PenTodo app for iPhone and iPad

PenTodo is a to-do task list management app that supports handwritten input.

For me, the easiest method of managing to-do lists is to use the reverse side of used copy paper. I take used A4 copy paper waiting to be discarded, and cut it in half, lengthwise and crosswise, secure it with a clip, and leave it on my desk. I can use this paper for telephone notes, or as cards for to-do lists. When its something important, I write deadlines and other details in red, and stick the paper on the side of my PC. In the blank space on the paper I can note who gave the instructions, whether a completion report has been received, etc., so that it is possible to check on the progress of the matter.

The greatest defect with the system, however, is that the papers cant be carried around. To be more precise, since its just a bundle of papers, it could be placed in my briefcase and carried around, but I just wouldnt have the nerve to pull out a shabby-looking bundle of notes and flip through them in front of a customer. There is one other problem with the system that relates to keeping records. At work, it may become necessary to look up a date or other details of a matter that one did not think of as important. (Who did I telephone? Where did I check that detail?) But there is no way to find that piece of paper with the details written on it, if it has been thrown out.

A more attractive-looking alternative would be to use to-do refills for a personal organizer, but the amount of information that can be written on a single line is limited, and active items become mixed in with completed items; and considering the fact that the number of pages only increases with time, one really feels that there has to be a better way.

With these thoughts in mind, I created PenTodo in order to free myself from the limitations of pieces of paper. Based on the Todo function included in my previous app 4IN, it starts up fast, and has the added feature of handling handwritten input.

Features

- To-do items can be recorded using either handwritten input or keyboard.
- On tapping a to-do item, a details screen opens up as one page of a notebook. On that page, detailed information and the state of progress can be progressively added.
- On the detailed screen, child and grandchild items can be added, in the same way one adds a tag in a notebook.
- Action lists, each with its own heading, can be created and managed.
- In regard to the usability of the handwritten input, various improvements have been made since the previous app, ThinkWriter, and although there remain some user-unfriendly aspects, as you become familiar with the system, it becomes possible to write faster than you can write on paper.