Just last week, I found myself looking for a nice online to-do list to organize ordinary tasks that I needed to do around the house. For many years, I’ve been using a PDA to manage my tasks. It worked out well for me, because I could carry it with me at all times, and edit my schedule whenever I needed to. I started using Outlook’s tasks feature, but I found it quite cumbersome to start-up and run the outlook simply to use tasks. I rather enjoy accessing G-Mail online, and I use Google Calendars. I found Outlook too bulky for just tasks and notes, so I went online to find a simple and solid web-based to-do list. I have actually signed up for and tried over ten different to-do services, but here I’ll only review the five I found most useful.
• Ta-Da List.
• Orchestrate.
• Wallnote.
• Voo2do.
• Toodledo.
Firstly, I’d like to say that I’d been judging these services by the following criteria and must-haves:
1. Simplicity.
2. Easy Usage.
3. Design/Feel/Style.
4. Features.
5. And, of course, motivation.
Ta-Da Lists
First off, Ta-Da Lists. This service is a very simple and straightforward to-do list made by 37signals, the same people who brought you Writeboard, Basecamp, and other great services.
Pros:
• Simple and streamlined. Great for those "pencil & paper" people.
• RSS feeds notify you of any changes to your list.
Cons:
• Too simple, and not many unique features other than RSS feed.
• Not too attractive, could get boring fast if you use this many times a day.
• No better than using paper, really.
Orchestrate
Orchestrate is a simple and innovative to-do service, created for those who would like a simple to-do list that’s also visually appealing. You can create many task lists which are displayed on the left of the window. Under the list name, it shows the number of tasks pending and number of tasks completed. To see the tasks, you simply drag the list out onto the main section of the screen, where it expands to show you all your tasks.
Pros:
• Very simple.
• Easy to use.
• A very nice flow with cool organization.
Cons:
• Not many advanced features such as due dates, priorities, or notes.
• In my opinion still better than Ta-Da Lists, but lacks features needed for a power user.
BLABLA
Wallnote
Wallnote is a very nice, pretty, application that integrates itself into your desktop through Active Desktop. This allows you to interact with your Wallnote account by adding tasks and notes right from your desktop.
Pros:
• Innovative, unique.
• Great for people who want quick access to their lists.
• Very visually appealing on your desktop.
• Features such as task priority, timestamps on notes, task categories, and task descriptions.
• Easy to learn, users (especially beginners!) don’t have to use advanced features if they don’t want to.
Cons:
• Complicated set-up.
• Covers your wallpaper.
• Limited space for tasks and notes.
Voo2do
Voo2do is a more advanced task and project management service. It is designed for power-users, as it provides many features and ways to organize your tasks such as projects, contexts, and more.
Pros
• Great features.
• Easily stores and organizes large amounts of data for ease of use.
• Multiple notes per task.
• Track time estimates with advanced features.
• Handles multiple task lists and projects well, using contexts.
Cons
• Loads slower than other to-do lists because of all the features.
• Impractical for simple lists.
Toodledo
Toodledo is a great to-do list which is very easy to use and very functional. Combining the ease of services such as Ta-Da Lists with the functionality of more advanced service such as Voo2do, it provides a well-rounded to-do manager for everyone. My personal favourite to-do list, because of all of the interesting features. It is also eco-friendly!
Pros:
• Allows contexts, folders, due dates, priorities, and time estimates.
• Automatically color-codes task names based on priority.
• Bolds due dates when they approach.
• Simple design lets you quickly see your tasks without getting distracted.
• "Hotlist" shows you what needs to be done right away.
• Many other features such as collaboration, statistics and scheduler available with pro account.
Cons:
• Many features only available with a paid pro account that costs $15 per year.
• You cannot turn off feature links in sidebar.
Conclusion
In conclusion, my personal preference of to-do lists is Toodledo, which provides a clean easy-to-use interface while maintaining critical features such as due dates and priorities. The close second is voo2do, which is for the advanced user, but still loads slowly and it sometimes times out while switching pages. We hope that we helped you choose a to-do list that fits you! Good luck!
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Ah, nice line-up! May I ask why you haven’t linked to any of them?