That said, I do feel that too often especially us computer users are able to conflate the tool for the work because the tool is just so damn interesting.
Todo apps are really just particular versions of what sells to people who are looking for todo apps. If you're a GTD nut like myself, you buy OmniFocus 2.0 and never really use it properly. Or if you're a computer nut like myself, you move EVERYTHING including the calendar to emacs. Or if you're a psychology nut like myself you might get really into AutoFocus (or one of it's four iteration, the last version called 'Final Version Perfected') because it's simple and sounds really considerate. There's been a few others, sometimes with a personal wiki attached, sometimes not.
As a fellow GTD nut, I totally can remember how I would buy all of these office supplies and task management applications because, while I did not yet have GTD to actually give me a systematic approach to actually do anything useful with them, I knew that I was inattentive when I didn't want to be, had too many interests and could not remember them all, and therefore was buying all of this equipment and software in hopes that it would magically teach me what to do with it.
Just breaking down and following GTD step by step has worked for me to now have a menu of options I can do, and the only things that are considered to do in an official sense are list entries that have a due date on them.
I have dozens maybe hundreds of items on my at home next action items list, but I only really see the seven or so that have a due date on them as being to do, everything else is something that I could do if I wanted to do in the context of at home.
That modified form of having next action items be on the proper context list and yet be treated like a someday maybe is the formula that worked for me and sustains me when I'm doing this GTD stuff.
I would like to respond point by point to the article with a GTD apologetic, but my comment is too long already so I will spare the web.
> That said, I do feel that too often especially us computer users are able to conflate the tool for the work because the tool is just so damn interesting.
This happens a lot generally. People confuse meetings with work or planning with work. It's end up being another type of bike shedding.
To your point, I have bounced around a few different apps and settled Apple Reminder.app for recurring things or things that have to be done on a date and a simple Kanban board for everything else.
That said, I do feel that too often especially us computer users are able to conflate the tool for the work because the tool is just so damn interesting.
Todo apps are really just particular versions of what sells to people who are looking for todo apps. If you're a GTD nut like myself, you buy OmniFocus 2.0 and never really use it properly. Or if you're a computer nut like myself, you move EVERYTHING including the calendar to emacs. Or if you're a psychology nut like myself you might get really into AutoFocus (or one of it's four iteration, the last version called 'Final Version Perfected') because it's simple and sounds really considerate. There's been a few others, sometimes with a personal wiki attached, sometimes not.