Things 3

Task management, I’m back.

I’ve found myself looking at my to-do lists less and less these days.

Moving from California to Florida has brought major change to my work life, and as I’ve transitioned out of a job full of routine and easily definable projects I’ve found myself ignoring my task manager. This isn’t because of a lack of things to do, necessarily — my projects and deadlines are just different now. Where I once had a list of reoccurring tasks that I drilled through every week, I now find myself thinking through new responsibilities and opportunities with a different lens.

I considered burning my task management system to the ground and starting over, but it became clear that I might need to find an entirely different task manager which fit my current stage of life.

Things 3 is that task manager.

Culture Code’s app, which came out late last week, is (and this might be obvious) the third iteration of their task manager for iOS devices. While I never personally used Things 1.0, I did give Things 2 a try (and include it in my To-Do Deep Dive) a couple of years ago. While the program had a certain charming simplicity, it didn’t feel right for me, and I moved on to a different system.

Several changes have been made which fit my brain much more than previous versions. As if that wasn’t enough, they’ve also loaded the new app with some of the most pitch-perfect animations and UX behaviors I’ve ever seen in a task manager.

Here’s what made me, in a matter of hours, put all of my tasks into Things 3 with quickness.

Sync works seamlessly

One of my favorite ways of interacting with my task manager these days is by not opening it at all. The Today widgets in iOS allow me to swiped down (or sideways) to immediately access my to-do list, and I want to make sure that this list is always up-to-date, no matter where I’m updating the list from.

With Things 3, I can update my day’s tasks on my iPad, and watch the iPhone’s Today screen immediately update with my modifications. It means that I can think less about my tasks,get more done, and never worry that I’m forgetting something.

I also find myself using the 3D Touch menu that appears when you firmly press on the app’s icon on your home screen. This list is limited to just two tasks, but checking one off from this menu will automatically remove it and push a new one into the former’s place.

Areas and Projects help me make sense of my spheres of life

When I used Todoist, I always had difficulty stopping myself from creating too many projects. Having a massive amount of simultaneous projects can feel overwhelming, and it can also make quick entry of tasks a challenge. “Where does this one go again…?” is a question I asked myself one too many times, and had been planning on overhauling my system.

Things 3 forced that overhaul, and made things easier than ever with the delineation between ‘projects’ and ‘areas’. In Things, a ‘project’ is something that should be completed at some point. This is so true that each project actually has its own progress bar, which fills up as you completed the tasks inside. An ‘area’, however, is larger than a project, and should represent an entire part of your life. I’ve chosen to label mine ‘Creative’, ‘Work’, ‘Home Life’, and ‘Learning’.

Personal creative projects go inside of the first, professional projects go inside the second, errands and the like go in the third, and books I want to read and self-betterment projects I want to accomplish go into the fourth. I appreciate the simplicity of this system, and already feel more at home than I did with my former system’s clutter.

Restructuring tasks is easy

The architecture of Things seems to be built around the fact that sometimes, when you put a task into it, you have no idea how big it’s going to be — and that’s okay. Clicking on a task at any point reveals a “…” button which, when clicked, gives you the option to ‘Convert’ your to-do into a Project. Swiping right on tasks allows you to highlight multiple tasks at a time and move them into another project or area. Moving into a task’s calendar portion let’s you set a due date, or move it to ‘Someday’, ‘Today’, or even ‘This Evening’.

In certain task manager systems I’ve used, making any change or creating any task feels completely permanent. In Things 3, there’s a certain flexibility to every task which makes you feel more free to make the changes which fit your schedule, method of work, or life.

Now for the big one…

Repeating tasks never become overdue

This, my friends, is what convinced me to download Things 3 without a moment’s hesitation. I have, for a long while, used my task manager to remind myself of simple, every day tasks which I hope to accomplish. This could be anything from ‘Write’ to ‘Meditate’ to ‘Log your weight’ — and I’ve always been so frustrated when these tasks end up being missed one day and ‘overdue’ the next.

In Todoist, missing a day’s worth of repeating tasks means that I’ll be stuck individually selecting them all and moving their due date to ‘today’. It’s a frustrating experience, and an even more frustrating way to open up an app — immediately being confronted with a bunch of angry red tasks which weren’t important in the first place.

In Things, repeating tasks placed in the Today menu simply move to the next day when unfinished. No angry overdue colors, no need to rearrange dates. The Today list simply moves forward, ready to be viewed and accomplished.

Though this may seem like a silly addition, it is the most critical addition for my life.

Conclusion

I’m of the belief that a task manager needs to be pleasant enough to ask to be opened, yet important enough to hold some authority. With Things 3, Cultured Code has perfectly struck that balance in my life, and I looked forward to opening the app this morning, and starting my day.