Getting Things Done: 9 Online Task Management Solutions

Ed Eubanks Jr- 2006.10.03 -Tip Jar
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As I mentioned in my iCal series, I employ David Allen's"Getting Things Done" (a.k.a. "GTD") method of organizing tasks andprojects. Actually, I'm gradually implementing this approach, andthis fall is the time when I intend to get all of the digital(read: Mac-based) aspects of my workload into the GTD system.
And as I also mentioned in my iCal series, I've been a fan ofthe "Kinkless GTD" (kGTD) solution, which takes the outlining powerand elegance of OmniOutliner Pro and uses a well-conceived set ofAppleScripts to synch that data with iCal. I love the Omniproducts, and I think the basic concepts of the kGTD model arewonderful.
In fulfillment of my goal to get my digital act together, Iblocked apart a chunk of time this morning to get it going.
Two hours in, and I was making great progress: I had workedthrough most of the projects that were on the horizon between nowand, well, almost as far out as I have projects planned for.
Oops, It Isn't Kinkless
Great - time to synch, then go get some lunch. Oops! Kinklesslost about one-third of the tasks and actions I had entered overthe previous two hours! What happened?
It turns out that I am not alone in my surprise; anumber of others haveencountered the same problem. And apparently the developer ofKinkless has been aware of it for more than a month - and hasn'taddressed it. Suddenly my confidence in kGTD, at least in the way Iuse it, has dropped substantially. (Note: It's clear from thecomments on the Kinkless forum that many have figured out theculprit elements of kGTD and are successfully working around them.If that works for you, kGTD is probably still the best optiongoing. But those solutions eliminate my methods for GTDorganization, so it doesn't work for me any longer.)
In light of that, I went on the hunt for a new GTD application.What follows is a roundup of what I've found, and my thoughts onwhich suits me best.
GTD Overview
If you're new to the idea of Getting Things Done, here's thescaled-down version: Your productivity is limited by all of theother things on your mind and competing for your attention. You'lltherefore significantly increase efficiency and effectiveness bygetting those things out of your head and into a genuinely trustedsystem of organizing them with the confidence that you'll have themon-hand when you need them (so you don't need to keep them in minduntil then).
Following this central concept, Allen unfolds a brilliantlysimple plan for unloading your brain and keeping it focused on thenext actionable task, all the while organizing the rest of yourtasks, projects, and other information into that trusted system. Itboils down to three basic steps:
collect all data
process it into projects, single tasks, and archives
review/plan/do, which entails reviewing what needs to be done, planning when and how to do it, and then doing it
That's the oversimplified thumbnail. For more information aboutthe system itself, check outDavid Allen's website,Merlin Mann's 43Folders website(named for the 43 folders involved in the GTD system), or read thebook,Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-FreeProductivity, by David Allen. You'll also enjoyReady for Anything: 52 Productivity Principles for Work andLife, also by Allen, which is a collection ofsnapshots of GTD at work from his newsletter.
What I'm looking for in a GTD solution is a basic set of toolsthat will fit into my existing . I'm already committed toiCal and Mail, as well asDevonThink for my digital reference filesand archives.
The missing link is in the task and area. Iwant a solution that will allow me to process my projects intoactionable tasks, then organize them as I execute. I want somethingthat can allow for creating new tasks one right after theother without a lot of troublesome menus or mouse clicks. Iwant one that will interact with iCal - specifically, one that hasa bi-directional with iCal's task list.
I also want an application that is a stand-alone solution, onethat I can keep open all the time. Naturally, I'd also like it tobe very Appl-icious; I love the way good Mac applications work, andif I can find something that fits that mold, all the better.
Okay, I admit it: I basically just described Kinkless GTD. Butsince I've lost confidence in Kinkless, I'm hopeful that I can findsomething with similar features and function.
Web or Browser-based Options
GTDTiddlyWiki employsthe flexibility of a wiki with the straightforward approach of GTD.An open-source solution that is fully customizable, theGTDTiddlyWiki is a popular and useful option.
