Keeping track of tasks seems to be a constant challenge for academics, and over the last several years we’ve certainly written about a lot of task management tools. There are a lot of possibilities out there: Wunderlist (a favorite of many ProfHackers), Things, ToDoist, Remember the Milk, and others.
This post adds yet another possibility to the mix: Nozbe. It’s available on the web, and for just about every platform imaginable: Mac, Windows, Linux, Android, and iOS. It won’t turn up in the Amazon app store, but Kindle Fire users can also take advantage of Nozbe; they can simply download the .apk file for the most recent release candidate at the “Test Nozbe” blog and install it. It works fine.
Nozbe has three pricing tiers: Free, Pro ($10/month, or $8/month if billed annually), and Business ($100/month, or $80/month if billed annually). It’s not inexpensive. A new account comes with a 30-day trial of the Pro features, so users can test it out to see whether this really is the best task management tool to suit their needs. The free tier only allows for one member and up to five active projects, but that may very well be enough for many users. It also allows sharing projects with other people, including people who don’t have a Nozbe account.
That last feature has been what’s most valuable to me. I have some new responsibilities this year, which require me to delegate tasks in a way that I haven’t needed to before. The ability to share a project with someone who doesn’t have a Nozbe account has been incredibly helpful; the person assisting me and I can both manage the tasks in that project (in our case, really just an ongoing to-do list) and make sure nothing falls through the cracks.
What features do you find most useful in a task manager? Do you have any recommendations, or any tips about effectively using your favorite task management application? Let us know in the comments.
[Creative Commons licensed photo by Flickr user Rob and Stephanie Levy]