Here is a review of the task management system I am currently using (ZenKit ToDo) and how I use it. I love ZenKit ToDo as it is very minimalist and easy to use but with enough power to let me create extensive task templates. See the ZenKit ToDo review video below to see the tool in action.
Interface
Let’s look briefly at ZenKit ToDo’s interface. You can see the task list in the center, and the smart folders and other folders and lists on the left.
Folders and Lists
Now I am going to open up the folders area and go to my lists where I have set up a series of tasks for this ZenKit ToDo training.
Themes and Settings
Notice the nice clean interface. I can choose a colored background for my theme, choose from a wide range of pictures ZenKit ToDo offers, or upload my own pictures.
There is also a dark theme you can choose, and they even offer pictures that fit well with the dark theme.
Working With Tasks
To mark a task as done, simply tick it as “done” in the checkbox and it disappears from the active list. You can show or hide your finished tasks at the bottom of the list. To create a new task, just fill in the blank at the top of the task area and hit enter. To view more details on a task, click on the task and a side window opens on the right, giving you options like:
- Due date
- Recurring
- Reminder
- Notes
- Attachments
- Comments
I love the comments option as I can easily make notes as to where I left off on a task so the next time I open a task, I can pick up where I left off. For example, if I was planning a new video for my YouTube channel, I could indicate that I had already started the outline so that I don’t create it twice. This is a problem I used to have a lot before using task comments. I might have two articles started for my blog on the same topic, not realizing I had already started it earlier.
You will notice on the right-hand side of each task, there is a “hamburger” menu – three vertical dots like this ⋮ .
This indicates that there is a menu here. When you left-click on the three dots, you get an additional menu that lets you star, copy, archive, or move tasks. I use this command a lot as I will create a template folder with sample tasks, checklists and projects, then copy them to my main operating folder when I am working on a project.
Smart Lists
ZenKit has some smart lists at the top left, including Starred, Today, and Week. If you have no tasks today or for this week, these lists don’t show up. They only appear when there are tasks within these criteria.
ZenKit ToDo Subtasks
One of my favorite features in ZenKit ToDo is the subtasks. This lets me create a single task, that may have many sub-steps to them. For example, when creating a new WordPress website, I might have 65 or more subtasks. Tasks from registering a domain, installing WordPress, setting up security options and more.
By creating my task + 65 subtasks as a template, I can easily copy it to whatever project I am working on. This lets me have standard checklists for everything I do that I can also share with my team.
As a bonus, when I tick each subtask as done, a progress color bar comes across the screen. For example, if I have completed 1 out of 4 subtasks, it will show as 1/4 completed. So I can see my progress at a glance.
Drag and Drop
Another great ZenKit ToDo feature is the drag and drop option. I can easily rearrange priorities within a list by simply dragging the task into the order I want.
ZenKit To Do Review Pros
There is certainly a lot to like in ZenKit ToDo. Here are some of its major advantages:
- minimalist look and interface
- easy to tick tasks as done and they disappear until needed
- excellent subtask feature I use for checklists and task templates
- drag and drop
- affordable with a powerful free version
- mobile version is excellent
ZenKit To Do Review Cons
No tool is perfect. Here are some things I don’t like about ZenKit ToDo:
- inability to set priority levels – major drawback – can use starred to give partial functionality
- can’t pull together tasks from multiple lists other than using the starred command
- would like to be able to add tags
Be aware that ZenKit offers multiple products and the one I reviewed here is ZenKit ToDo, not ZenKit Base. So make sure you are choosing ZenKit ToDo if you want to try the one shown in this ZenKit ToDo review.
