Tech Tip — Doing More and Staying on Track With Tick Tick
There is no shortage of applications that are designed to help you stay on track and accomplish what you need to accomplish. Finding one that makes sense for your specific needs is likely the bigger challenge. Today, I am exploring TickTick, a task management app that has grown in popularity over the past few years. It is a clean looking app that works across every major platform that has a nice balance between power features and simplicity.
Finding an app that works in every system environment can be difficult. Many will run on iOS or Android, but maybe not Mac or Windows. Often, developers will try to substitute a web-based version for the various desktop platforms, and done well it can be very workable. However, not all app developers bring the full features to their web version. TickTick on the other hand has gone all in across all platforms and has you covered in every situation. They have apps for iOS, iPadOS, Android, Mac, Windows, web, Apple Watch, and even browser plug ins that work with Chrome, Firefox, Google Mail, and Outlook. That should cover just about anyone’s need for access. This can be especially handy if you are locked into certain platforms for work, but want to use the application differently for personal tasks.
Getting Tasks into TickTick
TickTick allows you to capture tasks quickly and easily from almost any way you need. If you want to speak your task to your phone, TickTick has you covered with voice capture. You can drag and drop from certain applications on your iPad. Every account gets a special email address from TickTick to allow you to email a task or forward something from another email into your task management system. This can be especially handy for follow-up items that are in your email inbox.
The email function works well, but lacks what some other task managers add that allow for a quick link back to the email itself in your email application. That small limitation aside, it does import the entire email, in an easy to use/read format, and includes any attachments that were a part of the original email.
Quick Add
From almost every screen in TickTick, there is a large ‘plus’ button that allows you to add a new task. Clicking and touching that produces a quick-entry bar that allows you to enter your task details.
From this, you can add tags, notes, dates, etc., to capture all the details for your specific task that you are adding. You can move your notes to other folder structures you have set up. This will also show the syntax that goes with placement of tags, folders, notes, and priorities so in the future you can type that directly into the text entry area and then confirm the selection with the pop-up menu.
If you are just capturing tasks quickly, you can always go back later to record the additional details. All of your items will default to your Inbox and then when you select the task, you can choose the additional details that go with it.
Reminders
Having a reminder system built into your task manager can be the best way to ensure that you do not miss important due dates. TickTick has you covered. You can set reminders on any of your tasks. And you have the option to select a persistent reminder—basically, it nags you until you complete the task or change the due date.
TickTick also has location sensitive reminders available. The application can geolocate you and remind you at the right time and right place. This can be handy for shopping lists for specific stores, or as a reminder for something when you get to you home or your office. If you are visiting stores, you could have a list of key items to review pop up and remind you when you get to that specific store during the day.
Incorporate your calendar
TickTick does allow you to pull in all of your calendar items as well. This allows you to see when you have events or meetings planned and can work your tasks around them. You can put task duration information into each of your entries. For those who time block, this can be a really helpful way to work your tasks and calendar together. This is a premium feature, but for many, this would be a worthwhile upgrade.
Smart lists
Smart lists help to organize all of your different tasks and can pull into a single view tasks from multiple categories. For example, you could have several tasks due today, but are organized in different areas (i.e, home, work, errands). The smart list for ‘today’ would group those together, and you could see them in a single view. There are several smart lists built in, and with a premium upgrade, you can create your own. This is a powerful function that allows for an advanced user to manage their tasks in a way that works best for them.
Other features that add more to TickTick
TickTick is unique in some of the other components it has built in. I think these are nice additions and will be useful for many users.
Habit Tracking
Habits, goals, and tasks go hand in hand. I have covered habit trackers in previous Tech Tip articles, but TickTick has one built in. This is convenient to have this in the same place you are reviewing other things on your ‘to-do’ list.
Creating a new habit to track is easy. From the ‘habit’ tab in the application, you just click the ‘plus’ button, and you can select from many common habits that are already populated, or you can add your own. You can set a reminder for each day. As you complete your habit, you can mark that as complete, as you would a task, and TickTick will keep track of your habit completion and show you your statistics over time.
Pomodoro timer built in
Being intentional with your time is the best way to stay productive. Scheduling that time becomes even more critical. TickTick not only allows you to schedule tasks for durations of time on your calendar (as mentioned above), but it also has a built-in pomodoro timer to help you stay on track. You can select the Pomo tab from the sidebar within the app, and it will bring up your timer. This can be customized in the settings, so you can set your work and rest periods accordingly. The default is twenty-five on, five off, and a longer break after two sessions. It also comes with some options for white noise to help you concentrate. Most of the sounds are part of the premium upgrade. There are other apps available for finding white noise, but again, this is built in. I have to admit, the one ‘clock’ sound that is part of the free version would be more of a distraction than a help.
TickTick is a free application to use, but does offer a subscription with the benefits of many extra, and excellent, features. Their website shows you which items are part of the premium selection, and you can see these when you select an item that is tied to the upgrade in the application itself (any version). Subscriptions can be set up for monthly or annually.
The advantage of having a monthly option is to allow you to get a full test, across an extended period of time, without having to commit longer term or for more money early in your experience with the app. I think this is a nice blend for the developers to offer an option that gives you longer than the free trial period. But it doesn’t force you to make an annual commitment if you haven’t had the chance to really run an application through its paces. For something like a task management system, it would not be uncommon to take more than several weeks to really get a feel for how this could help you in your various situations across the course of a month or two. Monthly subscriptions do auto-renew, but can be cancelled at any time. Once you decide that you want to keep the application, you can save some money by switching to the annual subscription.
TickTick has a lot to offer and is a very useful task management application. There are many more details around this app that I have not covered here. To learn more, you can visit their website. There are also plenty of YouTube videos available to show you how others are putting TickTick to work for them.
Personal task management is important for every leader. Having a good system, that works for you, to remain organized and establish priorities is a must. The most critical part, though, is having a system that is set up for your specific needs. In next month’s Tech Tip, I am going to provide some comparisons between different task management systems. I have previously shared thoughts on OmniFocus, Apple’s Reminders, and now TickTick. We’ll add a couple more to the mix, and I’ll share some pros and cons of each.
Could TickTick be a good fit for your task management process?
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