If you were to design a new GTD app

grv

grv

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After trying out various apps to setup my GTD routine, I ended up asking myself: "Is there a need to build a GTD app from scratch".

I understand that there are tons of to-do apps out there but I am super focused on implementing GTD only. I am also aware of nirvanahq and GTDNext but these apps do not seem to be 21st century with no integrations limited native support, etc.

What is your view? If you were to build a new GTD app then what are your top 3 needs?
 
grv said:
After trying out various apps to setup my GTD routine, I ended up asking myself: "Is there a need to build a GTD app from scratch".

I understand that there are tons of to-do apps out there but I am super focused on implementing GTD only. I am also aware of nirvanahq and GTDNext but these apps do not seem to be 21st century with no integrations limited native support, etc.

What is your view? If you were to build a new GTD app then what are your top 3 needs?
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FindIng somebody else to do it would be a project for my 3-5 year goal “Getting GTD app Done”. :)

I think that producing a good app of this type is hard. I chose Things in part because I value the user interface and integrations, and the flexibility of the app. Although not as faithful to by-the-book GTD as Nirvana, I think it is a better tool for me. I have an idea for a minimal change to Things which would make it much more GTD-ish. Sending the suggestion to Cultured Code is on my Someday/Maybe list.

If I had to pick one thing that none of the todo list apps I am familiar with do well, it is producing a useful dashboard for daily use. Right now I like to see calendar, things due today, major ongoing projects, and things I would really like to do today. That’s just me, and what I want and need may change. I know how to do this in Things and Todoist. Neither is wonderful. As far as I can tell, you can’t do what I want in Omnifocus. I really see it as an app that needs a complete redesign. Todoist seems like it may also be heading in the direction of creeping feature-ism, but we’ll see.
 
grv said:
After trying out various apps to setup my GTD routine, I ended up asking myself: "Is there a need to build a GTD app from scratch".

I understand that there are tons of to-do apps out there but I am super focused on implementing GTD only. I am also aware of nirvanahq and GTDNext but these apps do not seem to be 21st century with no integrations limited native support, etc.

What is your view? If you were to build a new GTD app then what are your top 3 needs?
Click to expand...

I share your desire to be faithful to GTD and there are preciously few apps that do this. Nirvana and GTDNext are great but, as you point out, the lack of integration creates friction in my workflow. I like to forward attachments, for example. Nirvana and GTDNext do not allow for this. Yes, you can save it in an email folder and go back to it but for me that is an extra step I don't want. And on both fronts: almost zero development.

Another GTD app you can look at: FacileThings. Probably the most by-the-book app out there but Francesco actively develops it. Interface is a bit dated but lots of integrations including two-way calendar integration with both Google and Outlook calendars

I have come to realize that if you want an app that does GTD the way you want, you do need to sort of build your own. Notion actually gets you a long way but the learning curve is steep. And it lacks integration with other apps right now until their long-awaited API finally appears. Rumours are this month but I'll believe that when I see it. But worth checking out. The question, though, is: how necessary is this?


Peter
 
grv said:
I understand that there are tons of to-do apps out there but I am super focused on implementing GTD only. I am also aware of nirvanahq and GTDNext but these apps do not seem to be 21st century with no integrations limited native support, etc.

What is your view? If you were to build a new GTD app then what are your top 3 needs?
Click to expand...
I want a suite of apps that are best in class for what they do not one all encompassing app that tries to do it all. So for me while there are niggling things that I want to improve in my apps of choice I'm pretty happy with my selection. So happy that it hasn't changed since I first implemented it back in 2009. My GTD apps consist of Omnifocus and DEVONThink and are themselves supported by Apple Calendar, Apple Mail, Apple Contacts Scrivener, Scapple and recent additions Zotero, Obsidian and Keyboard Maestro. On the iPad I've added GoodNotes as the key difference. I don't use it on my Mac because of the iCloud requirement for sharing so I do it manually by saving a backup and hten loading that directly into the mac. In Practice I so rarely need those notes on my Mac that I hardly ever use that technique.
 
Projects. I’d like GTD apps to help me manage projects better. There are three requirements here:
  • Classify project next actions by context
  • Do not loose the project-action connection
  • Enable easy management of project support material
On bad days, I feel that there is no software solution that can do all three of these things at once for each of my projects. But on good days I am hopeful.

