How to Use Microsoft To Do as a Cross Platform GTD Solution

Microsoft's To Do app has come a long, long way since inception and today reflects a full-fledged, full-featured GTD app that will meet the ... 📒NEW:2022DigitalPlanner: MadeforiPad  →  Yes,Please!Despitemybesteffortstoavoidsuchafate,myregulardayjobrequirestheuseofaWindows-basedPC.IcouldprobablyopttouseaMacwithParallels,butI’mnotthereyet.Oneday,perhaps.Wherethisismostimpactfulisinmyproductivityworkflow.Forallintentsandpurposes,Ihavemultipleto-dolistsspreadacrossdifferentoperatingsystems,andIhavetodoublemyworkinafewdifferentareastokeepthingssyncedandconsistent.IwouldlovetoseeThings3adoptaweb-basedoption.Recently,Itookadeepbreathandastepbacktoseewhatkindsofcross-platformGTDoptionsthereareavailabletohybridMacandPCusers.AndwhileTodoistmaybetheimmediatethoughtformostSweetSetupreaders,itwasactuallyMicrosoft’sownToDoappthatcaughtmyattention.IcanalmostperfectlyreplicatemyThings3setupinsideMicrosoftToDoandhavecross-platformsupporttoboot.Infact,it’ssoclosetobereplicatedfunctionalitythatImayabandonThings3forgood.OratleastuntilIcanconvincemybosstoletmerunParallelsonaMac.MicrosoftToDo’sCoreFeaturesMicrosoft’sToDoapphascomealong,longwaysinceinceptionandtodayreflectsafull-fledged,full-featuredGTDappthatwillmeettheneedsformanyusers.BecauseI’mcomingfromaThings3background,everythinginmymindworksinrelationtohowThings3works— “Areas”,“Projects”,the“Today”view,and“Upcoming”arebasiclingoinmyvocabulary,soforgivemeforusingtheseintheplaceofToDo’schoiceofverbiage.WorkingthroughMicrosoftToDo’sleftsidebarofSmartListsfromtoptobottom:MyDayisessentiallyThings3’s“Today”view.MyDayshowsalltasksduetoday.YoucanaddatasktoMyDaybytappingonthetaskandselecting“AddtoMyDay”.Importantshowcasesallyourstarredtasks.TappingonataskprovidesyouanemptystartotherightofyourtasknameandtappingthestaraddsittotheImportantqueue.Idon’tknowifThings3hasaspecific“Important”view,butOmniFocus’s“Flagged”systemcomestomind.PlannedtasksareakintoThings3’s“Upcoming”tab,wherefuturetasksareseparatedbetween“Earlier”(tasksthatwerepreviouslydue),“Tomorrow”,twotofivedaysfromnow,and“Later”.AssignedtoYouworksintandemwithMicrosoftOffice365’sPlannerandTeamsappsforgroupingallyourassignedtasksinonespot.HavingthisbuiltintoToDoensuresthere’snoexcuseformissingataskassignedbyyourboss.FlaggedEmailsisToDo’shallmarkfeatureinmymind— ifyouuseanExchangeemailaddress,anyflaggedemailinsideofOutlookwillshowupnearlyinstantlyinsideToDo.Tasksiseffectivelyanuncategorizedcatch-alllocationforallyourtasksfromabirdseyeview.GroupsarebasicallyThings3’sAreas,allowingyoutogrouplistsintoasetcontext.Iusetheterm“basically”,astheyaren’taspowerfulasThings’sAreas.Listsareprojectswhichcanbetitledwithageneraltitleandcanhouseentirelistsoftasksforcompletion.Therearenoheaderoptionshereforgroupinglike-taskstogether.Evidently,there’salotofoverlapbetweenthebestGTDappslikeOmniFocusandThings3andMicrosoftToDo.Inmanywaysthough,ToDo’sfunctionalityextendsbeyondwhatwe’veseeninOmniFocusandThings3andofferssomequality-of-lifefeaturesthatmademeraisemyeyebrow.HandyFeaturesInsideToDoMicrosoftToDocanbecustomizedvisuallytosuityouraesthetictastes.Eachlistcanhaveitsowntheme,spanningacrossmultiplepastelcolorsorevenphotos(whichareshowninToDo’slightthemeduringtheday).SmartLists(likeMyDay,Planned,FlaggedEmail,etc.)canallhavetheirownthemesaswell.Taskscanbeaddedwithnaturallanguageparsing,bringingthebestofanapplikeFantasticaltoMicrosoftToDo.Typingin“CallBobonJanuary26at4:30PM”immediatelyprovidesatappableoptionforaddingthetaskwithareminderatthespecifiedtimeoraduedateatthespecifiedtime.Theparsingisn’tperfect,mindyou— atasklike“BuyChristmasGiftsonDecember4,2020”lefttheword“on”hangingattheendofthetask.Individualtaskscanquicklybecometheirownmini-projectbyaddinga“step”tothetask.Whenyoutaponatask,simplytap“AddStep”toaddadditionaltaskstothemaintask.Thisisgreatforwhenyoudon’tneedafullproject(likea“List”)yethavemultiplestepstogetfromPointAtoPointB.Asmentionedabove,PlannertaskscanbeaddeddirectlytoMicrosoftToDoifyouuseOffice365’ssuiteofapps.Ifyoudon’tusePlannerthough,youcanturnofftheseSmartListsinsideofToDo’spreferencesview.Bestofall,emptySmartListscanbehiddenwhennotasksareopenoravailableinthatview.Thisprovidesacleanersidebarifalltasksassignedtoyouhavebeencompleted.MypersonalfavoritefeatureistheabilitytoviewallflaggedemailsinsideMicrosoftToDo.Myemailinboxiseffectivelyasecondtasklistthatfeelslikeanimpossibilitytocomplete.UsingToDo’sflaggedemailsfeature,youcanflaganemailinsideOutlook,archivetheemailinOutlook,andstillviewtheemailasataskinToDo.OnceyouunflagtheemailinOutlook,ToDoautomaticallypicksuptheemail’sstatusandmarksthetaskascompleted.Thisfeaturepullsdoubledutyincleaningupyouremailinboxandputtingallactionabletaskemailsinoneconsistentspot.Unfortunatelythough,I’verunintoacouplesnagswithflaggedemails.Forone,itrequiresanExchangeemailaccount.I’mnotsurehowcommonExchangeemailaccountsare(we’vebeenhappywiththefeaturesetandsyncspeedinoursmalloffice),buttherearesomeoff-puttingreviewsonline.Ifyou’veavoidedExchange,youwon’tbeabletoutilizeflaggedemailsinsideofToDo.I’vealsorunintosomesyncingissueswhenusingOutlook’sdesktopapponmyWindowsPC.Sofar,I’veonlybeenabletoflaganemailinOutlookforiPad,iPhone,andMacandhaveitshowupinToDo.Lastly,abonusfeature:TasksinToDocanhavefilesattachedtothem,allowingyoutoquicklyreferenceaphoto,screenshot,orafile(likeaPDF)rightinthetask’smetadata.Ifindthistobeparticularlyhelpfulwhenreferencingscreenshots— simplytakeascreenshot,annotatethescreenshotwithiOS’sannotationtools,andattachittothetask.ThisspecificfeatureisoneI’vebeenwishingforinThings3foralongtime.OtherSnagsInMyWorkflowNoGTDappiswithoutitshiccups,andthereareafewinparticularwhichwillthrowsomeusersforaloop.Forinstance,“Groups”havethesolepurposeofseparating“Lists”fromoneanother,whichmeansyoucan’tdragindividualtaskstoagroup.InThings3,youcanmoveliketaskstoanAreaandthenopenupthatAreatoviewallprojectsandindividualtasksatonce.InToDo,onlylists(projects)canbeaddedtothegroup,limitingthepowerofcreatingseparategroups(areas)inyourlife.Secondly,there’snoseparateinboxinToDo.