King Design'sTasks is another online implementation, though this one is notexplicitly designed to be a GTD application. It is GTD-compatible,though, and a free level of service is available. It can work incollaboration with iCal, allowing you to keep a localized versionof your projects on your Mac. It will also send you email remindersof the tasks on your list for that day and can help you trackbillable time if you need it to. To get the permanent function ofthe regular version requires a paid subscription or purchase of aserver-installed setup. There is also Tasks Jr., a locally hosted,browser-based system, and Tasks Pro, which is a multi-user (almost"enterprise") version. Tasks is a pretty good step in the rightdirection for a GTD setup, particularly given its multileveloptions.
iCommit isanother online option, something like a wiki but without the hassleof setting up. It's gotten a lot of good reviews (see GTD wizMerlin Mann's affirming words iniCommit: PHP appfor doing GTD) but has the downside of being "first-come,first-served" on the developer's private server.
30Boxes is an Ajax optiononline, which means that it is an active application that runswithin your browser in the same way thatWritely and other similar applicationsdo. 30Boxes is lean and fast, which gives it an advantage over someAjax apps. It has a calendar, task list, and limited Gmailinteraction. The interface is nice, with a familiar feel - it hasan OS X-style "dock" on the side to navigate between sections.
Tasktoy is one more onlineoption. Tasktoy has a simple interface, but it lets you categorizeby context or project. You can also attach notes to tasks. Ihaven't played around with Tasktoy as much as the others, but fromwhat I can see it is basically another similar concept to Tasks(but with fewer features).
MyTicklerFile is anotheronline application specifically designed to work with GTD, thoughthis one works with a broader concept in the GTD system. It hasmore explicit synching with iCal (and 37Signals' Basecamp, by theway) and will email your upcoming tasks to you weekly for aGTD-style "weekly review". It costs money for a subscription,though, if you want to manage more than one project or the full setof tickler files.
Tracks isanother open-source, browser-based solution, though this one comeswith a web server that allows you to run it locally if you prefer -or have it hosted online throughtracks.tra.in. Tracks doesn'texactly work with iCal, but it does offer calendaring functions -so maybe it could be an iCal replacement.
37Signals'Basecamp andBackpack are both verycapable project managers, and both have iCal integration. Evenbetter, both have varying degrees of localization - dashboard, at least, and PackRat works as a localized companion toBackpack. Some are convinced that Basecamp (seeGettingHicks Done) or Backpack (seeBackpack andGTD andBackpack:New GTD Implementation Ideas) are the final answer for GTDapplications.
(I know - there are other similar services, like Sproutliner,HiveMinder, and Remember the Milk. My take on these is that theyare simply smaller-scale, less popular versions of Backpack; thus,they probably have about the same potential for GTDimplementation.)
And then there are the more general-purpose by ourfriends at :GMailandGoogle Calendar.Gmail has been adapted into a GTD system (seeGTD withGmail Whitepaper) and even improved upon (seeA Better Way of Using Gmailfor GTD). Similar work has also been done with Google Calendar(seeGTD withGoogle's New Calendar).
I can understand the appeal of these systems as GTDimplementations, especially if you use more than one computer often- as in one machine at work and one at home. My setup is morestraightforward: I use a single laptop for 95% of my computing, andI have it available even when I'm using another machine.
Also, I don't always have an Internet connection - and even if Idid, I'm not sure I want to do all my work in a browser.
Backpack offers the most in terms of localized companionsoftware (between PackRat and the Backpack widget, it's about asgood as it gets) without a lot of advanced setup (sure, Tracks canbe installed locally, but it requires knowing your way aroundRuby on Rails to setthings up). And I'd like a bit more ability for notes and contextsattached to tasks than Backpack allows. And as much as theMyTicklerFile approach appeals to me, the cost of a subscription isa bit prohibitive for me.
I'm not sure that any of the browser-based solutions will dowhat I'm looking for. Check backonWednesday for my look at applications and solutions that run onyour computer and don't require Internet access, small and large.
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