As I noted in this post, I experimented with using Reminders as my default task manager. It is working well, consequently I’m using Reminders exclusively.
I’ve read different perspectives on GoodTask and I just watched a Screencastonline video by Mike Schmitz. I like the added features but I’d appreciate any insights from those who are or have used GT. If you are using it, what do you like? If you abandoned it, why?
Any insights will be appreciated, thanks!
I used it for a while, and it’s a great app. I preferred the interface to Reminders.
However, it didn’t stick as it didn’t have the review functionality of OmniFocus.
That is understandable. I thought I’d miss the Review feature in OF but I found I don’t. Other than the ability to pre-set when items appear for review, it is still just a list of to do’s to go through so I just do that with Reminders. For others the OF approach is much better and preferable.
As to OF, I’ve not been following things too closely but my impression is that the new version of OF, once released from Beta, will be a subscription model, is that correct?
I need to be able to set different review periods for my projects separately, so I can review when there are important milestones, not just do a weekly review. I guess I could use calendar entries but that’s too cumbersome for me, I want task management in one place only.
I’ve not heard anything about subscription only for OF4, I thought it would be available as an upgrade. However, I could be wrong if I have missed the news.
I used Goodtask for many months and really liked it! It’s got a great interface and I loved how customizable the UI is. Syncing was rock solid and I loved the additional features (especially quick entry) that it offers beyond Reminders. You can fiddle with and change so much in the app!
I actually probably would still use it but I ended up going back to Things mostly just because my life got chaotic enough that I needed something less fiddly and more on autopilot. On the whole Goodtask is really great, though! I recommend it all the time.
Thank you. That is one of the reasons I’m hesitating; “fiddly” is why I no longer use OF and I don’t want to get trapped in the “fiddly swamp” again! 
Best part of GoodTask is it’s built on reminders….aka you still get reminders interface and options (and can use together with GoodTask if you want) and it’s all the same data.
Want a quick smart folder with tags, Siri input with location reminders….use reminders.
Template tasks with multiple sub tasks, decide you have a bunch of tasks to batch process, change dates, view on kanban boards….use GoodTask.
And all the while it’s the same backend of data so you can freely move between the 2. Power when you want it, simplicity when you don’t work same data….
Hmm … that is very tempting! Thanks for the perspective. That helps me realize I can avoid the fiddly swamp. 
I am on my back to Apple apps kick as well. Reminders is so close (love GoodTask ability for calendar events and tasks together, better widgets, and templates) and I’d be back to solely reminders. But at least GoodTask integrates so tightly you still get all the native linking and features.
I’ve used GoodTask for quite a few years. Long ago gave up on OF because of it’s complexity relative to my needs. I’ve always enjoyed the ubiquity and simplicity of Reminders in the Apple universe. GoodTask adds just a few additional capabilities to enhance Reminders.
My primary use of GT is its Smart Lists feature. Very flexible to create various views of Reminders with robust filtering, sorting, etc. — jay
The most important (being half sarcastic here, half truthful), is GoodTask let’s you customize the app notifications. For example, if you want the badge app to say how many items are due and overdue it shows the correct number. This is in contrast to Apple reminders, where if you date it as dec 18 it won’t show on badge app until dec 19. Or reminders makes you put times (aka when I used reminders solely I would time everything at 7am so my badge app would have the correct tasks for the days, and wouldn’t wake me up with the notifications if I put it at 12 for the day).
I absolutely hate this badge app system for reminders, it seems broken and almost unusable without times.
Late to this one. I’ve been using GoodTask for a while now (a couple of years, maybe?) and it’s my go-to. Lots of good answers already in this thread— in addition, I really appreciate the Kanban/column views, the range of widgets, and the support for URL schemes. It should also be mentioned that the developer’s typically very responsive.
In terms of working between GoodTask and Reminders: you can select which Reminders lists show up in GoodTask, which allows for some useful filtering/focusing…
How do you handle projects in GoodTask? One list for each?
Thanks, very helpful and appreciated!
Currently in my system, I have a list named “project index”. Each project gets a reminder in that list. A project’s reminder title is just a shortcode for my own reference; a more verbose title sits in the note with any other metadata. GoodTask allows for sub-tasks, so I usually drop simple related tasks within the project’s reminder. Anything more complicated (when is a sub-task actually a project in its own right!?) gets its own reminder with the original project’s shortcode in its note.
This way of working allows me to use the Kanban view on my project index to maintain an overview of my project “pipeline”.
Thus far this has worked for me— I like to keep the number of Reminders lists down to an absolute minimum, and I’ve typically considered that having a list per project would end up in a bit of overwhelm (been there, done that). That said, I’m considering experimenting with MindNode’s integration with Reminders, which would allow for an alternative view of tasks within a project (mind-map for dependencies and hierarchy), but would necessitate a list per project. Could be the best of many worlds…
Would you be willing to share a redacted screenshot of how you have this setup? I’m still experimenting with GT. I do have a long list of projects in Reminders. This doesn’t bother me much but your approach may be better.
Interesting! Thank you!
Do you use smart lists to create overviews of each individual project?
I’m a little paranoid about inadvertently sharing something I’m not supposed to! The project list has a lot of personal stuff in it. I’ll take a look and see what I feel comfortable with…
Not so much, actually. I can create a smart list on the fly if/when I’m powering through a particular project and need something “hardwired” to refer to, but I’m more likely to call up the full scope of a project (all its related tasks) via a search…
I have an action I call from a home-screen icon that calls up a list of active projects, allows me to select one, then gives me a few options for what I want to do with it. Options include copying the project code to the clipboard as a wiki-link or tag and then opening a specific app (e.g. Drafts, Fantastical, GoodTask, iThoughts) so I can paste that project code wherever I need it as a reference; opening the iThoughts (or soon perhaps MindNode) map linked to the project; or searching all related reminders in GoodTask. I have that icon available on my iPadOS dock, so it’s easy to access with a single swipe regardless of which app I’m currently working in.
Also, to reduce friction, every project’s note contains an automatically generated URL scheme in its notes that calls up a search with the project code.
GoodTask remembers the last five search queries (they sit on the sidebar, pretty much like other lists) so it’s easy tor refer back to anything I’ve searched for recently…
