From the time I knew that one could get things done using just an application, I’ve been jumping around testing each and every app that I can lay my hands on. So far, all the apps I’ve tried have had unique styles of presenting and managing your tasks. Here are two of the most popular apps out there, which are almost too similar in design.

Things

This app needs no introduction. We’ve covered Things from Cultured Code extensively on SA, and I can honestly say this is my personal favourite. It features a simple uncluttered user interface, that allows you to manage tasks into Projects and Areas of responsibility.

The Inbox, Today and Next views allow you to quickly organise and go through tasks. Things is driven by tags, search, and can quickly create new tasks without having the full window in focus. You can add tasks using the quick entry, or just drop in files from Mail or Finder.

With a splendid iPhone app to sync with, Things for Mac and iPhone bring you the complete package. At $50 for the desktop, and $10 for the iPhone, I couldn’t recommend Things more. I won’t of course take up much space here for Things; you can read our full review of the Things ecosystem instead.

The Hit List

While everyone was wow’ing around about Things, Potion Factory was working on their own GTD app that really stands apart in a crowded space. We’ve seen a huge reaction from users that The Hit List is merely a clone of Things, and yes, if you just look at a bunch of screenshots or play around with it for a few minutes it will feel very much like Things. But is it? With my journalistic integrity on the table here, definitely no.

The moment you start up THL, you’re greeted with a create database screen. While some might not consider this as important, or think that the app should create this on their own, it’s a way of letting the average user know where exactly their tasks are stored, and should they want to move them around, it’s all in one file. Another aspect of this, is that you can manage multiple databases; just double-click a file in Finder to load it up.

The user interface.

It’s beautiful. Potion Factory has really worked on making the user interface look juicy while not having it turn into some flashy mess. And there’s something about that Helvetica Neue font they’ve used that really stands out. I love that font.

On the surface, this looks pretty much like Things. You have the sidebar which includes the Inbox, Today, Upcoming, and the projects down below. What really differentiates THL however, is the tabs at the top, and the context sensitive bar at the bottom. The tabs allow you to focus on specific task groups, while still having access to everything in the sidebar. It’s not complicated, and very well implemented.

The cute little timer window, for when you’re focussing on a task

Shortcut your way

While most of the GTD apps have a way to create and manage tasks using shortcuts, THL really brings that to the forefront. For one, the shortcuts are much easier to hit than the other apps. New task involves hitting the return key instead of the Cmd+N in other apps. Others are really short like ‘T’ for Today, and adding tags involves adding an @ or a ‘/‘ before your tag.

The context sensitive bar at the bottom also gets you using these shortcuts more often, as along with the buttons that do these tasks, is a shortcut indicator. It may sound like it’s superficial, but it really helps in using those shortcuts. After all, why would you click on the “file” button, when you can quickly hit F, which it clearly displays.

One more feature I found interesting, was THL’s ability to understand natural language dates. You could type “28th June” or ’28/6’ or ’28 jun’ and they all convert to the proper date. Same goes for the estimated hours required to complete a task.

Weighing it against Things

As a Things user, I had no problems moving to using THL for the three weeks that I gave it. However, there are some areas in which Things is more refined (remember, THL is still beta), which it will hopefully address in the future.

For one, it doesn’t have an iPhone version yet, which is a huge hindrance. Second, you can’t merely drag files, email addresses, or hyperlinks into a task. You have to go into the “card” mode to add files and such to a task. With Things, I use the quick entry window to create a new task and then drag in a relevant email from Mail, or a file from Finder, to link that up to my task. But, THL takes this to the next level. If I want to attend to a file, all I need to do is drag it into the window, the Quick Entry, or even the THL icon in the dock. A new “Look at xyz.jpg” task is created, along with the file linked to it. If I drag in a link from Mail, it will instead create a “Handle Email TheSubject”. This again allows for a much quicker task entry.

One important feature I find missing in THL, is ‘Areas of Responsibilities’ that Things is famous for. It’s a great way to create a sort of infinite project. THL however, fuses both those concepts together into one single concept of Lists. You can using a simple check box set it to clear archived tasks, or keep them for some time to come. You also get to create Smart Folders, which is another thing Cultured Code forgot about.

Another score by THL is that it allows you to add multiple tasks using the quick entry. This really helps if you’re adding a bunch of new tasks to the same project.

On a final note

The Hit List is a really great app, and save for one big shortcoming, which is the lack of iPhone access. To compare this with Things, I’d say THL is more for the semi-pro who’s always looking to find quicker ways to do tasks, while Things is more for the home user or someone who prefers to mouse their way through tasks.

Many of you have already got this app from the MacHeist bundle, while others are still holding out for when it finally gets out of beta. If you buy a license while it’s in beta, you’ll save a few bucks on the final price. You can hold back on your decision to purchase it right now however, since the beta doesn’t have a trial limit.

Like I said, there’s a whole bunch of GTD apps for the Mac, catering to different styles of usage. Stay tuned for part 2.