I’m a big proponent of using a digital task list app to help keep track of things I need to remember. During busy times (like the beginning of Fall term at a university, for instance), I depend on a simple list that syncs to all my devices and makes it hassle free to add new todos. This does wonders to help keep me on the ball, prioritize incoming items from anxious faculty, and to gain clarity about my daily workload.
I’ve been using Wunderlist happily for years – it’s free, works on just about any device, and makes a wonderfully satisfying “ding!” sound when you check off a todo. It’s equally useful at work, for busy students and teachers, and at home for things like a grocery or errand list you can easily share with your family or roommates.
Recently the company that makes Wunderlist was acquired by Microsoft, making many happy Wunderlist users nervous that their favorite tasklist app would be shut down. Sure enough, that is going to happen; the Wunderlist team is now at Microsoft and working on a new app simply called Microsoft To-Do, which is currently available to try out in Preview and will be replacing Wunderlist at some point in the near future.
I decided to run the Preview version of To-Do through its paces to see if it will work for me as a Wunderlist replacement. Here’s what I found:
[su_row][su_column size=”1/2″]Pros
- Simple & intuitive
- “My Day” is well thought-out and implemented
- Useful features like Reminders, Due Dates, Notes
- Syncs with Outlook Tasks
[/su_column] [su_column size=”1/2″]Cons
- Doesn’t yet offer apps for iPad, Mac, or web
- Missing features like subtasks, list sharing, file attachments
- Does not sync Outlook flagged emails
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Final Thoughts
I’m not quite ready to switch from Wunderlist yet. That said, To-Do is promising and definitely heading in the right direction. The Wunderlist-style features I’m missing are being actively worked on according to Microsoft’s UserVoice website for To-Do, and Microsoft has indicated that they will keep Wunderlist available until To-Do has integrated the majority of its feature-set. Once To-Do offers a few more features and broader device support, I will gladly make the switch. Farther into the future, I can see the app becoming even more useful for Office 365 users if they are able to integrate more tightly into other offerings like Teams, Planner, Flow, Sharepoint, and Outlook.