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Ummagumma |
Posted by justinhappy:
Hi Ummagumma, 2Do looks good. Why dont you just use it instead of toodledo? What is the issue of 2Do? I would use this if I feel secure about my data and the founders. Now I dont, looking at the website. 2Do doesn’t have a web service, it’s an app. And it’s only available on iOS, Android and Mac OS. Since I use Windows, I need some way to access my tasks on it. 2Do does sync with Toodledo but, as I said, it’s not perfect. My biggest issues are that there’s no background sync, and no task reminder sync. So, at the present time, I use 2Do with iOS Reminders that sync to my Exchange server at work. It’s not perfect but good enough for a quick lookup, and it keeps task reminders in sync between my devices. If I didn’t need a way to access my tasks on desktop, I’d just use 2Do exclusively and sync via Dropbox. This message was edited Aug 03, 2018. |
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Ummagumma |
Having used 2Do as my main go-to task manager for the past year or so, I really think they should ... erghm... "emulate" it the best they can.
It has the best way to focus on the work at hand without losing track of future tasks, and by this I mean very intuitive, customizable, and easy to use. Toodledo accomplishes much of the same (not all, alas) by being somewhat customizable, not too intuitive, and not too easy to use. Unfortunately there's enough syncing idiosyncrasies between the two, that I have to sync 2Do with Reminders instead of Toodledo. I do hope that the new owners take time to look at 2Do and appreciate just how close it is to the Toodledo yet so much easier to use for advance task scheduling... with 2Do being a mobile / Mac OS app and Toodledo being primarily a web based service, they are pretty much made for each other. This message was edited Aug 01, 2018. |
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Ummagumma |
Posted by boydston01:
Posted by justinhappy: Who is going to subsidize all these free loaders for their year at Toodledo? You can find many crappy alternatives and they even offer free for 30 days. .. toodi..., asa.. What I am suggesting is to move "free loaders" to paying customers. Right now, people can "free load" forever. I am saying let them free load for only one year which is much, much shorter than forever. There's got to be a selling point, though. Have you seen some of the slick new competition like TickTick ? And Microsoft ToDo is slowly but surely maturing into a pretty powerful system, once they get a Master list functionality they would have to be taken seriously. If you want to force people to sign up, you need to offer value. I have a sneaky suspicion that the majority of Toodledo customers are long term seasoned users, with relatively little fresh blood. I may be wrong. The service with all it's powerful functionality is somewhat clunky, with an outdated web interface, requires much effort to set up for efficient use, has barely adequate mobile clients, and no native way to sync with desktop. It does offer a somewhat too generous free plan, but there's a lot of competition out there for subscriptions. If I was a new potential user, how would you persuade me to chose Toodledo over it's competition ? |
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Ummagumma |
>Who is going to subsidize all these free loaders for their year at Toodledo?
How else are you going to get new members to sign up ? >Toodledo? You can find many crappy alternatives and they even offer free for 30 days. .. toodi..., asa.. Most alternatives offer a limited feature, unlimited time free plan. Many, if not most, potential users would not even consider using a service that forces them to upgrade to a paid plan in a month. It takes people who have a need for a sophisticated task manager far longer than that to figure out all ins and outs of the system and adapt it to their needs, most of them had already gone through a few alternatives that didn't work out for them in the end. Now if Toodledo had the same name recognition as Todoist... but it doesn't. Let's face it, the service is great but it's very niche, with a goofy interface, and very confusing for a new user unless they are already at the point where they can appreciate it's complexity. |
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Ummagumma |
So, from my perspective as a long time user who keeps going away, coming back and going away again... Toodledo has a great concept that is hindered by execution, making it's paid plans unworkable for me. I can't collapse subtasks and have some of them show up automatically when the start or due date has been triggered; I can't sync attachments to mobile clients (and honestly, I can't stand Toodledo mobile client anyway); I can't set up an easy to use filtering system that would allow me to quickly turn the display of future tasks on or off, not without setting up complicated custom searches that I can only use from one specific view. There's really no paid features that work for me.
