Web Worker Daily

Over the weekend, I reviewed Nozbe which describes itself as “Simply Get Things Done.” Vitalist is another recent Getting Things Done web application, adding more features (and more complexity) to the concept of tracking projects, contexts and actions in a browser.

There are many desktop applications for tracking contexts, projects and next actions under the GTD methodology. An online application is perfect for the web worker who doesn’t want their “trusted system’ to be tied to a single computer.

Some of the complaints I had about Nozbe are well-addressed in the Vitalist application.

For starters, there are no default contexts. You are presented with a completely blank slate to build your own workflow, which is a much better idea. Vitalist lets you set due dates on actions, and includes the ability to have reminders sent via email or SMS/text messages (standard rates apply, of course).

The application is free. $9.95 per month “Premium Edition” adds file uploads, SSL security, sharing and ad-free use (although the ads are not obtrusive to begin with).

Vitalist has an “inbox” for getting items off your mind quickly that you can assign to a project and/or context later. The interface is clean and easy to navigate.

If you assign a contact to an action, it becomes a “Waiting” action. There is a section for Reference items and “Someday” actions, and the ability to set a “tickler” on Someday actions (a reminder that you said you’d do something “one of these days” and that day is now). Understanding the “Getting Things Done” methodology will help these items make more sense to the new user, as they are minimally explained in the application’s help files.

Vitalist does a good job of integrating with other services. Specifically, there is a private feed address that works nicely in your favorite AJAX start page (such as Netvibes or Pageflakes) or feed reader. There are separate feeds for Google Gadgets (Read more about that here) or iCal.

There’s a mobile version for adding/viewing items while on the go:

Still missing and sorely needed…the ability to add actions via email or text message. If I’m working on an email in Outlook or Mail.app and that leads to an action I need to create for myself, I want to be able to add that task without switching applications. Nozbe also has a heads-up over Vitalist in its “next action” implementation. A common challenge with any GTD implementation is prioritization. If there are 30 actions in a complicated project, you want the next action to be clear, even if it doesn’t have a specific due date. Nozbe does this well by letting you star the appropriate action. Vitalist relies on drag & drop to show the top action in a list as the next action, which is not always the case. I like that Nozbe forces you to think “so what’s the next action?” as that answer may change as a project progresses.

If stuck on a desert island and forced to use one online GTD application, I’d be bookmarking Vitalist. Nozbe is more straight-forward, but I appreciate Vitalist’s reminder, date and XML/feed features.

Do you like the idea of tracking GTD-related actions in a web application? Does Vitalist meet your needs or are you looking for something else? Feel free to make recommendations in the comments.