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Things 3 vs 2do for GTD task manager

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badlydrawnboy

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Oct 20, 2003
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I used Things 1 & 2 but eventually switched to 2do because Things 2 was missing features and hadn't been updated in 4 years.

I just noticed that Things 3 was released and it looks impressive. Clean, modern UI and some great new features. I'm considering switching back but I'm a little reluctant for a few reasons:
  • The move will be manual and take a lot of work, because there's no way to import tasks from 2do to Things 3
  • Cultured Code took 4 years to update Things 2 to Things 3. Will they continue to lag behind with updates to Things 3 (fixes and features)? The 2do developers seem more responsive
  • There are a few features I've come to appreciate on 2do, like the ability to easily add contacts/phone numbers and URLs to tasks. I've found some fairly simple workarounds in Things 3, so this alone wouldn't be a deal breaker.
Just wondering if anyone else out there is making this comparison and what you've decided on?

Thanks.
 
macintoshmac

macintoshmac

Suspended
May 13, 2010
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In my little, very limited testing, Things 3 is an absolute joy to use. No other app comes close to offering the joy of using an app. But yes, it is indeed missing some small features that others provide and we have come to appreciate. For me, it is natural language in Todoist.
 
GerritV

GerritV

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May 11, 2012
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Things 3 may have taken a while, but that didn't keep CC from releasing Things 2 updates whenever they were called for (every OS update, Apple Watch, etc.). Even while years old, Things 2 was still a great task manager.
Unless they now dedicate all their HR to Things 4, I'm certain they're ready to pick up today's pace of updates (I've seen two already since the release date).

As for comparisons, I too looked around and used 2Do for some time. IMHO the interface is a major clutter, with buttons and glyphs all over the place. The UI drove me nuts, but I did like the calendar integration that Things 2 missed.

If you need a personal task manager, I believe that Things 3 is very hard to beat - if not impossible.

As for moving over your tasks, I collected everything in some Reminders lists (some with Applescripts), and synced them into Things, list per list. You'll need to do it manually, yes - but why not consider it a thorough review of your task list (like I did) ;-)
 
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badlydrawnboy

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Oct 20, 2003
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Thanks everyone. I spent some more time with Things 3 and I'm pretty convinced. There may be a few features I miss from 2do but the UI for Things and it's overall functionality is nearly perfect for what I need. Fortunately I'm a relatively light user so it shouldn't take me too long to make the switch.
 
J

JD2015

macrumors 6502a
Sep 16, 2014
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Really enjoying the IOS version which is the same as Mac version. A few addition would be useful like the ability to create template tasks and projects that you can use. Additionally, as some have said repeat tasks feature. Another slight issue is when you add a document to the mac version, you cannot open it in IOS. Also, the export feature could do with some work on as it only exports in markdown but other formats would be useful or presentation styles. Other than that an excellent app. Very clean interface which I love.
 
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badlydrawnboy

macrumors 68000
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Oct 20, 2003
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GerritV said:
As for moving over your tasks, I collected everything in some Reminders lists (some with Applescripts), and synced them into Things, list per list. You'll need to do it manually, yes - but why not consider it a thorough review of your task list (like I did) ;-)
Click to expand...

Thanks. Can you say more about how you collected things in Reminders lists and synced into Things? I'm going to try to start moving over from 2do today.
[doublepost=1495480125][/doublepost]
JD2015 said:
Really enjoying the IOS version which is the same as Mac version. A few addition would be useful like the ability to create template tasks and projects that you can use. Additionally, as some have said repeat tasks feature. Another slight issue is when you add a document to the mac version, you cannot open it in IOS. Also, the export feature could do with some work on as it only exports in markdown but other formats would be useful or presentation styles. Other than that an excellent app. Very clean interface which I love.
Click to expand...

