[Update 6/20/2013: Sandglaz converted all of the grids to infinity grids. This added a whole new complexity to Sandglaz that I don’t need, so I’m no longer using Sandglaz.)
I feel like I’m continually on a search for a good task management solution. I use FollowUp.cc to send reminders to myself via email. That works, but I’d really like something that works like paper. Sandglaz (sandglass, presumably) is the closest thing to that I’ve seen.
Here’s an example of what a to-do list looks like. (When you create a new account with Sandglaz, they’ll give you a grid of tasks that serves as a tutorial. Excellent idea!)
The section headers are the defaults, but you can change them to anything you’d like by clicking on them. To add another to-do item just click anywhere in that section. Click in the white space next to the checkbox, and start typing. See the little dots to the left of the check box? Click and hold to drag it. Drag it to change the order of tasks in that cell, drag it to another cell, or drag it to a completely different grid.
Mousing over an item gives you a down arrow on the right. Click it to add a description and a due date if you’d like. Click the “Delete Task” link to delete the task.
If you just want to acknowledge that you completed a task, click the task’s checkbox, and the task will receive a strike-through.
When you’re ready to delete all of your completed tasks, click “Delete Completed” at the top of the grid.
Want more than 4 cells in a grid? Click “Settings”.
That opens this window. Rename your grid, change the size, or delete it.
Sharing.
As with most tools in the cloud, you can share your grids with someone else. Click “Sharing” and invite whoever you’d like.
Advanced tools for the paid-for version.
[Updated 2/14/2012] Sandglaz is still in beta as of this writing, so the advanced tools are currently free, but they will likely only be available to paying users.
In the paid-for version, you can create an “infinity grid” that allows you to set milestones.
You can also use hashtags to create, well, tags. Here I’ve added “#psych100” to a task. That automatically makes “#psych100” clickable.
When I click it, all of my tasks are filtered to only show those tasks with that hashtag. The filtering tag is now displayed at the top of the grid. To stop filtering, click the tag button.
You can also you the @ symbol to identify particular people. It works just like the hashtag.
Click it to filter by that tag. When you’re done filtering, click the tag button to toggle off filtering.
Conclusion.
Play around with this tool to find the best way to configure Sandglaz so it works how you work. Keep an eye on their blog for announcements of new features.
Thanks for the post. I’m always on the lookout for a good task manager as well. I have found one that is free and simple to use. The best part is that the app is available for PC and Mac desktop computers, as well as just about every mobile device out there, and when you make a change to your list on any device, it syncs the change to all of your devices.
The app is called Wunderlist.
http://www.wunderlist.com/
I love your Technology for Educators blog.
Thanks for all of your efforts.
Thanks for your post! I love your blog and I’ve found so many cool and useful tools here.
If you haven’t checked it out already, you may want to look at Remember the Milk (http://rememberthemilk.com). It’s another free to-do list program. Although you don’t get the visual grid like with Sandglaz, you DO get to set up multiple lists, and you can tag your tasks. Other features include adding tasks by text or email, having the site email or text you each day with reminders, and creating “smart lists” (e.g., “show me all tasks due in the next week that are tagged with @school”). And there are free apps for smartphones .
Thank you again!
Thanks, Rachelle! I tried out Remember the Milk a year or two ago. I found it to be a little cumbersome. I should give them another look. A lot can change in a year or two!
Thanks, Jim! I saw Wunderlist on a couple other blogs, and given your review, it’s definitely in my queue to check out. Thanks again!
Hi there, I noticed that the infinity grids deterred you from using Sandglaz earlier this year. We agree that standard grids were pretty cool, but we think infinity grids are an evolution because now you also have a timeline. Infinity grids are basically a marriage between the Kanban board and the Eisenhower Matrix, making it very easy to visualize and prioritize tasks. You can read more about how this actually simplifies task management here: http://blog.sandglaz.com/sandglaz-kanban-eisenhower-matrix/
I also think it’s worth it to note that infinity grids are still a lot more simple and user-friendly than the majority of task managers.
I’m really glad that this setup works for a lot of people. It just doesn’t work for me. My projects are generally not time sensitive, so I don’t have a need to tie them to a date. This newer setup (infinity grids) is built on a date model. The original setup (Eisenhower Matrix) was essentially a bulletin board built on task importance. I’m not so concerned with what needs to be accomplished *today*. I just need to know what needs to be accomplished eventually. Thanks for checking in, though.