Yesterday I showed the program to someone who hasn't used it before. I wanted to start explaining, but then it all seemed to be too complex for her. All she needed was a simple Todo-list to quickly add her grocery list. This is what many people complain about when they first open the app - too complex and not intuitive to use. Once they get used to it, they often admit that 'it is thoughtful and feature-rich' (well, not all of them, but many do). But, not all of those who install it reach that mind-clearing point :)
And, the question is - what to do with it? Make the app more simple just like hundreds other todo/task lists out there? Or, keep the current shape, not without constant improvements, of course (of course!) and have the app for those who seek something more than a dumb list? The latter comes at price of less users using the app. Hard question.
I think you should work on simple interface. With keeping great functionality and different features.
ReplyDeleteNo don't change to todo/task list app there are too many. I think first read the book " 7 Habits of Highly Effective People " before use this app. If understand the purpose of the book this app is great tool. I give you 5 star and thank you because this app make me completed some goals.
ReplyDeleteI am a new user and I too struggle with the interface. It is not that I find too many options overwhelming, it is more that I feel a bit lost going from one screen to the next. Don't cut down on features for those who are already used to the app, but maybe hide some functionality for new users and guide them throught with tooltips. Writing user stories on how your app addressess users needs can be a good guideline for your design decisions. If you read up a bit on UX-design, you can definately improve the experience a lot for all users. I am actually studying that myself so let me know if you need some help. I will now read the 7 habbits again.
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteI couldn't figure out on my S5 how to start a new thread but this app is the bomb. I haven't had time to sit down & thoughtfully set it up and was wondering if there is a way I could do it via a desktop?
Please do not change this! I have just started to closely study this app and I fall in love more and more every day. I still have another todo-app for those simple lists, but I believe that more and more of my tasks transfer on this app over the time... What I also hope to get in the future is desktop usability.
ReplyDeleteIn no case, don't simplify your unique and amazing app. For me, as for who haven't yet read the book, it may seem too complex, but I think it is better to make some demo/video-introduction/instruction into all the features, maybe in the shape of some sort of introduction in main principles of the book. This is what I have been looking for a long time, please tell me how can I donate somemoney to you.
ReplyDeleteOne wish: russian language.
I think it is an advanced planning tool and it needs to be a bit complex to include all the features.
ReplyDeleteПоработайте над дизайном, а функционал вполне устраивает. Найти подобное приложение среди списка ТУ-ДУ невозможно.
ReplyDeletePlease continue in the current direction, don't simplify, enhance! you have a wonderful app.
ReplyDeleteI am new to your app and i still have problems using it, totally not user friendly for new user, but you know what? this is the only free app i can find on the market with all the major time management concept on it. I know it will take me weeks to understand how it work, but i also know it will really improve my time management. So be it, if your aim is to develop an app with real features, don't think about getting all people approval at the first time. Facebook & Taobao did not success at the first stage.
ReplyDeleteBTW, usually i am a free rider and never give comment, your app is damn good to make me type so many words.
But a real instruction is really needed, i don't know when to start at all at the first time... May be a YouTube video is even better... please let me know if you make one...
Never give up!! ^^
I agree that there's a learning curve and a lack of user friendliness. However, I do believe those issues can be solved relatively easily. Here are my pointers for development.
ReplyDelete1: Remove the buttons that are in the menu from the main page. You don't need those duplicate items, and they clutter things up.
2: Don't force people to use your structure. Most task lists are hierarchical, so stick with that but allow more flexibility. For example, a mission is a main task with subtasks. A goal may be a subtask to a mission but definitely has subtasks itself. A task can be broken down into subtasks and that is good for people to learn to do. Roles are also major tasks. Instead of "Role: Husband" you can have a major task saved as "Be a good husband" with an unset timeframe. Therefore, remove the complex structure and just have hierarchy. This will also allow you to generate statistics based on individual areas.
3: Some tasks need to be under multiple major tasks, so allowing references would help (basically an actual hierarchical location and then every other location is just linked to it. Tasks inherit properties from what's above them hierarchically, if they have nothing set for that property themselves. This would also help with repeats, as a repeat event can have sub-events that modify individual occurrences of itself and record what happened at that event.
4: The pomodoro. It's reference-less and set to a default that can be changed in settings. This is unrealistic and not so useful. Instead, replace that with a start button on each task and individual task durations and due times. If there's a duration and a due time, task turns red when due time minus duration is approached without clicking start. When you click start, a countdown bar and numbers appear. Alarms can be set for end of duration, or any point really, such as 5 minutes before duration end. Make several types of alarms, by allowing each part of it to be turned off. Let people set their own defaults. That plus inheritance will allow you to put their default settings for a task as main branch in the hierarchy, from a database perspective, which simplifies how to code this as you'd be reusing code.
