To Do Lists

Barbara J. Feldman

Free browser-based to-do lists have proliferated like weeds over the last few years. These five sites are my favorites, and include a variety of approaches to goal tracking and productivity management. Whether you are looking for a simple list making tool, or one that integrates with your mobile phone , calendar, and email, these sites run the gamut from simple to sophisticated.

Gmail Tasks

5 stars

Gmail Tasks (from Google) are available from within Gmail, can appear on your Google calendar, can be displayed as a gadget on your personalized Google homepage, and are accessible from your mobile browser. "Just click and type to add new tasks, set due dates or add notes, and (most satisfyingly) check them off as you're done. Your task list stays up to date no matter how you access it. It's a simple list that's with you everywhere you go."

Joe's Goals

5 stars

Joe's online goal tracker is a bit different from a standard to-do list. It can be better described as daily habit or chore tracker. For example, let's say my New Year's goal is to exercise five days a week. I simply add "exercise" as a positive goal, and check off each day that I exercise. An example of a negative goal might be eating junk food or being late for school. To see a tag cloud of everyone's goals, click on the "Get Inspired" link at the top of the page. To further motivate you, your personal acheivements are available as a badge for your webpage or Google homepage.

Now Do This

5 stars

Now Do This is also a different kind of productivity tool. Designed for those who work with a browser open, it lets you create a single list of items and view the items one at a time, until each is completed. When one item is "done," the next item is displayed. Now Do This is one of my favorite tools. It doesn't require an account or login, but is not intended as storage for long term to do lists.

Remember The Milk

5 stars

Remember The Milk is a robust task management system that integrates with Google Calendar and Twitter, and is available from any browser as well as on the iPhone, Droid and Blackberry. Remember The Milk send task reminders via email, SMS, and instant messages. It supports lists, tags, and task clouds, as well as deadlines, priorities, repeating tasks, and task or list sharing. Tasks can be added via email, Twitter, or from a browser. On the other hand, if all you want is a single list of to-do items, Remember The Milk is intuitive enough that its advanced features won't get in your way.

Ta-da Lists

4 stars

Ta-da is simple and easy to use, either at your desktop or on an iPhone. It handles multiple lists, but items do not have associated priorities, deadlines or notes. Lists can be shared publicly or privately and you can email yourself any of your lists. Lists are also available in RSS format, which opens up all sorts of interesting possibilities, such as posting them on your blog or Google homepage.