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Ask HN: Goal Setting Software

8 points by kevTheDev ↗ HN
Hey people,

Does anyone know of any good web based software out there that allows me to keep track of goals and the stuff I need to do to make them?

I used to use todo lists, but they're not quite what I'm looking for. I want something more along the lines of a roadmap, kind of what Trac has if anyone has used that...

Cheers

kev_the_dev

12 comments

[ 3.3 ms ] story [ 38.5 ms ] thread
kevTheDev
Just to further clarify what I want, I like to break tasks down so that I'm constantly working on the "Next possible logical step" no matter how small.

Most of the time I just write them in a list in a text editor, but then i get to the point where i need to clear out my scratchpad - thus losing track of my progress.

Obviously seeing my progress in a chart/graph is not necessary to get stuff done but it might help with motivation :)

lehmannro
In order to break down tasks into next smallest steps Chandler might come in handy. http://chandlerproject.org/

No matter what your collections will just keep growing (if you do not delete items but rather mark them DONE) so that could be a little demotivating.

Devilboy
I've been experimenting with gmail and tags but it's not much better than just using a spreadsheet at the moment.
kevTheDev
yeah, i haven't tried that myself, but I don't think it would improve my current situation that much...
nonrecursive
It's not a web app, but I highly recommend OmniFocus for mac and iphone. The desktop app and iphone app can sync with each other, which is nice. I use it all the time, and it's great for doing brain dumps, then organizing projects and todos.
JeffJenkins
If you're on a Mac, you could try OmniFocus. It's a pretty decent implementation of Getting Things Done (the core of which is what you're describing). I've been using it since it was in beta and I'm really happy with it.

It lets you make folders, projects, and actions. Actions can have start/end dates, repetitions, and contexts. The idea of contexts is that you should be able to see what actions are available to you at any time in any place. Actions can have sub-actions and you can specify whether the sub-actions have to be done in sequence or can be done concurrently. You can also set up a global quick-entry hotkey which will let you enter an action and have it placed in your Inbox so you can organize it later.

There's also an iphone app, but I haven't found it teribly useful. OmniFocus has the ability to grab tasks from Mail.app in a special (user-defined) format and I found that works as well for adding new tasks as anything.

The downside is that it's $80. I got it for $40 when it was in beta, and I think it's a much harder sell at $80. If you aren't interested in this, or aren't on a mac, just google "getting things done" or "GTD"

unalone
If you're on a Mac, get Things.

http://culturedcode.com/things/

Beautiful software, incredibly easy. I can't deal with get-things-done software, but if I had to use a program, this would be the one I used.

eoyola
If you're an Emacs user, I suggest the Org Mode package.
[dead] JeffS
GoalEnforcer is great visual goal setting software (way easier to use than "lists"), but they don't have a web based version yet. They have both Windows and Mac versions and you can store your goals locally or on the web (using the built-in ftp)

You mentioned "I like to break tasks down" and " Obviously seeing my progress in a chart/graph ... might help with motivation" I can guarantee you'll love this software. http://www.goalenforcer.com Check the free demo. This tool is so easy and fun to use that it fells like you are playing a video game.