This is the first in a series of articles reviewing the best GTD applications and summarizing their features, then selecting a winner to replace my current GTD application.

Years ago, a friend told me about the Getting Things Done (GTD) methodology.  I had expressed frustration with trying to juggle everything going on in my life (new job, planning a wedding, training for a marathon, etc.) and had just picked up Steven Covey‘s book, The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People.  I found the book to be interesting from a life management perspective, but it was too philosophical.  I needed something more granular.  My friend recommended that I read David Allen‘s book, Getting Things Done.  I knew by the time I had read the first couple of chapters that this time- and task-management methodology would change my life.  And it did.

In a nutshell, GTD is about storing, tracking and retrieving the information needed to get things done.  Nothing is stored in your memory where it can get lost; everything (task, project, idea, etc.) goes into your GTD system’s inbox.  At least weekly, you review your inbox and empty it out, by either completing a task (if it takes less than two minutes, just do it then), delegating it to someone, deferring it until later (either as a task in a project, a project itself, or by filing it away to store as reference), or discarding it.  Each of your project have a Next Action, which is the next logical step you must complete in order to keep the project moving toward completion.  Each task can be assigned a context where you would complete it (home, office, phone, etc.) so when you’re in that situation you can work on at least one next action from at least one project you need to get done.

The GTD system itself is a critical part of this process.  Maybe it’s a pen and paper.  Or a smartphone or laptop.  What’s important is that it is easy to put information into or you won’t use it.  There are undoubtedly still people who use paper lists as their GTD system.  Most people use a smart phone, perhaps because of the features an application can offer to help with the GTD process, or perhaps because it’s always with them in case they think of something they need to add to their inbox.

Before I get too far into what I’m looking for, let me tell you a bit about why I’m leaving my current system.  I’ve used TodoMatrix since 2006, and it was developed specifically for Blackberry OS.  In 2010, they expanded to include iOS.  At the same time, they were developing an Android application and a significant upgrade to their web interface, which was clunky to use and very dated in appearance.  Today in 2013, Android users are still waiting and most have given up and fled to other services.  I use a Mac increasingly for laptop access and I use a PC desktop both at work and in my home.  I still have a company Blackberry, but it’s entirely touchscreen and I hate using it.  Remember what I said earlier about a GTD system needing to be easy to use.  I carry an Android as a personal phone and love using it.  I needed a new system that had similar features to those offered by TodoMatrix and wanted one that spanned multiple platforms and devices.

Here are the primary features I was hoping to find in my new GTD system:

• Ability to put tasks into my inbox either directly to the app or via email, being able to quick add is a plus
• Ability to move tasks directly to projects from inbox with shortcut keys (as opposed to having to cut, browse, paste)
• Organization hierarchy must include Projects > Tasks > Contexts > Tags
• I wouldn’t mind having another higher level of organization above projects, either as drawers to file projects in, areas of focus, or nested project folders as these things would let me separate Work, Home and Personal projects
• Ability to assign tasks to delegates (this was done as free text or from a contact on TodoMatrix, which was nice)
• Use of standard GTD task statuses (Next Action, Waiting, Someday)
• Ability to set a deadline/due date
• Ability to set at least one reminder for the task (TodoMatrix allowed up to three reminders for the task and one for the delegate’s due date)
• Ability to create recurring tasks
• Ability to order tasks (preferably by drag and drop)
• Sync with Google Calendar is a nicety, but it’s not something I really need or even know for sure I would use
• Some sort of notification badge to let me know that I have tasks aging out
• Time- and context-based views so I can review all items due within three days, or all past due items, or all items with @phone context
• Search functionality to find tasks
• Multi-platform availability (Web, Windows, Mac, Android) that allows for both cloud storage and offline updates from app

Here are some things I don’t really care about:

• Price – I’m willing to pay good money for the right GTD system.  TodoMatrix was $50 (and $18/yr for web access), and it was the smartest money I ever spent.
• Subtasks for multistep actions – A lot of people in GTD forums ask developers to create subtasks.  If your task has to subtasks to complete it, you should have made two tasks to start with.

With this in mind, I planned to evaluate the following systems:

• Astrid and Producteev – Removed since Astrid has been closed by Yahoo! following acquisition
• Doit.im – Reviewed on 6/28/13
• Get It Done
• My Life Organized – Removed due to lack of platform support, limited ability to conform to GTD
• Nirvana – Reviewed on 9/1/13
• Nozbe
• OmniFocus – Removed due to lack of platform support, restored May 2015
• Producteev – Reviewed on 11/1/13
• TaskFabric
• Todo Pro
• ToodleDo – Reviewed on 2/15/14

I’ll post individual write-ups of the systems I used, along with a final summary of which one I chose and why.