Best organisation/time management software?

[juliancs]

Work is picking up at university, as well as actual projects - I'm grateful, but I've also got plenty around the house I want to do, people to call, etc etc.

I was wondering if there is any software someone can recommend that allows me to set up a project (although I've found project management software largely too business orientated), enter some information for it (jot down some notes), add it to a calender etc. Looking at the calender I could see/set when tasks are due, that kind of stuff.
I realise ical does this to a large degree, but I was wondering if there are any alternatives. Again, the fully fledged office project management stuff is too complicated for me - I'm looking for a to-do list on steroids, perse. Something cleanly laid out....

Hope I've described this decently! I'm more than happy to pay, although can't afford anything above 30/40 pounds.

Thanks in advance!

 

[reubs]

I use Things from Cultured Code, and it does what I need it to do. You can set up tasks, projects, etc and schedule things. It's pretty straightforward to use, and it has iPhone and iPad apps. It's $50 US, so I think that converts pretty close to 30 or 40 pounds.

Also, I submitted a bug earlier today, and one of their guys responded back in less than a few hours. We'll see if it gets fixed in the next release, but I was pretty happy to get such a quick response nonetheless.

Good luck!

 

[steveoc]

Work is picking up at university, as well as actual projects - I'm grateful, but I've also got plenty around the house I want to do, people to call, etc etc.

I was wondering if there is any software someone can recommend that allows me to set up a project (although I've found project management software largely too business orientated), enter some information for it (jot down some notes), add it to a calender etc. Looking at the calender I could see/set when tasks are due, that kind of stuff.
I realise ical does this to a large degree, but I was wondering if there are any alternatives. Again, the fully fledged office project management stuff is too complicated for me - I'm looking for a to-do list on steroids, perse. Something cleanly laid out....

Hope I've described this decently! I'm more than happy to pay, although can't afford anything above 30/40 pounds.

Thanks in advance!

I think Circus Ponies Notebook would suit you well. It has a very flexible to-do list function that works with iCal. It's great for taking notes in various forms. You can also record lectures, drag and drop images, and clip from webpages. Academic Discount $29 USD.

 

[gks]

I use Things from Cultured Code, and it does what I need it to do. You can set up tasks, projects, etc and schedule things. It's pretty straightforward to use, and it has iPhone and iPad apps. It's $50 US, so I think that converts pretty close to 30 or 40 pounds.

Also, I submitted a bug earlier today, and one of their guys responded back in less than a few hours. We'll see if it gets fixed in the next release, but I was pretty happy to get such a quick response nonetheless.

Good luck!

I would NOT recommend Things. Cultured Code has proven they're a bunch of idiots and aren't interested in doing anything useful with the software.

If you really want something that is supported and consistently updated I'd check out OmniFocus. It's more expensive, but Omni has been around for a very long time and isn't going anywhere. Plus the app does just about everything you can imagine. You'll quickly find that Things falls on its face once you need it to do more than handle a couple of lists.

 

[ReyesWilliams]

Hi Julian,

There are various time tracking apps that we used for time management such as Basecamp & Google calendar to manage our project time. Though, after sometime I started using Replicon cloud based time management software that has been a better option.

Replicon has been very much easy and hassle free with lot of feasibility to be accessed from anywhere using a web browser. Perfect tool with great usability and is pretty configurable too.

It is also suitably priced and is worth to check out for sure.

 

[jojoba]

I use 2Do for task management: http://www.2doapp.com
I consider it a better version of Things. Works very well for me.

I used OmniFocus in the past and that's also a high quality app. The reasons I switched to 2Do was because it was easier to organise around tagging, and it syncs to my android phone. I also prefer the UI.

 

[ScottNWDW]

OmniFocus 2 for the Mac, iPad and iPhone are all great apps. although they are more expensive than some other apps they are a powerhouse. The OmniGroup offers plenty of videos on their site to help you get acquainted with the features of the apps.

Another good app that I use is Pocket Informant. It's great for task management and one of the few that can actually use the Franklin Covey method of task prioritization which is what I am most used to. If you don't know what that is it is the ability to prioritize your tasks as A, B, or C and then a number to rank the most important. OmniFocus is more of a GTD app, but it does the High, Med, Low, Priority designations. Pocket Informant is also a great calendaring and notes app as well.

Another good app is ToDo Cloud.

I use all three, but OmniFocus 2 is my favorite. Each app has features unique to them and that is the only reason I use all three but I do find myself relying the most on OmniFocus because it simply works the best for my needs.