14 DAY TRIAL // In a time and age where dystopian scenarios are quite close, staying organized, and structured, for that matter, has become more than just a necessity, but a staple by today’s standards. Ever since the most rudimentary means of managing an agenda, the evolution of activity structuring has undergone quite a few changes. The so-called “to-do lists”, more prevalent than ever, have been at the core of most approaches involving scheduling and time management.
In a vast sea of software that offers such capabilities, Microsoft To Do, one of the more competent and strong alternatives out there, aims to provide reliable task scheduling and management, in a world governed by stringent requirements. Or does it? Keep on reading, as we dwell deeper into its particulars.
Features a rather simple design, which although cannot be tweaked too much, provides a good overview and functionality
As cliché as it might sound, simplicity is always best, or at least, in most cases. In my opinion, if you’re already carrying an inherent degree of complexity and complications in your tasks, it would be even worse to have to go through an even more intricate software to manage them.
Consequently, the design of To Do manages to strike a good balance between form and function, and during testing, there wasn’t a single instance when I wanted to have more functionality available, which is quite nice.
However, if I were to be nitpicking, I could say that having some minimalist options for tweaking the appearance or structure of the interface could be beneficial in future iterations of the app.
Task management is addressed in a hierarchical manner, and you will be able to easily toggle between those that are ongoing, completed, and more
As stated above, the app's minimalist design helps a lot in the process of adding and managing tasks, or lists of tasks, for that matter. The simple structuring of the tasks features a hierarchical organization, which throughout offers a great overview of the things at hand.
This results in a very accessible way of switching between the tasks that carry various degrees of importance, be it that they’re daily, important, or planned. Marking them as completed, or reverting their state back to ongoing, is a breeze, partly due to the structured design of the app.
Attain efficiency when dealing with multiple users, such as when involved in projects, by either being assigned or assigning tasks
If you ask the average user about the basic requirements of a task organizer, these would most likely encompass those mostly attributed to a “to-do list” approach. However, what about when requiring such capabilities in a professional environment, that features scalable projects and multiple users involved?
To Do accounts for this elegantly, and offers good connectivity across the board for instances that might involve teamwork in projects. You will be able to easily assign tasks to other participants, or, the other way around, have tasks assigned to you.
No “to-do” app would be complete without scheduling, notifications, and alarms, and fortunately, these aspects are well-addressed
It goes without saying I guess, but it wouldn’t be fair to assess To Do’s prowess without addressing the elephant in the room – task scheduling. And things are well-covered in this department.
The essential elements that constitute the governing characteristics of tasks – due dates, reminders, and recurrence, are all accessible, in a single click, allowing for quick and efficient parametrization, be it that we’re discussing a secret work project or your groceries list.
Reliable task management, which can be extended in a scalable environment, or kept simple, for personal requirements, all bundled into a minimalist and concise platform
At first, Microsoft To Do might strike you as carrying a quite basic demeanor, which could lead you to think that its capabilities are also limited. However, this is not the case, and I’ve found its design to be flexible enough to cater to both personal and more intricate, professional endeavors.
To that end, once you start to use it and dwell on its different functions, you get a grasp of its functionality, which manages to hermetically encapsulate a variety of features, which can prove to be lifesavers in a hectic environment.
Things are quite well designed, and consequently, you won’t be left craving for more, since you will be able to add your tasks, manage task lists, as well as edit their characteristics in great detail, but without having to go through an overly complex process. Furthermore, sharing your schedule and other relevant aspects with other users is provided in a seamless manner. All this, in a quite straightforward package, whose minimalist yet versatile feature set lies at the core of its capabilities.
The Good
It will enable you to create and manage tasks and task lists with ease, and assign various parameters to them, in order to best reflect your specific requirements.
The necessities that are involved in teamwork task management are also well-addressed, allowing you seamless integration with your projects.
The Bad
Although not targeted toward business or enterprise environments, when assessing its functionality for extended personal use, we can point out the fact that there are missing aspects in its approach, such as task prioritization.
The Truth
Microsoft To Do is neither of the above. Instead, it attempts, and in my opinion succeeds, to strike a balance between the two, providing ample functionality for the avid user seeking advanced task management, but also providing a small peek into features that might address specific tasks found in more demanding environments. And yes, it does come with some drawbacks. However, considering its scope and intended purpose, it is fair to accept these shortcomings as linked to its main target – users seeking a “steroid-infused” to-do list kind of app.
