Getting Things Done with New iPhone App 2Do

By Biagio on October 17, 2009 in From the Trenches with 31 Comments

2Do-New-iPhone-App-GTD.jpg

Most of you have probably heard of the book Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen. GTD, as it’s become known, is the latest, greatest way to be more productive in less time.

I’ve personally read the book, and used its techniques to great effect while producing TV shows like Beauty and the Geek and Scream Queens.

Actually Getting Things Done

While you can implement David’s system using only pen and paper, I’m a geek. I live on my computer and iPhone. They form my “trusted system”–the place I know all my ToDo’s live.

There’s plenty of desktop software out there to help you “Get Things Done.”

I’ve tried them all. Every single one. If it exists, I’ve tested it out. There’s only one I love: a program called The Hit List.

One Huge Problem: No iPhone App

Yes, shoot me now. Some of the other apps out there have corresponding iPhone software. The Hit List, not yet. I was contemplating leaving The Hit List for one of the other GTD apps on the market, when, today, something magical happened…

2Do from Guided Ways was Released

2Do-A-Stunning-ToDo-List-GTD-iPhone-App.jpgIt’s amazing. Having tried 5 or 6 other to-do apps on the iPhone, this one blows them all away.

Gorgeous user interface, terrific animations, easy to navigate…all the features I’ve always wanted.

Using the app, it feels like the good people at Guided Ways asked themselves,

  • What will make the user happy?
  • What will make the app easy to work with?
  • What will make it FUN to use?

    • Then, they went and built that app.

    2Do has the Best iPhone to iCal Sync of Any Stand-Alone iPhone App. Period.

    I know this, because I’ve been frustrated with all the rest of them.

    Because it syncs with iCal (or the software we use, BusyCal) via a free download called Mac Sync Helper, this stand-alone iPhone app becomes infinitely useful.

    In our case, since The Hit List can sync with iCal, and iCal syncs with 2Do, I now have a GTD system that works on both my laptop and my iPhone. Hooray!

    Video Demo Coming Soon

    iuse2do-tall.pngI’m putting together a little video post demonstrating the workflow. Be sure to follow us on twitter or to subscribe to our feed so you don’t miss it.

    In the mean time, if you want to take a peak at 2Do, this link will take you there (Note: launches iTunes.)

    Get Things Done with 2Do

    We start shooting season 2 of VH1′s Scream Queens in about 5 weeks. To keep me sane, I started using 2Do, today.

    Update As per the question in the comment section below, this was in no way a “paid advertisement.” We do occasionally link to a product we’re over-the-moon about, but not for the extra 47 cents we may make here or there. The small cash generated from our links will eventually go toward product give-aways or other blog-expanding costs. Sorry for any confusion. We purchased 2DO and use it everyday.

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About Biagio: Biagio married way out of his league when he bamboozled Joke into saying "I do." Together he and his wife produce television, film, webisodes, and anything else that requires no sleep and a touch of crazy. Find Biagio on Twitter: @jokeandbiagio

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  • http://www.andrewmayne.com Andrew Mayne

    Very cool. I’ve been looking for GTD apps for the iPhone.

  • http://www.jokeandbiagio.com Biagio

    I’ve been beating my head against the wall trying to get a workflow I liked. This, I believe, is the GTD trifecta for a mac user: BusyCal, The Hit List, and 2Do. Bam. Done.

    • Simon

      I’ve been looking for the perfect system and having it work with my iPhone is a must. This is where 2Do breaks down. Tags are not synced, which causes me a problem. I’m also not keen on THL as it’s been on beta for over 2 years and it’s retail at nearly $70.

      Although I really like 2Do until it’s functionality is available on a desktop app it is not of much use to me. I need my todo’s to be available outside of my phone for obvious reasons such a loss of phone or damage. I don’t feel comfortable with placing all my todo’s on a phone. What’s the point of assigning a contact on your phone to a task and have this information missing when you sync it across. You end up losing the GTD ethos as you can’t completely trust the system.I still think Things is better. It does everything THL does and works seamlessly with the iPhone app. Taskpaper is excellent and would have been my programme of choice, except that it does not automatically notify you of scheduled events. 

  • http://brian23.com Brian

    I’m starting to feel like my use of a Blackberry is seriously hindering my life.

  • http://www.jokeandbiagio.com Biagio

    @Brian,
    Having had a Blackberry, I don’t miss it. But, there are great GTD apps for your platform, too, so don’t feel too bad. Unless you want an excuse to get an iPhone. Then I say: YOU NEED AN IPHONE :-)

    Just wait until it comes to Verizon. Should be soon.

  • dssstrkl

    “Just wait until it comes to Verizon. Should be soon.”

    Yeah, I seriously doubt that. http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/17/verizons-anti-iphone-gets-its-first-commercial-droid-does/

  • Simon

    Does it really sync?

