Here's my review of Todoist, the task management app. Todoist has 100% transformed the way I work here for the better! Bottom line; Todoist offers an easy to use, customisable to-do-list type app that works seamlessly across devices. It enables users to focus on the most important tasks without feeling overwhelmed. It's perfect for my business, as a company we have hundreds of members to look after and multiple projects on the go at any one time, and Todoist helps us manage it all.
As a Todoist ambassador, I'm excited to share with you how I use Todoist, and my review on it's features. Who knows, it might inspire another individual or business to reap it's benefits as I have!
Why is Todoist good?
Easy to navigate
Quick add option
Integrations available
Organise projects with ease
Free version available
Works across platforms
Chrome extension available
iPhone Widget available
Multiple view options
Additional, customisable features (with premium)
What are the disadvantages of using Todoist?
None as far as I'm concerned!
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What is Todoist used for?
Todoist is for task management and tracking productivity for individuals and businesses, or both, like me! For those of you who've never seen inside Todoist, here's a snapshot of how my Todoist dashboard looks. You can see each of the main categories our business and my personal tasks fall under, known as 'projects'. I can then 'filter' down into cross-project categories, see each days 'tasks' clearly laid out and colour coded by time/priority order, plus each task shows what project it belongs to. Take a look...
What is better than Todoist?
Running two limited companies requires careful use of my time. Previous to using Todoist I had tried other tools including Microsoft OneNote to manage tasks. OneNote has some great features however I never felt that I was on top of juggling projects and campaigns. I was using it more like a notepad of things I shouldn't forget to do, but with no scheduled date to be completed by, I‘d always find myself a little lost as to where I was in any given project. Producing shows quite the juggling!
I also used OneNote as a place to take notes at meetings or to brainstorm. I'm sure there are many helpful features to OneNote that I'm unaware of and need to learn, yet I was finding myself more and more out of control of the continued increase in tasks as our businesses continued to grow. I gave Trello a go, iPhone Reminders and even good old Excel, but nothing hit the spot for our needs... Enter Todoist.
How much does Todoist cost? Is Todoist app free?
Good news, there's a completely free version! You can have up to 5 projects on the go and even connect 5 people on projects, get reminders and set up prioritised or reoccurring tasks with the free Todoist version. However we use the Premium (Pro) version (from £3 per month), and I 100% recommend this version for anyone who's serious about getting organised. Feel free to read my article on Todoist Free vs Premium (Pro) on my new personal blog for comparison.
Let's compare prices of popular To-Do apps*
Todoist FREE version or from £3 per month for premium (Pro)
Any Do FREE version or from £2.99 per month for premium
Evernote FREE version or from £4.99 per month for premium
TickTick FREE version or from £2.40 per month for premium
As you can see they are all around the same monthly cost for a premium version. In my personal opinion, Todoist Premium (Pro) is so worth the cost of less than 10p per day.
What's my favourite feature of Todoist?
Labels
I use labels to 'tag' tasks across projects. For example: I have a label called 'WAITING' which I add to any tasks where I'm waiting for a response from someone. I then have a separate weekly reoccurring task to chase all tasks with the 'WAITING' label, which Todoist shows me as a list in priority order.
2021 update: Todoist announced they will be adding labels to the list of features available in their free plan, winning!
What is Todoist Premium (Pro)? Is going Premium (Pro) worth it?
There's a huge number of additional features on the Premium (Pro) version, for a full list select Pricing on Todoist's website. Of all the features included in the Premium (pro) version, there's 1 we wouldn't be half as organised without:
Filters
Geeking out now, I love to write an instruction for a filter! Using simple '&, ! and @' symbols I can instruct Todoist to show me bespoke filtered task lists. For example I use a filter to show me all tasks in priority order that haven't been scheduled yet, and that I'm not 'WAITING' on a reply for. I use this filtered list to select top priority tasks that I want to schedule for 'this week'.
2021 update: Todoist has stated that they will be adding filters to the list of features available in their free plan, however with a limit of 3. This wouldn't be enough for me, as I reply on filters.
