Omnifocus vs Toodledo?
 

I am a college student, and I am trying to figure out the best system for me. I'm also a father, homeowner, and employee. I need something for my busy life.

I have been using Things for quite some time, and have been happy with it, until recently when I realized syncing is a huge disappointment.

In my search for what will work best, I have come across OmniFocus and Toodledo. I like the idea of Toodledo, and I currently own the iPhone and iPad apps for this system. I like the idea of syncing between my Macbook, my iPad, and my iPhone, as well as my Windows 7 computer, and any other computer I may be near via the web interface.

I realize I would be stuck with my Apple products with OmniFocus, but I was hoping someone could tell me why I would make the investment in the Omni Systems instead of the free (or $15 yearly) with toodledo, besides the fact the Omni looks prettier.

Thanks!

It's been a while since I looked at Toodledo, so if any of this is incorrect, please accept my apologies in advance. :-)

Off the top of my head, some advantages would be:[LIST][*]single-purchase vs. subscription payments [*]being able to keep all of your data on devices you control if privacy is important. (No third-party server required, in other words.)[*]all of OmniFocus' location-based features[*]the ability to create and save custom views of your database (perspectives)[*]Additional GTD support (the reviewing features, for example)[/LIST]
Other folks may have other ideas; hope this helps!

[QUOTE=Brian;83775]It's been a while since I looked at Toodledo, so if any of this is incorrect, please accept my apologies in advance. :-)

Off the top of my head, some advantages would be:[LIST][*]single-purchase vs. subscription payments [*]being able to keep all of your data on devices you control if privacy is important. (No third-party server required, in other words.)[*]all of OmniFocus' location-based features[*]the ability to create and save custom views of your database (perspectives)[*]Additional GTD support (the reviewing features, for example)[/LIST]
Other folks may have other ideas; hope this helps![/QUOTE]

Well, the purchase price of the omni suite is far beyond the $15/year I would spend on toodledo. That would take a long, long time to equal out.

I am not too terribly concerned with privacy at this point. I mean if someone steals my list, who cares what math homework I had to do...

Location based features ... Can't I just use contexts? Otherwise, school, home, not that big a deal to me.

Perspectives interests me. I'll have to look into it.

As far as GTD, I have read that toodledo is pretty up on those features. I still have yet to read up on that, but think I have a basic grasp.

For me, price is an issue, but I understand value. I mean if omni offers me something worthwhile I will spend the money. If not, the free features of toodledo seem to be working.

So let me ask you a few questions:

. What do you want to get out of the GTD system you decide to implement in your day to day?
. How important is net based access to your Tasks?
. How important is a thriving user base to you for feedback?
. How long have you been applying GTD by David Allen to get stuff done?
. If the perfect system was working for you right now, what would that look like and how would it make you feel?

I am just asking to help me understand what your overall needs are.

Thanks,
-policarpo | GTD2CYA

[QUOTE=ptizzl;83809]Location based features ... Can't I just use contexts? Otherwise, school, home, not that big a deal to me.[/QUOTE]

Brian was talking about location-aware contexts available on Omnifocus for the iOS devices (iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch). After you set up locations, you can launch Omnifocus and essentially ask "What can I do that's nearby" or "How far do I have to go to complete this task?"

[QUOTE=policarpo;83815]So let me ask you a few questions:

. What do you want to get out of the GTD system you decide to implement in your day to day?
. How important is net based access to your Tasks?
. How important is a thriving user base to you for feedback?
. How long have you been applying GTD by David Allen to get stuff done?
. If the perfect system was working for you right now, what would that look like and how would it make you feel?

I am just asking to help me understand what your overall needs are.

Thanks,
-policarpo | GTD2CYA[/QUOTE]

Those seem like great questions...
-I want to be able to use and understand my system. It needs to be very accessible. I want it to be one single system.
-Net based access when I think of it is more of a "want" than a "need" I mean I really will only be accessing it from my iPad, iPhone, and MacBook. But the idea of being able to access it anywhere is intriguing.
-I think a great user base is really important. Where else would I find the answers to these kinds of questions?
-I am just now starting to research the GTD systems instead of large lists of single items, and projects consisting of multiple items.
-The perfect system would make me feel more organized and calm. I have a fairly hectic schedule and This would relieve a large burden. One big thing for me would be notifications, which I don't see in omni. I would like something to beep at me and say,"submit files online" at a certain time. I also don't want to see things that can't be done now. For example, if I need to submit my paper online every Sunday, I don't want to see that on Saturday, and similarly, I would like an alert at say 1:00 telling me what to do...

Overall, to me, all of these systems seem so similar. Things was working well for me, but that was when I was using it primarily on my iPhone, and leaving my computer at home. I would walk in the door and sync it. Now I have all three devices with me most of the time, and want them to all stay in sync.

[QUOTE=ptizzl;83847]Those seem like great questions...
-I want to be able to use and understand my system. It needs to be very accessible. I want it to be one single system.
-Net based access when I think of it is more of a "want" than a "need" I mean I really will only be accessing it from my iPad, iPhone, and MacBook. But the idea of being able to access it anywhere is intriguing.
-I think a great user base is really important. Where else would I find the answers to these kinds of questions?
-I am just now starting to research the GTD systems instead of large lists of single items, and projects consisting of multiple items.
-The perfect system would make me feel more organized and calm. I have a fairly hectic schedule and This would relieve a large burden. One big thing for me would be notifications, which I don't see in omni. I would like something to beep at me and say,"submit files online" at a certain time. I also don't want to see things that can't be done now. For example, if I need to submit my paper online every Sunday, I don't want to see that on Saturday, and similarly, I would like an alert at say 1:00 telling me what to do...

Overall, to me, all of these systems seem so similar. Things was working well for me, but that was when I was using it primarily on my iPhone, and leaving my computer at home. I would walk in the door and sync it. Now I have all three devices with me most of the time, and want them to all stay in sync.[/QUOTE]

Omnifocus has great Growl integration on the Mac at least, so you can set it up to display a notification and play a sound when an event is due, overdue, or available.

And no program I've found makes it as easy to enter a start date as Omnifocus does. A repeating task with a start date of Sunday at 1:00 and a due date of say Sunday at 10:00 with Growl will do exactly what you asked: display a notification and a sound exactly when you need (or want) to do something.

[QUOTE=Taco John;83850]Omnifocus has great Growl integration on the Mac at least, so you can set it up to display a notification and play a sound when an event is due, overdue, or available.

And no program I've found makes it as easy to enter a start date as Omnifocus does. A repeating task with a start date of Sunday at 1:00 and a due date of say Sunday at 10:00 with Growl will do exactly what you asked: display a notification and a sound exactly when you need (or want) to do something.[/QUOTE]

This doesn't exist on the mobile versions though? An alert on my iPhone would probably be the biggest concern I have. Thanks for the fast reply.

I'm trying out the mac version of OmniFocus now, as well as the Pro version of ToodleDo. I'll let you know which I like better in a week or so :)

[QUOTE=ptizzl;83854]This doesn't exist on the mobile versions though? An alert on my iPhone would probably be the biggest concern I have. Thanks for the fast reply.[/QUOTE]

If you specify a Time and Date on the iPhone under iOS4 it will show up as a notification on the device. I have alarms firing daily to remind me to Feed and Bathe the baby at specific times. :)