    I say that as I can get my tasks from THL to 2Do via iCal, and it gives me a way to carry the days important tasks with me, but syncing back to THL is not reliable. Changes don’t ‘always’ sync back, adding a new item will not go back to THL, though it does to iCal, unless I don’t set alarms etc. and leave it in my ‘Inbox Calendar’. This is not ideal.

    I’ve been here before with Appgio’s ToDo, and suffered data loss with it. I’m not sure where the problem lies, whether it is on the iPhone end, iCal, or THL itself.

    The sad thing is that out of all the major GTD apps I like the THL desktop best of all, but the lack of a reliable iPhone sync is going to kill it for me. I’ll either return to Things, or use a convoluted hybrid of THL and Things until the iPhone app is available. I’ve already moved my work tasks out of my home desktop, they are all in Toodledo as I have no need, or desire, to be completing them from my home desktop, and keeping them out of iCal was an advantage.

    It has been getting to the point where finding and testing a usable GTD app has been taking more time than doing the tasks themselves!

  • http://www.guidedways.com Guided Ways

    To Simon: If changes from 2Do are syncing back to iCal, then it’s THL. We too experienced data loss with Appigo a few months ago and decided then to develop our own To Do app. You shouldn’t really ever experience data loss with 2Do as we do (recommended) incremental syncs rather than Full Syncs (which is what causes data loss). Only in the most bizarre conditions would you ever experience any kind of loss so perform an iCal backup and give it a go.

    You should contact THL and ask them how they’re syning with iCal. If 2Do’s changes aren’t making their way from iCal to THL, they need to look into this. Our job ends when 2Do is able to sync back to iCal.

  • http://www.jokeandbiagio.com Biagio

    Simon,

    Thanks for your question. I have to admit, iCal drove my BONKERS, which is why we switched to BusyCal. I think there’s a free trial. It’s billed as iCal on steroids, and was built to make this type of syncing flawless. So far, it has blown iCal out of the water on every level.

    Here’s how the 2do/THL/BusyCal combo works for me (not perfect, but so much better, I’m ecstatic…)

    1. In THL, every task has a context, and a project.
    2. In BusyCal I only make calendars for my
    contexts.
    3. My iPhone, using 2Do, syncs with all the context calendars, and
    imports the tasks with the name of the project in front of it.
    4. When adding tasks to my iPhone, I only give them a context, no
    project. This dumps them in my THL Inbox with the correct context
    still intact. Then I just put it in the appropriate project (list) in
    THL.

    This essentially makes my iPhone my “context” center. The only thing
    I wish 2Do could do is list tasks alphabetically, since then all the
    projects could be listed together (you can sort by calendar, note,
    priority, and a few other criteria, but not alphabetically.) But at
    the end of the day, @calls is @calls…I gotta make the calls no
    matter the project they are in. On my phone, the context is more
    important to me than the project.

    So far, it’s working AWESOME. Putting together a video demonstration
    later in the week on the blog.

  • http://www.jokeandbiagio.com Biagio

    dssstrkl:

    Holy Cow! That ad is crazy! Is Verizon really launching all our war on the iPhone?

    When did this happen? Been waiting to get a video iPhone until it was avail at Verizon. Might need to change that strategy!

  • http://www.marialokken.com Maria

    Thank you – you’ve solved one of my big problems – syncing and keeping track of everything in one place. So now I know BusyCal, THL and 2Do.

    I felt like Simon, who said – “It has been getting to the point where finding and testing a usable GTD app has been taking more time than doing the tasks themselves!”

  • http://www.jokeandbiagio.com Biagio

    Maria, it’s the truth! Luckily, all these programs (I believe) come with free trial periods (except the iphone apps, but those are relatively inexpensive.) Always try it out first.

    Tried Things, Omnifocus, Midnight In-Box. My favorite was iGTD which is now defunct. Then I found THL and have been ecstatic…except for the lack of good iPhone syncing. Wasn’t happy with Appigo sync (thought kudos to them for trying) but 2Do is going to get me through production of Scream Queens, which is great.

    I should say, OmniFocus is the “official” GTD app, ordained by David Allen himself. But I didn’t like it. It was no fun to use. It’s really expensive. I never wanted to open it up. On the other hand, The Hit List has been a blast.

  • http://www.appfreakblog.com appfreak

    I have been using The Hit List and I don’t encounter any of Simon’s problems (lucky me). It’s nice that Guided Ways have been working on that. There are so many applications out there (iPhone and Desktop) that use different standards and make you have different lists in different apps.

    At least I’m giving it a go with 2Do on the iPhone (that I mini-reviewed as well) with The Hit List and it is working well. The only tedious part of the workflow: THL syncs Apple ToDo and iCal and then 2Do syncs separately. I hope Apple allows more integration with Mail and iCal so it’s easier for devs to produce apps that compliment each other and actually help you getting things done!

