(Archived) REQUEST: To-do list section

[wackytacky99 1]

It would be nice to have a feature for managing Task Lists along with some basic to-do list features like - repeating tasks, due date, scheduled tasks, etc.

[peterfmartin 221]

Welcome to the forums, mvador. You can sort of hack this with current features (to-do boxes, tags, keywords), but not ideally. Evernote will supposedly release some better task management features in the future, but don't hold your breath for that. My guess is that Evernote will never be your best option if you need very explicit task management features. But I hope my prediction is wrong.

[wackytacky99 1]

I have tried using to-do boxes, etc but its not an ideal option. I hate using different softwares. It'd be nice to have everything under one tool. I hope they release something soon.

[jbenson2 2,149]

It would be nice to have a feature for managing Task Lists along with some basic to-do list features like - repeating tasks, due date, scheduled tasks, etc.

Repeating tasks could be accomplished with the Copy Note feature. It copies the note, plus the tags.

A Due Date column - hmmm... that sounds like a wonderful idea.

.

[GrumpyMonkey 4,320]

It would be nice to have a feature for managing Task Lists along with some basic to-do list features like - repeating tasks, due date, scheduled tasks, etc.

Hi. Welcome to the forums. I hate to be the wet blanket, but I would prefer it if Evernote (the main client) did not have much of these calendar/todo list features. I would much prefer to keep it focused on notetaking and storage of memories. An Evernote Todo app like Hello or Food? Yes. Brilliant idea. Of course, you would want this to sync up well and be editable. Why separate? For the same reason we have extensions for browsers: it keeps the main platform lean and focused on the core features and encourages innovation and investment by third party developers.

[wackytacky99 1]

I agree. I would love for evernote to focus on the note-taking feature first. But having a simple add-on for task management wouldn't hurt. I'm not expecting it to have all the features of a Task Management application. But a simple feature to add, delete, schedule & due date for To-Dos would be great to have.

[jbenson2 2,149]

Evernote is great for keeping records of things that have already happened, but the program is quite weak when it comes to things that will happen in the future.

Perhaps Evernote has something up their sleeves. A month ago, during the Evernote Community Chat, CEO Phil Libin answered a question about due dates and said:

"We're putting in a lot of work on

reminders / due dates / to-do lists

. Aiming for a release this year, but don't have the specifics nailed down yet."

[wackytacky99 1]

Thats great to know. Looking forward to it!

[the3rdhbtaylor 1]

An Evernote Todo app like Hello or Food? Yes. Brilliant idea.

I agree! I was at a conference this week and decided to use Hello there. I had seen Hello before, but it didn't "click" until I got a chance to really use it. Now, all I can think of are other focused apps that build on Evernote's great foundation. If an Evernote Todo isn't on te horizon as a separate app, I might have to put up with some effort to work on it myself.

I really like the idea of building more comprehensive todo capapbilities in a focused app. Of course, others might want the core app to do it all, but that seems like a recipe for bloat that might cause problems down the road.

h.b.

[GrumpyMonkey 4,320]

An Evernote Todo app like Hello or Food? Yes. Brilliant idea.

I agree! I was at a conference this week and decided to use Hello there. I had seen Hello before, but it didn't "click" until I got a chance to really use it. Now, all I can think of are other focused apps that build on Evernote's great foundation. If an Evernote Todo isn't on te horizon as a separate app, I might have to put up with some effort to work on it myself.

I really like the idea of building more comprehensive todo capapbilities in a focused app. Of course, others might want the core app to do it all, but that seems like a recipe for bloat that might cause problems down the road.

h.b.

Make sure to check out the Trunk. What you are looking for might already be there

http://evernote.com/trunk/

[the3rdhbtaylor 1]

Make sure to check out the Trunk. What you are looking for might already be there

http://evernote.com/trunk/

There is a lot to like in the Trunk. Something like Egretlist sounds nice, but not exactly what I'm looking for. I think the idea of an app focused solely on Todo items that adds value to those items, much like Hello does for contacts/encounters, would be great. One thing I like about some other tools (like Springpad) is that they treat a task like a task. I know I can whopm up things like that (and have in the past), but being able to have content managed in my existing notebooks structure while having different presenation and behavior sound like a really nice idea.

That's what is really nice about this infrastructure: it is adaptable to be what each of us wants it to be!

h.b.

[EileenCecelia 1]

What I want is something that works the way Claris Organizer and it's progeny, the Palm Organizer, worked. I want to be able to have a to-do item that is it's own "record" and be able to link it to a particular note that has more information. When I'm done with the to-do item, I want to be able to either just mark it as done or delete it, but keep the note to which it was attached.

What I don't like about the embedded checkboxes workaround in Evernote is that I can't see a list of the checkbox items themselves - just the name of the note it's in, which makes it hard to remember exactly what the task is......

