ThinkingRock

If you have a busy schedule, it would be a good idea to organize your tasks in a logical order, if you don't want to forget something important. Based on the GTD (Getting Things Done) methodology, ThinkingRock is an excellent solution for managing complex projects, organizing and prioritizing tasks and more. It brings a new and more effective approach to defining tasks and planning a course of action.

The software is available in free and paid versions, for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux platforms. Its setup file can be downloaded swiftly with any Internet connection and its components can be installed in a few seconds. The hardware requirements are not high, but you need to install Java on your computer, before running the program.

Tasks, projects and other elements can be organized in a database, which can be saved as a series of files on the hard drive. Although you have to access several sections, located on the user interface and interact with various options, you should not let the program's complexity intimidate you. If you have a little patience to experiment with its features, you will master the software's core functionality in just a few minutes.

The best part about ThinkingRock is the fact that any project or plan of action, regardless of its complexity, can start from a simple idea. The entire procedure is laid out on the software's home screen. You may click one of the illustrated steps, to go directly to the corresponding section. First, you have to add your thoughts on a list, by typing their descriptions on a separate window. You can also add notes, URLs, file links, references, the current date and time, to individual thoughts.

When you are done listing your thoughts, you may switch to a different section to process them. When processing a thought, you have to specify if it's actionable or not. If it is actionable, you can mark it as inactive, urgent, delegate it or schedule it. You can also specify a successful outcome, add the thought to a project and more. If a thought is not actionable, you can decide to delete it, mark it as "someday/maybe", convert it to a reference or a goal.

Actionable and potential tasks are listed in separate sections. Actionable tasks are, in turn, organized on separate tabs, depending on how they are marked. You can make further adjustments to your tasks, insert additional actions or convert them to projects. Projects are organized in a tree structure, in their own section. You can add more actions, to individual projects, which can be scheduled, marked and so on. It is also possible to create various resources, like delegates, contexts, time values and others and assign them to your tasks or projects.

Another aspect that gives ThinkingRock a clear advantage is the possibility of synchronizing the database with a mobile device. It allows you to synchronize your data, via USB cable, with Android powered phones or synchronize it over a Wi-Fi, with an iPhone.