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todoist

Todoist: Productivity Done Right

Posted on December 4, 2013January 3, 2019 by ben

A major theme of this site is productivity.  As a small business owner and consultant, time is critical for me in many ways.  So any app that can help me be more productive is worth it’s weight in gold.  There are many task management/to do list apps out there but many of them fall short of the mark.

Today I’m looking at Todoist, a task management/to-do list app for Android, iOS, Web, Windows, and Mac.  Todoist comes in a free version but I’ll be reviewing the premium version today.  The current cost of the premium version of Todoist is $29/year.  That’s pretty reasonable when you look at the costs of other premium apps in the same category.  I am giving away a few promo codes good for 1 year of Todoist…see the bottom of the article for how to enter.

So, the first thing I notice about Todoist is how clean the layout is.  There are no unnecessary graphics or flashing lights.  Instead you have your tasks for the day listed with the project list on the left.

todoist

The premium upgrade allows you to add notes to tasks.  This is very useful for me.  I have a project set up to track which clients have subscription accounts with me.  I add a task for each client and make the due date recurring.  I then add task notes with details on the account.  I add a reminder for 1 month before the due date to remind me to invoice the client.  When I mark this years task complete, Todoist automatically adds next years task.  This has saved me a great deal of hassle in not having to keep up with a spreadsheet of accounts.

Another nice feature of Todoist is that there are plugins for certain email clients.  There are Outlook, Thunderbird, and Gmail plugins.  I use Gmail and this allows me to add tasks from emails.  I receive emails every day from developers asking for reviews.  If I want to do the review I can simply add the task from within Gmail and then it shows up in my pending reviews project.

todoist

Todoist Free Features

  • Synchronize Your Apps Across All Devices – This is absolutely essential.  With today’s technology, we must be able to see out data on all devices laptop, tablet, and smartphone.  Todoist does this with ease.
  • Save Your To-Do List To The Cloud – Todoist does this by using their cloud version todoist.com.
  • Unlimited tasks and sub-tasks – a great feature for a free app, Todoist doesn’t limit you the way some apps do.
  • Organize your tasks with features such as due dates, recurring dates, sub-tasks, task priorities, and colored projects. – recurring tasks and sub-tasks are essential for me.   
  • Organize Projects by Using Sub-Projects – Sub-projects in Todoist allow you to break up larger projects for better organization

Todoist Premium Features

  • Reminders via SMS, email, or push notifications on mobile – This alone is worth the price of the premium upgrade.  I use the SMS notifications for items I can’t afford to forget.
  • More organization using task notes, colorable labels, and powerful filters – I don’t use the labels as much but I love the task notes and filters.
  • Track Your Productivity on Todoist.com – See your history and how productive you have been
  • Task Files and Attachments – attach relevant files to your tasks
  • Much More

As you can see, Todoist offers a lot of bang for the buck.  Now, before I start sounding like a commercial for Todoist let me point out that I’m still a big fan of Any.Do and still have it on my phone.  However, the amount of features with Todoist makes it my current task list manager.

I was so excited about Todoist that I reached out to them and told them that I had written a review and would like to reward my readers with some promo codes.  So, I have a few promo codes good for 1 year of Todoist premium (that’s a $29 value).  To enter the drawing, simply do the following:

1) Like Small Biz Dad on Facebook

2) Leave a comment below.

I’ll choose three random winners on Monday 12/9/2013 and notify the winners via Facebook or email.

 

 

56 thoughts on “Todoist: Productivity Done Right”

  1. Alyssa C says:
    December 5, 2013 at 9:15 am

    I’m definitely going to look into this, thank you for sharing!

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  2. Alyssa C says:
    December 5, 2013 at 9:15 am

    I’m definitely going to look into this, thank you for sharing!

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  3. GossipMoms says:
    December 5, 2013 at 10:05 am

    yea this sounds great, i will check this out

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  4. GossipMoms says:
    December 5, 2013 at 10:05 am

    yea this sounds great, i will check this out

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  5. Brian L says:
    December 6, 2013 at 10:05 am

    Looks like something that an aspiring dad blogger needs to keep his act together. I will check it out soon.

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  6. Brian L says:
    December 6, 2013 at 10:05 am

    Looks like something that an aspiring dad blogger needs to keep his act together. I will check it out soon.

