Unlike many productivity and project management tools that give you ten tools to manage your work, WorkFlowy takes the opposite approach: one tool that you use for everything you need. It’s nothing more than a really powerful hierarchical list maker. (And it’s FREE for the completely-sufficient basic plan.)

What I Do With WorkFlowy

I use WorkFlowy for all kinds of stuff, many of which you can see in the diagram above.

• I track my daily to-dos.
• I track overall project progress in a “Clients” list.
• I store personal lists like ideas for christmas presents, a generic packing list for vacation trips, and organizations I don’t want to forget during my year-end giving.
• I share lists with other people.
  • Sometimes I share lists as a coordination tool. When the Seattle WordPress meetup held a meeting with 5-minute “Ignite” style presentations, I used WorkFlowy as a signup tool so everyone could see other presentation ideas both as inspiration and to avoid overlap.
  • Other times, I use shared lists as a way to add accountability and let the client track my progress.

WorkFlowy’s beauty is its simplicity. I suspect each person uses it a little differently, but that’s fine. Just find a system that works for you.

Make it Even Easier to Use

When you first use WorkFlowy, you mostly get around by using your mouse, but I’ve found that spending the time to learn the keyboard shortcuts have made WorkFlowy easier, faster, and more fun to use:

• Complete a task with CTRL + ENTER.
• Move a task with CTRL + SHIFT + Arrow Keys.
• “Zoom in” to a task with ALT + RIGHT ARROW. “Zoom out” with ALT + LEFT ARROW.
• You can find the full list in the “Help” section of the site, and they even have an awesome feature to help you learn the shortcuts.

Product Publicity and Support Done Right

Finally, I should add that I’ve been impressed by the people behind WorkFlowy. They use their blog to keep people updated on new features and ideas. They respond to my ideas and questions on Twitter. They even have a really nice promo video:

Some day, maybe I’ll be a famous thought leader and brand influencer who gets paid to write stuff like this, but for now, you’ll just have to get on my good side through great service to earn an endorsement. WorkFlowy earned it. Try it out!

[Aside] Happy 50th MRW Web Blog!

I’m happy to say that this is the 50th post on the blog. Thank you to everyone who’s read a post and especially those of you who are subscribed. If you’ve found this post or others valuable, please consider subscribing to the RSS feed or by email. You can find both options in the sidebar.