“Tasks”actsasacatch-allareaforallyourtasksnotassignedtoalist,whichincludesupcomingtasks,repeatingtasks,andone-offtasks.Ifyou’reanadherenttotheGetThingsDonephilosophy,thelackofaninboxmaybeadealbreaker.There’sachanceneitherofthesesnagswillgetinyourwayifyou’redyingforatruecross-platformtaskmanagementapptoworkbetweenmacOS,iOS,andWindows.Butifyou’reacreatureofhabitorrelyheavilyonthecompleteGTDphilosophy,you’llhavetotestToDotoseeifit’llwork.WrapUpAnyonewhohasafamily,multiplejobs,goestoschool,orvolunteersonthesidewillbehesitanttochangeuptheirtaskmanagementworkflows,simplyforfearofmissingsomethingamidstallthechaos.I’mcertainlyoneofthosepeople— onceIfoundahomeinsideThings3,IadmittoshuttingmyselfofffromanyotherGTDappavailable.Evenifthoseotherappsarebettersuitedformyneeds,theriskofmissingsomethingwasandistoogreatsimplyduetobreakinghabits.SowhyMicrosoftToDo?Andwhynow?ToDohascomealongwayinrecentmonthsintermsofdesignandfunctionality.Further,ourofficerecentlyadoptedthefullBusinessPremiumsuiteofOffice365tools,openingthedoorstoPlanner,full-featuredTeams,OneDrive,syncedfilesinWordandExcel,andsyncedcalendarsinExchange.Asitturnsout,MicrosoftToDomayendupbeingthesinglebiggestsurpriseinourjumptoOffice365.Havingallyourtasksinoneplace,scatteredinfromWindows,iOS,iPadOS,andmacOS— andbeingabletonicelyintegrateyourdreadedemaillistwithyourtasklist—couldbeagamechangerforanyonewantingtouseaMacyetrequiredtouseaPC.Followus GetAppPicks,Guides,&MoreGetworkflowtips,apprecommendations,how-toguides,stories,andmoredeliveredtoyourinbox.Pluswe'llsendyouourproductivityguideforfree!Guides&CoursesNEW:ToObsidianandBeyondOrganizeyournotesandideastomakecreativeoutputeasywithObsidian.Forbeginnersandprosalike.»FullCourseListServing14,000customerssince2013,wehavealibraryfullofin-depthcoursestohelpyoubemoreproductive,creative,andfocused.Viewallcourses»BundleupandSaveSave45%($241discount)whenyougetalltenin-depthcoursestocompleteyourlibrary.»TheLatestPostsHowObsidian’sLivePreviewFeatureWorks(VIDEO)Obsidianversion13introducedaneweditorenginethatallowsWYSIWYG(WhatYouSeeIsWhatYouGet)texteditingcalledLivePreview.It'saprettybigupdate,andinthisvideo,wewalkyouthroughhowtosetitupandhowitworks.»DevelopingaFitnessHabitwiththePelotonAppItwasJanuary2020.IhittheNewYearwithambition.Iwantedtoreadmore,writemore,andmostimportantly,exercisemore.Wehadadustyoldexercisebikeadoptedfromafamilymemberinthecornerofthebasement.Ithadn’tbeenusedinyears.»DoingaDigitalDeclutterThisisyourannualremindertoreevaluatethetechnologiesyouuseonadailybasis.»JoshGinter’s2022MacBookProAccountingSetup,WritingYourOwnPopClipExtensionSnippets,andMoreCatchuponwhatwepublishedthisweek,includingalookatJosh'snewM1-basedportableaccountingsetup,aniftyPopClipextension,someinterestinglinks,andmore.»QuickTip:WritingYourOwnPopClipExtensionSnippetsPopClipisatextutilitythatI'velearnedtorelyonwhenworkingfrommyMac.ItgivesyouaniOS-stylebaraboveanytextthatyouselect,allowingyoutoinstantlysendittoanotherappusingover200availableextensions.UsingPopClip,youcanquicklyaddto-dostoyourtaskmanager,eventstoyourcalendar,andawholelotmore.»