As I just mentioned in this other Talk thread, my plan is to write up an article on how Agenda came about from some workflows that kind of grew over time. Initially as I was managing a team within a corporate environment, but slowly for more and more use cases as I found the date centric approach so useful. What I’ll also show is that indeed, it all grew from using a few simple structures (a next tag instead of #Agenda in fact) in a barebones note taking app (Simplenote, not Bear actually). So not fare from the truth at all. It’s also why we want to keep things simple and focused.
6 Likes
Something I forgot to mention that I really like about Agenda’s approach is the way in which you can have a vertical list of notes all showing in the same view. I can’t think of any other note app that does that, and it’s super-useful.
5 Likes
I was at first surprised by all the references to Evernote in this thread. But I have to keep reminding myself that Agenda advertizes itself as a new take on notes rather than on to-dos. As soon as I opened it up for the first time, it became a replacement for OmniFocus (which I bought when it first came out, and upgraded when it went to Version 2, but can’t bring myself to use consistently for more than a week at a time) in my mind, and that’s basically how I’ve been using it. While being aware that that’s not really its genre, the link with the calendar means that that’s how it’s likely to be used, it seems to me.
Of course, users can use whatever combinations of apps they like in whatever way they like, but guidance as to typical use cases would be appreciated. (What, if anything, is Agenda designed to replace?) Scenarios I can envisage are:
-
Add Agenda to your list of regularly used applications, i.e. use it alongside a notes app (Notes, Simplenote, Bear, Evernote…), a calendar app (Calendar, BusyCal, Fantastical…), and a task manager (OmniFocus, Things…). In this scenario, what kinds of things would Agenda take over from which of the other applications? Should it best be viewed as a kind of calendar adjunct, or as something else?
-
Use Agenda in place of a notes application and alongside a task manager and calendar. In this scenario, Agenda needs to be robust enough to handle many thousands of notes in various categories and have good browsing and search functionality. Users probably need some guidance in the best ways to link it up with their calendar application.
-
Use Agenda in place of a task manager. (As alluded to above, this is the most obvious scenario to me.) In this scenario, the fact that Agenda doesn’t look like OmniFocus is no doubt deliberate. Agenda is a more “friendly” or a “lighter” competitor. But, arguably, it still needs to offer much of the core functionality of OmniFocus. It seems to me that one important criterion for a task manager is that it’s possible to see an overview of everything in one laptop screen. Obviously, a lot of details won’t be visible, but I dislike having to scroll up and down just to get an overview. That’s why I think it needs an extra layer of hierarchy in the sidebar: The current setup of Categories and Projects mean that every new Project takes me further away from that goal, so I’ve started setting up a Miscellaneous project in each Category that houses what should really be separate Projects. Failing that, it needs a Focus/Hoist command, so that users can look at one Category/Area only with a single command (rather than going to every other Category/Area and clicking Hide).
Leveraging categories -
Use Agenda as a combined notes application and task manager for a specific area of your life, keeping your notes application and task manager for everything else. A teacher might want to organize teaching notes in Agenda; a university professor might want to use it to manage research schedules; someone working in a business might want to manage meetings or one core project in Agenda; and so on. I’m not sure how realistic this scenario is, because I think that having experienced the fine integration with your calendar you would want it in every area of your life. That might lead to an argument for document-based software (like TaskPaper), one for each project or perhaps one for each area of your life.
I know that developers don’t want to be or appear arrogant and therefore tend to avoid being too prescriptive with how people use their software. Thanks to that attitude, innovative uses such as
or
http://decoding.io/2018/01/integrating-agenda-into-my-workflow/
emerge. On the other hand, developers of innovative apps such as Agenda have spent countless hours of deep thought coming up with solutions to the real issues that people face in their daily lives with all the information- and time-related issues that life throws our way. I for one am eager to be educated by them.
Sorry for the excessively long message!
7 Likes
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and kind words, we would like to indeed write a number of show and tell articles in this section, stay tuned!
1 Like
I enjoy using Agenda, and have been trying to make it part of as many projects as I can. I acknowledge — as is implied throughout this thread — that Agenda does have a “neither fish nor fowl” feel to it. It is like a diary, but not really, and it isn’t a replacement for a full-blown note-taker. So I agree that providing some guidance for new and would-be users could be beneficial to your sales.
The two aspects of Agenda that so far appeal most to me:
-
The timeline view, in which you can scroll through related notes as if they are one long document.
-
The robustness of the notes you can take with Agenda, adding lists, headings, checklists, quotes, etc…
Those two are related, of course, because without number 2, number 1 would be less valuable. So, for me, any project that would benefit from those two aspects are what I’m putting into Agenda. It’s a surprisingly varied group of “projects."
2 Likes
In my case, it is really scenario 2 where it will shine for me once it gets better at a few things. But I don’t see it as attacking Evernote/OneNote/Bear directly. Instead, I find it makes for a better journal-style notebook, versus a notebook that’s an “organized” jumble of things that I will want to refer to later. So if you are more likely to record work in something like Day One, than Evernote, Agenda will probably appeal to you.
You comment about using it in place of OmniFocus, which makes me think that maybe seeing how it works in a Bullet Journal-ish kind of way might help you out?
1 Like
Yes — item 1 you mention (being able to scroll through notes and see them all in a page) is a definite plus for me, and somethingn I haven’t seen anywhere else.
2 Likes
Interesting thoughts. Yes, the bullet journal thing might be a good way for me to go, perhaps letting OmniFocus just be OmniFocus. I used to use Day One, but decided reluctantly to leave it behind when it moved to a subscription model, so a replacement for that is most welcome.
