Zen College Life

I was recently approached by Mr. Scott Karstetter with an offer to try his new Smart To-Do List Software.  As a blogger I’m always looking to give my readers the best informative reviews of the products I use or check out, so I was more than happy to try out this new software.

What I like

This is a no frills, get it done and get on with your life piece of software.  When compared to other GTD To-Do List software, this is a major plus.  It takes absolutely no time to become familiar with the software and start logging entries and getting things done.  It has the capabilities to print your lists to take with you, and you can also export your lists to text or html files.  There are different levels of priority, and you can tag your tasks to be done where and when you are available; for instance @work, @computer, @home etc.

The software follows the GTD rule of being able to make a task in 30 seconds or less, and that is a must with this type of software.

What it’s missing

I did find a few things ‘missing’ from the software.  It may not have been something the programmer deemed necessary, but for me it was definitely lacking in one department; Portability.  While it’s capable of being ran from a flash drive, there is no other real portable management.  You have to be near a Windows based computer.  I have a lot of projects going on all at once, and to have to carry a paper copy with me is less than ideal.  I would like to have seen a web based version, a windows mobile interface,  iPhone capability, or any type of portable electronic interface.

In this day and age, paper is becoming less used, especially by professionals on the move.  PDAs, Palm pilots, Blackberries, and iPhones are today’s professionals weapons of choice.  So if you aren’t a fan of paper or you don’t do most of your work near a computer, you may want to look elsewhere.

The Verdict

All and all this software is absolutely perfect at doing what it sets out to do: Create an easy to use interface for to-do lists and manage them effectively.  There isn’t anything here that will get in your way, the software runs on any windows based computer (I tested xp and vista) with minimal resources, and is simple enough that your grandma and little brother could both use it.  The simplicity of the software really gives you that Zen feeling.

So, if you don’t use an iPhone or PDA, and you need to get things done and manage your time better, head over to SmartToDoList.com and pick up a starter edition of Smart To-Do List (2 project limit).  You’ll be glad, and who knows, you might even decide to get the full feature edition for only $14.95, and with the 30 day money back guarantee, you have no good reason not to.

(This review is completely unbiased. Nobody at Zen College Life received any perks or payment for reviewing this software, other than the full version of the software to do the testing)