How do you add a document to a task?
 
udontno

udontno

macrumors 6502
Jul 19, 2011
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VA, USA
Really enjoying Todoist. Probably doesn't help your dilemma, but I have loved using it since Wunderlist is coming to an end.
 
GerritV

GerritV

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May 11, 2012
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badlydrawnboy said:
Thanks. Can you say more about how you collected things in Reminders lists and synced into Things? I'm going to try to start moving over from 2do today.
[doublepost=1495480125][/doublepost]

How do you add a document to a task?
Click to expand...

Lots of my tasks were in Apple's Reminders already, divided over 6 or 7 lists.

So I started with activating the Siri Sync in Things, linking it to my "Inbox" list in Reminders.
I imported everything from my former Inbox into Things' Inbox, which automatically cleared my Reminders' Inbox.

In Things, I re-created my project lists like I had them set up in Reminders.
Next, back to Reminders, I moved the items of the next list to my Inbox and repeated the import process in Things.
Then, in Things, I moved the newly imported items to their appropriate project / area.
Of course, repeated this process for all my Reminders' lists.

For "things-to-follow-up" that were not in Reminders (like p.e. flagged emails), I created a few Automator tasks.
Basically allowing me to select the description text, hit a shortcut to make this into a Reminders item - that in turn was of course popping up in Things, ready to import. Didn't take too long.

HTH

As I said, I took the opportunity to clean house - and even to get some things done along the way 8-D

----

As to add a document to a task: you can't do that in Things. However, if you drag a document into the Notes section, it will create a link that you can click later while reviewing your to-do. And this is Mac only AFAIK.
 
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N

nnoble

macrumors 6502
Jun 19, 2011
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GerritV said:
As to add a document to a task: you can't do that in Things. However, if you drag a document into the Notes section, it will create a link that you can click later while reviewing your to-do. And this is Mac only AFAIK.
Click to expand...

The ability to add a document is on my wishlist for Things 3 since a link is not quite the same, particularly if you're mobile. Nevertheless, it's a pretty polished application.
 
vbctv

vbctv

macrumors 6502a
Sep 25, 2013
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Cleveland, OH
I ended up going 2Do back in February after a few years with Todoist & Things 2 (kept going back and forth). I feel 2Do has far superior features than any other GTD app I've used. And with their announcement of an eventual web version, it will make it even more worth it. Plus they have an Android version and I use it on my Amazon tablet also. So it only lacks Windows. And most of us including myself are all Apple.
 
M

mrbobbo

macrumors member
Oct 15, 2007
37
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update 1/2018...

I recently became so frustrated with the accumulated quirks of 2Do that I tried Things 3 again. My perspective is completely different now. Although 2Do seemed to have everything I needed, it has an overly complex UI and some key gaps that became evident once I started relying on it more.

For example, if you set a repeating todo to pay bills on the 31st of every month, and then one month you have to postpone it until the 2nd of the following month, all future copies will be on the 2nd of the month. 2Do is riddled with this kind of thing.

Things 3, on the other had is effortless. What bothered me on first look turned out to be not a problem, and my life is SO much simpler now that I'm not always wrestling with my GTD tool.

I'm a believer now. Yes, eye candy, but also it is really a fine solution.


vbctv said:
I ended up going 2Do back in February after a few years with Todoist & Things 2 (kept going back and forth). I feel 2Do has far superior features than any other GTD app I've used. And with their announcement of an eventual web version, it will make it even more worth it. Plus they have an Android version and I use it on my Amazon tablet also. So it only lacks Windows. And most of us including myself are all Apple.
Click to expand...

I tried Things 3 and found it's just a lot of eye candy. It has most of the same limitations as Things 2. The artsy visual presentation looks great until you have more than a few projects and areas, then it gets cluttered and confusing.

I used nirvanahq for 5 years and loved it. But the quirks with sync and some recent weirdness with phantom keystrokes have soured me on it. So I'm trying 2do and so far I really like it. I wouldn't go back to Things I can tell you that.
 
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