iPhone by Steve

Apple’s smartphone isn’t so smart when it comes to task management. In fact, the iPhone does not have a built-in task and to-do application. I’ll chide the folks over at One Infinite Loop for that, because to me it’s unthinkable that the brainiacs on the Apple Campus aren’t into task management in one way or another.

I, personally, have got to have some sort of task manager on my phone. I have a desk, but I don’t really work at it. I’m out and about all day long, and I use my phone to quickly jot down tasks as they arise. I like the ability to manage tasks on the fly, no matter where I am.

Of course, on those occasions when I am sitting at my computer, I’d like the ability to manage tasks there, too. And not just on my office computer, mind you. I want to be able to pull up my task list on any computer—at the office, my laptop at home, or anywhere I might be where I can get my hands on a keyboard and mouse.

That’s why I’ve long since ditched Microsoft Outlook for a task management program called Remember the Milk. Remember the Milk, or RTM for short, is a wonderfully flexible task manager that runs in your web browser and also on your mobile phone. On my computer, it runs best in Firefox as opposed to Internet Explorer. I’ve been using RTM for a while now on my phone, as well. The mobile version ran great on my Treo, and I’m now using the iPhone version, and that works great, too.

Remember the Milk has some excellent features that, in my opinion, make it even more flexible than Outlook for keeping your task list.

Tasks can be tagged with keywords and sorted into lists. You can also set priorities and add due dates to keep yourself completely organized. You can share tasks with contacts, and you can set locations with Google Maps as well. For your computer, RTM offers add-ons so that it can be used inside of Gmail and inside Google Calendar, but, now that tabbed browing has become commonplace, I find it easier to keep Firefox open all the time with one tab open to Remember the Milk. That way I’ve always got instant access to my task list. After you’ve done this for a while, you’ll find that it isn’t much different than keeping Outlook open on your desktop. The point is that you want quick access to your information, so leaving the program open at all times works very well.

You can set up repeating tasks as well. For example, you might set up a task to clean up your desk every Friday. This task will repeat each and every Friday until you decide otherwise. Or, you can set up a task to repeat after it has been completed. For example, you might set up a task to change the filters in your furnace and tell RTM that you want the task to repeat “after one month.” If, for some reason, you are two weeks late in getting your furnace filters changed, RTM will be smart enough to know that you now want to wait a full month from the date you actually got the job done.

You can set reminders for tasks, either through email or by SMS text message. Just tell RTM when you want to be reminded of a task, and you get a text message. It’s simple and effective.

If you manage tasks on both your computer and your phone, you’ll never have to worry about syncing your phone with your computer. Since RTM is a web application, your tasks will always be synchronized. And, if you want to work on your computer offline, there is an add-on that lets you use RTM with Google Gears.

My favorite RTM feature is “smart lists.” This feature lets you search your tasks using any set of custom terms you desire. You can then name this list and save it to use over and over without having to recreate your search. If you’re familiar with boolean logic, then you’ll be right at home creating your searches, but even if you aren’t, it’s not difficult at all.

As an example, I use a smart search for my main task list, which I have named “Current.” Here is my search: I ask RTM to find every task that is either overdue or due today and to ignore tasks due in the future, and also to include tasks that have no due date at all. RTM finds these tasks for me with ease.

I have several other smart lists set up as well, one that tags all tasks from a certain supplier I deal with, another to catch my random ideas, and still another smart list that prioritizes tasks I expect to start in the future.

The best part about the smart list feature is that it allows you complete flexibility to set up RTM exactly as you want it, regardless of what your philosophy happens to be regarding task management. For example, maybe you’re a disciple of David Allen’s very popular “Getting Things Done” approach. In fact, there are several iPhone web apps that are devoted to GTD, if you want to use one of them, but here’s the problem with them: These GTD applications are often rigid adapations of the GTD system, yet just about everyone likes to add their own special modifications or variations. Remember the Milk, while not set up specifically for GTD, can accommodate the discipline nicely—just set up your smart lists according to your needs and you’ll be ready to go.

Remember the Milk has a free mobile version and also an iPhone version, but if you want to use the latter, then you need to sign up for a “pro” RTM account.

You can try it for free. For me, at least, it’s been worth the money.

For more on Remember the Milk, visit their website or check out this excellent post at Lifehacker.com.