Nirvana vs Toodledo ... a few questions
Hi forum,
I've had a beta account here for some time but still run my GTD
system in Toodledo. Nirvana beats the pants off Toodledo in many
ways, such as UI and Project handling but I've stayed with Toodledo
because:
1. Native iOS app support (I use Appigo Todo)
2. Due time field with reminders (e.g. SMS, Twitter, Email)
3. Repeating tasks
4. Saved searches
5. Import/Export/Backup
From a quick scan of the forum it appears that an iOS app is in the works which is great news. Can someone let me know if any of the others will be implemented in Nirvana (e.g. especially #2 and #3)?
Thanks!
2 Posted by PeterW on 29 Jan, 2012 01:42 AM
Sorry... one more thing I've just remembered:
6. International date format - I need dd/mm/yy.
3 Posted by Phil on 29 Jan, 2012 04:29 AM
I believe your number 3 is already available in Nirvana.
4 Posted by Folke on 29 Jan, 2012 08:57 AM
As to number 4, you may possibly find, as I did, that the need for smart lists aka saved searches is not nearly as great in Nirvana as in Toodledo (or RTM for that matter) due to the fact that Nirvana has a sane list structure (Next, Waiting, Scheduled etc) and manual sorting (e.g. based on your overall priority assessment) built in out-of-the-box. Outside of that I find that I can fill most of my remaining needs with the simple filters already built in. I am not saying smart lists would not be nice to have, but you might wish to reconsider whether they really need to be a showstopper. In Toodledo and RTM you basically cannot live without them, because those apps are more the "task database toolkit" kind where you build your own system from the ground up, whereas Nirvana, on the other hand, is tailored specifically for GTD, ready to use.
5 Posted by Phil on 29 Jan, 2012 04:47 PM
Also, regarding your number 2, due tasks are automatically moved to the focus list on the day that they are due. You can then set up Nirvana to send you an email every morning that lists your focus list. So in this way, you can be reminded of due tasks via email. There is no capability to be reminded by twitter or text message.
6 Posted by Proximo on 30 Jan, 2012 07:29 PM
PeterW
I am not with the Nirvana staff, but I think most of the features you listed are either already implemented (#3), are not required as much (#4) or are in the works.
I found that Nirvana is far more productive for me to use than Toodledo in it's current state. Missing all of these features were not show stoppers for me because I found that Toodledo required me to constantly invent a new way of getting what I wanted and Nirvana was simple enough for me to start focusing on actually getting things done.
I am the same Proximo from Toodledo. I was one of the GTD users on the Toodledo Forums that was trying so hard to make the app work for the needs of GTD. I wasted so much time tweaking Toodledo that I found Nirvana to be more productive although it has many features that are still missing but in the works.
When I think of Toodledo, It think about "A Jack of all trades but a Master of none"
If you are trying to put GTD into practice, Nirvana is a far better choice even today. This is just my opinion but I also have great results to back up my thinking. :-)
If you are not ready to let go of that ball and chain called Toodledo. Just keep your eyes open for the features coming to Nirvana. You will eventually have what you need to make the switch full time.
7 Posted by PeterW on 31 Jan, 2012 11:20 PM
Thanks for the replies.
@Phil - regarding #2, you don't find that an issue? I really like having my iPhone popup a reminder at the appropriate time. Do you know if a 'due time' field is something under consideration or is it not an issue for anyone? I would have expected reminders to be important for a lot of users, especially when the iPhone app is released.
@Folke - thanks re #4, that makes sense so I think that I can cross that one off my list.
@Proximo - thanks. I have been using Toodledo for about 2½ years so am very familiar & comfortable with it which does cause some inertia for me to move to something else. That said, the project handling is abysmal and not likely to change any time soon because as you say, it's a 'jack of all trades' tool so development progress is often in areas that I don't need which is frustrating.
Looking forward to seeing the iPhone app!