5: Make a task management widget, with just a list, the ability to change views, and the per-task time bar when a task has been started. Let people sort it as they wish.
6: Allow people to set how they want to answer alerts. Sometimes all you need is to set a task to completed. Sometimes you need more than that. Allowing custom answers would be helpful.
7: This goes with custom answers. Make it so one task can depend on the completion of previous task answers. Also implement if/else, switch/case, and for loops. No todo system has that, and yet people deal with that often in life.
I've been looking for an app I can help develop. If you're interested in some of these suggestions, perhaps I could be of some assistance, if you need help with development.
I second your sugestions. Also, i would want to donate
DeleteI forgot to mention this one. Sometimes you need to do a task again, but it doesn't make sense to repeat it. Sometimes you need to do a task again that has subtasks, but you only want some of the subtasks added in. For this, you should be able to select what task to do again from the past, as you type it in, like suggestions. Have a symbol next to the item if it has subtasks. If you select "Go to the Grocery Store" then the next page should let you check which subtasks (items) you want to repeat from the list of items you've previously bought. This will cut down on typing things out, as people tend to buy the same things repeatedly. This will also allow the task to be linked to the previous one, for statistic tracking.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that in the area of productivity apps, everyone has their own needs and own ways of doing things. If you focus on one way of doing things your app is only useful to some people some of the time, rather than being adaptable to a wide range of needs. If you implement features in versatile ways so people can manage themselves their way, then you're more likely to bring people in and get them hooked. Not everyone will use every feature, but like a grocery store, no one needs everything in stock, but everything is bought by someone.
ReplyDeleteSadan, you are wrong, rigth? There are some good grocery list, to-do list, calendar and habit apps. But some of us need good GTD app, not a grocery store.
ReplyDeleteExactly what of my suggestions would make this app unusable for GTD or even minorly harm its functionality as a GTD app?
DeletePlaying with app for more than an hour now. I`ve got lost about adding goals so I started browsing this web page hoping to find user manual or screens.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit that app is a little bit complex, but regarding what is it supposed to do it has to be.
And if I focused more on "Help" inside app I could solve all my issues within 25 minutes :)
Regarding your question - app is great as it is, I have been looking around for some time to find something "great" to help me on my way to change my every day habits and boost my productivity. Simple "grocery list" won`t do, I tried :)
I cant explain why but design gives me feeling more of desktop application than mobile.
You can experiment a little bit with the design:
- switch between main screens by sliding
- dont put everything on one screen - consider putting more options in menu
- add dark theme
- round clock for pomodoro activated by icon next to the bell, plus option to keep the device screen on
- statistics in form of charts - can be placed in menu
1. Great app. Thanks
ReplyDelete2. The app is not a simple todo list by definition so it's ok that your friend did find it useful in the beginning. You can't make everybody happy.
3. Pomodoru or whatever that thing called - what the hell is that and what it does on my app front page?? You got the point :)
4. If I were you I would try to improve the interface in the usability aspect (I think the UX is great). You could try do some crowd wisdom here to gather ideas and future directions.
Good Luck
What I am really really missing is the sync with a website like all similar apps have. Any plans for this?
ReplyDeleteThank you all for the replies! I highly appreciate all the feedback and suggestions. At the moment, I have a lot of personal things appeared in life that needs dealing with, so can't answer all the points, but we do carefully read each of them and take them into account. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI love the tension this product creates. Anyone who was a true steward of the Covey planner can stumble their way to productivity here. It follows the thought process. In some ways we over simplify life and don't force ourselves into the habits of being effective. So simpler to do lists have appeal, just jot the ideas down and then accomplish them. And most are just like that.
DeleteMy effectiveness habits forces a structure, some thought into why.... as in if I want my actions to account for accomplishments I should associate them with goals. That takes more work. And thought. And complicates it too. But that's why we want and love this product. I think it appeals to the need to me productive and useful.. and may actions be intentional and meaningful and to stop doing things that don't contribute to my goals.
My major complaint about this product is the same I have for the Covey planner syatems. They stand alone. Life today with all its various technologies allows me to mate my work calendar and tasks with my personal lists and calendars to school and sport team calendars all in one nice view.
I wish that my effectiveness habits allowed me to use the construct of this program to plan, imposing that merged calendar into the background as I was planning, so that I could build reasonable plans being honest about the tyranny of the urgent that often I have little control over...
But this is hands down the best electronic replacement I have found related to the 7 habits ideology and I love it.
