"Things" vs Omnifocus....or any other software tool

Hello All.

So I'm new to the GTD philosophy. But after reading David's book, I can see so much I agree with and am convinced that once applied the ideas are going to improve my life.

However I need to get started!
I have bought all the physical tools (Bisley Filing cabinet arriving this week) but thought it time to implement some software. Before seeing the light of GTD I have been using basic today/reference lists using MobileMe notes.

So which is it to be: Things, Omnifocus.....or something else?

I own a macbook and an iPhone, I will mainly be applying this to personal stuff rather than work. I am a bit of a technophobe too. I notice omni gets a shout from David Allen Company itself, but Things more positive votes on app store.

Let the voting commence.......

I never even considered Things after a quick look so Omnifocus gets my vote. Learning curve is high but the features are much more robust and it's much more flexible.

I'm a Macbook, MobileMe and iPhone user and I'm going to go with Things.

I tried both Omnifocus and Things. Omnifocus clearly has more features and settings, but I switched to Things because I wanted a simpler user interface. I was concerned, however, that it might be missing features.

While using Things, I have found that whenever a feature appears to be missing, it is because I'm trying to solve a GTD issue using features, whereas what I really need to do is re-read about GTD. I think the Things makers have a deep understanding of GTD because this has happened several times now. Omnifocus has the tools to provide you with many views of your information, but I found that Things had the views that I needed once I understood the method.

The good news is that both software do trials, so I'd do that if I were you on both.

I would recommend OmniFocus, it suits me perfect for its intention. Download the trial and check it out before buying, and look at the videos on the site. There is also a comprehensive tutorial at Lynda.com:

http://www.lynda.com/OmniFocus-tutor...g/60817-2.html

You can check out the available videos from that tutorial to get a feel of it. I absolutely love it and could not shamelessly praise it more than what I have already done here. ;)

Since you describe yourself as technophobe, I would say Things is the better option for you. It's easier to learn and you'll get a better feel for how to get organized using to do lists. My roommate wrote a introduction to using to do lists including things that will help you get started.

However, I do think Omnifocus is a better app. Things doesn't support over the air syncing (or it doesn't work as well). So while you are updating it on your macbook, you can't use it on your iphone. Omnifocus does this really well.

Also, like mentioned earlier, Omnifocus has a steeper learning curve but will give you more power to using it. I really love this app but it also took me a couple months of experimenting to figure out how I use it optimally. Even for basic usage, it's fine too. If you are willing to learn the app you will get A LOT out of it.

If you really want to use your macbook and iPhone together, go for Omnifocus and learn it. If you just want to use something simple and only on the Macbook, go for Things.

3) Do a seach of this forum, and find this topic covered often.

2) Download and read the Davidco white paper for GTD with Omnifocus

1) Use a paper system for a while, to improve GTD skills and to make yourself a more informed software buyer.

I've been using Things for quite a while but I'm trying Flow (www.getflow.com) for a month to see if it will work for me. So far, so good!

Whatever you decide, I think it's absolutely vital that you get a solution that allows a completely frictionless synchronization between your desktop and your iPhone. In other words, it has to feel like you only have "one list" that you can look at from either place, rather than two lists that you have to worry about keeping up to date.

As a practical matter, I think that rules out Things (at least for me, at least for now).

I tried Things and Toodledo, but eventually settled on OmniFocus, and I'm happy with it. It's a clean interface and a well-designed set of applications.

ccoleman:

Agreed........


rdgeorge

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ccoleman99

Whatever you decide, I think it's absolutely vital that you get a solution that allows a completely frictionless synchronization between your desktop and your iPhone.

---

Agree totally with the need for easy sync but totally disagree with cloud based solutions to that. For me the requirement for sync is that I be totally in control. Security and privacy concerns preclude use of any cloud based sync for me.