  • http://www.jokeandbiagio.com Biagio

    @Appfreak,

    I know how you feel. We tried so many work arounds in hopes of an OTA (over the air) automatic update. Seemed like no matter what we tried, there were issues, and things eventually fell out of sync, or just exploded! This THL/2Do combo has been great. Additionally, we feel like adding BusyCal has made us completely stable. Where we used to use MobileMe, we’ve now created a Google Calendar for the company, and keep BusyCal in sync with that. It’s been SO much more reliable and stable than MobileMe ever was.

    Thanks for your comment!

  • http://www.guidedways.com Guided Ways

    Biagio,

    Based on your comment above regarding contexts and alphabetic sort, v1.1 is coming out with a number of improvements (allowing you to focus on specified tasks, customize badges, manual and alphabetic sort etc). More interesting is how it will recognize @ labels in To Do titles. If Title Sort is preferred for a specific calendar, it will automatically ‘group’ related contexts under a single index. So all your ‘@call blah’ would list under @call

    Moreover you will be able to attach contacts/actions (call, sms, visit, location etc) to To Dos.

    Hopefully future updates will bring more improvements. Many thanks!

  • http://www.mstudios.com Marlyse Comte

    This solution really works great (I use the same setup, THL, BusySync and 2Do) – and I’ve also been frustrated with every other solution.

    If there would be a way to strip out the *** LISTNAME + @context + /tag *** addition that THL puts into the task line (or put it at the end of the line), I’d even be able to READ my tasks on 2Do without having to open the todo.

    Next to that I really a digging 2Do, it’s really FUN to use.

  • Andy

    I really appreciate this info, as I bought a license for THL through MacHeist last year. I just got an iPhone, and didn’t want to have to shell out for Things just to get an iPhone GTD solution. So I look forward to trying out 2Do with THL.

    However, your post reads more like an ad than a review, and your links to the 2Do apps seem to be paid affiliate links, but you don’t disclose that in your text. So for me, this post ends up feeling more like a paid advertisement for the app than an independent review.

    I’m not accusing you of anything, and you may in fact just be an enthusiastic user hoping to get a tiny kickback if people buy the after reading your post. But when I see affiliate links, and the author doesn’t say something like: “note: I get a referral fee when you purchase the app through this link” it makes it hard for me to trust the review as unbiased.

    So I’m wondering if you’d be willing to clarify this?

  • http://www.jokeandbiagio.com Biagio

    Andy,
    Absolutely! Thank you for asking. This is in no way a paid advertisement. In fact, I, like you, got The Hit List from MacHeist last year, and did the same song and dance with Things versus THL. As for the kickback, we have experimented with several text links here in no way to “get rich” (we make our money as producers, after all) but thought it might generate enough revenue to one day offer some sort of give-aways or some such thing. I believe in the entire course of blogging we’ve made somewhere in the neighborhood of $7 (don’t quote me).

    Being a part-time blogger and a full-time producer, I admit some things never occurred to me, such as your question above. I’m now clarifying it in the post, and will do so wherever we have an Amazon link or some such thing. In fact, thanks to your question, I’ve created this page on affiliate links at our blog, and also added it to the “Must Read” posts section in the right hand column. I hope this addresses your concern.

    For the record, however, I was simply over the moon about 2Do and wrote about it the day it came out. I purchased it, and use it every single day. I will do so until THL finally releases their iPhone app…if it’s as good as 2DO.

    Thanks Andy!
    Best,
    Biagio

  • Andy

    Thanks for the clarification — I appreciate the openness
    of your response. I’m still figuring out how I want to do GTD but I’ll def. consider this for the iPhone side of things.

  • Hayden

    Yo, how do you FORCE The Hit List to Sync with BusyCal?

    To get 2Do to sync with BusyCal, I just press a button.

    But to get The Hit List to sync with BusyCal… well I can’t find a button.

    Is there anyway to do this?

  • http://www.jokeandbiagio.com Biagio

    Hayden,

    You’re going to want to first set up calendars you want THL to sycn with (For instance, I have @Computer, @Errands, @Home, @Office, etc.) Once those are set in either busy cal or ical (sounds like you’re in BusyCal) go to THL, and from the menu choose THE HIT LIST—>Preferences. Choose iCal sync, check the button that says “Sync with the system calendar” then select the calendars you want to sync. With the calendar selected, you’ll see the “Sync with tags” become available. For instance, my calendar @Computer syncs with any task I tag @Computer. Try it, it’s not as complicated as it sounds. Best part–no button pushing necessary…anything you update in one is instantly updated in the other. It’s automatically in sync.

