An ode to Things
I realised that Things was one of the best apps I had ever used. It’s well-made, good-looking, it motivates to be more organised, and I enjoy using the app, even to manage the most boring work projects. The Quick Entry shortcut? Incredibly good. The Quick Entry with Autofill shortcut? Even better. The Shortcuts integration? One of the best. Heck, even the note-taking part of this modest to-do app is better than half of the Markdown apps I have been testing. At one point, I had to accept the idea that Things was not only a truly delightful software experience, but Things made Reminders look like a piece of crap.
I like Reminders. It has good and useful features. Its design is more than adequate. It works great with Siri. I can share some lists with my wife, and everything just works. But using it after spending the day on Things really makes it look like a baby app, like an Electron-packaged web app made by people who haven’t smiled in decades.
Several months ago, I made the switch from Things to Reminders with GoodTask. However, after reading Nicolas' post, I realized how much I missed Things.
What I miss most are the UI layout, Quick Entry, and especially Quick Entry with Autofill on the Mac. Quick Entry is a convenient feature that allows you to add tasks quickly without opening the entire app. It's activated using a keyboard shortcut, after which a small window pops up for you to type in your task details.
Quick Entry with Autofill takes this feature a step further. While browsing a webpage or using another app like Apple Mail, you can leverage Autofill to automatically pull relevant information like the title and URL directly into your task. This feature is activated via a keyboard shortcut, with Things 3 handling the rest.
Having considered this, I spent the morning updating all my tasks back into Things.