I am bereft. I really like Evernote for keeping notes, but the to-do thing is just killing me.

Eileen

[peterfmartin 221]

What I want is something that works the way Claris Organizer and it's progeny, the Palm Organizer, worked. I want to be able to have a to-do item that is it's own "record" and be able to link it to a particular note that has more information. When I'm done with the to-do item, I want to be able to either just mark it as done or delete it, but keep the note to which it was attached.

What I don't like about the embedded checkboxes workaround in Evernote is that I can't see a list of the checkbox items themselves - just the name of the note it's in, which makes it hard to remember exactly what the task is......

If I understand this right, you can definitely set this up with tags. Make notes that have only *****les (no body text), and tag those with one or more tags to organize the things you need to do. These notes can link to other notes, which have more information. When you accomplish tasks, delete those notes or tag them with someone else to mark them as completed.

I am bereft. I really like Evernote for keeping notes, but the to-do thing is just killing me.

Evernote's not a great to-do app, though it can be hacked to meet some people's desires. (For example, what I recommended above is the system I used for a while.) Haven't you found any to-do apps that work for you? I hope you don't stay bereft for long.

EDIT: Damn broken forum censor. "*****les" above is t-i-t-l-e-s.

[EileenCecelia 1]

What I want is something that works the way Claris Organizer and it's progeny, the Palm Organizer, worked. I want to be able to have a to-do item that is it's own "record" and be able to link it to a particular note that has more information. When I'm done with the to-do item, I want to be able to either just mark it as done or delete it, but keep the note to which it was attached.

What I don't like about the embedded checkboxes workaround in Evernote is that I can't see a list of the checkbox items themselves - just the name of the note it's in, which makes it hard to remember exactly what the task is......

If I understand this right, you can definitely set this up with tags. Make notes that have only *****les (no body text), and tag those with one or more tags to organize the things you need to do. These notes can link to other notes, which have more information. When you accomplish tasks, delete those notes or tag them with someone else to mark them as completed.

Ahhh! I think this is what I was missing. I put a link in the body of the to-do note to the regular note, is that what you mean? That might work, although it was nice to be able to drag items over one another to connect them... ;-)

Thanks so much peterfmartin, for taking the time to reply. And yes, that darn censor is annoying. Why doesn't it like the word t.i.t.l.e.? OMG - I just realized is it because of the meaning of the first three letters? Give me a break.

I am bereft. I really like Evernote for keeping notes, but the to-do thing is just killing me.

Evernote's not a great to-do app, though it can be hacked to meet some people's desires. (For example, what I recommended above is the system I used for a while.) Haven't you found any to-do apps that work for you? I hope you don't stay bereft for long.

EDIT: Damn broken forum censor. "*****les" above is t-i-t-l-e-s.

[peterfmartin 221]

Ahhh! I think this is what I was missing. I put a link in the body of the to-do note to the regular note, is that what you mean? That might work, although it was nice to be able to drag items over one another to connect them... ;-)

Yep, that's what I meant. I hope that method works for you, if you want to keep all your to-do lists in Evernote. (I did, using the method I described, until another user here recommended Workflowy a couple months ago. Now I use Workflowy for my to-dos and link to my Evernote notes with supporting materials from there.)

And yes, that darn censor is annoying. Why doesn't it like the word t.i.t.l.e.? OMG - I just realized is it because of the meaning of the first three letters? Give me a break.

Yeah, it's broken right now. It's not supposed to be doing that.

[Jorge Manrubia 5]

Hi,

What I want is something that works the way Claris Organizer and it's progeny, the Palm Organizer, worked. I want to be able to have a to-do item that is it's own "record" and be able to link it to a particular note that has more information. When I'm done with the to-do item, I want to be able to either just mark it as done or delete it, but keep the note to which it was attached.

What I don't like about the embedded checkboxes workaround in Evernote is that I can't see a list of the checkbox items themselves - just the name of the note it's in, which makes it hard to remember exactly what the task is......

I am bereft. I really like Evernote for keeping notes, but the to-do thing is just killing me.

Eileen

I am Jorge, from the zendone team. zendone is a GTD tool that integrates with Evernote and Google Calendar. It currently offers a web app and we have android and iPhone apps under development. We were finalists in the past Evernote Compe*****ion, and we have evolved the platform quite a bit since then.

We are already delivering invitations on demand so you can register in our site and give it a try. We also have a vibrant community. You can also check our approach to GTD here

[GrumpyMonkey 4,320]

Hi,

What I want is something that works the way Claris Organizer and it's progeny, the Palm Organizer, worked. I want to be able to have a to-do item that is it's own "record" and be able to link it to a particular note that has more information. When I'm done with the to-do item, I want to be able to either just mark it as done or delete it, but keep the note to which it was attached.