  • Bob

    Biagio,
    Like you, I stumbled on the 2Do and THL combo by accident. The two seem like such an ideal combination – not just from a functionality point of view but also design (I’m a designer so that matters to me). I tried Things but was quickly disappointed with the lack of nesting and the utterly boring/uninspired interface design.

    The one problem I’ve been having with the 2Do/THL/iCal combo is the duplicates issue. The first sync works fine but subsequent syncs see the 2Do items acquired from the previous THL sync as new items and duplicates them. The duplicates appear in both iCal and the THL In Box. So far, I’ve managed by simply deleting the duplicates after syncs but it’s a pain.

    If I’m understanding your post, however, you’re saying this is not a problem at all with BusyCal?

    Also, I’m trying to understand if the use of @-context tags rather than /-tags is a personal preference for you or a necessity for BusyCal to sync correctly? I prefer /-tags to selectively choose the items from a larger @-context project that I want to include on my iPhone.

    Thanks!

    BTW, I left a message in the 2Do “suggestions” forum requesting that they consider a collaboration with Andy Kim at THL! Seems like it could be a win-win marriage for all.

  • Robert

    Hi Biago,

    I know this an old post but I ran across it in a google search after I got frustrated with my Hit List – To Do iPhone synching. 2Do is awesome. Thanks for the insight. But I am not getting 2 way syncing. Anything I put in Hit List makes its way to the correct calendar in 2Do (via iCal). But whatever I put in 2Do does not get back to Hit List. Not when I delete, add a task or complete one. What am I doing wrong?

  • http://www.jokeandbiagio.com Biagio

    @Robert,

    Sorry, don’t have the answer off the top of my head. Let me take a look at my set up and see if I can give you an answer.

  • Tracy

    Hey there,
    Just discovered this ultra helpful post, Have 2do and just downloaded THL. Wondering if you ever posted your related workflow video. Would love to get some ideas about set up and structure.

    Question- my understanding is that your contexts in THL are your 2Do calendars. According to THL, contexts are tags with @ in front. So do you make smart folders for context tabs that sinch with iCal calendars? Which THL levels synch w/ iCal- folders, lists or tags? If it is tags, can I select the specific THL tags/contexts that i want to synch to iCal/2Do ?

    BTW, I use google calendar/calengoo. Hate that iCal cannot show info in month view.
    Thanks for sharing all this!
    ~Tracy

  • http://www.jokeandbiagio.com Biagio

    Tracy,

    Thanks for the kind comment. Alas, amongst producing Scream Queens and several pilots, I never got to make the video, but I’m going to do a follow up post on this ASAP.

    For now, let’s see if any of this helps:
    1. I have one iCal calendar for each context, named exactly the same. So in iCal, I have @Calls, @Computer, @Errands, etc ALREADY set up as calendars. I then have tags named the same thing in THL (I believe it pulled them in automatically, and gave me an option for which calendars I wanted to sync, so I only choose context calendars, not the other ones.)

    2. I create smart folders with the criteria TAG: IS: @CALLS, etc., one smart folder for each context I want to sync.

    3. I also create a smart folder at the top of the list called, “All Tasks” and here I make the rule: TITLE: CONTAINS: aldfjalrkjaw;skfj (Since hopefully none of my titles contain that nonsense, I get all my tasks listed in one nice smart folder.)

    4. On 2do, I have matching contexts that sync with the same folders. The only thing I DON’T do in 2do is assign projects. I can see the project name in 2do, and sort by that if necessary, but if I’m on the road I just create tasks with the appropriate context, and put it into a project in THL back at the office or home, adding it to a project there if necessary, So far, it’s working great for me. Hope this helps.

    Best,
    Biagio

  • Tracy

    Thank you for your speedy reply. I am sitting here, palms all sweaty, getting this set up and I ran into a question that only you can answer. When you say, “On 2do, I have matching contexts that sync with the same folders” I am not sure what you mean by ‘context.’ Do you mean 2Do Calendar = each Context? 2Do has Actions, but I am not sure how to edit those to match my actual contexts. Just checking…
    Thanks again!
    Tracy (in Ventura- near you!)

  • Tracy

    I figured it out- thanks so much for everything! Now to make sure my structure ideas actially work!
    Thanks again!

  • Tracy

    Is anyone on this list availabe for a phone conversation about using GTD? I need a dump place to capture all my tasks but have a hard time accurately determining deadlines or dates for things that truly have no deadlines behind my vague and panting sense that they need to happen SOON. So my context lists in 2Do are filled with stuff that isn’t that necessary. Would love to have a 15-30 minute conversation with someone wise and experienced. Thanks!

  • emily

    nice app! but my app numeber one is ,,Plan” it’s more simpler and quicker. Time manager and calendar in one. It works with built in calendar, sync with google web calendar, all tasks is in one simple view. Brilliant!
    http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/plan/id428005487?mt=8&ls=1