I think the fundamental problem with projects is that each project is different. Each project demands different depth and spread in organisational structure. “Get computer repaired” is such different thing from “Write a paper on ___” that sometimes it almost seems wrong to categorise both of them as projects.
 
shankara said:
I think the fundamental problem with projects is that each project is different. Each project demands different depth and spread in organisational structure. “Get computer repaired” is such different thing from “Write a paper on ___” that sometimes it almost seems wrong to categorise both of them as projects.
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Yes, projects come in many sizes and shapes. What they have in common is that they are outcomes we want to achieve in a year or less, which require more than one next action.

We did a webinar on GTD Connect awhile back called The Anatomy of Projects. It looks at different kinds of projects, and how each one may need different planning, support material, and so on.
 
I was thinking about the same thing when I started my GTD life. I tried a ton of apps and found many pros and cons by each. I could (and possibly would if I'd be better in programming) make a suitable program for my (current) needs but I'm not sure if it would be the "ultimate" GTD app, even for like 10-15% of the GTD community. I ended up using Asana as a "close enough" solution.
 
mcogilvie said:
If I had to pick one thing that none of the todo list apps I am familiar with do well, it is producing a useful dashboard for daily use. Right now I like to see calendar, things due today, major ongoing projects, and things I would really like to do today. That’s just me, and what I want and need may change. I know how to do this in Things and Todoist. Neither is wonderful. As far as I can tell, you can’t do what I want in Omnifocus. I really see it as an app that needs a complete redesign. Todoist seems like it may also be heading in the direction of creeping feature-ism, but we’ll see.
Click to expand...
My one pick for a todo app is a robust export/backup feature to transfer all data outside of an app (probably in a printable format like CSV).

Taskpaper app does this natively by storing GTD lists in one big text file but its user interface is not as friendly as Nirvana, Nozbe, OmniFocus, Things, or Todoist.
 
TesTeq said:
My one pick for a todo app is a robust export/backup feature to transfer all data outside of an app (probably in a printable format like CSV).

Taskpaper app does this natively by storing GTD lists in one big text file but its user interface is not as friendly as Nirvana, Nozbe, OmniFocus, Things, or Todoist.
Click to expand...
I wish Taskpaper used Markdown, or something similar.
 
Cpu_Modern said:
FoldingText is just that. They superimpose TP syntax on MD. for instance a MD list item can be tagged in a TPesque fashion to make it a task.

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Well, yes. I remember kicking the tires what seems like millennia ago. No iOS app, so that's a dealbreaker for me, and development seems very slow. I was thinking of something more like an enhanced version of Bear.
 
grv said:
After trying out various apps to setup my GTD routine, I ended up asking myself: "Is there a need to build a GTD app from scratch".

I understand that there are tons of to-do apps out there but I am super focused on implementing GTD only. I am also aware of nirvanahq and GTDNext but these apps do not seem to be 21st century with no integrations limited native support, etc.

What is your view? If you were to build a new GTD app then what are your top 3 needs?
Click to expand...
I would agree with @shankara
Most of the todo apps out there are competent list managers but fail when you try to apply a GTD approach to projects. Things a good GTD app would need:
PROJECTS
  • Projects as a separate type of item than actions (Nirvana does this nicely)
  • Categorization of projects (e.g. Areas of focus) with the ability to sort and group (for instance, I like to sort the list alphabetically but group by AoF)
  • Ability to store actions and notes under the project, without losing the context views
  • Ability to view and print a simple list of all active projects
  • Categories of active/inactive projects (Again nirvana does this well)
 
sholden said:
I highly recommend anyone thinking about doing a GTD tool read through and consume the info David Allen and Eric Mack presented at GTD Summit 2019 https://sholden.typepad.com/weblog/2019/08/building-the-ultimate-getting-things-done-gtd-tool.html
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In the last year and half since this was released, has there been any attempts that try to implement this? I've been a custom software consultant for a long time and rarely have I seen such a concrete example of what a customer wanted in a software system.
 
grv said:
After trying out various apps to setup my GTD routine, I ended up asking myself: "Is there a need to build a GTD app from scratch".

I understand that there are tons of to-do apps out there but I am super focused on implementing GTD only. I am also aware of nirvanahq and GTDNext but these apps do not seem to be 21st century with no integrations limited native support, etc.

What is your view? If you were to build a new GTD app then what are your top 3 needs?
Click to expand...

Hi,
Tough question : The 3 needs I would go are probably stuff I don't have yet, but everything I already have, I want to keep it ;)
Anyway, l can try, 3 things :
- Capture : being able to capture anything (text, mail, url, etc.) anywhere (desktop, tab, smartphone, watch) in less than 2 clicks/steps
- Automated next-actions (I tried some systems that don't have it, and I personally feel it's too much work to manually do it)
- Strong integration with reference systems.

If I may, a fourth one : integrated 1-5th horizons

Regards,
 
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