Our blog posts share what our students and staff have to say about selected apps. In this blog post, Vicki reviews Workflowy, a list-making app.

Workflowy Review: Controlling Chaos with Lists  

Have you ever found yourself searching through stacks of Post-it notes, old envelopes, and scribble-filled legal pads? Do you have five to do lists, or maybe six, or…well, you don’t really know how many? Are you plagued by a sense of dread that you’re forgetting something?
If you’re thinking, “Uh, not so much,” great! Get back to Instagram’s #CutestPuppies. But if you can relate, read on.

My lack of organization inspired me to search for a simple electronic task list. I mostly found calendar-based systems laden with bells and whistles. What color did I want to make my task? What due date did I want to assign? Did I want to set a reminder? So annoying.

But eventually I hit on Workflowy. It’s a clean, intuitive app, available for free on the web and for iPhone/iPad, that lets me keep all my crazy lists in one place. Although the mobile interface feels a little clunky, integration is seamless.

My desk before and after transferring notes to Workflowy

(note how it removes excess mugs, books, and water bottles)

One big list (which looks a lot like a bulleted list in Word) can have as many sub-levels as I want. Items are searchable and tag-able—no more digging through the Post-it pile! Depending on how sad I want to get about the mountain of tasks confronting me at work, I can easily show or hide sections. And I can include long notes without littering the page.

Workflowy is not just for scheduling tasks. I’ve listed to-dos, of course, but also hikes I want to try, outfits to pack, movies friends have recommended, notes about exciting household events (“I last changed the air filter on 10/23/14”), and possible answers to my mother-in-law’s eternal question, “What do you want for Christmas?”

While my desk (and my brain) can still be messy, Workflowy keeps information right where I need it—no calendar crud required.

Our blog posts share what our students and staff have to say about selected apps. This blog post explores the pros and cons of Unstuck, an app/website that coaches you out of “stuck” situations.

Unstuck: Pros & Cons

Unstuck is a stylish web app that walks you through a “stuck” moment—whether that moment is personal or professional—and helps you move forward. After asking you a series of questions about your moment, it generates a plan tailored to your situation.
As part of your plan, Unstuck provides a thoughtful profile of the sort of “stuck” moment you’re having. The profile can help you reframe how you see your moment by providing examples of famous people who have experienced similar moments—I got culinary titans Julia Child and Colonel Sanders!
Unstuck provides tips and goals to help you get—you guessed it—unstuck. The tips include some insightful questions that can move you forward.

Unstuck is in beta as of late 2014, so it is not yet at full functionality. Also, like most other free web services, Unstuck gathers personal information about you (“including, without limitation, age, birthdate, address, email address, zip code, phone number, Facebook account information, and geographic location,” says its privacy policy) for targeted advertising, so privacy-minded folks may wish to look elsewhere.

OVERALL 

Though Unstuck is still in its infancy, it has the potential to become an impressively full-featured app. At the moment, only iPad users have access to it as a stand-alone app—everyone else will need to use the web-based version at unstuck.com. If you’re feeling stuck, Unstuck could very well help you find ways to find your footing. It’s free, and it only takes roughly ten minutes to go through its process, so it’s certainly worth a try.

Blog by: Josh