The Getting Things Done (henceforth GTD) philosophy involves using something externally to record all your tasks so that your mind is free from the job of remembering them. Once the mind is free from remembering tasks, more effort can be spent on actually doing the tasks. As with most things in our life, a cleaner and clutter free interface always helps. While there are quite a few suites of popular GTD apps, Things by Cultured Code outshines them all with its latest update with a stunning new updated look. Things 2 is a major upgrade (available for free to existing users) and it brings cloud syncing (Things Cloud) and Local Push along with a new Daily Review section that is at the top of your Today list.
[showcase id=”5130″]
(Click to enlarge)
While Things on the Mac looks good, it is the iOS apps that truly shine. The iPad app in particular is drop dead gorgeous. I’ve seen so many people lash out at Apple for its skeuomorphic designs and while I love the Reminders App on iOS, Things for iPad makes it seem amateur. It has some great subtle textures and a nice notepad look to it. Most GTD apps look either boring or plain bad but people buy them for their utility and not looks so not many complain. I honestly cannot imagine spending over $100 on a suite of apps that don’t look good. Cultured Code have gone the extra mile and include some great page turning animations for when you navigate across sections. Every section has its own icon that is great. The project section looks drool-worthy in the iPad app. The iPhone app for things does a great job of using native iOS elements and some custom elements together. I am yet to see another app that executes this as well as Cultured Code has here. Subtle changes have been made in the iPhone app appearance since the earlier versions. The app used to resembles the settings app on the iPhone and now it has almost broken into its own. The Mac app on the other hand is pretty plain looking in comparison. It has the great iconography the others have but overall feels too plain for me. The Mac app does let you drag and drop tasks seamlessly across sections and that is pretty amazing. All 3 apps have a new Daily Review section that appears in the Today section reminding you of the tasks you had scheduled for today. It allows you to easily pick out what you want to do today and move things to another date.
[showcase id=”5136″]
(Click to enlarge)
GTD apps are often too complicated for the average user. Things is as complicated as you want it to be. It works for basic task management as well as the powerful GTD philosophy perfectly. Cultured Code pretty much nail it with Things 2. Cloud sync works flawlessly and the Apps outshine the competition by a huge margin. In fact the iPad app looks so good to me that it slightly counter productive that I waste time playing around with the app and not actually managing tasks with it. Things for iPhone and iPad are available on the App Store for $9.99 and $19.99 each while Things for Mac is available on the Mac App Store for $49.99.
Note : Things for Mac has a trial version available on the cultured code website. You can download and use that for 15 days before deciding whether to invest into the suite of apps. While the iPad has become the main computing device for many people, if you have a Mac and plan on using Things, the Mac app is essential. There are also some short video tips on using the apps on the Cultured Code website.