What I don't like about the embedded checkboxes workaround in Evernote is that I can't see a list of the checkbox items themselves - just the name of the note it's in, which makes it hard to remember exactly what the task is......

I am bereft. I really like Evernote for keeping notes, but the to-do thing is just killing me.

Eileen

I am Jorge, from the zendone team. zendone is a GTD tool that integrates with Evernote and Google Calendar. It currently offers a web app and we have android and iPhone apps under development. We were finalists in the past Evernote Compe*****ion, and we have evolved the platform quite a bit since then.

We are already delivering invitations on demand so you can register in our site and give it a try. We also have a vibrant community. You can also check our approach to GTD here

Always cool to see developers on the forums. I haven't used your product yet, but it sounds like it would meet the needs of many users.

[jefito 5,598]

I am bereft. I really like Evernote for keeping notes, but the to-do thing is just killing me.

Then you like Evernote for what it's designed to do, and being 'killed' for what it is not designed to do well, Would you also be bereft if you went to MacDonald's and couldn't get decent sushi?

Evernote is just not playing in that arena, at least currently. Maybe some time in the future, but the actual direction it will be taking has not been revealed to us, nor a time frame. Maybe the third-party route will work for you.

[jbenson2 2,149]

What I want is something that works the way Claris Organizer and it's progeny, the Palm Organizer, worked. I want to be able to have a to-do item that is it's own "record" and be able to link it to a particular note that has more information. When I'm done with the to-do item, I want to be able to either just mark it as done or delete it, but keep the note to which it was attached.

What I don't like about the embedded checkboxes workaround in Evernote is that I can't see a list of the checkbox items themselves - just the name of the note it's in, which makes it hard to remember exactly what the task is......

I am bereft. I really like Evernote for keeping notes, but the to-do thing is just killing me.

Eileen

Sorry, due to the overly aggressive Evernote Forum censor, I will have to add periods in some of my words.

There are several ways to work around this limitation. I have modified Evernote to be an efficient to-do system. Here are a few things that I do.

1.) T.i.t.l.e.s. - make them structured and relevant, so you don't even have to open the note to find the checkbox. A quick glance will remind you what it is.

example of a structured t.i.t.l.e. for my wife's dentist appointment in 2 weeks

Date - Location - Subject - Individual

2012 06 29 MN Rogers Family Dentistry Donna cleaning

2.) Keep the note short for the checkbox note

I try to keep the note less than one page. For the dentist appointment, I might include the scanned appointment note or just the address and phone number. If I need to reference more detail, I will include a link to the longer note.

3.) Try to use just one checkbox per note.

4.) I do not recommend deleting a checkbox note. It might seem trivial, but it acts as a reference if you are searching past activities.

5.) If you want to get more advanced, you could modify the Create Date into the actual To Do date.

[rockky 32]

Yeah, I've never understood Evernotes reluctance to code for some structure to manage tasks and projects better than the awkward workarounds we're left with.

Based on their 'Remember Everything', and 'Extention of your brain themes, it makes much more sense than a' Food' or 'Hello' undertaking.

Ah well long given up on it.

[peterfmartin 221]

Yeah, I've never understood Evernotes reluctance to code for some structure to manage tasks and projects better than the awkward workarounds we're left with.

Based on their 'Remember Everything', and 'Extention of your brain themes, it makes much more sense than a' Food' or 'Hello' undertaking.

Ah well long given up on it.

Yeah, but the CEO loves food. And meeting people, I guess. Apparently remembering meals and people is very important to Evernote.

[GrumpyMonkey 4,320]

Yeah, I've never understood Evernotes reluctance to code for some structure to manage tasks and projects better than the awkward workarounds we're left with.

Based on their 'Remember Everything', and 'Extention of your brain themes, it makes much more sense than a' Food' or 'Hello' undertaking.

Ah well long given up on it.

Yeah, but the CEO loves food. And meeting people, I guess. Apparently remembering meals and people is very important to Evernote.

I think it also involves ideas, inspiration for new products, timing, and so forth.

But, more generally speaking, Evernote seems to be geared towards providing a service for remembering everything (the first phase of their project), and doing cool stuff with those memories together with third-party partners (the second phase). When you look at it this way, the other apps make sense, because they provide models (in my opinion) for how developers can do innovative things. Hello, for example, not only sets out to address a problem about remembering people, but attempts to radically change how we go about it (handing our phone to the person for them to photograph themselves and enter information). It is cutting edge stuff, sort of like a search company that tried to make maps or an email client

[bettsjohn 0]

A feature that I think would rock in evernote, is to be able to add TODO: lines to a note, and then be able to view them centrally, like you can in the Eclipse IDE.

I take notes in meetings all day long, then have to manually go through my notes, check for the action items, and then put them into my todo list.

