• On last.fm: Visual radio - New on Last.fm!
August 25, 2008 3:18 PM PDT

Toodledo helps manage your life in bite-size pieces

by Josh Lowensohn

Earlier Monday one of my colleagues from Gamespot spent most of lunch gushing to me about his new favorite GTD tool. Called Toodledo, it's diminutive name does not do its to-do list prowess justice--this is one of the most deep and full-featured offerings on the market. It's also one of the easiest to get into, especially if you're using other Web services like Google Calendar, Twitter, and Jott.

At its heart Toodledo is a task organizer, so two of the most important aspects should be entering in the data as well as being able to access it from all over the place. Luckily it does a great job on both counts. You can plug into your task list from all sorts of places including mobile phones, start pages like Netvibes and MyYahoo, Twitter, and on various widget engines like OS X's Dashboard and Vista's Sidebar. In any case the interface is pretty familiar: just a simple rundown of what you have to do and some empty boxes to check off whatever you've dealt with.

ToodleDo's iPhone Web app is pretty and lets you add items while offline. (click to enlarge)

(Credit: CNET Networks)

Two of Toodledo's most handy input methods are actually outside of its core Web service. Using speech-to-text service Jott you can simply call in and leave a to-do item. It will convert your call into one or more to-do items while managing to pull out any dates and times. Having used this with ReQall's iPhone application (coverage) it's just plain handy, albeit a minute killer if you're on a tight cellular plan.

The other method I like is the Firefox extension that lets you create and manage list items without having to use a separate application, or you keeping the site open in another tab. It also includes a contextual menu shortcut, so say you get an e-mail from a friend about their favorite wine, you can simply highlight the name, and right click to send it to your to-buy list. You can also do this with entire chunks of text and it will simply pull the dates and add the entire clipboard into the notes section of that item.

Also of note is the iPhone Web app, which made waves for being one of the first to-do lists to get optimization for Safari mobile. What makes it cool is that you can enter items even while you're away from a data connection, as long as you've got the entire page loaded. This isn't as good of a solution as a native application--something that could give you reminders, notifications, and be accessible offline, but it's still quite handy as its own management system.

Toodledo has far more features than you're bound to use. Those looking for more, including a file storage system for group to-do collaboration, as well as an analytics system that crunches through your task history to find trends, can be had with two premium plans that run $15 and $30 a year respectively. You can see a full breakdown of what's included and what's not, along with what the competitors have to offer on this page.

Related: Shifd reimagines the desktop Post-It note

Manage all your to-do list items in one place, or many with Toodledo, one of the most full featured to-do list tools we've run across. (click to enlarge)

(Credit: CNET Networks)
Josh Lowensohn is an associate editor for Webware.com, CNET's blog about cool and otherwise useful Web applications and services. If you've found a site you'd like profiled, shoot him an e-mail. E-mail Josh.
Recent posts from Webware
URL shortening is hot--but look before you leap
Marc Andreessen launches new venture fund
4chan may be behind attack on Twitter
Firefox 3.5 and the potential of Web typography
Sites that help you lodge complaints
Google App Engine misfires
Microsoft: Bing needs to improve when news breaks
Google finally sued by makers of Finally Fast
Add a Comment (Log in or register) (5 Comments)
  • prev
  • 1
  • next
by karmann8888 August 25, 2008 4:17 PM PDT
I've been using Toodledo for a little while now. I've tried them all previously. I really love Toodledo, especially its time tracking feature....it becomes my timesheet.
Reply to this comment
by randycoder August 25, 2008 5:32 PM PDT
The best way to access Toodledo from your iPhone is using TODO by Appigo (http://www.appigo.com/todo/index.html). Seamless synchronization. Very nice.
Reply to this comment
by AzizMusa August 26, 2008 12:36 AM PDT
I do love it, but what bothers me most is the Americanisation of Web 2.0 sites. Now I know that its the largest market, but for growth purposes I'd love to see a UK version of this and jott.com

http://business-vs-technology.blogspot.com/
Reply to this comment
by dangtd September 16, 2008 1:59 AM PDT
I use http://www.Gtdagenda.com
Reply to this comment
by michaelnozbe June 26, 2009 8:50 AM PDT
Did you try the Nozbe iPhone app that syncs with the Nozbe.com GTD web app?

http://www.Nozbe.com

it's similar to Toodledo but easier to use and has team and business plans to get stuff done in companies and teams. The new version 2.0 is coming up in next month (July 2009)
Reply to this comment
(5 Comments)
  • prev
  • 1
  • next
advertisement

About Webware

Say No to boxed software! The future of applications is online delivery and access. Software is passé. Webware is the new way to get things done.

Add this feed to your online news reader

Webware topics

Making sense of Windows 7 upgrades

faq The basics and the fine print on Microsoft's options for those eyeing the next operating system from Redmond.
• Full Windows 7 coverage

Road Trip 2009: Big Sky Country

CNET News reporter Daniel Terdiman takes his car full of gadgets to the Rockies and the Great Plains in search of tech, science, nature, and more.
• America's Fortress: Cheyenne Mountain

advertisement

Inside CNET News

Scroll Left Scroll Right