Besides, I found my perfect task manager in 2Do, whch has an excellent focusing / task filtering system that is intuitive and very automated and works precisely as I expect it to - hiding tasks that are not triggered yet providing me with a quick and intuitive way to switch to the master task view, with ability to "pause" tasks, with ability to create all sorts of customized lists with their own special handling, all of it fast and intuitive. I'd love to use it with Toodledo but I can't even do that, since there's no background sync. So, I do not plan on renewing my Silver subscription. This message was edited Jul 27, 2018. |
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Ummagumma |
So, what makes Toodledo unique among task managers ?
To me, it's Start time and Saved searches. The rest is icing on the proverbial cake. A good task manager will (a) make sure you start working on tasks early enough to have them completed before the deadline, and (b) that the tasks can be hidden out of sight until their start date comes. And provide a reasonably easy, low maintenance way to accomplish that. Seems simple, yet it's mind boggling how many popular task managers don't support a basic feature like start date. So far, out of all task systems I tried, Toodledo is - for me - a solid 2nd best. The 1st best is 2Do, because it was designed from scratch around date based filtering and Focus approach, while in Toodledo it's possible but requires some tweaking and doesn't work perfectly. But if you prefer to use desktop / web access, Toodledo is the best. (I really liked TickTick but am concerned with their security). So, whatever the new owners end up doing, let's hope they improve on the strengths of Toodledo, not remove features... This message was edited Jul 15, 2018. |
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Ummagumma |
Posted by Purveyor:
The new owner is a company called Pink Java Media. Interesting. It's hard to see where a product like Toodledo would fit into their business... |
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Ummagumma |
Posted by creinhard:
Are most users using Toodledo on mobile or desktop platform? It's hard to tell from these posts ... I personally use desktop version 99%, with a rare android visit here and there. I can't imagine being as productive on smarphone or tablet as I am on desktop ... Chris Some of us travel a lot, also move around even when staying in our “home base”. Being tied to a desktop version would greatly limit my productivity. I use mobile devices (iPad and iPhone) for good 70% of my planning. Which is why I ended up abandoning Toodledo and moving over to 2Do. (I’d use them together but there’s no background sync). |
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Ummagumma |
Posted by Jim_Lewis:
BTW, for folks worried about backups and moving things elsewhere for whatever reasons, I'd like to recommend gSyncit by Fieldstonsoftware.com I have been using it for years to backup and sync (and also archive important completed tasks for a record) to desktop Outlook. I have it set up to sync to a Tasks folder in my Office 365 and sync to my Office 365 Exchange Server account - and the two processes, ToodleDo to desktop Outlook, then desktop Outlook to the Exchange Server, can go on concurrently without any conflict.. Refreshing my mind a bit here, the lowest common denominator for gSyncit is desktop Outlook. If you move your tasks from ToodleDo to Outlook, there are then a variety of other Task Managers with which you can sync/move your tasks, e.g., Google Tasks, Pocket Informant, Nozbe, etc. It's not perfect. For instance, there is no negative priority level in Outlook Tasks so I accommodated by ceasing to use negative priority in ToodleDo and I had syncing problems if I included the ToodleDo folder field in my Outlook backup (the dev said it was probably because the folder was deleted or renamed in ToodleDo between syncs). But other than that hiccup for me, you can add ToodleDo Task fields as user-defined custom fields to your Outlook Tasks folder, etc. My main reason for syncing to Outlook is I can get by with a Silver subscription (have since 2011) except for the fact that COMPLETED Tasks only have a 2-year life on a Silver subscription. By archiving important completed tasks to Outlook, e.g., home improvements, I can delete them from ToodleDo and do fine with my Silver subscription. I also periodically make XML backups from ToodleDo. gSyncit has problems with some networks and firewalls, and the developers’ response in my case was “too bad..” even though some other similar add ons worked just fine. However, I had good luck with simple CSV backups. |
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Ummagumma |
Posted by thunderhorse221984:
