Review: Things
I’ve always had a hard time keeping track of all my projects and my daily to-do’s. That was until I started using Cultured Code’s application Things. Things is based on GTD (Getting Things Done), an action management method. GTD’s basic principle is that you need to move tasks out of your mind and capture them to an external source. Thus, the mind is free to focus without distraction.
There have been quite a few GTD apps for the Mac such as iGTD and Omnifocus, but none have kept me as organized as Things. Once the app is launched, it will pull in the user with its simple yet elegant look. To start, just fill the inbox with your current to-do list. From there, classify each task by assigning it to either Today, Next, Scheduled, and Someday.
One of the convenient features of Things is that I can be in another application and, as long as Things is open, I just have to hit Ctrl-Option-Space and a quick entry HUD will pop up and I can record any task. It really keeps me from forgetting things that normally I might overlook. You can also create tags for your tasks such as work, home, and priority level. This helps when trying to focus on specific groups of tasks, even when the list becomes extremely large.
One feature of Things that I wish was included is the ability to sync your database without the use of third-party apps. I’m hoping that this will be added in future releases, but until then I have found a nice workaround. When the program is opened, it prompts the user to create or choose a library. I’ve started saving my Things library on my Dropbox account and I can now sync between my MacBook Pro at home and my Mac Pro at work. Note: Things can only be open on one machine at a time when syncing.
There is also a Things iPhone app ($9 – iTunes), which syncs with my mac wirelessly over WI-FI. I typically sync once in the morning and over the course of the day, I’ll add tasks on-the-go. At the end of the workday I’ll do a final sync and have my life synced on my iPhone and my Macs.
Things 1.0 was released at MacWorld 2009 and also won a Best of Show award. It sells for $49 and I highly recommend it to anyone who is trying to get more organized. But, my wife has yet to notice a change. I still “forget” things some of the time. Click here for a screencast.