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  7. oliveroliva says:
    December 6, 2013 at 10:47 am

    I love this app

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  8. oliveroliva says:
    December 6, 2013 at 10:47 am

    I love this app

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  9. Thomas S says:
    December 6, 2013 at 11:01 am

    nice app!

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  10. Thomas S says:
    December 6, 2013 at 11:01 am

    nice app!

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  11. Eusebiu Oprinoiu says:
    December 6, 2013 at 11:16 am

    I love Todoist! I use it on a daily basis to mange both my personal and professional life..

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    1. MobileApps4Biz says:
      December 6, 2013 at 1:39 pm

      That’s another good point. I have the projects set up to organize personal projects and professional projects. They stay separate but in the same app.

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      1. Eusebiu Oprinoiu says:
        December 7, 2013 at 1:19 pm

        Yes! It is the best task management app I ever tried..

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  12. Eusebiu Oprinoiu says:
    December 6, 2013 at 11:16 am

    I love Todoist! I use it on a daily basis to mange both my personal and professional life..

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    1. MobileApps4Biz says:
      December 6, 2013 at 1:39 pm

      That’s another good point. I have the projects set up to organize personal projects and professional projects. They stay separate but in the same app.

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      1. Eusebiu Oprinoiu says:
        December 7, 2013 at 1:19 pm

        Yes! It is the best task management app I ever tried..

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  13. Orel Ben-Yair says:
    December 6, 2013 at 11:25 am

    That’s a really good review. 🙂

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  14. Orel Ben-Yair says:
    December 6, 2013 at 11:25 am

    That’s a really good review. 🙂

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  15. Martin Svoboda says:
    December 6, 2013 at 11:27 am

    I’m using TODOinst everyday. Extension to chrome is great.

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  16. Martin Svoboda says:
    December 6, 2013 at 11:27 am

    I’m using TODOinst everyday. Extension to chrome is great.

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  17. Richard Lopes says:
    December 6, 2013 at 11:32 am

    Todoist rocks!

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  18. Richard Lopes says:
    December 6, 2013 at 11:32 am

    Todoist rocks!

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  19. Joshua Best says:
    December 6, 2013 at 12:29 pm

    I want Todoist!

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  20. Joshua Best says:
    December 6, 2013 at 12:29 pm

    I want Todoist!

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  21. Adrian says:
    December 6, 2013 at 12:46 pm

    ToDoist is an excellent app, works well with GTD!

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  22. Adrian says:
    December 6, 2013 at 12:46 pm

    ToDoist is an excellent app, works well with GTD!

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  23. Mikki Young says:
    December 6, 2013 at 12:47 pm

    I tried AnyDo but like Todoist – a good review. Interesting to see if premium worth it.

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    1. MobileApps4Biz says:
      December 6, 2013 at 1:01 pm

      Mikki, I think it is certainly worth it. The features gained really do make a difference in my opinion. I still like Any.Do but Todoist seems to edge them out on several key areas for me.

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  24. Mikki Young says:
    December 6, 2013 at 12:47 pm

    I tried AnyDo but like Todoist – a good review. Interesting to see if premium worth it.

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    1. MobileApps4Biz says:
      December 6, 2013 at 1:01 pm

      Mikki, I think it is certainly worth it. The features gained really do make a difference in my opinion. I still like Any.Do but Todoist seems to edge them out on several key areas for me.

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  25. frigo says:
    December 6, 2013 at 1:55 pm

    Todoist is the thing!

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  26. frigo says:
    December 6, 2013 at 1:55 pm

    Todoist is the thing!

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  27. Michael Davis says:
    December 6, 2013 at 2:20 pm

    I love Todoist. Use it all the time!

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  28. Michael Davis says:
    December 6, 2013 at 2:20 pm

    I love Todoist. Use it all the time!

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  29. Mohamed Fathy says:
    December 6, 2013 at 4:08 pm

    I liked todoit a lot, with its outlook perfect integration, and bigger brother Wedoist

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  30. Mohamed Fathy says:
    December 6, 2013 at 4:08 pm

    I liked todoit a lot, with its outlook perfect integration, and bigger brother Wedoist

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  31. Rafał says:
    December 7, 2013 at 4:25 am

    I absolutely love Todoist! 🙂

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  32. Rafał says:
    December 7, 2013 at 4:25 am

    I absolutely love Todoist! 🙂

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  33. Daniel Wyss says:
    December 7, 2013 at 12:11 pm

    I use Todoist now since a year. and I really love it! great app!

