Managing productivity stuff between Windows, macOS and iOS?

[u/Ill_Connection_3017]

For those who use Windows, iOS, and macOS, how do you manage your tasks, calendar, notes, etc.?

I’ve primarily used Apple’s stock apps in the past, but now that I’ve built a PC for gaming—and plan to use it as my main machine for school—I’m looking for cross-platform alternatives.

Previously, I used Things 3 for task management, Apple Notes, Apple Mail, and Calendar.

For now, on Windows, I’ve started using the new Outlook for mail and calendar since I’m not a heavy user of those. I’ve also set up TickTick as my task manager because it seems to be the best cross-platform option. I especially love its Notes integration. It feels like TickTick can cover most of my needs for tasks and note-taking. For longer or more detailed notes, I might use something like Obsidian or another app that syncs with iCloud.

The one thing I’m still unsure about is which browser to use across all my devices. I’ve been trying out Brave on Windows, and I like it so far, but I know there are plenty of other options. If anyone has recommendations for a browser that works seamlessly across Windows and macOS, I’d love to hear them!

Finally, if you have any recommendations for other tools or apps, please share. I prefer simple, straightforward apps without too many unnecessary features.

[u/GeneralCarpet9507]

Personally I use Notion & Microsoft ToDo. But am planning to switch from ToDo to Google Tasks.

[u/jlharter]

This is so hard because Things was my universe for so long. But I’m leaning into Obsidian more. I sometimes tinker with Todoist but it’s not Things!

One pro tip: you can access Apple Reminders via the web. I use Web Catalog to pin the app to my taskbar and it works pretty well with minimal resource usage. Just go to iCloud.com and you have two way sync.

[u/Ill_Connection_3017 → u/jlharter]

Thanks for the tip! Are you managing your tasks in Obsidian or Reminders?

[u/jlharter → u/Ill_Connection_3017]

Obsidian tasks have virtually no nudge for push notifications. And it’s pretty hard to add a task quickly from a phone. So I use a little of both. Reminders for quick capture and Obsidian for “work time”.

[u/aeoveu]

This is why I always opt for cross-platform.

I tend to use Google Calendar (which has offline access, albeit a bit gimped).

Obsidian has offline (and sync - you need to set it up yourself if you don't want to pay Obsidian).

As for the browser: I've tried getting rid of Chrome but can't. The autofill on Chrome works much better than Edge, passwords sync with my phone, and as for Google Translate: other web browsers don't support its mic input (Edge does, but Edge doesn't play nice for one or two smaller languages that I've come across, and that might be Google thwarting Edge for those languages).

But look for cross-platform apps. Apple's apps are designed to keep you in their ecosystem. Google relies on web pages. I'd take a web page access than a OS lock-in.