Listing tasks and to-dos is a very personal process. Some users like apps with intricate features so they can manage their tasks better, but another set of users get irritated exactly by feature overload. That’s why software developer Adam Whitcroft built a dead simple to-do app called Twodos that doesn’t remind you of your pending tasks.
Whitcroft, who has worked at a16z-backed Rewind and Shopify, wanted to have a non-noisy app for his tasks.
“I tend to default to use Apple’s native apps most of the time (Notes, Mail, Calendar, etc.) — but never fell in love with Reminders. I can add items to a flat list, or go into this near-overwhelming workflow of adding dates, times, tags, locations, subtasks… it’s too much. The other offerings in the App Store also skew towards piling on features versus having an opinion,” Whitcroft told TechCrunch.
Twodos doesn’t have a lot going on in terms of features, and that is probably an appealing factor for some users. There is only one screen with two parts for tasks: Sooner or Later. You can add tasks, mark them as done using a swipe gesture and check the archive to clear all tasks. There is an arrow button next to each task to move it to the other folder.
While there are no reminders, you can look at the time passed between adding the task and marking that as done in the archive section. You can also sync these tasks to iCloud, but Whitcroft said he is not thinking about a Mac client anytime soon.
Twodos also integrates well with iOS with support for home screen and lock screen widgets, light and dark themes, and customizable accent colors.
Whitcroft built the app for himself; his thinking was that this method would be great for any non-time-bound task. The developer is not looking to add a long list of features apart from small improvements to the app.
App developers are approaching task management in different ways. Earlier this month, Christian Reber, who sold his app Wunderlist to Microsoft in 2015, launched a new app called Superlist. The new app focuses on splitting personal and work tasks and having a shared space with family or co-workers for them. In an interview with TechCrunch, Reber said that he believes Superlist could be a decacorn.
Last decade’s simple to-do hit, Clear, launched a new version called Clear 2 last month. Clear’s developer Phill Ryu said that the app still follows simple gestures for navigation and task management without overloading the app with features.
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