Action Lists: New GTD iPhone App

[ceperry]

Action Lists (app store link) is a new task manager for the iPhone and iPod Touch based on the Getting Things Done (GTD) system. Action Lists harnesses the power of the GTD system with an easy to use interface that makes it fast to access the information you need when you need it.

Action Lists is an app that was designed to be used on the go. Lots of little details help users "get things done." For example, the tab bar at the bottom of the screen contains all of your essential GTD lists and makes it convenient to access them without having to navigate back to a "root" screen to switch lists. Also, the context lists (or "action lists") filter the tasks that are displayed so that only tasks with a status of "Next Action" appear. This keeps you from staring at a host of Someday/Maybe tasks when you're hunting for something to work on in the five minutes before a meeting.

Action Lists has all the features you'd expect from a fully featured todo app including support for due dates, future tasks (set through a task's start date), repeating tasks, and task notes, but it's the details that make this an app worth using. Scheduling repeating tasks is flexible: tasks can be set to repeat every Monday, the last Tuesday of every month, or every three months. Never forget trash day or that furnace filter again! Of special note is the way that Action Lists handles future tasks. By default, a task is hidden if it has a start date in the future. That's great until the start date is reached. Most todo apps would silently slip the task into the appropriate list when it's due to be started, but then the task is easy to miss. Action Lists allows the user to specify that tasks be placed in the inbox when their start date is reached. This increases the visibility of tasks that are due to be started, and is consistent with the "tickler file" described in Getting Things Done.

Having your tasks always with you on your iPhone is great, but sometimes its nice to enter your tasks using a full keyboard and a computer. Since Action Lists will synchronize over the air with your Toodledo account, that's not a problem. (You can register for a free Toodledo account at http://www.toodledo.com.) Through Toodledo, the tasks that you enter into Action Lists can be viewed, modified, completed and shared with others. And tasks that are entered into Toodledo through it's web interface (or through its connection with Jott) can be synchronized back to Action Lists so that they are always at your fingertips, whether in a business meeting with an Internet connection, or on a flight with your device in Airplane Mode.

All in all, Action lists is a great app if Getting Things Done is your todo system of choice. Action Lists is available for download on the App Store at a price of $9.99. If you would like to try before you buy, there's also a free version called Action Lists Lite (app store link). Action Lists Lite has all the features of the full version, but is limited to only 15 tasks.

For full details and support, visit Daze End Software and post on the forums. Or just post in this thread, I'll try to monitor it.

[mcogilvie]

I downloaded the light version of this app. It may work for some people, but frankly it's not as flexible as Toodledo's own app. For example, if you assign a start date after today, there appears to be no way to access that item on the handheld before that date rolls around- it just disappears. The app appears to use Toodledo's status field, but only for four of the possible states. People generally want some flexibility and customizability, not rigid adherence to some ideal model. Toodledo's own app is not perfect, but it is feature-rich and cheaper.

[ceperry]

I will agree with you that this is a specialized tool. I wasn't trying to write a general purpose tool -- Toodledo already has that covered very well. The goal was to be the best GTD app in the App Store. As for your specific objection: by default, future tasks are not displayed. You can change that by turning ON the "Show Future Tasks" option under settings.

If anyone has any suggestions for the next version, please let me know either here or in the forums at http://software.dazeend.org

[mcogilvie]

As for your specific objection: by default, future tasks are not displayed. You can change that by turning ON the "Show Future Tasks" option under settings.
http://software.dazeend.org

Yes, well, there are no settings to change for the lite version. Out of the box, I do like the automatic use of smaller fonts when showing longer items.

[ceperry]

Yes, well, there are no settings to change for the lite version. Out of the box, I do like the automatic use of smaller fonts when showing longer items.

All application settings are in the Settings App. From the iPhone home screen, tap the Settings icon. From there, scroll down to Action Lists Lite to open its settings, and change the Show Future Tasks option to ON. Close the Settings app, and re-open Action Lists Lite. Future tasks should now be displayed.

And thanks for appreciating the smaller fonts. It's not a hard thing to do, but you've got to think ahead to how users would want the app to behave. I tried to take those things into account as much as I could. If you have any other suggestions on how I could make Action Lists better, please pass them along.

[aavanderbilt]

I would use this if projects were tasks and not folders. Tasks with subtasks, or marking certain tasks as projects, maybe with context. It looks nice, simple, just doesn't work the way I do with Toodledo.

[ceperry]

I would use this if projects were tasks and not folders. Tasks with subtasks, or marking certain tasks as projects, maybe with context. It looks nice, simple, just doesn't work the way I do with Toodledo.

Can you describe what you mean a little more? Did you want projects to be tasks so that you can mark them as complete, or do you just want to be able to nest projects? The problem with Toodledo's implementation is that you are limited to only three levels: folder->task->subtask. You can't have other subtasks of subtasks, etc.

Some type of sub-project or sub-task is one of the next big features I want to work in to Action Lists, but I'm trying to decide how to handle it. Should I stick to the Toodledo method with only three levels so that everything maps well to Toodledo (and also would require a Toodledo Pro (non-free) account), or should I allow multiple levels that I track internal to Action Lists, but isn't reflected in the Toodledo web application. Any thoughts?

[ceperry]

Action Lists version 1.0.1 is now available in the App Store. New in version 1.0.1:

• A few bug fixes, including one that prevented synchronization with Toodledo when an Email Login or Password with special characters was used.
• A new checkbox for repeating tasks. This makes it easier to recognize repeating tasks on sight.

[ceperry]

The best GTD app for the iPhone just got better. Action Lists version 1.1.0 is now available in the App Store. Version 1.1.0 is a major update including:

- Subproject support with unlimited nesting of subprojects.

- Landscape mode supported, including larger landscape mode keyboard.

- By popular demand, the task limit for Action Lists Lite is increased to 15 tasks to allow for more thorough testing.

- Task lists display the due date of overdue tasks in red for easier identification.

- Show Future Tasks setting is now individually definable for each tab.

- Added option to "gray out" future tasks so that they can be distinguished on sight from current tasks.

- Lots of usability improvements and bug fixes.

[TesTeq]

The best GTD app for the iPhone just got better.

Can you provide some data to prove that Action Lists is the best GTD app for the iPhone? User satisfaction reports? Comparative tests and reviews? Sales results? Or is it just wishful thinking?