I wrote about how I use Things 3 back when I was still working at RescueTime. It's now been more than four months since I left RescueTime to work full-time on Hello Code, so here's an update of how I use Things these days.
Things 3 Projects For Beginners
Capturing tasks
I mostly capture tasks directly into the area or project where they'll end up. Things encourages you to capture into the inbox and sort tasks later but I don't spend enough time with it for this approach to work for me. I don't remember to sort or review my tasks, so I need to capture all the detail and put them in their place from the start.
Never miss a task you need to do with Things 3. It is always easier if you can follow up smaller steps to achieve your project, this is exactly what Things 3 lets you do! It comes with really valuable features like reminders, quick finders, tags, drag-and-drop to-do lists, multiple windows and so much more!
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- Define yourself with areas. An Area is for grouping all of your projects and to-dos that support an ongoing ambition. There’s an area for every hat you wear. Stay in touch with the people you care about by creating a Family & Friends area. Remember to keep an eye on your savings for the future with a Money area. Encourage yourself to care for your body and mind by maintaining a Health area.
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Reminders and due dates
I love start dates, which aren't available in many task managers. I use start dates in Things to make tasks show up in the Today view when it's appropriate for me to start working on them, but before they're due (lots of my tasks don't have due dates anyway, so they just show up in the Today view until they're done, without ever being 'due'). For instance, I'll set my monthly goals to start on the first of the month and have a deadline for the last day of the month.
I use deadlines for anything time-sensitive, such as putting out the bins each week or sending my weekly newsletter on time. I have Things set to show a badge on its icon with the number of tasks due today. I hate badges and try to clear them as soon as possible (I also barely use them, so they're very meaningful because they're so rare). For this reason, I don't include tasks with a start date of today in the icon badge number. The badge is just for tasks that must be done today.
![Things Things](https://johnny.chadda.se/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/things3-weekly-review.png)
I use reminders for time-sensitive tasks because I don't look at Things throughout the day much. I can easily go days without looking at it at all, if there are no badges or reminders encouraging me to do so. I probably get 4-5 reminders from Things each week, mostly for repeating tasks like putting the bins out or making a manual weekly payment. Reminders are a step up from the icon badge, because they're harder to ignore.
Projects and Areas
Things 3 Projects Free
Here's how I've currently split up my work in Things:
I have an Area for each of the apps I work on, and I make a new project for each new version. When bugs are reported, I generally throw these into the project for the next version.
I also have a perpetual project called 'backlog' in both cases, where I dump all future plans and ideas until they get pulled into a new version project. My Backlog projects are set to be due 'Someday', which makes them stay out of the UI unless I manually make them show up or search for them.
You can see that Exist for iOS has a lot of projects right now—I'm working on a big refactor of the app, and the planning for that became too big to keep in a single project, so I've split it up into a project per section of the app. I used to name my projects with a version number, like '1.1.23' but since I switched to Fastlane for automated uploading of new builds, it automatically increases and sets my version and build numbers for me, so I don't always know what the next version will be. Now I just name each project for the major new feature or focus of that version, and use headings to split up the different types of work it will be made up of.
I like to use headings to break up my projects, since I spend so much time in the project view. For my programming projects I use headings for categories of work such as bugs, admin, tests, and new features. This helps me focus as I work through a new version.
For projects related to various blogs, I use headings for categories of blog post ideas, with each task being an idea.
And once a project is done, I complete it. For new versions of my apps, I tend to leave them incomplete but with all their tasks completed until they're fully live and released. Then I complete them, which sends them to the logbook in case I ever want to check up on those completed tasks again.
How I work
I usually keep Things open on my Mac on the Today view if I have anything that needs to be done that day. Things 3 lets you open projects in new windows, so these days I keep a long-running project open in a separate window. If the Today view is empty of tasks I plan to deal with today, I tend to leave the main window open to whichever project I'm currently working on.
And that's pretty much it! Things is one of those apps that's got just the right balance of simplicity and complexity, so it feels simple to use, but it does everything you need it to. I'm really enjoying it these days, and I've lost the itch to try other to-do list apps since switching to Things 3.
Things 3 Projects Websites
P.S. I make some stuff you might like: Exist, a personal analytics app to help you understand your life, and Larder, a bookmarking app for developers.
Things 3 is an Apple (iOS/Mac) only task manager app mostly loved for its focus on design a productivity. However, like other apps offering lots of features, it can be a little difficult to understand how to properly use it in the beginning and also to understand if the app works for us.
Luckily, we've put together a beginner's guide to help you getting started with Things 3!
1. UNDERSTAND THINGS 3
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This 20-minute video will help you understand all the features of Things 3. This has been updated to 2019 and all the changes available at the current time.
2. Top 5 THINGS 3 Features
These are some of the features that matter to
- Today and This Evening lists are your go-to places for all your activities once you've made your daily plans. The app allows you to display calendar events together with your tasks in order to have an outline of your full schedule.
- The Upcoming list shows all the things scheduled for your coming days, from tasks, deadlines and events. Plague inc: evolved 1 0 download free. This feature is perfect to plan your week ahead.
- Large projects can be easily broken up into smaller and less overwhelming parts adding some Headings.
- The Magic Plus button allows you to create new to-dos and you can also choose where it should go by lifting it up with your finger, dragging it into place, and letting go.
- With Slim Mode you can collapse your sidebar with a two-finger swipe and get a more focused view. On the other hand, if you need to work on different lists or projects at the same time, Things 3 offers a Multiple Windows option.
These are only some of the amazing features of Things 3, for a complete list of them, visit the official website here.
3. EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW
Synchronization
- Things Cloud is a free service that you can turn on to keep your to-dos updated across your Mac, iPad, iPhone, and Apple Watch.
Pricing
- Terragen professional 4 0 01 download free. Mac: $49.99 (+ FREE Trial)
- iPhone & Watch: $9.99
- iPad: $19.99
Where to get it
- Find out more here.
4. Additional Resources
Skillshare Course
Whilst Things 3 is a powerful GTD-like application, it is expensive. So making sure Things 3 is the best to-do list application for you is essential. With that being said, we’ve crafted this course to help you make that decision, before you by and learn alongside Things 3 when you’ve made that decision.
Temp monitor 1 1 8. Get the course here.
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![Things 3 Projects Things 3 Projects](https://lucbeaulieu.files.wordpress.com/2018/08/kanban-lucb.jpg?w=840)
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5. Final thoughts
Things 3 is a beautiful app most suitable for people looking for a reliable and minimal to-do list manager.
Its feature and design, the app is useful for personal purposes and not too complicated set-ups and also for people who don't need to share tasks and projects.
It’s perfect for those looking for a simple, manageable tool for personal tasks and projects. Used by many professionals to help plan their weeks and days ahead and by many GTD users to manage and bring together what matters to their days.