I have looked at Things and others but never even got as far as implementing them in test mode. None of the other packages provide the level of control I want from my system. I’m one of those who hates most of the UI stuff that other people seem to really like. I’m a reader and graphical things frustrate me to no end. So I like dense text displays and fitting most of a context in a single screen or less. Lots of white space is a waste to me and doesn’t aid in understanding.
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It’s so tough to decide. I currently am on Things 3, which I absolutely love. The visual appeal is not lost on me (though I know it’s not important for everyone). Oddly enough, the most productive I have ever been has been using a bullet journal or trello. I think it’s because I have been forced to slow down and do stuff manually. Maybe pen and paper may help for awhile, then you can figure out what you truly want.
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I’m very similar, I look at other task management apps and think “hmm, X is missing”. Some of that is definitely down to conditioning from OmniFocus - that’s what I use so I need those features to be present, and some of that is down to need. I had a flirtation with Todoist for my work projects and the lack of defer dates made it extremely difficult for me to use.
The key to success with any task management system of course is having it work for you. If it has the features you need, and allows you to complete all the tasks you need to complete then you have found the task manager that works for you.
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I’m not sure what you mean by “Todoist lacks defer dates”. I regularly will put in a task entry and set a date for that task. On that date, it will show up in Today.
If it is a task that has a specific completion date, I will set the task date to be on the day I’m going to start doing the work for that task. I will sometimes block time off in my calendar as well so that I have dedicated time for completing the work.
I mean I can’t say “this task cannot be done before”, defer dates are also start dates. In all the lists these tasks will still show up, because there’s no way to make them active after a certain date 
Very well said. I think part of it is I just love trying new apps too 
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Currently sticking with things 3. Of course I bought OF 3 pro too lol. It doesn’t have every feature as some of the others, but it’s ease of use and interface have me hooked right now.
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Some apps of something called start or defer dates which are separate from due dates.
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I’ve been using Things, but just purchased OF. I’m a heavy user of WorkflowHQ, and I love what I can do with the combination of WF and OF3. I’m still learning OF, though. It is feature rich, which I love! 
Keep in mind you can do much of the same workflow stuff with things. Though I don’t know if one app offers more than the other with respect to workflow
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I wish OF would let me rename the words “defer dates” to “start dates”. Sometimes, I feel defer is a nicer way of “snoozing” ideas. Oh, I’ll snooze it till tomorrow instead of today! LOL 
Yes, Things integration with Workflow is well done. I think I just like a few OF features, and for some reason, I like the parsing in OF, a bit better, when using Workflow. Probably just a personal preference.
All these messages about OF vs Todoist made me think about my use of Todoist - won’t give it up (I use non-Apple products) but I did notice I’ve regressed to using Todoist as one big categorized Inbox rather than following the GTD method (my original intention). So, I’ve done a bunch of reading about how others have set up Todoist for GTD, determined what I want my workflow to be (I think) and rearranged things a bit.
Always a work in progress…
Thanks for the nudge all!
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Funny, there are similar discussions in the OmniGroup forum right now. The general consensus seems to be that Things is severely limited for a big number of projects and lacks overview and proper handling of hierarchies. This post describes pretty close my feelings after testing Things (I’ve actually loaded all my OF projects into it and tried to work with it)… I would suggest to read the whole thread, there is a lot of info there.
One thing I see with both apps, and that post somewhat hits on, is people who use one of the two try to use the other the same way when they switch. They’re really different paradigms, despite the supposed GTD underpinnings in each. That’s why you see OF users saying, “I tried to use Things, and just couldn’t believe . . .,” and then you see the same thing with people who are accustomed to Things and who try OF.
That’s why trying different apps is helpful. I used OmniFocus for years, only to discover Things fit me better, given how it handles start dates differently. But I’ve heard some people like OmniFocus for that exact difference. Choice is great.
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I am sceptical about the idea of “using it the wrong way”. It either gives you tools to solve some problems, or not. One may not have the problems at all (e.g a big number of complex projects) and thus not require a solution but the critic is objective - opposed to the usual “Things looks better” which is completely subjective (I think it has too much whitespace, but well, taste).
The main critic, however, is that when people say “I am more productive in Things because it is more strict and enforces a different approach which clicks with me” they really say “I have never lost a thought about my workflow and simply jump between apps hoping one of them gets it right for me”. Maybe this would be a better starting point for most of us.
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Exactly. I used Todoist for about a year and it took me 3 months to figure out how to use it compared to OmniFocus. Every tool is different.
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I realized two or three years ago that I was overcomplicating my task management because my work life had changed. I have about 6-8 scheduled tasks per week. The rest of my time is people management and preparing for the next article or presentation. I looked at Things because of its simplicity, but settled on Good Task (it’s part of Setapp). The primary reason, other than I’m already paying for it, is font control. I like big fonts and I cannot lie. Also, I like that Good Task syncs to Exchange and Reminders.
Yea, the big thing for me, and different for most people, was for the way I worked OmniFocus didn’t handle a large number of tasks well. Maybe I was doing it wrong, but no matter how many custom perspectives I created, I couldn’t avoid the “kick the can down the road” game (constantly deferring tasks) because of how it handled defer dates. Seemingly the opposite, I also wanted a view, similar to the Today view and Upcoming views in Things, that would show me all tasks when their defer date arrived, and then keep them there, unlike the Forecast in OF where they dropped off the view after the defer date passed.
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I owe a lot to Omnifocus, through the early days of iOS I bounced between OmniFocus and Todo. I liked how powerful Omnifocus was, but knew I wasn’t getting enough out of it. I actually found MPU two years ago thanks to the @MacSparky field guide. I truly became a power user at that point and have loved the show ever since.
I must admit that Things lured me away this year and the OmniFocus 3 beta just wasn’t enticing enough to keep me on the platform. I initially switched as an experiment and all of the sudden getting things done was delightful again. Not only is Things pretty, it is so functional in a way that makes sense. I use the defer method and in Omnifocus all of my repeating tasks would break if I deferred them out in batch. In Things, I can so easily run through my list in the morning, quickly select 5 things and bump them to tomorrow without worrying about the parent task.
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This is pretty much how things have gone for me. I was a longtime Things user, and was lured to OmniFocus for its power and customizability, thinking this would help me stay on top of my ever-growing and diverse set of tasks. Instead I eventually became mired in my system, overusing defer dates and never being sure it was set up optimally to meet my needs. My system was stressing me out.
I had been tempted to try out Things 3 after its release last year, but persisted with my investment with OF, hoping that OF3 would bring with it changes that might make it work better for the way my mind works. While tags help, it didn’t seem like there were enough changes that would simplify my workflow. After reading the MacStories review of Things 3 and of it’s last update, I decided to give it a go and it has been just a huge pleasure (and relief). Things 3 is pretty to look at, but also just seems to fit my workflow better. Everything is easily findable, and I find I am more in charge of my list of to-dos rather than the other way around. I am no longer stressed just doing my weekly review.
At the end of the day, though, people have to find the app/system that works the way their mind works. For me, it seems like Things 3 is the closest.
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