APPS
Mini meme
● Todoist
The most popular entry on this page, Todoist ticks all the boxes you might include on your ‘get a solid task manager’ list – and more, such as natural language input. It’s simple enough for newbs to grasp but flexible for those who want extra. And it’ll work offline when you’re in a tunnel. Just be mindful that some key features (reminders, filters, labels) are gated behind premium payments. Free (IAP) / Android, iOS
● TickTick
With a name that sounds like an invitation to anxiety, TickTick gets off on the wrong foot. Fortunately, it’s packed with features that help you blaze through tasks. You get all the usual creation and checklist tools, but there’s also a pomodoro timer that trains you to use time more efficiently and a habit planner to improve life patterns – be that setting up tasks or remembering to eat. Free (IAP) / Android, iOS
YOU KNOW WHAT TO-DO Well, you will once you’ve read this… if you need help getting things done and scraps of paper are no longer cutting it, try these mobile task managers
● Twobird
Feel like you’ve enough inboxes? Twobird invites you to smash two of them together: email and reminders. The aim is to help you focus on imminent and important tasks, since they’re now all in one place. The system’s collaborative elements make it feel a bit like Slack… only without your message history vanishing when everyone doesn’t pay. (Twobird is entirely free.) Free / Android, iOS
● Agenda
Another app that mashes reminders and task-juggling into something else, Agenda bases all its planning around notes. For wordier types who like having reminders and tasks in context, this is a boon. You can add imagery, link items to your calendar, and browse the full timeline to recall why you made specific decisions that resulted in a task going spectacularly well – or horribly wrong. Free (IAP) / iOS
● Things
This app wants you to spend as much time cooing at its design as getting things done. But it isn’t just gloss – Things helps you get to important tasks quickly, browse what’s coming up and construct entries in a way that makes sense. The magic ‘+’ can be dragged to insert items where you want them, the visual structure marries looks with legibility, and pop-over search further boosts efficiency. R200 / iPhone ● R380 / iPad
● Microsoft To Do
If you’re an old hand and are wondering why we omitted Wunderlist, we didn’t. Microsoft crossed it off its own list years back, gobbling up the creators and regurgitating parts of their app into its own. Compared to rivals, To Do is basic – but that can be good if you want to keep things simple. And you won’t need to add ‘Take out subscription’ as your first task, because it’s completely free. Free / Android, iOS 33
