Proud is a revolution in the frozen world of task managers for iPhone and iPad

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Since the well-known Clear, which fundamentally changed the approach to to-do lists, this niche has not had much of a shock. After trying Proud, I caught myself thinking that I was experiencing déjà vu. Exactly the same positive emotions from the use of Clear caused me long ago.

At first glance, Proud looks very simple: drag the list down to create a task, swipe it left or right to mark and delete. This impression is misleading: the task manager is really simple, but far from primitive.

The philosophy of the application invites us to build a workflow, dividing it into three components: project planning, execution and control. The Lists, Reminders and History sections are responsible for each phase, respectively.

Despite the fact that there are only three of them, the sections differ from each other in the background color (in the settings, you can choose one of several design themes).

Scheduling tasks

At the planning stage, everything is quite simple: we create the main parent lists, then add as many nested project lists as we like, rename, change the order, or move them between the lists. Actions and gestures are intuitive and work equally well on both iPhone and iPad.

More feedback and dynamics while working in Proud add animation and sounds for almost all events (the sound scheme can be changed or disabled).

Work on projects

When all the ideas from your head have been transferred to structured lists, it's time to get to work. Any task can be assigned both for a specific period and for an indefinite one. After that, they will be shown in chronological order in the Reminders section. Here they can either be marked as completed or reassigned to another time.

If necessary, any task can be made repetitive, which is convenient not only for routine, but also for creating useful habits.

Statistics and analysis

The last section allows us to analyze productivity and admire our successes. You can interact with tasks in it in the same way as in the previous two, including creating new ones (to add unplanned tasks to statistics, for example). If you hold your finger at a certain point on the curve, you can see the number of tasks completed that day.

Useful tricks

With basic capabilities, perhaps everything. It's time to move on to additional ones. And believe me, Proud has something to surprise us with. I left the most delicious for last.

On each tab, the developers have hidden one auxiliary panel, the so-called dashboard. In lists, these are application settings, in reminders - a timer with customizable intervals to focus on the current task and rest, and in history - a detailed schedule for completing tasks, one might say, a productivity curve.

All panels are superbly visualized and, like other events, have animations and sounds.

Superpower

Yes, that's exactly what Proud calls the functions that give superpowers. And I can't blame the developers for such a loud name: the functions are really worthwhile. See for yourself.

The first issue is De-Stress. As the name suggests, it is a stress reliever tool. Whether you have ten minutes or one time at your disposal, Proud will help you relax and disconnect from problems. Looking at the moving circle, you just need to breathe in time to the pacifying Zen sounds. Simple, but it really works.

Next on the list is the superpower Give me more time, which will help you cope with piled-up tasks. If you do not have time to complete the current task with a tight schedule, then the next ones creep on top of each other and everything goes to hell. Proud solves this problem quite gracefully by simply shifting all tasks by a certain amount of time. At the same time, important tasks with a fixed deadline remain unchanged on the schedule.

The last superpower is also associated with time, and in the literal sense: it allows you to travel into the past. Thus, we are encouraged to delve into ourselves and analyze things like productivity at a certain time.

Superpowers are hidden in the second pages of the dashboard in each section. Tap the icon, then swipe to the right.

Impressions and results

Proud comes across as a solid tool, with attention to detail and refinement inherent in its creators. In fact, this is the way it is: I installed the application a couple of weeks ago, and I sat down for the review only now, and during this time two or even three updates managed to arrive.

Everything currently implemented in Proud functions perfectly. The application has a universal version and works on iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, synchronizing data in any direction.

Speaking of the shortcomings, first of all, it should be noted that Proud is an "application in itself" (at least for the moment). You cannot share the list and import the task from another application or service. With a stretch, the lack of support for notes and media files in tasks can also be attributed to the minuses - to capture ideas, you only have lists and nested lists. But this is Proud's philosophy. This limitation allows you to filter out all the noise and debris, focusing exclusively on your work.

Proud's price is quite high, but it is quite justified, especially considering that the application is constantly evolving and you can count on new features in the future. The target audience of Proud, I would call people who value simplicity and convenience, who have to work with a large number of tasks. It is in this scenario of use that the application will be able to fully reveal itself.