3 Likes
Nice feedbacks. On my part, I use Agenda alongside Omnifocus. I prefer to separate my notes from my task manager app. I write my drafts, plans, or extra details on Agenda. And the finalized and structured tasks on my Task Manager. Before, I tend to just dump everything in Omnifocus and I get overwhelmed with the extra details. I also do not want to mix my notes with all tasks because I might overlook them. With Agenda, life is much more simpler now that before.
I have tried to use Omnioutliner with Omnifocus but there’s a missing link that’s not being adressed. I’ve used Bear Notes also (love the UI and features) but it’s not calendar-based and I am not really into subscription-based app.
1 Like
Personnally I wanted to split task management / meetings notes & working notes / following up with other people.
So it leads to
- Omnifocus : task management with references
- Ulysses : preparation notes and formal meetings notes, i.e. everything that can be exported at some moment
- Agenda : following up with people on différent subjects.
Each part is link to each other because in Omnifocus tasks I may have a reminder to follow up with somebody, and when doing so I will add the result to Agenda.
Once the project is finished, I’ll export it as Markdown from Agenda to Ulysses for references.
There are some more complex details, but here is the big picture.
5 Likes
The way I’m moving is to treat Agenda as a replacement to Notes and to use it alongside Things. My note-taking needs are fairly straightforward – except that I need to move across them in an organised way that isn’t possible in Notes. I even think Agenda can be suitable for long-term note storage. In other words: my note-reading needs are more complex than my note-taking needs. Agenda seems to be solving this problem for me.
What I miss now is an “Inbox” where I can just dump notes, coming back to them to organise later; the virtue here is as with Things, simply being able to get something down, and then worrying that it’s in the right category and project later on. Do please give us an Inbox! 
S.
6 Likes
Me too! For some reason I’ve never felt at home with Evernote, but I think Agenda offers me the perfect balance between notes, research & actually getting things done, & I’m very much looking forward to making lots of use of it
2 Likes
We have some ideas in this direction, stay tuned!
3 Likes
It’s how I intend to try and tackle Agenda as well. I am using it to replace the default Notes.app in the Mac. I have hundreds of the notes and I am unable to track them these days. Things is still my go-to task management, so let’s see how well Agenda will help me organize my thoughts.
I am still not able to connect with how linking to calendar is useful to me - if I launched Calendar, I don’t see my Agenda notes in there (I don’t think it does) and yet, Agenda does not have a weekly/monthly Calendar view… so, the point of linking calendar is just assigning a “Created” date to the notes, which is what most notes taking app have anyway.
I think this app will be hard for everyday people to wrap their mind around it. The fact that it won Apple Design Award speaks volume of its design but it does take some education to appreciate it to its fullest.
After months of using Agenda, this is how I incorporated it to my workflow. First of all, this app has become very useful on what I do in life. I am a Foreign Language and a Sign Language Teacher, Sign Language Interpreter and organize events for the Deaf Community. I follow the GTD method, but not strictly. So I tried to adapt new methods and whatever suits my needs. I have been struggling very much before on my fixed meetings / schedules and needed an app that integrates notes and calendars. Prayers answered thru Agenda!
I use these apps for my workflow:
-
Calendar (Mac) and Calendars 5 by Readdle (iOS). I used before Fantastical 2 in my iPhone but they don’t support yet URL Links so I couldn’t open my Agenda notes in ios. I put all my Scheduled Events (Fixed Events) in my Calendar.
-
Agenda (Mac and IOS) for Calendar Scheduled Events (Fixed Events).
a.) First of all, all notes incorporated with Scheduled events are in my Agenda. Agenda really helped me a lot to easily locate notes I have for a specific and scheduled event. Before, I needed to search for them in lots of cluttered files. I was so stressed that time.
b.) Secondly, I also use my Agenda for Different Projects for the Deaf Community. So I have categories for Personal, Professional, Languages, and Deaf Community. And in each Category I have different Projects. (I do hope that Subprojects would be implemented because it’s important for my Project Management.) All my Project notes, ideas and important things are written here.
c.) Thirdly, I also write drafts for my Outlines / To Do Lists on Agenda before transferring them to Omnifocus. (So thanks a lot for the IOS app because I always bring my iphone with me.)
-
Omnifocus (Mac and IOS) - after writing the outline or draft of my Tasks and To do lists, I transfer everything to Omnifocus. Before, I put everything in my Omnifocus and I became overwhelmed with all the information. But now, it’s more organized and less cluttered than before. If I check my to do lists and routines, it’s easier for me now to do my tasks. I know that I could write my To do lists on Agenda. But, I have Repetitive taks that are in Omnifocus, that Agenda does not support yet.
-
Omniplan for my Large Projects (I also write my first draft on Agenda before transferring them to Omniplan.)
- I am still on the process of improving and figuring out other usage of Agenda. Hope this helps.
5 Likes
Thank you! It does 
1 Like
I’m happy it helped you. Agenda completed the missing link to my workflow and now it’s complete. Very satisfied now!
2 Likes
Excellent - good to be part of the circle! 
2 Likes
Hi kaaeronpaul,
I Also use Omnifocus, omniplan, fantastical, workflow, due and now adding Agenda to my arsenal to organize all my projects but i have felt at times resistance to using Agenda despite like in it, i feel like all the programs are gears that run with me but adding Agenda makes them grind as i have not found yet how to properly integrate it without having redundancy. now that they released the X callback i might be able to use workflow to add the note and place the task in omnifocus. not sure how but hopeful.
4 Likes