Toodledo Native Desktop Client For The Macintosh

Update: Since I first wrote this, Toodledo released an official Mac Menu Bar app for Toodledo which works quite well when online. I've also used TaskUnifier and liked it the best of all the 3rd party Mac clients, and it worked quite well when offline.

---

I've been using Toodledo on the web and on my iPhone for a long time, and it is now my preferred ToDo list manager. It's fantastic and has replaced all the features of my old Palm to-do list (my previous favorite).

However, I keep finding that I want a Mac desktop client for Toodledo. It would fit my workflow better.

Product Mockups

Product Pain Points

• When I want to add a To-Do, I have to visit the website, log-in (which usually requires looking up my password again), type in the to-do, then assign Priority, Goal, Location etc etc. That's too much. It should be Hotkey - Type - Click OK.
• I have no offline backup of my To-Dos. I can export them from the website, but I never remember to do so. My desktop client should keep an offline cache of my tasks automatically.
• It's currently too time-consuming / awkward for me to setup dedicated Toodledo views. I'd like to be able to easily switch between a view for "Gardening tasks" and "Mac / Web / Email". Each requires numerous steps, when I should be able to setup pre-defined views and switch between them with a simple pulldown menu.
• The Toodledo website is very "busy". I'd like a UI that is as clean as Twitter For Mac. That's the ideal. Update: The website has since been updated with a UI more like Tweetie Mac / Tweetbot, and I've been using the website more as a result.
• If the Toodledo website or my internet connection goes down, I can't access my to-dos. This also means I can't use internet blocking software like RescueTime or Concentrate if I intend to process my to-do list.
• My login credentials should be memorized for me. Big pain point.
• I can use the iPhone app for some of these purposes, but for whatever reason, I'd prefer to just have a Mac app sometimes.

Competing Products

• Toodledo Fluid App for Mac
  This is what I currently use. It's a native wrapper for the Toodledo website. It's an improvement over the website because it's a dedicated window separate from my browser, and I can resize it to my needs. I like a narrow to-do list window.
• TaskSurfer
  I have tried this. It was interesting but didn't suit my needs. If I remember correctly, it didn't support recurring tasks (this is essential to me in a fully featured app where I check-off tasks). I couldn't switch views easily (see Pain Points above), and the UI was ugly and couldn't be resized to a narrow window (see Twitter UI comment in Pain Points). It doesn't feel like a native Mac application. They didn't respond to my support requests on their forums, and when I check today I see they deleted all their forums. Their website is ugly, and it doesn't give me confidence that they have faith in their product.
• Note 2 Self for Mac
  It could be possible to use Note 2 Self with Toodledo's own email import system (where you can email tasks to add them directly to Toodledo). The problem is that Toodledo automatically assigns those tasks a "Low" priority. I need those tasks to be assigned a Highest Star Due Today priority so that I will see them and know to resort them later. If Toodledo added the option to change email import defaults, that would probably make "Note 2 Self" a good-enough solution for the Minimum Viable Product. (see below).
• TaskUnifier
  I've not used this product yet, but the Java requirement puts me off a bit. I think I'd prefer a Mac-native application. Update: I did end up trying this and used it a lot due to its offline support. If it had a nicer interface & wasn't written in Java I would have kept using it.
• I am not listing competitors like OmniFocus and Things because they do not have Toodledo integration, my #1 need. I do like the UI of Things, however.

Minimum Viable Product

At a minimum, I need an application that I can use to type a new To-Do very quickly and add it to my Toodledo account. The main window should be nothing more than a text entry field with an add button, and a small button for changing the settings. It should be a small application that I can call from the Mac menu-bar or via a Hotkey. The idea is that whenever I think of a task, I type it in as soon as I think of it, and Toodledo files it away for me to look at and sort later.

Important: there must be user definable settings so that I don't have to think about Priority / Location / Task / Etc when I add tasks. I choose the defaults so that the tasks I type in will show up somewhere in my Toodledo list somewhere that I will see them to file-away later. Failing that, if the tasks were assigned Top Priority, Starred and Due Today, that would probably cause them to show up where I would see them when I next check my ToDo list, so I can sort them away later.

The settings page should be hidden away. Think of the Apple Dashboard applications - click a tiny "i" button (information) and the interface flips over to the back, where you can enter the settings. If I don't need to see it, it should be hidden.

The Time Map Dashboard application should be used as a UI guide when it comes to information hiding / display:

Crazy Prototyping Ideas And Hacks

For a prototype, you could try developing a product that uses Toodledo's Email Import API. Users will need to enable this in their account, so it isn't a long-term solution. But creating & sending emails should be easy, and should allow you to rapidly prototype a working product. This would allow you to refine the interface. You could then refine the software further using the actual Toodledo API.

Additional Resources

You'll need to use the Toodledo API in your product to add tasks directly to a Toodledo account.

©2011 Kohan Ikin.