Thread by @theBuoyantMan

Did a quick study of Productivity - Project & Task Management apps today. Will post in detail below this tweet as a thread later in the day. After reviewing over 20 apps, here are the final contenders.

0. @NotionHQ
1. @todoist
2. @MicrosoftToDo
3. @Asana
4. @culturedcode

On the same note, there are over 100s of project & task management apps, to-do list apps. It's easier to drown in the available list of choices. Yet, only very very few apps make it to the top of the list as usable, viable, and more convenient. Why? I ll list the factors here.

So, the final contender list has changed. Here are the final contenders.
1. @asana
2. @MicrosoftToDo + @Outlook
3. @Google Tasks + Calendar
4. @Anydo
5. @NotionHQ

Honorable mention - @culturedcode (paid app, but super slick and amazing UX and ticks the right boxes).

The following is the criteria list I had in mind to narrow down on the apps.
0. Great user interface, user experience and cross platform.
1. Free to use. No premium versions.
2. Ability to add Projects -> Tasks -> Subtasks.
3. Tagging ability & prioritizing.
4. Color coding.

5. Quickly adding tasks.
6. Reminders, Calendar integration.
7. Web version

Cross platform presence - mac, windows, android, ios is a must for me. I have both mac and windows, and an android phone. So, that was my criteria going into this.

1. THINGS3 by @culturedcode
- Mac & ios only with separate purchase for each.
- Only available for MacOS above High Sierra.
- Incredibly intuitive UX, brilliantly simple help docs, makes the activity feel joyful.
- No cross platform/web versions, so not on the final list.

2. @OmniFocus by OmniGroup
- Mac & iOS only.
- UX is not very intuitive. Features are better with Omnifocus than with Things3, but the latter wins in UI/UX.
- No web version.

3. @rememberthemilk
- Cool UI/UX. Intuitive and fluid.
- Basic free version is very limited. Can't add subtasks.
- Tags, Priority, Integration with Calendar.
- Integration with Gmail, GCal
- Notification through IM, Twitter, Email, text.
- Free version not useful enough.

4. @toodledo
- Feature rich & powerful
- Very bad UI/UX. Can't figure out what's where easily.
- Take notes, make outlines, Manage tasks/projects - free version is uber powerful.
- Tasks & Sub-tasks feature don't work properly. Lot of hassle adding tasks/projects.
- Not worth it

5. @TickTickTeam
- Slick web version
- Cross platform presence
- UI/UX all over the place. Not very aesthetic.
- Can't view subtasks unless task is clicked.
- Can't access calendar in the free version.
- Free version is very limited, not good enough.

6. @WorkFlowy
- Works as an infinite nesting tool
- More of an outlining tool with infinite nesting capabilities
- No calendar/reminder integrations.
- UI and UX are fine and slick.
- Would work better as an outlining/simple note-taking app.

7. @DynalistHQ
- Developed by the @obsdmd #Obsidian team duo.
- Brilliant to do app and nested-note taking app.
- Can do GTD easily.
- No recurring tasks in free plan.
- Tags, connecting lists, separate folders, projects, a whole powerhouse.
- Lacks several features for PM.

8. @basecamp
- Cluttered, unintuitive UX. Looks cool, but induces a lot of friction.
- Lots of hip features, but takes a lot of work to do the essential work.
- Limited to 3 projects only on free plan.
- Can't assign importance/priority/tags.
- $99/mo is a lot for business plan

with nothing between free and business plan. Too much for an individual to pay.
- Good way to invite people and work on a project. Limited features though.
- Neither here (powerful project management) nor there (powerful to do list) space. Kinda swinging in between.

9. @2DoApp
- Very much unintuitive UI/UX.
- Adding tasks, projects, checklists - very cumbersome.
- Lot of friction in usage. Not a good user experience.
- Has android, ios, and mac presence. But would give this a miss.

10. @MyLifeOrg
- Not available on Mac. Win/Android/iOS available.
- Free plan is limiting, not a good enough set of features.
- Ordering, sorting, grouping, reviewing, recurring tasks, tracking projects, calendar view, all these are unavailable.

- In the age of Notion - this arcane looking tool is not doing justice to the hefty cost that it charges for the features it offers.

11. Quire IO
- Too simplistic
- A new app and requires a lot of improvements.

12. @trello
- Brilliant way to manage projects as kanban board.
- Simple approach to project & task management.
- Free version is pretty limited. Only helpful for getting a macro view and not fit to be used as a task management level app.

13. @todoist
- Great UI/UX.
- Very very intuitive as a product.
- In free version, you can add tasks to inbox, add projects/lists, move tasks to projects, create recurring tasks, set task priority, and add subtasks.

- Free version won't let you add tags, labels, notes, files/links, or calendar sync & integration for reminders.
- Would be among top 3 task management apps as a paid version. But free version is **useless**.

14. @teuxdeux
- Google calendar + tasks, or MS Outlook calendar + TO DO on UX-steroids - way more minimal and more intuitive. Love this. Would use this if it had a desktop app as well as android app. No questions asked.

15. @Anydo
- Very intuitive UI/UX.
- Cross platform presence.
- Create tasks, subtasks, reminders.
- Inbuilt calendar synced with GCal.
- Can set time based reminders.
- Recurring tasks with default time based limitations available.
- Can add file attachments.

