Wunderlist: The Ultimate Solution for Managing Tasks

If you're like me you use Outlook all day, every day to manage not only email, but tasks, appointments, contacts and more. And now that I have a Windows Phone 7, I am more in sync than ever. Having come from years of the travesty days of Windows Mobile, I can honestly say it's finally a fantastic time to be fully on the Microsoft stack!

My Kingdom for a Task Manager

That being said, one thing that continues to be severely (and confusingly) lacking is the support for synchronizing tasks from Outlook to Windows Phone. There is no official or built-in application for managing Outlook tasks, which is especially frustrating, considering that Tasks are one of the major components of Outlook and Exchange.

I've tried several WP7 task applications over the last year, and while many come close (especially the very slick Tasks by Telerik, highly recommended!) none of them fully complete the integration picture that Exchange requires.

More Than Exchange

So I figured, if I'm going to have to use a third-party to fill this need, I may as well take the opportunity to find an entirely new Task management solution. I like being able to sync tasks via Exchange, but if I could find a solution that allowed me to sync anywhere I'd not only be happier, but more productive.

In addition, since I didn't necessarily need Exchange to manage my tasks, I could also find a solution that my whole family could use, to help keep all our tasks in sync. I especially liked the idea of being able to have shared lists. This way we could, for example, have a shared Groceries list, and everyone in the family could add items to it at any time, no matter where we are.

Which obviously means the solution would have to have several and very specific features, such as:

• Web Access
• Desktop App
• Cross platform app for phones, including both Android and WP7
• A way to sync these all together

I've used many over the years, including Remember the Milk and Toodledo, and while they all had many of the features I was looking for, none of them seemed to have them all, especially not WP7 support, which was (and continues to be! Come on software makers, support WP7!) a deal-breaker.

At Long Last: Wunderlist

So finally, after many years of searching (this is a problem I've been trying to solve long before WP7), I finally discovered Wunderlist. Rarely does one find a solution so complete, so closely matched to their needs that when it happens, you just have to sit back and enjoy it.

Not only does Wunderlist fulfill every single requirement above, but it does so with one additional clincher: It's FREE. Free apps on every platform, free cloud sync, with unlimited lists, tasks, and features. And they recently completed and released a version for WP7, so basically it was a no-brainer.

The image they teased WP7 users with for months

I've signed up an account for every one in my family and we are now able to both keep track of our own tasks, as well as ensure that we keep each other motivated to complete them. It has literally changed our lives.

Room For Improvement (A Good Thing)

Although Wunderlist meets every one of my needs, there are still some features I think would be nice to have. For example, synching Outlook tasks via Exchange, as well as an Add-in to Exchange to manage your lists.

As a developer, I saw this as an opportunity to learn something new (as if I don't have enough to do these days!) by trying to do this myself.

Which is really the entire point of this post. Although I can't sing enough praises for Wunderlist, I really just wanted to introduce it to you so you can have some background into the stuff I'll be talking about next. Stay tuned for more about developing Wunderlook, my first Outlook Add-in, coming soon to Codeplex!