Getting Things Done (well, trying to)

For some time now I've been trying to implement a GTD method of working (if it's new to you, here's a brief explanation).

Allied to - and maybe central to - that effort has been the quest to find suitable software to enable the most helpful means of collating and using information in tracking projects and so on. It would be really helpful to have both a desktop app and one that worked on a mobile basis (for example, on the iPod Touch). If it somehow interfaced with Google Calendar or Gmail then even better.

Well, I've tried loads - I thought Evernote might do it but somehow it's great for the Reference dimension of GTD but not so good at the Project and Next Actions level. The same applies to OneNote, although I do find that easier for the Project level. For a while it looked like Google's Notebook might be the one but that is now history.

A number of online services have been suggested along the way - some of which have counterparts that work with the iPod Touch (and iPhone, of course, but I have the former, not the latter).

Of late I've tried with varying success the following:

Remember the Milk
GTD Agenda
Task2Gather
Toodledo
Todoist

RTM I could never really get the hang of - maybe I ought to try it again. It has an iPhone app and it handles the Gmail aspect, too.
GTDAgenda - What I really like here is the ability to 'star' items on a Project List as being Next Actions and they then appear in the (surprise, surprise) Next Actions section. But it doesn't have such a clean look and keeping track of stuff hasn't been easy.
Task2Gather I gave a whirl to the other day but it just doesn't work for me. Not simple enough.
Toodledo I've used quite a bit - it has a really nice iPhone app but even that has its drawbacks (no grouping of tasks within the Next Actions section). And the basic online layout is just a wee bit too busy.

In terms of the iPod, I'd love to be able to try out Appigo's ToDo because it has a desktop counterpart. I'd love to try the (reportedly) amazingly powerful OmniFocus which also has a desktop experience. The same applies to Things. Alas, all these only work on Macs. If only....

Which leads me to Todoist - not the most catchy of names but it's shaping up into a really nice app - after a short and not too steep learning curve I've been able to set it up how I want it to be - nice layout, good options for outlining of projects etc. I've set it up without a Next Actions section (gasp!surely not!) - instead, I can check the Projects and tag whatever is next in line to be done and a simple 'next' query brings up a list of items that are so tagged.

I've only really used it in earnest for a day or so - and most of the time I've spent with it has been set-up rather than proper use - but it's really appealing. It's a free service (as most of these are) with the option to pay a low monthly fee for extra facilties (I don't think I'll be needing them).

It's an online app which has a mobile site from which you can look through your whole set-up. Not sure how much editing you can do from there but that's not neccessarily a deal-breaker.

So, that's about it, for now.

Maybe I ought to add that I'm using it in conjunction with Evernote (for reference materials) and OneNote (for keeping track on focus areas and for writing).

Of course, the irony isn't lost on me - time taken to research and set-up a system and then posting about it is all time spent not Getting Things Done...but it's worth it in the long-haul.

Update: Not only does the mobile version work reasonably well on the iPod Touch, it works nicely on Opera Mini on my Nokia 6120, despite its small screen. That is good news. You can't edit items or check them off as done but you can add items.