Looking For A Powerful Yet Simple To-Do App? Try Wasabi
Wasabi ~ To-Dos You'll Use ($4.99) by Random Ideas, LLC is a powerful to-do manager on the iPhone for those that don't have the time to learn complex GTD (Get Things Done) systems.
Personally, I'm a sucker for OmniFocus -- it's on my iPhone and my MacBook Pro, and with the way it syncs between devices, it helps me keep on track. However, I understand that these complicated GTD systems are not for everyone. Some prefer a simple, yet efficient, to-do manager. And that's where Wasabi steps in.
Wasabi is an elegant little to-do manager that is for everyone else. On the first launch, you'll get a quick help dialogue that will show you the ropes. A project is already created for you, with a bunch of tasks in it, that will show you everything you need to know about using Wasabi.
For over-the-air cloud syncing, you will have to have a free account to use this service. Set up is easy -- go to Settings, and simply enter in an email and password, and you're done and ready to start syncing your tasks.
There are three types of things you can add in Wasabi: Project, Task, and QuickList. Projects are what you'd expect them to be (group projects, things to do around the house, work, etc). Tasks are just tasks that you'll have alone (untagged) or in a project. QuickLists are essentially tasks with their own subset of tasks (subtasks).
Goals are also used in Wasabi, and work like Projects. However, they have their own section and are separate from Projects.
Before you start adding in tasks, you may want to organize your "projects" first. To do this, simply scroll down and go to the Projects section. Hitting the "+" will allow you to create a new project, where you give it a name and you're good to go. It will then show up in your "Projects" view.
Adding a new task is simple, and can pretty much be done on any screen in the app. Simply tap on the "+" and you will get a prompt for the task name and any additional notes you need. Saving it will save it under the project you added it in, or it will appear under the "Untagged" view.
Creating a QuickList is similar to creating a normal task, but line breaks in the description area will create a list instead.
As you view your tasks, swiping on them from left-to-right will reveal a task operations menu. In this menu, you have several options: Tag, Add to iOS Home Screen, Share, Convert, or Delete. If you're in the Projects view, this swipe feature works there too, but will also have an additional option in the menu: Focus (represented by a star).
Focus is essentially putting the focus on what you have to do next. This is great if you have something you really need to focus on; it helps get your priorities straight.
The "Add To iOS Home Screen" option is a little bit weird. It will take you out of the app and into Safari, where you then do the normal procedure of adding a bookmark to your home screen. I think it's more efficient to just open the app itself.
Sharing tasks with others is easy -- if you know the email address that they used to create the account, you can just share it with that person. If they don't have an account, they will get an invitation in the email message.
The final major feature of Wasabi is location-aware tasks. To create locations, simply go to the Places tab. Then you can tap on the purple push pin and give the location a name, as well as toggle to-do notifications for the location. Doing this will require location services to run in the background as Wasabi is running.
If you ever need to reorder your tasks, doing so is fairly simple -- double-tap the top navigation bar, and then drag and reorder your tasks as you please. To exit the editing process, just double-tap the top again.
Completing an item can be done by checking the box next to it, or viewing the item and using the box in the bottom left corner. You can also navigate between tasks when viewing them by using the "Prev" and "Next" buttons at the bottom, and there's a "Share" button as well.
Need to find a certain task? There's a search function built-in as well, which is certainly nice to have.
I found Wasabi to be a powerful little task manager for people that don't need complex systems. Simply enter the task in and forget about it (not literally). It's simple, but has enough features that should work for the average user, as well as the lack of features that should appeal to some people (lack of due dates).
So if you aren't a GTD person, maybe it's time to give Wasabi a try.