Isotimer tries something similar, and they integrate better with calendars and Google tasks, which makes updating more doable from multiple devises, but they don't do roles well. You can impose roles into goals, and make it work, but I like this products approach better.
Maybe I haven't found out how yet, but it would be nice to accociate goals to concerns or even influences. Then I can have a reality check on how many concerns or influences are really in play.
DeleteMaybe I haven't found out how yet, but it would be nice to accociate goals to concerns or even influences. Then I can have a reality check on how many concerns or influences are really in play.
Deletethis is my favorite and most helpful app so please dont follow the trend make a stand, this app is so unique! All please support this app..
ReplyDeleteIf you're leading a principle-centered life, the answer should become apparent. But ultimately, the answer is yours to make. (But if you still want my opinion, don't make it something you didn't intend it to be.)
ReplyDeleteI never viewed this as a simple task list app, or even a GTD app. Rather, it's a 4th-generation planning app to help implement the paradigm discussed in "7 Habits..."
I suport this way becouse this is only one useful aplication as user before me mention for 4th-generation planning. unfortunatly it is dificult to ide it if you didnt dead "7 Habits...".
ReplyDeleteI Also use two another aplications one for to do like shoping checklist and another for habits becouse of its easy of use and specialisation with progres grafs but i have tendency to my all privatere goals and tasks have here. Covey in his book do not think on shopinglist to put in his 4 quadrants...
Stick to your guns. We don't need another to do list app get the integration with Google tasks sorted and that would tick that box. Keep the interface as simple as possible (personal gripe I don't like the tasks flying in from the right as you scroll that has just appeared) but keep the functionality! If you want to reduce the barriers to entry produce prescriptive step by step guides/videos showing how to set up and start to use.
ReplyDeleteI think that the concept is great. I just think that it needs to be easier to navigate.
ReplyDeleteI would love to see a sort by due date function, even independent of the blocked off lists. Maybe a way to customize a widget view so you can see tasks by due date all in one list, but they're color coded by urgency/ importance.
Best app I've found on android for this purpose filled life I'm creating! check into "productivity wizard app" on iphone to see how you could streamline the effectiveness and user interface. A friend showed me that app on their iphone, and you are the best thing on android, so thanks!
ReplyDeletecan't wait to see what you decide to improve! keep it up!
Maybe you could do things like drop-down lists, for example under each role you have a specific set of goals and to reach each goal a specific set of tasks, and then mark each task with a color by priority. This might be more visually understandable for newbies.
ReplyDeleteAnd finally, could you please add a web/desktop version to view everything on the computer? That would be so awesome and would really complement the mobile version well! But that's on a whole different level I guess, maybe this can come later... Anyway, good job so far, good luck for the future, and above all, thanks!
I know I'm a little late to this conversation, but I liked this post!
ReplyDeleteI see lots of comments to keep the original purpose here, and I agree! The FTF and mission/roles/influence sections are what set this apart from the dime-a-dozen to-do-list-gtd-notes apps out there. PLEASE keep the current shape! That's what makes it awesome! (that and your obvious commitment to putting out a great and polished app).
That said, I do understand the concern; there's a bit of a start-up investment required to use the app that is a bit of a barrier-to-entry for new users.
That said, I think you can have the best of both worlds, you don't have to give up simplicity/new-users in order to keep the current shape/purpose. In fact, I think you have some existing features that could accommodate a new user easily with only some minor adjustments.
I have a couple thoughts about how to give the average user what they want, and then ease them into all the other features that make this app great.
1) If they come looking for a To-do list app, make the 'to-do list' features easy to find.
I think you already have this functionally partly created in the "quick add action" button on the First things first page.
You could add that to the left/slideout menu or something similarly prominent, and work on making adding quick actions easier. This would help ease the workflow for new users by catering to preconceived expectations, without sacrificing the 'complex' parts that make this app so great!
(continued...)
1a) How to please the to-do-lister: "I wanna input my list Now!"
DeleteQuick add seems to require or auto-add a rold/goal/quadrant. If you make those optional, or easily assigned later, this would help a lot. I'm not sure if it's defaulting to the last used goal, or the quadrant you happen to be in, or what, but it's a little hard to know what's going on with that quick action. Maybe that's as simple as making the 'quick add action' button take you to the full action editing page.
1b) The pavlovian reward: "I just input some to-do stuff, I wanna see my list."
when you exit/save the quick add action step, show them their list off stuff, maybe in the existing page, like FTF probably, or the weekly page if they set a date, maybe.
