Everdo is probably not the first GTD/todo app you’ve ever used. I have personally tried many. and was in constant search for something better.
Please share you used. What did you enjoy about them and what didn’t?
I’ll start.
I have tried many apps/solutions, but ended up spending most of my GTD time in the following:
- Evernote (2 years)
- Emacs Org Mode (2 years)
- Nirvana (6 months)
- DoitIm (6 months)
- plain .txt files
Having learned a lot from the above, I’m now at 6 months of using Everdo.
I’ll share my opinion of the apps I’ve used in future posts
Evernote
It’s strength (and weakness) is that it can truly do everything.
In my opinion, it doesn’t have any constraints on how it should be used which almost encourages you to upload, store and categorize everything regardless of whether it really helps you get things done or not.
Over time I got overwhelmed with the amount of stuff I had to manage and gradually gave up.
Maybe it was my fault and it’s possible to keep it clean. But the privacy concerns and cloud-based architecture of Evernote would still be deal-breakers.
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Spent about 3 years using Todoist, off and on, but mostly on and with a lot of success. It does everything that I want a to do app to do except that it doesn’t have start dates. I like the clean interface, I like that it can be used on almost any platform (though I end up using it on m6 work computer most often).
This is similar for me.
The cloud-based apps I have used (doit and nirvana) all had mobile apps, but I remember doing almost everything in the PC version.
It’s just easier to manage tasks and projects with a large screen and a proper keyboard.
I still used the mobile apps for capturing tasks on the go and some checklists or shopping lists.
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Yes, agreed. Your point about capturing is true though. Much easier to do that when you’re out and about on your phone than remembering to head back to your PC, sending an e-mail, writing a note, etc.
Been here and there, everywhere a little bit 
Nozbe, Nirvana, Todoist, mindmapping software, Evernote, plain txt files, lists with tags, MyLifeOrganized, etc.
Since a while I’m on Omnifocus, running on an ipad next to my laptop during crunch time, and available on the laptop in a virtual machine (I run Windows natively) at the touch of a key.
For most things, OF has the best thought out solutions. Project settings (sequential, parallel, single actions), start and defer dates, repeat options on tasks and projects (due again, defer again), and the review feature are what keeps bringing me back to it.
Came across Evero through a mention by someone and love the look and feel of it and where it is going. Hoping for (repeating) defer dates.
Why switch? Once Everdo has an Android app I can just run natively on the desktop and check my focus items during the day on my phone. Feels like a bit cleaner setup than having to run a virtual machine in order to run a GTD app
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Haha as a heavy VM user, it does sound awful 
Well, this is what I aim for. Maybe just a bit more on the “keep it simple” side. Hopefully we’ll find a balance.
This reminds me - tried using Freemind for GTD. The app is fine for mind mapping, but trying to manage daily tasks in it was a disaster 
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It’s a very promising app. Haven’t been this enthusiastic about a new app since I met Dynalist.
The extreme slicing and dicing in MyLifeOrganized is a bridge too far. OmniFocus seems flexible but has some rigid edges. Perspectives are fun but you shouldn’t really need to have them.
Well, I haven’t switched yet.
I used Zim for a long time. I also used org-mode and a whole slew of TODO managers. Currently, my knowledge base / personal wiki / GTD stuff are in Markdown files, stored in git. I manipulate them primarily with Atom, using a bunch of Atom plugins. This works extremely well except for GTD-specific functions. It’s kind of a shame, because I’d prefer to not use two different applications (one for organizing tasks/projects and the other for notes). I’d love to see a proper GTD package for Atom; I’m almost tempted to work on one myself, but I don’t have the time.
For me, the biggest draw to Everdo is that it works on Linux, is GTD-oriented and uncluttered, doesn’t try to do too much, is not dependent on any sort of proprietary service, and I can get my data out. Add reliable self-hosted sync, an Android client, and some quality-of-life features and I’ll be in whole hog.
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Ah, Zim. Zim Wiki, right? Very nice application. Best desktop wiki I’ve come across.
That’s the one; shame it’s no longer being developed. But it’s open source, so maybe someone will take over. One great thing was it was just text files, so with pandoc I easily migrated to markdown files.
I used Omni Focus. My Mac broke and I switched to Linux. I reviewed everything listed as alternative to Omni Focus at alternativeto.net, didn’t find anything that I liked. Fortunately DuckDuckGo pointed me to everdo when I searched for “getting things done for linux”.
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Sync is in development right now. Mobile clients are next.
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OmniFocus - Excellent, but can’t use it for work. Great for planning, but not actual execution (eg. making a today list and dragging tasks around. Great hotkeys.
Things 2 - Great execution and today list implementation. Awful views. No way to review or see a big outline of all tasks made me feel overwhelmed and like I can’t trust the app. Good hotkeys.
MyLifeOrganized - Single-pane outliners/todo programs are overwhelming. Too much context switching between views.
Wunderlist - No concept of projects. No concept of an “all tasks” view. Way too simple.
Todoist - Seems popular, but there are no defer/start dates, no notes fields for projects (I need this to our internal issue tracker at work to associate projects). Can construct an overview/review filter. But it’s basically a framed webapp and has weak hotkeys.
Nirvanahq - Very good Next / Focus views. Simple layout. Project notes. No “all tasks” view. Online only.
there is such app: facilethings
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- txt files
- md files
- xlsx files
- Google Keep
- EverNote
- Asana
- NixNote
- Grindstone (before i left windows)
- Doit.im for several years
I like digging into opensource apps but there’s always a give and take. Some developers are good but their UI / UX skills are lacking, or just some odd limitation that rubs me the wrong way causes me to start looking again. Or they all want to use third party syncing when I no longer trust Google or most big corps with my info and data. I host my own “ownCloud” installation and save everything in a sync folder.
Actually doit.im won’t let me login on my android since i got a new phone recently. It seems they’re not very active with development, at least responding to support users. Which led me to pick up my search again, and found you.
The UI is refreshing and functional. Thank you.
I see an upgrade button. Is there a list of limitations of the beta that i can read somewhere?
Upgrade means getting a Pro key. Here’s the upgrade page highlighting the differences.
The “beta” status is there simply because development is active and things can break occasionally.
Right, I understand, and I’ve already seen that link. My question is what are the limitations of the unpaid version I have? Like, Max number of projects Max number of items, etc.
Thanks.
I have tried several:
- To do
- Wunderlist
- Chandler
- Pagico
- OmniFocus
- The Hit List
I keep coming back to The Hit List due to its simplicity and keyboard shortcuts. However, it’s tied to Mac and development has been stagnant for a number of years. It’s also heavily start/due date oriented so I just end up setting these and then amending them on a regular basis 
I’m looking for something with a bit more structure (although I’m not wedded to GTD), has active and attentive development, and a cross-platform approach. Hence my interest in Everdo. I’m still having a play but I like what I see so far. Not quite ready to commit resources (time/effort to migrate current projects and tasks) and money
I will carry on having a play and perhaps ask some questions if I can’t find answers by searching the forum (of course).
Tony
Yep for some reason the best productivity software on Mac is Mac only.
That’s exactly what we are trying to do here
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