Description: 1-3-5 To-Do is a new To-Do app for Android and unlike a lot of the other apps that compete on the same sort of features, 1-3-5 To-Do has a unique take on the To-Do List itself. Instead of list after list, item after item, 1-3-5 To-Do is about making a list of just nine things you need to get done each day. These are separated into one big thing, three medium sized things to do and then five small things you need to get done. The idea is to clear your To-Do list up and help you focus on the real important tasks in life. There’s a calendar built right into 1-3-5 To-Do and this really helps you keep on top of not just your tasks but also your life. So, is 1-3-5 To-Do the To-Do list app to end all those endless lists driving you mad? Let’s find out.
How it Works: As with most other Android apps, you’ll need to download 1-3-5 To-Do from the Play Store or from the Amazon Appstore. Once you’ve done that you’ll be greeted with an empty To-Do list for today, with nine empty slots waiting to be filled.
Adding a task is nice and simple, all you need to do is start typing, choose a tag (which you can easily create your own) and then hit ‘Done’ on your keyboard. It’s as simple as that.
I was happy with the tag selection as they suited my needs, but creating your own is really easy, too. To test things out, I went ahead and created a list of nine (just nine) things I would need to do in any given day. Below is that list.
The 1-3-5 system is about prioritizing your tasks into one “must do” task, three important ones and five not so important. As such, I rethought my list and rearranged things.
Having only nine tasks to deal with is actually pretty daunting, but then again I’m probably not doing it right. There’s definitely a learning curve here, but it’s one that might clean up your act for the better. Having the Calendar integrated however makes this much more of an organizer than you might at first think.
You can click on any date into the future to add a task to it and you can also sync things with Google Calendar to keep everything up-to-date, which is nice.
For those that really need to write everything down and have a big long list (like myself) there is the Someday drawer, which is essentially a dumping ground and you can move these in and out of either today’s list or tomorrow’s.
Moving tasks around and such is pretty slick as well, and you can get a feel for how to do this from within the app itself.
Opinion: 1-3-5 To-Do is one of those apps that has a great concept at its core, but one that most people might not be ready for just yet. It’s difficult for someone like myself, who needs to make a note of everything unless I forget to be limited to just nine To-Dos a day. Having said that, the phrase “work smarter, not harder” is an apt tagline for something like 1-3-5 To-Do. Prioritizing your tasks and making sure you have the most important things done is what will make your day generally run a lot smoother, and if that’s a focus that you find yourself lacking, then 1-3-5 To-Do might be the one To-Do app to help turn things around for you. I love the Material Design at work here and it’s definitely a sharp looking app, with a simple UI that’s easy on the eye and the brain. I do wish however, that there was the ability to sync tasks using say my email or something similar. I might be alone here, but I have an old Android tablet on my desk that simply displays my To-Do list for the day and I manage that list from my Chromebook and my phone throughout the day.
Ratings
- Speed (4/5) – No complaints here, 1-3-5 To-Do ran nice and smoothly and it works well on Android tablets, too.
- Features (4/5) – Without sync and a somewhat restrictive approach to tasks, 1-3-5 To-Do won’t be for everyone, but a lot of good changes you make in life require some patience and 1-3-5 To-Do seems like one of them.
- Theme (4.5/5) – I really like the Material Design here and the UI is light, colorful and inviting. There are simple apps and then there are apps like 1-3-5 To-Do that aren’t cluttered, yet don’t look empty, either.
- Overall (4/5) – A solid To-DO app that ticks most of the right boxes, 1-3-5 To-Do is more about changing the way you make To-Do lists rather than just giving you another way to manage them and that might prove to be much more useful to you than another flashy feature.
Pros
- Great looking interface makes it a joy to plan the day ahead as well as tomorrow.
- No need to list lots of small things with 1-3-5 To-Do, it’s all about quality over quantity.
- Easy to use, with a short and sweet explanation on how to move tasks around in the app itself.
- Nice, fresh approach to those that can’t get on with the traditional To-Do list format.
Cons
- Might feel limiting to be able to input only 9 task a day to those used to longer lists.
- Syncing across devices would be really helpful.
Conclusion: 1-3-5 To-Do is an app that could very well help you work “smarter, not harder” but it’ll definitely take a little bit of getting used to. A nice break from teh same old, same old of most other To-Do list manages, I can see the attraction of 1-3-5 To-Do. However, if you’re an entrenched user of something like Todoist or Wunderlist, then adjusting to 1-3-5 To-Do’s list of nine might be too difficult. For those that need to find a new way to focus and be more organized though, 1-3-5 To-Do is definitely one to try out in earnest.