App that has attachments and comments to tasks?

Question

I'm doing a masters degree, and I often have reading tasks in different formats (i.e pdf, word, e-books, and so forth). I need a way to schedule a reading task for a specific date, attach that document to the task, and - if possible - add comments to the task itself so when I get to class I'll have everything I need (the article and my comments) readily available.

Anybody knows about something that might fit my need?

Answer 1

Toodledo lets you attach files to tasks but only in the paid version. And they charge per month so it probably isn't a good option.

One possibility is to use two tools - one for tasks/comments and one for the material. Such as dropbox and toodledo.

Another possibility is to use a tool that isn't a task management tool and make it one. For example, create dropbox folders with the reading due dates and having the folder contain the reading material and a file for comments.

Answer 2

I don't think you're going to find a one-magic-tool solution to what you're looking for. The information you're trying to manage is too different.

I would solve the problem something like this, given my personal productivity systems:

1. When the reading assignment is made, add an entry to my Projects list (Evernote). Attach the document to the note, or if the document is in a format that can't be attached include a link to where the document can be found. Tag the entry with a due date (e.g. _due20130115). Also tag the entry with a project identifier, e.g. p-econ503-friedman01
2. Add an entry to my @Reading task list (RememberTheMilk) - Read next section in p-econ503-friedman01
3. Possibly block time on my Google calendar to do the reading. Especially if you need to be done by a certain date, getting it on the calendar is a big help. If I were being super effective, I might include a link to the Evernote Project entry in the calendar entry notes.
4. While doing the reading, make notes either in the Projects list, or in additional notes in Evernote linked by the p-econ503-friedman01 project identifier tag. Which I would do depends on how long the reading is and how extensive the notes need to be. For a journal article, I'd probably make notes in the Project entry, for a book I'd think seriously about separating notes by chapter or major theme.

Given the number of platforms Evernote supports and offline notebooks (for "pro" accounts) you should have access to your material most of the time.

I've been pretty successful at keeping up with professional reading in little bits of time like standing in line at the grocery store using this kind of approach.

Answer 3

Seems that something kanban-based may fit your needs. Try my tool, Portable Kanban - it's free. You can link files and/or folders to tasks.

Answer 4

I've recently been looking at Trello for my team at work, but it sounds like it suits your needs pretty well. You could use a List for each class and a Card for each assignment. Cards can have due dates, attachments (including support for GDocs and Dropbox), and comments along with a title and description. You might also find the color coded tags useful to have a visual cue of what type of task it is, e.g. whether it is a writing or a reading assignment. In addition to the web app, there are well developed apps for Android and iPhone.

Lifehacker also just had a post on using it as a personal GTD system.

Answer 5

I'm a big fan of Todoist. Started using it on the web but now they have a iOS and Android app. Key features for me are the ability to create individual projects and to-do lists for each project, ability to nest to-do's (sub to-do's). You can add notes, attachments & its easy to email yourself to-do's for any project.