Keep on top of your tasks

17 October 2019

There's a sea of different solutions and software out there that aim to make your life easier, both when it comes to working with others and, not least, keeping track of your daily tasks at home and at work. We've taken a closer look at solutions that are free, offer collaboration and have a built-in timer, and of course at how efficient and user-friendly each one is. Finally, we'll pick out our personal favourites and the tool we use privately and as part of our small design team (both internally and with clients/partners).

In no particular order:

Any.Do: One of the most beautiful and consistently designed task solutions out there. Supports both teams and individuals. Definitely worth checking out. It's free to start with and offers a premium version for $5.99 a month.

Asana was one of the very first solutions we used across agencies. It has a large core of users and is often used by marketing, sales and HR staff. Project managers also like its interface and features such as milestones, and developers appreciate how easy it is to keep track of "bugs". It starts with a free plan and goes all the way up to business and enterprise, which cost about $25 per user per month.

Ora.PM was the tool we started the year with. It has an incredibly user-friendly interface, built-in time tracking and is very easy to get started with. Since it's fairly new, they have great deals on premium accounts, but the downside is that it still doesn't have a dedicated app for Android or iOS. Which makes it a bit tricky to use "on the road".

Todoist counts as an "old-timer". As of today it doesn't support the kanban method, but relies on the task method (bullet points). It's very clear, supports all platforms and has both a free and a premium version. Premium costs 3 euros a month.

Milanote. A fantastic tool. It's as if Pinterest and a task tool had a baby. This is one of our favourites, which we use in our small team and with clients. Here we can make "stylescapes" (mood boards), collect ideas, take notes, comment and send secret links to clients when we have new and updated proposals to present. There's a free plan that lets you have a certain number of "boards" and ideas. Unlimited storage and content costs about USD 10 a month.

Basecamp. This tool counts as one of the oldest and was used by advertising agencies and production companies (back in the day). It lets you do pretty much everything related to large projects (collecting notes, quotes, communication with clients and more). The business price tag is among the highest, at a whole USD 99 a month. This tool is so extensive that it needs an organisation with lots of people and projects of some size. It often takes time to create new projects and "get started", as there are almost overwhelmingly many options.

ClickUp. "One app to replace them all". This is the last tool we tried before we went back to our favourite (see below). An incredibly powerful project management tool with solid integrations. Far clearer and more modern, if you compare it with BaseCamp. ClickUp adds new features "all the time", and their pricing model is pretty smart. It lets you suggest a price you're willing to pay, and then the negotiation can begin, where you might meet halfway. Also a solution that felt a bit overwhelming, as it has so many options and configurations.

Notion. "The new kid on the block". Not a traditional GTD (getting things done) solution. The idea here is that you build your own interface. You get an almost "wiki" feel, with resources, notes, files, calendar and simple lists. Tasks and knowledge base in one and the same program/solution. Available as a free and premium model. ($0, $4, $8 and $20 per month, per user)

Trello. This is probably one of the most popular kanban-based tools of them all. It feels like it's been around forever, and every solution claims to be "The Trello replacement". The nice thing about Trello is that if you're missing a feature or integration, there are hundreds of so-called power-ups available. Chances are you know someone who uses Trello both privately and at work. The biggest downside is that its interface feels a bit sluggish and dated. Available as a free and premium model.

Meistertask. Dear Meistertask. It's you we're coming back to. You're designed with German precision and elegance. And why do we love you so much? Because it's so incredibly easy to create lists and tasks, assign tasks, collaborate, upload files and start the time tracker. Feature-wise it's no better than any of the ones mentioned, but it's so quick to get started and so visually "pleasing to the eye" that it's a joy to use. If we're going to mark it down for anything, it's that the business version (not pro, they have that too) is a bit pricey (about NOK 2,500 a year per user). But there's a free version that lets you really get to know it. And you can import projects from Asana, Trello and more. And with the Slack integration, you can send or receive status updates straight into your channel without going through either email or Meistertask. Our former favourite (which was also German), which we both outgrew and which was eventually bought, and later scrapped, by Microsoft, was called Wünderlist.

Those were some of the tools we've tried over the last 10+ years. But we can also mention Things (Mac and iOS only) from Culture Code, which is highly rated among creatives who want a dead simple, beautiful tool.

Wondering what we use privately? Both Google Tasks and Google Keep get plenty of use (when you want to quickly snap a photo of a receipt, write a shopping list and so on). In other words, small apps and solutions that don't need a full project management tool for most everyday notes.