Things 3 Follow-Up

A few months ago, only a week or two after Things 3 was released, I published an article praising the task management system.

I wrote about how the app seemed to understand the way I worked in a manner that other task managers did not, and I found myself shifting my life into the app with quickness. Now, a few months later, it’s time for some followup. After all, no to-do list exists in a bubble. While any system can seem appealing upon release, what really matters is the manager’s staying power.

Without hesitation: Things 3 has stuck for me.

I find myself using it every day, and I find myself using it for tasks I would have never put on my to-do list previously.

I find myself opening it every morning and feeling happy to do so, where I was previously filled with a small bit of anxiety when I opened the system I had used before

This is, as I mentioned previously, thanks to the wonderful ability to simply shift daily tasks to the current day instead of labeling them ‘overdue’. The app, unlike virtually any other system, understands that the overdue label does nothing except make me want to visit my task inbox less, and rearranges accordingly.

Things 3 feels like it’s made for my brain. It feels like it’s made to be used by humans.

I’ve been trying to describe this when I talk about the app, and I found the concept affirmed in Ben Brooks’ new review where he calls Things 3 “the todo app for real people.” Here’s a passage of his article which particularly encapsulates what that means:

Without even telling us, we are creating a literal bucket list within our task lists, so that we can remove the weight of trying to remember that item, while simultaneously never having to see that item again. I’d love to see a psychologist, or perhaps an anthropologist talk more about this, because Things feels like it was designed for the human psyche first and foremost.

Things doesn’t make you jump through hoops, or follow a logic tree to set about doing things with tasks. At it’s most basic level, it’s like telling a personal assistant to remind you to do something. You simply would not tell him “remind me to take out the steaks at 7pm” — who does that? You’d say later, this evening, or someday. Things gets that.

I couldn’t agree more. Things 3 is the closest I’ve come to having a ‘personal assistant app’. Just take my previous example regarding the way it shifts tasks. A personal assistant would understand that saying “this is overdue” would not produce a positive reaction from me, and would instead simply shift that task to the forefront of my day. A personal assistant would also understand that granular due dates aren’t very helpful, and that navigating menu after menu to create a task is a less than optimal situation.

Things 3 is able to figure out the details of task management for you, and let you get to work.