- Can add notes and comments.
- Can't use tags in free option.
- Can't see subtasks until you click on the main task.
Very much feature rich and one of the final contenders.

16. @asana
- Create any number of projects
- Create sections within projects
- Create tasks within sections
- Create subtasks within tasks
- Assign due date to each tasks/subtasks
- Assign a person or group of people to each task/subtask/project
- Add notes to each task/project

- Attach files from local, google drive, dropbox, etc.
- Add tags
- Have conversations
- Filters available
- Sort facility available
- Integration with Google Calendar available

Absolutely love Asana. Calendar sync works okay. Just plan out beforehand. Sync doesn't happen instantly. But it's a powerhouse tool for a free version.

17. Microsoft TODO + Outlook calendar:

- Cross platform presence.
- Slick UI/UX.

- Create lists (or projects as lists), create tasks within those lists, add subtasks within tasks, set reminders/due dates, set recurring tasks, tag/categorize with outlook categories, Add files, write notes, star/unstar tasks.
- Powerful enough sorting facility for tasks.

- Connected to outlook calendar, absolutely beasty.
- Unlimited storage, unlimited lists.
- Shows planned and important items, current day's items/tasks in separate sections, very easy to access.

Very surprising, but one of the BEST workflows someone can have for task mgmt.

18. @googlecalendar + Google Tasks.
- Create projects as lists, tasks and subtasks within GTasks.
- Add details to task, set due date and time, add subtasks, categorize to project folder/list.
- Find your tasks on Google Calendar and manage accordingly.

19. @NotionHQ - underrated for task management.
- Perfect for Project management with kanban boards, tables, independent sub-section pages everything linked neatly.
- Different views - Calendar, Kanban, etc.
- Not sure if GCal or any calendar integration is there.

- Since calendar integrations aren't present, reminders are a bit unclear now. I have to test the calendar sync and reminder feature if there's one.
- You can customise your project and task management workflow to the minutiae with Notion which you can't with other providers.

Rounding up, to say that spending one full day exploring productivity apps to arrive at a workflow for managing projects and tasks is exhilarating would be an understatement. Some apps were darn brilliant, but almost nothing useful in free tier.

Some apps have potential, but are limited by their platform presence, and absence from Android/Windows. Some apps were super slick and also pretty intuitively designed. But at the end of the day, the best solution is often the simplest solution.

One thing that I understood through this process is that I don't want to digitally clutter myself by having too many apps, each app serving a unique purpose. Before adding any additional app to my workflow, I am being mindful to know what impact the context switching would have.

Keeping that in my mind, I am announcing the final winners.
WINNERS:
1. Microsoft ToDo + Outlook
2. Google Tasks/Keep + GCal
3. Asana
RUNNER UP:
4. Any.Do
5. @NotionHQ

If you're already using Notion for personal knowledge management, it works if you manage your projects via Notion and tasks with Google- tasks + calendar, if you have a gmail account. Any.Do has a calendar of its own that is synced to GCal, so no hassles there.

You can add any task to the "ALL DAY EVENT" section on your calendar and then add so many details to the task within the calendar itself. You can also add external calendars (like Asana, Fantastical, etc.) Put some effort and learn about Outlook/GCal calendar management.

There are so many powerful features within GCal and Outlook that most of us aren't aware of, which when we tap would convert us in to a powerhouse in allocating time and managing our projects efficiently. I'm going to go ahead and try out the Winners and will keep what sticks.

One of the best ways to do Project & Task Management is by listing out all projects and relevant tasks/subtasks on your note taking software (Evernote, Onenote, Obsidian, Notion, etc.,) and use Calendar to manage the tasks.
OneNote + MS ToDo + Outlook calendar is a nice system.

Evernote/Notion/Obsidian + Gcal would also work very well.
Asana + GCal would be great too.

The latter will be among the most powerful workflow in terms of feature-richness. The former one would be a middleground. The Microsoft workflow is no-nonsense - minimalistic/simplistic.

Tried this app called @ClickUp_app. Thoughts:
- Cross platform presence across all platforms.
- TOO MUCH happening in the screen. LOT of friction and distracting features. The UI is too cluttered and looks like someone dumped all possible features onto the same page.

- It's what you'd call the opposite of minimal.
- You can add projects, tasks, subtasks, notes, attachments, and integrate with calendar, you name it. All the features I wanted are in this. It can have 2-way-sync with GCal too, realtime sync. You can add several apps too.

- You can color code anything in this. You have gantt charts, milestones, and so on.
- The UI/UX is the only thing that's off putting, for an otherwise great app which ticks all of the boxes.
- I felt that the UX was overwhelming for someone trying to reduce clutter in life.

For those who love being overwhelmed and take on a challenge, Clickup would work great. For those like me who are trying to reduce energy expenditure, focus expenditure digital life wise, Clickup wouldn't be suitable. You experiment and see if it works for you.

Update 26/06:
I have tried @Anydo and removed it from the final list. It is very similar to Google Tasks + Calendar or Microsoft ToDo + Calendar, same features. Doesn't make sense to add another app workflow while the existing apps could accomplish the same.