I initially used "Producteev" as my task manager. It was later purchased by "Jive." Jive tanked that program within two months, with "improvements." I lost over 1,000 tasks when they "improved the user experience." It is now defunct, as of May, 2018. I can't imagine the lost revenue derived from this blunder, nor can I imagine the loss to that company in general. I wouldn't trust ANY product that Jive had to offer, PERIOD. EVER. You have big shoes to fill, Sam. If you get too radical and re-invent the wheel, this customer is GONE. This should be a cash cow for you. Don't "improve" yourself out of a steady cash stream provided by your devoted customer base (like Jive did). I will use this program until I die, even if a "snappier" product is offered by a competitor. With 6 years behind me and at least 25 ahead, that is almost $1,000 of my money into your pocket, and happily, I may add. But screw this up and I am off and running to a product with long-term stability (Read: Remains the same and "improvements" don't take a week to figure out where everything went!). Good luck, Sam, this customer is hoping for your long-term success! I’m afraid you’re really overestimating the “cash cow” potential of a task manager. Not to be snide, but $1000 over a lifetime, wow... how many paying customers would it take to sustain a company in San Francisco ? My best guess is that with the current rates, just to provide the three new owners with a fairly modest yearly income (by SF standards) they would need around 30-40 thousand Gold plan members. That’s without taking into account any staff, building and utility costs, taxes, etc. so more like a 100,000 Gold members just to keep things going forward. There’s a reason this was essentially a one man operation for all these years. The changes are inevitable. It’s a niche market and the enterprises who spend most money on such products also have very specific requirements that are not aligned with needs of individual subscribers paying out of their own pockets. In an ideal world (for the current users), Toodledo should be able to become the leading product targeting small teams and individuals rather than an enterprise solution. But regardless of how things work out, and quite honestly regardless of what anyone including the new owners may think, some big changes are inevitable. To put it bluntly, you now have three people who (rightfully) expect a payback on their investment and it’s a whole different game than one guy doing it as a side hobby. |
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Ummagumma |
From where I sit, the enterprise level task management is typically a part of a larger data management and team collaboration suite, and it’s typically based on either a major provider ( e.g.MS Teams, Onenote, Outlook, Sharepoint, OneDrive for Business, or Google suite) or a custom tailored in-house solution (which in my industry at least seem to be losing ground).
I agree with others - if Toodledo is looking to expand into enterprise market. It has to be a part of a total project collaboration suite. Of course there’s always a myriad of small businesses that aren’t as structured. Either way, I’d be very cautious about the long term suitability for a private user. I’ve been paying the current subscription price despite having a full blown collaboration suite provided for free at work, but there’s a limit on how much I’d pay out of my own pocket while having to jump through hoops to make it somehow mesh with my work environment. This message was edited Jul 10, 2018. |
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Ummagumma |
Posted Jul 10, 2018 in: Feature suggest: exclude overdue tasks from hotlist
Score: 0
An overdue task really needs to be reviewed and assigned a new due date, if you just allow them to linger you’re falling into procrastination trap, once there’s enough of overdue tasks the entire task system is no longer reliable.
For me, a far better working approach is to use the start date to trigger task action (even if it’s merely postponing the date) and only use due dates for tasks with real deadlines. This way I know that every task with a due date must be done by that date and can’t be postponed. Just my $.02... This message was edited Jul 10, 2018. |
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Ummagumma |
This is honestly not good news, but hardly surprising. I have seen it happen time and time again.
A product is sold, the new owners are trying to transform it into a commercial enterprise tool targeted to companies rather than individual users, only to find out that the commercial field is over saturated. In the meantime, the individual users are left in the dust. That said, I sincerely wish you luck, I've seen this coming. Long time (over a decade ?) Toodledo user, still with an active Silver subscription but not using the service anymore. Toodledo's strength is it's flexibility and the fact that it has powertul tools for tracking and filtering of tasks. Toodledo's weakness is the barely usable miobile app, the fact that a new user is immediately presented with a complicated and visually outdated web app design with full features set that overwhelms them; and the lack of sync options to desktop. My current task manager of choice is 2Do that has all the strengths of Toodledo but improves on practically every weakness. I will however keep an eye on the future developments. |
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Ummagumma |
Posted by frogboy:
Posted by Ummagumma: I plan my projects in other applications, and only export individual tasks to the task manager. which applications? Primarily, mindmapper type apps, as they are perfect for brainstorming a project. Or Onenote, before that.. I prefer apps that support file attachments. The one I’ve used since switching to iOS is iThoughts HD, it has a Windows desktop version, and allows exporting items to Reminders. If you don’t need to have your maps synchronized to mobile devices, Freeplane is a very good free open source cross platform program. It has it's own GTD module add on. There’s probably something available for Android, too. This message was edited Jun 18, 2018. |
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Ummagumma |
I do not use a task manager as a Project tracking tool. You end up with tons of "tasks" that aren't really tasks (i.e. single actionable items ) and lose focus of what needs to be done next.