It would be really neat if this could be streamlined, and I don't think it would be a massive complication to implement (and then change TODO: to CLOSED: when done)

Anyone else interested in this feature?

[Owyn 457]

The 3rd party Egretlist app provides this type of interface on iOS using Evernote checkboxes.

PS: Last I heard the Egretlist team has been hired by Evernote.

[Don Mullins 4]

Hi,

What I want is something that works the way Claris Organizer and it's progeny, the Palm Organizer, worked. I want to be able to have a to-do item that is it's own "record" and be able to link it to a particular note that has more information. When I'm done with the to-do item, I want to be able to either just mark it as done or delete it, but keep the note to which it was attached.

What I don't like about the embedded checkboxes workaround in Evernote is that I can't see a list of the checkbox items themselves - just the name of the note it's in, which makes it hard to remember exactly what the task is......

I am bereft. I really like Evernote for keeping notes, but the to-do thing is just killing me.

Eileen

I am Jorge, from the zendone team. zendone is a GTD tool that integrates with Evernote and Google Calendar. It currently offers a web app and we have android and iPhone apps under development. We were finalists in the past Evernote Compe*****ion, and we have evolved the platform quite a bit since then.

We are already delivering invitations on demand so you can register in our site and give it a try. We also have a vibrant community. You can also check our approach to GTD here

Jorge,

Thanks for the links! I went over there and checked things out - I liked what I saw. But, I do not use Google Calendar at all, and don't want to start yet-another-account. Are there any plans for syncing to other calendars, like iCloud, Yahoo, Outlook.com, etc?

Thanks.

[Denise Hurd 10]

Eileen,

What I use I found in the trunk. GTD http://getitdoneapp.com/ - I use it to keep track of my daily / scheduled / repeated tasks and it links to EN where I keep my notes or info I might need to accomplish the task. There's a way to tag tasks to pull up the relevant EN notes. It's not perfect, but I have been using it for about 8 months now.

[Cornelis 0]

What I would like is if it would just be possible to see if the checkmarks you have in your note are checked, without having to open the note. That way you know that you still have stuff to do that you once had the idea of or agreed on doing...

How this fits in to my workprocess is as follows: I use evernote to take notes during meetings. During those meetings tasks are assigned. I take down all the tasks that are assigned to me. Now I have to go through every individual note to see if I have done everything.

I realize Evernote is not a to-do list and I do not intend to use it as such. I just want to know which notes have unchecked checkboxes in them...

[jbenson2 2,149]

I realize Evernote is not a to-do list and I do not intend to use it as such. I just want to know which notes have unchecked checkboxes in them...

To find and view unchecked checkboxes only, I just run the search:

todo:false

[sCoreDev 0]

Hi,

A few of us in my office use Evernote for client meetings. The big discussion point a few months ago was the to-do function.

So I thought I'd have a go at creating a simple app for the iPhone that lists the to-do's from all the notes.

It comes in handy, when you just want to quickly see and update any outstanding tasks.

It's called TrackMyTask, and it's available in the Evernote Trunk. Or you can have a look at it here: http://www.scoredev.com.au/

[eabbel 0]

It wouldn't even need to be a full-on to-do list, just let us set a reminder on a note so that we follow up on it. If the reminder was synced with google calendar, ical, or outlook, so much the better.

[QB3L 2]

Actually I just recently created a todo manager for the iPhone since it seemed there wasn't a simple way of managing this. I have plans of making it universal and releasing a mac version as well depending on how well it does.

Here is the link if anybody is interested. Its named EverTo-Do

http://itunes.apple.com/app/everto-do/id556483892?mt=8

[spartanpk1 0]

I've been looking for a TAsk Management tool with due dates, etc.. It would be great to incorporate such a tool with Evernote!!!!!!!!!!

[jbenson2 2,149]

I've been looking for a TAsk Management tool with due dates, etc.. It would be great to incorporate such a tool with Evernote!!!!!!!!!!

I certainly agree.

Evernote has been struggling to add a "Due Date" column for the past 3 years.

Either it is too difficult or not a priority any more.

[rockky 32]

I'd be very Satisfied with simply the option to set a reminder to anything.

Thats really not a difficult android thing to do. Many many many apps have this feature.

The reminder popups all look the same.Its standard fare.Not difficult.

[FactMan 196]

Either it is too difficult or not a priority any more.

I hope that it is still a priority! The combination of due date and to do check boxes would make a powerful addition to the GTD capabilities of Evernote. I know that it is not primarily a GTD tool, but if you store everything in EN, part of that is wanting to know what you have to do and when. I can store everything in a file cabinet. I don't know where anything is, and I don't know when anything in there needs to be done. A few missed dates makes it clear that system does not work! Filing things in EN has made those "due dates" a lot easier to manage, but the addition of the due date field would make it awesome!

[Jayden 8]

+1 for Due-Date column.