I’m always interested in trying new productivity systems, to-do list apps, and the like. Last week, I used an app called TaskFox, which is free to try, but you’ll probably want to unlock the pro features for €5.
TaskFox is a to-do list app that puts all your tasks in its calendar. That means that even if it’s just a five-minute task, it goes in the TaskFox calendar. This is taking time blocking to a different level, something I’ve dabbled with before.
As most people know, it’s all too easy to have too many tasks due on any given day. It comes naturally, you add them and set a date, but when that date comes, there are a ton of other things there too. Some of these things live in your calendar, so you end up with having to complete your tasks between scheduled things like meetings. That’s where time blocking comes in, which means that you put blocks of time in your calendar as well, making sure that you have the time to actually complete the tasks. Your calendar could have a block called ”work with site”, but actually working with the site consists of several tasks that you’ll refer to when you reach said time block.
TaskFox puts those tasks in the calendar, alongside (if you want, and have the pro version) your appointments and whatnot. It also highlights the time between tasks, making sure you know how long that is, and making it easy to inject tasks if need be. This is a nice and visual way to get an overview of your day. When you plan like this, putting in tasks as time blocks – five minutes here, two hours there – you immediately see if it’s a reasonable amount of work for the day. This is, obviously, very useful.
Now, I have some issues with TaskFox, and this setup overall. First, while there is an inbox where tasks not scheduled go, I just don’t see myself filling it with things like ”buy coffee”. This is an app, and a method, that works best for planning your workday, I think.
Second, while TaskFox looks good on smaller screens, it’s not making good use of any iPad in landscape mode, especially not the 12.9” iPad Pro. I can still just see one day at a time (and the inbox), which is a shame because I’d love to drag and drop tasks between days.
Third, and finally, I don’t like the fact that each task is visually the same size in the calendar. It doesn’t matter whether it’s five minutes or two hours, the block will be the same size. This, to me, makes it harder to see what the day really consists of, in terms of whether it’s too crowded or not. If you’re going to rely on a calendar view, I think the tasks should adhere to this as well.
All this aside, I’m intrigued by TaskFox, and will continue to experiment with it. It fits my way of thinking, since I already block time in my calendar. But where a calendar app like Fantastical will let me block time as a calendar event, it won’t make it a task. I can integrate with Reminders or Todoist, for example, but those tasks won’t have the appropriate length to them, so they just show up in the calendar as a task. The tasks in TaskFox won’t show the length visually, but it is listed, of course, so that’s a better overview, despite my complaints about it.
Some features listed in the App Store description, like calendar support, iCloud syncing, recurring tasks and the like, require the pro in-app purchase. It’s not a subscription, it’s a one-off purchase, and it’s just $5, but I do wish that it was more clear what’s included, and what’s not. All that said, I hope you download TaskFox and pony up because I want to see where this app is going. I intend to return to TaskFox in the future.
🦊 🦊 🦊 of 5 — Good.
Get TaskFox for free, but be prepared to unlock all pro features for $5.