I plan my projects in other applications, and only export individual tasks to the task manager. |
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Ummagumma |
Posted May 08, 2018 in: Toodledo 2017 - The Year in Review
Score: 0
Posted by GSP1963:
@Ummagumma: Interesting. 2Do is one of the few task managers I haven't evaluated. What is "advance filtering"? . Basically, 2Do has a “Focus” icon and a clock icon. The “Focus” is like Hotlist in Toodledo, except that it can be defined independently per each task list, and is I think more flexible overall. The clock icon shows or hides tasks with a future start date. It also has “Smart lists” which is basically saved searches on user defined parameters and groups of lists. It uses Boolean operators, the saved filters can be backed up / copied / pasted as plaintext. So, I can switch from showing only my Focus tasks, to showing all tasks except the ones that have a future start date, to showing all tasks, with a single tap. No messing around in saved views. It’s just two small icons easily accessible. I can also set up All tasks view (it’s pre-set), All Personal, or All work (combining related lists). And use the two icons above on any of them. In Toodledo, I would need to define a separate saved search for each view combination (e.g, “All personal, Focus”) and invoke it via drop down for each use. In 2Do, it’s just a tap or two away, and I don’t have to fumble around my saved searches trying to remember which one to use. Pick one of three top-level smart views on the left, tap one of the two filtering icons in the view (optional). Also, the hidden subtasks automatically show up when their date comes. In Toodledo if I hide the subtasks they stay hidden. Overall, 2Do has the best interface optimized for working with tasks the way I want. It’s like the developer has the same mindset as I do. |
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Ummagumma |
So, here’s what I do - it may or may not work for you.
I don’t use task manager for high level projects or goals / planning. Only for concrete, actionable steps. For projects, high level goals, long term planning I use something like an outliner or mind map (currently iThoughts) and only export individual actionable tasks to my inbox. E.g. Get in shape Find a good exercise routine Link 1 Link 2 Get an elliptical Link 1 Place an order for elliptical * Link 2 Only the task with * will be exported to my task list, the rest are just planning steps and info. This helps to keep the number of tasks to absolute minimum, and separate goals and plans from actual tasks. It’s also much easier to brainstorm and plan a project in an app specifically designed for this kind of work. I maintain one “Master” map for personal stuff and another for work, linked to individual project maps. I review it at least weekly and generate tasks as needed. So, once I define the project goals and decide what tasks need to be in my task list, I export them to Inbox. I then go through all the tasks in my Inbox and assign start dates, and due dates for ones that actually have one (usually set one day in advance), and assign them to lists. The start date has dual purpose. First, to make sure that I do something about the task on time, even if all I do is postpone it. This way no tasks just linger in the “Undated” list forgotten. Second, to hide the tasks that I don’t have to worry about just yet, so that I could concentrate on what needs to be done now. Setting the start date only takes a few seconds but it’s the most important part of my method. The only tasks that don’t have a start date are a high-level “don’t forget” types that I want to have in front of me. Usually no more than a dozen. The Inbox stays empty, if I have any tasks in it this means I need to review them as soon as I get a chance. Any Inbox tasks automatically trigger a review. Finally, as I explained in another thread, I set up Today’s tasks (Top Priority) and Next Action (medium priority). My Focus view is set up to show Overdue (which I almost never have, since I don’t blow the hard deadlines), Starred, Top Priority, Due Today, and In Progress. This is basically the Hotlist in Toodledo. The “unfocused” view is all tasks that don’t have a future Start date. So it’s the Focus + high-level “do not forget” tasks. All other tasks will automatically show up in one of the two views when their Start date comes, or when I manually elevate them by assigning Top Priority or a star. Of course I can just review my entire task list with a single tap, but I don’t usually need to. As long as I put some thought into assigning start dates, I shouldn’t have a major task sneak up on me at the last moment. And I can keep my everyday focus view relatively clean and uncluttered and only concentrate on what’s relevant today. 2Do makes it very easy because it was built around this approach and has the best tools to make it work as smooth as possible. Toodledo also makes it easy once you set up your custom views. Finally, the subtasks etc - I only use it where it makes sense, i.e. if I have a bunch of related tasks that belong under same “roof”. It’s a convenient feature but one I can easily libel without. With that approach, I really don’t have to review my tasks on a regular basis, as long as I did my planning pre-work. They will pop up in my Focus view when their time comes. 2Do is best app for this, and it does sync with Toodledo but not in the background. Hope this helps, and sorry for a long winged message. This message was edited May 08, 2018. |