I think that'd do it to appease new users, cater to the fast pay-off:
'I wanna input some stuff, and I wanna see my list'
Perhaps a little ironically (i.e. contrary to expectations), the best way to convince people to use the best parts of the app might be to make them optional. Give them quick access to the features they already want, and then show them how the best features, the FTF, the mission/vision, and roles enhance what they're already doing. I know the ideal approach is to start with the mission, define roles, consider concerns vs. influence, etc, but perhaps a more democratic approach would be to help new users start using it now, and then allow them to start from both ends. The urgent/important need to enter things now can still accommodate the important-only need to classify what we're entering into the various quadrants, roles, etc. It would allow me to create my list, and then examine it: what's valuable or important, what's a quadrant 4 escape, or a q3 unimportant-urgency? It can be easier to go down the list after it's entered, and then assign the quadrants/roles, etc later.
It's a lot of work to input all your tasks into a new system; I think this concern used to manifest itself in the form of "I want a web interface" or "I want google tasks integration" that I remember from the blog a few years ago. Any way to make new actions or goals easier to enter would be very worthwile.
Anyway, just a few thoughts from a long-time user and fan. Thanks for all you're doing with this app, your efforts really show, and it's come a long way in the last couple years. :)
p.s. one afterthought, I'd love a #thisWeek filter (or a #SundayToSaturday, or even #MondayToFriday) on the FTF page... thx!
oh, wow. you already have this feature... that big '+' on the home page...
DeleteWell, that's half the battle... the other half is that I didn't know it was there. wow, silly me. That does come back to facilitating ease of use, though. I know some apps will put a tutorial/overlay onto a certain page of an app the first time you use it, that highlights key features. Highlighting that button might be a good idea.
I still think it'd be nice to be able to choose the quadrant while editing the Action item, since currently I have to save it, then re-open it an change it.
Also, setting the action item to default to 'goal not set' might be nice, just to save a step, if you don't want to define it yet.
I know that brings it's own set of problems, though. Without a goal set, the action becomes hard to find again. If there was a catch-all for actions without goals, that could help, make then easy to find, like a Role:'undefined' section on the roles page or maybe a goal:'undefined' list somewhere or something. I see no-goal actions on the FTF page, but nowhere else.
I also think it'd still be good to make sure the user can see where the newly added action item went somehow, like having the save button take you to the FTF page where the new action is displayed or something.
(and in my defense, the 'Quick add action' button on the FTF page doesn't work as well as the + on the Home page.)
James, thanks a lot for the suggestions, we think we got your point and agree on it, and will try to work in that direction!
DeleteIt's unique! Please do not simplify all these great features, otherwise make it even more functional! Think about simplifying interface and user flow only, make it more intuitive.
ReplyDeleteI just put a nice long comment and when I selected to preview it got lost!! Extremely frustrating!
ReplyDeleteHere or in the app?
DeleteJust keep it as it is. Honestly if they want a simple one there are tons more out there and probably ones that are already native to their phones. But this is a one of a kind app. I just got it and have been reading your blogs on how to use it. I think one thing that would make it easier for people to understand would make a "tips" pop out thingy on every action that they can turn on and turn off whenever they feel lost. Or if that's too pricey for development, an online manual on your website would be already very helpful.
ReplyDeleteJust to let you know how great your app and how unique it is, I have been sticking with it and have been researching how to maximize it's use.
Cheers and more success to you.
In 7 habits, I don't remember being limited to actions tied to goals. I thought you could associate actions to rolls. And I liked that.
ReplyDeleteBut maybe that's to undisciplined and goal setting I'd not horrible. But it's harder to add a goal under role of husband that says be more thoughtful the add action of buy flowers.... than using that old compass card and adding simply buy flowers.
For Mr buying flowers is the achievement. Being thoughtful is a life goal and never fully accomplished.
In 7 habits, I don't remember being limited to actions tied to goals. I thought you could associate actions to rolls. And I liked that.
ReplyDeleteBut maybe that's to undisciplined and goal setting I'd not horrible. But it's harder to add a goal under role of husband that says be more thoughtful the add action of buy flowers.... than using that old compass card and adding simply buy flowers.
For Mr buying flowers is the achievement. Being thoughtful is a life goal and never fully accomplished.
I'm not an user yet. Downloaded and installed it, but it seemed both promising and overwhelming at first sight. As a game developer myself, I would suggest you keep the app the same, just add a tutorial layer on top of it. This would (optionally and easily skipable) guide the user step by step on a first run of the app, so he knows where to start, and where to clic in order to setup the first tasks, goals, etc. I will anyway try to find my away though the app, it just would take some effort and ideally you'd want this initial friction being easy out for future users.
ReplyDelete