Here's what the filter instruction would look like:
What can you do with Todoist?
You can organise your tasks down to the finest detail. Since using Todoist I've been so much more productive and efficient with my time. All of my projects get the time and attention they deserve, and I've been able to schedule a time for tasks that shouldn't have been neglected before but were due to getting lost in long lists of notes. This has all been fixed thanks to Todoist helping me organise my time.
Here are some other examples of what Todoist could help you achieve:
Track your personal goals
Organise your finances
Set meeting agendas
Track campaigns
Create & publish videos
Manage clients
Plan classes
Plan appointments
Track fitness
and much more
What are the best features of Todoist?
In my opinion, the 3 best features other than labels and filters are:
Board View
With board view, you can drag and drop tasks easily; each 'section' of your project sits at the top of the view rather than in one long list. I use this feature in a few ways, but my favourite is to brainstorm content by week. So across the top I'll have sections: Week 1, Week 2 etc and underneath I can drag and drop my blog, social medal and other content ideas, and map out my future content plan. Here's an example (screenshot of Todoist's Social Media Calendar template):
Sorting
A newer feature on Todoist is the custom sorting and grouping options, where you can choose to sort tasks by priority, date or name. You can also group by one of those types and then sort within that group. I tend to use the priority sorting feature and then I have a unwritten code to the way we use the priority flags.
Red - Priority 1 - Things that must be done NO MATTER WHAT
Orange - Priority 2 - Things that have consequences if they are not done
Blue - Priority 3 - Things that I'd ideally like to get done
White - Priority 4 - Notes and gentle reminders
Quick Keyboard Instructions
There's so many features to use in Todoist (even though it doesn't feel overwhelming at all), and Todoist have enabled keyboard shortcuts to speed up the way we can use those features. For example, you can use the # key to pop up a list of projects, the / key to pop up a list of sections, 'P' to quick type a priority level, @ key to quick add a label, and even use short words to add schedules like 'ev mon' = every Monday.
Let's say I want to add the task 'take the bins out' to my 'personal' to-do's project under the section 'house', and it's a top priority every Monday, I would write: "Take Bins Out ev mon #personal /house p1"
Get started with TodoIst
Signing up is super quick and easy to do on any mobile or desktop device. However my advice before getting excited to start adding tasks, is take 5-10 minutes to jot down what your projects would be and what your sections might be within that. For example, I have an 'Accounting' project, that includes a 'weekly tasks' section, 'things to pay' section and 'things to be paid' section. Then under each section are the 'tasks' / invoices etc. Map your project and section headings out for 5-10 minutes first and you'll likely save time and effort down the line adjusting things on the app.
If you're not sure if you'll need Premium version yet, that's cool, you can download the app and start with the free version then upgrade without a hitch once you're ready.
Need some inspiration for project ideas? Take a look at Todoist's templates, you can view them for free by clicking Resources then Templates from the Todoist menu. On my personal site there's an article about my 5 best todoist templates, you're welcome to check out the post whilst I'm finishing the site!
In conclusion, is Todoist good?
It's not just good, it's a game changer in my opinion! My anxiety levels in terms of keeping on top of work and life in general have dramatically dropped, I absolutely love the seamless use across platforms and how my iPhone widget gives me a clear picture of where I am with tasks that day. I can even get Todoist lists on my iWatch, not that I use it on there much, but still, how cool!
I've also set up my home Alexa to add items to my todoist when I say 'Alexa add XYZ to my to do list' or add items to my Shopping List project when I say 'Alexa add XYZ to the shopping list'. I've also integrated my Google Calendar to add appointments automatically to Todoist as well.
As you can probably tell, I totally geek out about this app, I love it! If this article helps another individual or business get inspired to get as organised with Todoist as I am, then that's awesome, I'm excited for you!
Jen - Company Director
*Prices and features correct at time of writing. As an ambassador I may earn a commission on purchases made through links on this page.