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  34. Daniel Wyss says:
    December 7, 2013 at 12:11 pm

    I use Todoist now since a year. and I really love it! great app!

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  35. Elizabeth says:
    December 7, 2013 at 11:49 pm

    I’ve loved Todoist for more than a year. Have tried others but I keep coming back!

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  36. Elizabeth says:
    December 7, 2013 at 11:49 pm

    I’ve loved Todoist for more than a year. Have tried others but I keep coming back!

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  37. Dustin Main says:
    December 8, 2013 at 8:08 pm

    I’ve been using Todoist more regularly as of late. I really like how I can nest tasks, which is done in a way I prefer over AnyDo and Wunderlist.

    Hope they keep improving it to make it fast. I used to plow through my todo lists on my Treo (wow, years ago). I haven’t found a touch screen app that really lets me fly like that, but Todoist (of all of the apps I’ve been using over the years) is tops.

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  38. Dustin Main says:
    December 8, 2013 at 8:08 pm

    I’ve been using Todoist more regularly as of late. I really like how I can nest tasks, which is done in a way I prefer over AnyDo and Wunderlist.

    Hope they keep improving it to make it fast. I used to plow through my todo lists on my Treo (wow, years ago). I haven’t found a touch screen app that really lets me fly like that, but Todoist (of all of the apps I’ve been using over the years) is tops.

    Log in to Reply
  39. debora says:
    December 9, 2013 at 2:32 pm

    Hello! I Love Todoist!!!

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  40. debora says:
    December 9, 2013 at 2:32 pm

    Hello! I Love Todoist!!!

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  41. Garrett Steagall says:
    December 9, 2013 at 2:52 pm

    I’m torn.

    Any.DO has been my go-to task manager for the last month or so. I stumbled across Todoist, and it pretty much solves my need for the perfect life organizer. Both of them are designed so incredibly well, but I can’t wait to dig into Todoist. Thanks for sharing this, Ben! A very unbiased look at an incredibly well-crafted product.

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  42. Garrett Steagall says:
    December 9, 2013 at 2:52 pm

    I’m torn.

    Any.DO has been my go-to task manager for the last month or so. I stumbled across Todoist, and it pretty much solves my need for the perfect life organizer. Both of them are designed so incredibly well, but I can’t wait to dig into Todoist. Thanks for sharing this, Ben! A very unbiased look at an incredibly well-crafted product.

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  43. Stefan Noll says:
    December 10, 2013 at 3:10 am

    Nice review; I like todoist, too!

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  44. Stefan Noll says:
    December 10, 2013 at 3:10 am

    Nice review; I like todoist, too!

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  45. Justin Ling says:
    December 11, 2013 at 8:24 am

    It’s a toss up between todoist and todo.im for me. A todoist premium account would really shove me over the fence.

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  46. Justin Ling says:
    December 11, 2013 at 8:24 am

    It’s a toss up between todoist and todo.im for me. A todoist premium account would really shove me over the fence.

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  47. Michelle F. says:
    January 24, 2014 at 9:19 pm

    I could so use that. I am always making little lists that I lose.

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  48. Kyle says:
    March 19, 2014 at 6:34 pm

    Just curios if you ever gave away those codes? I liked your new site on Facebook, so does this count as an entry? 🙂

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    1. Small Biz Dad says:
      March 19, 2014 at 8:23 pm

      Kyle, lol yes that would count as an entry…unfortunately i gave them out when this was originally published on the previous site. But i will say that Todoist is well worth the money.

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      1. Kyle says:
        March 20, 2014 at 2:52 am

        It does look good. I’m about 80% convinced that I need to go pro now…..

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About Us

My good friend Ben started this site many years ago.  Ben said this about himself, “am a follower of Christ, a rabid computer geek, small business owner, and breaker of things. He is married way above his station in life and has three wonderful children who have made driving him insane their mission in life.”

Well back in 2019, Ben suddenly passed away from cancer and he asked me to continue the site. I like Ben, am a follower, a computer geek, a small business owner, and the father of 5 great children.

I miss Ben everyday but run this site in his honor. Thanks for visiting and enjoy!

-Larry S.

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