12 apps for getting things done - Superhuman Blog

What it does: FacileThings has turned the GTD workflow into an app, with to-do lists tailored specifically for Getting Things Done. How it fits ... SearchSuperhumanBlog Getinspirationonproductivity,design,andtechnology. 12appsforgettingthingsdone ChristinaMarfice Nov26,2021 · Productivity Whenyourto-dolistseemsnever-ending,anddistractionslurkaroundeverycorner,howdoyoustayfocusedonthethingsthatmatter?OneofourfavoriteframeworksistheGettingThingsDonemethod—otherwiseknownasGTD,ortheGTDmethod.Why?It'sallinthename.It'saframeworkthathelpsyougetthingsdone.ReadontolearnmoreabouttheGTDmethod,aswellassomeofourfavoriteappsthatfitseamlesslyintoanyGTDworkflow.WhatisGTD?GettingThingsDone(orGTD)isatimemanagementframeworkpopularizedbyauthorandproductivityconsultantDavidAllen.Itusesastep-by-stepsystemtomovethroughlongandcomplexto-dolistsquickly.InGTD,thereare5steps:Capture:Moveto-dolistitemsfromyourbrainintoanexternalsource,likeataskmanager.Thatsourcethenbecomesyour"inbox",whereyourto-dolistlives.Clarify:Gothrougheachto-doitemonebyone,anddecidewhethereachisimmediatelyactionable.Organize:Ifanitemisnotactionable,putitinthetrash(ifit'snevergoingtobeactionable),in"maybe"(ifitmightbeactionablelater),or"reference"(ifitcontainsinformationyouwillneed).Ifanitemisactionable,determinewhatthenextstepshouldbe.Reflect:Onceaweek,reviewyourentire"inbox"tomakesurecompleteditemsareremovedfromto-dolists,andtoaddnewitemsandclarify/organizethem.Engage:Onceyou'veidentifiedallthenextstepsforactionableitems,sortthembycontext,timeavailable,energyavailable,andprioritytohelpyoudeterminetheorderinwhichtocompletethem.AppsforgettingthingsdonehelpyoumakethemostofGTDGTDdoesn'trequireaspecificapp that'sonethingpeopleloveaboutit!However,thereareatonofappsthatcanhelpyoubeevenmoresuccessfulatGTD.AtSuperhuman,we'vealreadygotyoucoveredwithanemailappthatcanhelpyougetthroughemailtwiceasfast.SuperhumanhelpsyourespondtoimportantmessagesinminuteswithfeatureslikeSplit,Snippets,andInstantIntro,soyoucanmoveontoothertasksonyourGTDlist.GetstartedwithSuperhumanTheotherappsonthislistareourfavoritesfortaskmanagement,deepwork,andmuchmore.SomearemadespecificallyforpeoplepracticingtheGTDmethod,whileotherscomplementtheframework,embracingthespiritofGTDbyhelpingyou,well,getthingsdone!AppsforsavingtimeHypercontextWhatitdoes:Hypercontextexiststosimplifymeetings.Youcancreateanddistributeagendas,andtakenoteswithintheapp(thatareautomaticallydistributedtoattendeesoncethemeetingends).HowitfitsintoGTD:Meetingstakealotoftime.Hypercontexthelpsthemstayontopic(read:productive),andgivesattendeesmoretimebackforothertasks.Whyweloveit:A2019surveyfoundthat67%ofpeoplefeelliketheyspendtoomuchtimeinmeetings,whichkeepsthemfrombeingasproductiveaspossibleatwork.Andourownsurveyrevealedthatvideomeetingsarethebiggestpainpointof44%ofremoteworkers!Anythingthatcanreducemeetingtime,keepmeetingsontopic,andmakefollow-uptaskseasytodelegateandtrackisawinforus.EngrossWhatitdoes:Engrossis,atitscore,aPomodorotimer.Butit'salsomorethanthat,withaplanner,calendar,to-dolist,andreminderfeaturesallbuiltin.HowitfitsintoGTD:OnceyouorganizeallyouractionableitemsintheGTDframework,thePomodoromethodcanhelpyoustartmovingthroughyourto-dolistbyalternatingdeepworkwithshortbreakstorefreshandprioritize.Whyweloveit:TherearealotofPomodorotimersoutthere.ButEngrossstandsoutbecauseofitsreportingandanalyticsfeatures,whichhelpyouanalyzehistoricaldatatotrackyourworktimeandseeimprovementinyourtimemanagement.AppsmadejustfortheGTDmethodFacileThingsWhatitdoes:FacileThingshasturnedtheGTDworkflowintoanapp,withto-doliststailoredspecificallyforGettingThingsDone.HowitfitsintoGTD:FacileThingsorganizesto-dolistsintoprojects,whicharethenorganizedintoactions.It'stheGTDmethod,automated.Whyweloveit:GTDiscomplex,andcanhaveabitofalearningcurve.FacileThingscanhelpguidenewbelieversthroughtheframeworkbeforeitbecomessecondnature.Then,onceyoulearntheinsandoutsofGTD,FacileThingsstaysvaluablewithintegrationswithotherpopularproductivitytools(likeGoogleSuite,Outlook,Evernote,Dropbox,andmore),aswellasanalyticsthatcanhelpyouiterateonyourpersonalworkflowandincreaseyourproductivityovertime.NirvanaWhatitdoes:NirvanacombinesthefamiliarUIofataskmanagerlikeAsanawithstepsfromtheGTDframework.HowitfitsintoGTD:Nirvanaispurposefullydesignedwithstepstogatherandorganizeyourtasksandprojects,thenbreakthemdownintonextsteps.TimeandenergyfiltershelpyouprioritizeyourtaskstheGTDway.Whyweloveit:LikeFacileThings,NirvanaisanappthatcanhelpyoulearnandmastertheGTDframework.Butwhetheryou'renewtoGTDoralreadyaprofessional,you'llloveNirvana'ssimple,user-friendlydesign.Appsformakingto-dolistsEvernoteWhatitdoes:Evernotemakestakingnotesandturningthemintoto-dolistsincrediblyfast.Plus,youcanaddimages,PDFs,audio,documents,andmore—andfindwhateveryouneedinyournoteswithsophisticatedsearchcapabilities.HowitfitsintoGTD:Inthe"Capture"stepoftheGTDframework,youcollectallyourto-dosfromwherevertheycurrentlylive—email,calendar,aworkschedule,yourbrain—andturnthemintoactionableto-dolists.Evernoteallowsyoutocreatemultiplelists,projects,schedules,andmore—allinasingleappthatsyncsacrossyourdevices.Whyweloveit:Evernoteissimpleandbeautiful,butalsopowerful.Whileit'sagreatplacefororganizingyourto-dolistsfortheGTDmethod,youcanalsouseittotakenotesinmeetings,assigntaskstootherpeople,customizeaprojectworkflow,orevenplanatrip.TodoistWhatitdoes:Todoistisato-dolistapp,butpackedwithpowerfulfeaturesthathavemadeitoneofthemostpopularto-dolistappsonthemarket.HowitfitsintoGTD:Todoistsyncsacrossplatformsandworksoffline,sonomatterwhereyouarewhenyouneedtocaptureaprojectortask,Todoistcandoit.Whyweloveit:WelovehowTodoistgivesyouaclearoverviewofyourtaskseachday,thenusesprioritizationtoremindyouabouttasksatjusttherighttime.Plus,itsproductivityvisualizationsmakeiteasytoseetangibleprogressonbigprojects.DueWhatitdoes:Dueisato-dolistapp,butitsbiggestdrawishowfastitmakesittosetdue-datereminders—noscrollingthroughhoursandminutestogettotherighttime—andhowpersistentlyitensuresyou'llnevermissadeadline.HowitfitsintoGTD:IfyourGTDprojectshaveimportantdeadlines,Duemightbetherightappforyou,withitssmartremindersystemthatmakessuredue-datenotificationsnevergetburied,andkeepsremindingyouuntilyousnooze,reschedule,ormarkataskcomplete.Whyweloveit:Dueiskindofalove-it-or-hate-itapp.Thosewhoneeditsdue-datereminderswilllovehowpersistentitis,whilethosewhodon'tstruggletostayontopoftheirdeadlinesmightfindthenotificationsdistracting.Butkeepingtrackofbothworkandlifetaskscangetoverwhelming,andDuemakesitalotharderforanythingtoslipthroughthecracks.AppsformanagingtasksAsanaWhatitdoes:Asanaisanall-in-onetaskmanagerwithallthefeaturesyouneedtostayontopofyourprojectsandtasks,andcollaborateseamlesslyacrossateam.HowitfitsintoGTD:TheGTDframeworkisallaboutbreakingeachprojectortaskdownintoactionablenextsteps,andAsanaissetupfordoingjustthat.Everyprojectboardcanbepopulatedwithtasks,whichcanthenbecomeasmanysubtasksasyouneed.Whyweloveit:Asanaisafavoritetaskmanagerforsomanyreasons:it'seasytouse,hasasimple,cleanUI,andmakesiteasytostayontopofeventhemostcomplexprojectsbytakingthemaction-by-action.OmnifocusWhatitdoes:Omnifocusisataskmanagerthat'smadeforAppleusers.WithdeepintegrationswiththeAppleecosystem,itfeelslikeaseamlesslybuilt-inpartofMacusers'devices.HowitfitsintoGTD:SimilartoAsana,Omnifocusletsyoucaptureprojectsandtasks,andthenbreakthemdownintoactionablenextstepsthatallowyoutofollowtheGTDframework,allthewaythroughaproject'scompletion.Whyweloveit:Ifthere'soneplacewhereAsanaislacking,it'snotificationmanagement.OmnifocusaddressesthatdrawbackforMacusers,withitsdeepintegrationwithAppleproductsthatallowittoutilizeMacOSandiOSnotificationstohelpyoukeeptrackofdeadlines.AppsforcollaboratingacrossteamsNotionWhatitdoes:Notioncomeswithfeaturesandcomponentslikenotes,databases,kanbanboards,wikis,calendars,andmore.It'sanewwayfororganizationstocreateanentiredigitalworkspacefromscratch.HowitfitsintoGTD:Notionisalmostendlesslycustomizable.Thatmeansthat,whileit'snotmadefortheGTDmethodandithasvirtuallylimitlessapplicationsoutsideofGTD,itcanalsobetailoredtointegratetheGTDmethodintojustaboutanypartofyourteam'sflow.Whyweloveit:Amongsomanyotherthingstolove,astandoutfeatureofNotionisitsflexibility,whichallowsyoutocreateacompletelytailoredknowledgemanagementsystemforyourselforyourorganization.AppsfordeepworkBrain.fmWhatitdoes:Brain.fmtakesascience-firstapproachtocreatemusicthatismeanttopromotecreativityandproductivity,andhelpuserseffortlesslyreachaflowstateintheirwork.HowitfitsintoGTD:Onceyou'vegonethroughallthestepsoftheGTDframework,there'sonlyonethinglefttodo:theactualwork.Knockingactionablestepsoffyourto-dolisttakesfocusandhardwork,andBrain.fmhelpsmakeeverydayasproductiveaspossible.Whyweloveit:Brain.fm'sscientistscollaboratewithresearchersatacademicinstitutions,whoruntestsrangingfromMRIsandEEGstobehavioraltestswithcontrolgroups.Theyhavereal-worlddatathatshowshowBrain.fmpromotesbrainactivityinareasoffocusandcreativity.ForestWhatitdoes:Forestgamifiesfocusandproductivity,offeringarewardsystemforavoidingdistractionsandworkingonataskforasetperiodoftime.HowitfitsintoGTD:LikeBrain.fm,Forestcomesafteryou'vecaptured,organized,andengagedwithallyourtasks—whenit'stimetoactuallydothework.SimilartoaPomodorotimer,Forestencouragesyoutospendasetperiodoftimeavoidingdistractionsanddoingdeepwork.Whyweloveit:Forestcompletelyeliminatesyourphoneasadistraction.Whenyou'rereadytostartdeepwork,youopentheForestappandstarttogrowatree.Thattreewilldieifyouuseyourphoneandleavetheapp.Overtime,youcanbuildupanentireforestoftrees,eachonerepresentingafocusedsessionofwork.GetthingsdonewithSuperhumanWithSuperhuman,youcancutyourtimespentonemailinhalf,makingmoretimetogetthingsdone.Superhumanistheperfectapptocomplementanyoftheothersonthislist.TrySuperhumantoday!GetstartedwithSuperhuman 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