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Ummagumma |
Here’s what I use with Toodledo:
Star or Top Priority - Today’s tasks. Sometimes using Star to set the top one or two, never having more than 5-6. Medium Priority - Next Action. Again, no more than 5-6. For all the rest, it’s start date driven, I set the start date based on either the due date (if a task has one), or when I want to re-evaluate the task. I hide the task until it’s start date comes. At that time, I either attach a priority to it (i.e. make it a Today or Next Action in GTD speak), or set a different start date. The due date is only reserved for the tasks with an actual deadline. Sometimes, when a task is really hot and /or I don’t want to forget about it, even if it’s way in the future, I add a tag to it. But the vast majority don’t have any tags. I don’t use the Status at all. Neither @Context. The reason for this setup is that I can use more than one task management application or system without changing the way I work. Most apps support tags, and at least three priority levels. All support Due Dates. Start Date is the one feature that somewhat narrows the field, but I can’t find a way around it, it’s just too important. (I can use Alarm date to substitute the Start date, in some apps, if I have to). Star is just optional. So I can use Toodledo, or 2Do + Reminders, or Calengoo + Reminders, or Informant, or ... and still have pretty much the same workflow without drastically changing my habits. I’ve been burned in the past by programs and services going out of business, or getting bought out and drastically changed, or not supporting my new device. It’s so much easier to switch over and maintain your uninterrupted workflow when you’re not heavily invested in some app-specific features that are not supported anywhere else. This message was edited May 07, 2018. |
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Ummagumma |
Posted May 07, 2018 in: Toodledo 2017 - The Year in Review
Score: 0
>2. The aging and unacceptable Toodledo iOS app was almost a deal-breaker for me.
This is what keeps me leaving Toodledo. It's a fantastic service which is unfortunately only working well on the web. I am currently back to 2Do, and it has areas in which it's superior to Toodledo, mainly the ease of use when it comes to advance filtering. It could be a perfect companion to Toodledo, except that it doesn't background sync with it. The 2Do developer blames Toodledo and Jake says it's the other guy. I don't really care who's right (I tend to trust Jake) but the bottom line is, I need background sync and I end up giving up Toodledo yet again, and syncing with Reminders. I use mobile devices far more often than desktop, and the Toodledo app on mobile is, to be blunt, almost useless. Oh, and I may be wrong, but I don't believe it background syncs either.. Another problem is the lack of sync to Outlook. This message was edited May 07, 2018. |
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Ummagumma |
Posted Apr 18, 2018 in: Toodledo 2017 - The Year in Review
Score: 1
Posted by christopher_fairbanks:
Any update on the new IOS app? We really need collaboration features in it. It’s been way to many years that this has been lagging. Please please get this done soon. Thanks Count me in, too. I love Toodledo and really want to get back into using it, but it seems that for every step forward, there's two steps backward. I have pretty much given up on ever being able to sync Toodledo with Outlook. OK, let's move on. There's simply no good way to have Toodledo work well on iOS. For me, "working well" means supporting core functionality, reliable background sync, and well featured widget (having to start the app every time just to glance at my daily workload isn't useful). 2Do could be a perfect Toodledo client but it seems the two developers still can't get together and figure out how to make it background-sync to Toodledo reliably. To this day, it has to be done manually, which is unacceptable. Toodledo's own mobile client is stuck in stone age and the widget is honestly pretty useless at the moment. I could probably live with the current client if I could have a real workable widget that is user-configurable and shows due dates, stars, priorities and folders or tags for every task. With a readable font. Any other suggestions ? |