8 Posted by Phil on 31 Jan, 2012 11:54 PM
@PeterW - I did read on here a little while back that they are considering putting in a due time field, but I don't know what the timeline for developing that is.
I understand that different users have different needs, so I can only speak about my own personal experience. But the lack of a due time really hasn't been an issue for me. I find that it is rare that I need to be reminded of a task at such a specific time. For the few times that I do need this specific reminding, I use an iPhone app called NotifyMe that is really great and nice looking to boot (http://notifymecloud.com/). They have iPhone, iPad, Mac, and web apps. I prefer them over iOS reminders because NotifyMe allows for very precise autosnooze settings.
Support Staff 9 Posted by David McLaughlin on 01 Feb, 2012 12:05 AM
Let's see - here's my take.
1) iOS app - we just announced signup for the Beta test of the native app a few minutes ago :-)
2) Time fields are coming, Reminders - aka Alerts - are on the list for within the app itself, although notification through SMS.Twitter.Email seems a bit redundant - if you have access to those, there seems little reason why you wouldn't have access to the app notification itself. But I'm sure we'll review those options a bit further down the road.
3) already exists.
4) not yet, but a high priority for us (and will be a bit more robust than simply a saved search in the end - but probably start out as just that [aka smart lists] )
5) We have exports (.csv, JSON, XML) that can be used for backup. A more 'refined' export with selectable criteria is on the list - fairly high up. Import, not yet, but on the list a bit further down.
Hope that helps.
David
10 Posted by PeterW on 01 Feb, 2012 12:19 AM
@Phil - thanks! Will check that app out.
@David - fantastic news. Thanks. You're correct about redundant notifications - in my current config I am getting more than one which isn't necessary although it helps get my attention.
There was one other thing I was really hoping for - international date formats. Where I live the date format is dd/mm/yy so the default US format of mm/dd/yy is problematic. While some dates are easy to understand like 01/31/12, others can be very deceiving, e.g. 01/02/12.
11 Posted by Aristotle Rivera on 01 Feb, 2012 05:38 AM
please sign me up for the beta release of the iphone app
arisrivera AT gmail DOT com
12 Posted by Don on 02 Feb, 2012 10:01 PM
@David: Yea for the iOS app! I have sent in my request to join the beta.
Support Staff 13 Posted by David McLaughlin on 03 Feb, 2012 04:31 PM
@PeterW - Yes, the date formats are on the list, but we had them sort of lumped in with either the 'time of day' changes or the full multi-lingual implementation.
Living in Mexico, having worked in Canada, and raised in the EUA (Estados Unidos de América for the uncultured :-) - I know what a pain it is to work with an unfamiliar date format.
I'm getting real good now though by checking the 'fresh' dates on the groceries.
David
14 Posted by PeterW on 04 Feb, 2012 04:01 AM
Thanks David. I'm looking forward to being able to move my live system over to Nirvana one day soon.
15 Posted by allendean on 09 Mar, 2012 01:38 AM
I'm also a switcher from Toodledo (used it for a few months), after being a switcher from ThinkingRock (used that for a few years).
I'm just so happy to be using Nirvana, and relieved to perhaps be moving off Toodledo. I agree with Proximo: making Toodledo work with GTD just wasn't worth it. I logged into Nirvana, saw the projects list, and smiled.
I'm still learning the ins and outs of Nirvana (such as repeating tasks, which I thought weren't available until I read this post and started searching for where they were), and I'm doing double data entry on tasks for a bit to make sure I'm fully functional with Nirvana, but I think I'll get there very soon.
And why did I leave ThinkingRock? I think it really is the purest app for the GTD process (for example, you have to process things one at a time, and it's first in, first out), but I think it's falling behind in the UI and mobile side. I also found the Android app DGT, which is so nice it got me to switch to toodledo (which it syncs with).
So, a bit of a ramble and an introduction. Thanks for all the great posts from many of you on this thread. I hope to be a contributor as well as I get up to speed.
Cheers, Allen