Which features matter most to you?

[iteles]

Whilst doing some research on the existing market of 'productivity apps', I came across yet another 'X best to do list apps of the year ahead'. But this one was interesting because it provided a little insight into the features that were important to Zapier users by categorising the apps as 'best for X action':

https://zapier.com/blog/best-todo-list-apps/

It would be great to have a view on what the most important features are for each member of our team. After all, we're building this for ourselves first!

[iteles]

The most important features for me immediately are:

• Simplicity - The UX needs to be obvious and functional
• Colour-coded categorisation - I work in various different areas and want something I can use for my personal as well as professional life. At the same time I'm a very visual person, so quick, colour-coded categorisation is a must for me. My list of to-dos and notes is large and if everything looks the same my mind will just block it out.
• Speed of use - I don't want to have to click through 5 different screens in order to perform the actions I need
• Timers/in progress - I want to be able to show within my app that I am actively logging time against something. This helps me to keep focussed on what I'm working on
• Aesthetics - It doesn't have to be pretty straight away but eventually, I wouldn't pay for something that isn't!
• Pomodoro timer - For when I'm feeling very dispersed, this helps bring my focus back to where it should be

[miguelmartins17]

For me the most important features in a Checklist or Todo List App are:

1. Simplicity
2. User-friendly interface
3. An objective application without a lot of text or things that are not on the subject I am looking for

These three are probably the most important points in my opinion when I look for an application or when I install something.

[nelsonic]

@iteles thanks for opening this issue and sharing your list of most important features. ❤️
@miguelmartins17 thanks for sharing your succinct list. 👍

To me Todo List / Checklist is a means of communication.
It's a way of recording and communicating priorities with yourself (and others).
A system for tracking what needs to be done now
and focussing on a single task at a time without getting distracted.
By having a List that you can share with specific people,
you can operate effectively both as an individual and as team.

Off the top of my head, the features I would like to have are:

1. Zero friction to capture "raw" text on any device (Mobile or Desktop). Capture plaintext (Brain Dump) #234
2. Effortless way to categorise and organise text into list items or blocks of text using tags. Categorise -> How to Transform Plaintext into Actionable Items? #235 + EPIC: tag items to categorise and organize #245
3. Easy way to share items with specific people in either a contacts list or team. EPIC: Team Mode #219
4. View what the members in my team are working on in real-time and if they are in "Focus Mode".
5. Delegate an item/task to a person in my team/family EPIC: Team Mode #219
6. Get Notifications when the person views the item I shared/delegated. [Epic] Push Notifications  #220
   6.1 Configure my notifications so that I'm not getting spammed.
7. Start a timer when I start working on a task so I know how much time I have spent. Re-Start an (existing) Timer? #30
8. Complete an item. (send notification to people I've shared the item with to notify them it's "done")
9. Undo an action with a single command (return to a previous state). Is it a necessity to have an append only database? #227
10. Visualise all items on my list(s) in a single view.
11. Focus Mode hides all other items, notifications and team availability so I can focus on one thing.
12. Define my "working hours" so that my timer automatically stops at a certain time.
    (I don't want my timers to be ticking away while I'm actually asleep!) ... maybe calendar integration...?
13. On Desktop I want to have keyboard shortcuts to dramatically speed up my interaction. see: EPIC: Desktop Keyboard Shortcuts #263

I consider simple UX and fast interaction to be "baseline" features.
As Miguel has said, he does not consider installing an App that does not appear simple/useable.
We need to remember that the "entry point" for our first 1000 people using the app will not be any "App Store", rather people will discover our app by using our App on the Web because there is zero "friction" to adoption.

[SimonLab]

A 'productivity app' is for me a tool which help you achieve your goals.
The app should allow you to:

• Define precise goals
• Define list of tasks to achieve goals
• Categorise tasks before working on them
• Categorise tasks after finishing them
• Track time spent on each tasks
• Track time spent on goals
• Track progress on goals (i.e how many task completed, percentage remaining to achieve goal)
• Delegate tasks to others
• Create reminders if tasks have been missed
• Dump thoughts, ideas, new tasks to be filtered and linked to goal later on
• See at different level list of tasks, i.e. weekly, daily, hourly...
• Avoid distractions by knowing what is the next task to work on

These are quiet high level features and might need to be refined.

Linked to these features I would like to have directions, guides or a methodology on how to work with these features. For example it could be a text explanation or a short "how to" section. For "Track time spent on each tasks" I would expect the app to explain how the pomodoro technique works and what are the advantages. For "Define list of tasks to achieve goals" I would like to see how to split a goal in multiple tasks and repeat this process until the final task is achievable in a short period of time. Having a clear methodology will help users to know how to use the app to get the best results (more focused, less distracted, goals finished).

[nelsonic]

@SimonLab thanks for adding your list! 🎉
Love that defining a clear goal is first on your list. 💡
This something we're really keen on a Hypothesis around goal-setting. 👍

⚠️ For anyone reading this in the future who does not have the context of the past discussions,
we avoid the use of the word "Productivity" to describe the product we are building.
Productivity is a vague term that encourages output and does not focus on an objective metric.

🎯 A person can feel fabulously "productive" while making zero progress toward their goal(s).
Spending the whole day on a treadmill might feel really "productive" in terms of exercise, but if your goal was to build arm strength to be better at rock climbing your "productivity" was a waste of time.
See: "Do time management apps really make people more productive?" #225 (comment)

💬 Just because other people are obsessed with "productivity" doesn't mean we have to be imprecise with our choice of words. Interestingly, the link shared above in the original comment/description https://zapier.com/blog/best-todo-list-apps does not mention "productivity". Microsoft Office is "Productivity" software. Any time you see the word "productivity" you should think "busywork" at a meaningless job. 💩