not Get Tools Customized). ;)
 
Christina said:
I think he meant "Amazing Marvin" which is a to-do app. :) But you are right there is an ebook reader called Marvin.

Here is an older video how a GTD setup with Amazing Marvin can look: https://www.loom.com/share/174eac7a1efe46e6a301b5af7f252705

The nice thing is that it is highly customizable so you can get it set up exactly how you want to.
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Holy Moley. There’s a todo app I’ve never heard of! Of course, the name Amazing Marvin doesn’t quite carry the same connotation as Todoist, so that may be why I’ve missed it. It’s 12 bucks a month too.
 
mcogilvie said:
Holy Moley. There’s a todo app I’ve never heard of! Of course, the name Amazing Marvin doesn’t quite carry the same connotation as Todoist, so that may be why I’ve missed it. It’s 12 bucks a month too.
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It's very new and it's been in total stealth mode to just improve the product with a small userbase which is probably why you haven't heard of it. :) Almost no one has.
 
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