Top 3 Task Management Websites

Now that everyone is heading back to school and heaping more onto their plates, it's a great time to talk about ways we can leverage the internet to keep our task lists in order. Gone are the days of carrying a large Franklin Covey planner. I'm a graduate student with a full-time job and a family, so having a task list has proved invaluable to keeping me organized.With an Android mobile phone and constant access to the internet, I found that having a paper planner was cumbersome and inefficient.

There are multitudes of task list applications out there, both downloadable programs and ones you are able to use on the internet. This post will focus on those that you can use exclusively on the internet from any PC. As always, I have narrowed down these applications to the top 3 that I have found most useful.

1. Remember The Milk

Remember The Milk

Remember the Milk is one of the most powerful task management applications that are available for use on the internet. They have both "free" and "pro" user plans available, but the free option has a multitude of options that are easy to use. I would only consider purchasing a "pro" package for $25/year if a) the software is easy to use and we should always support good developers or b) you want to sync your list with your Blackberry, Smartphone, or Android mobile phone. Without a "pro" plan, you can still view your tasks on your mobile phone by visiting their mobile-optimized website, but it is more cumbersome to use than having them sync directly to your mobile.

Lists can be made based on category; for example, you can have a "work" list and a "home" list, with the ability to add notes and due dates within the task. You can also add tasks to your list in a variety of different ways - through an instant messaging client, Twitter, or by sending an email to yourself. Their "Getting Started Guide" will walk you through everything you need to get started.

2. Ta-da Lists 

Ta-Da List

If Remember the Milk has too many bells and whistles for your liking, there is Ta-da List. Make a simple packing list, a simple to-do list, or a list of any kind and the items can be crossed off when you are finished with them. They were voted one of the hottest apps by U.S. Today and come from the reputable company who invented Basecamp, the online project management collaboration tool. The nicest part about this web-based task manager is that it's dead-simple and is a great gateway site for moving from pen and paper to an online format.

3. Zirr.us

Zirr.us

 

 

 

If you approach making a to-do list as sort of a braindump (much like the "mind like water" concept that David Allen is a proponent of in his book "Getting Things Done", now considered a classic in time management literature), then this site may be a wonderful solution for you. Although it lacks the syncing capabilities of Remember the Milk and the dead simplicity of Ta-Da List, Zirr.us is perfect for those of us who are more visually oriented. Tasks that have higher priorities are larger, and each can be tagged so you can view them in groups. They also have a getting started video for new users.

I hope you found this post helpful!

Angie