Volkswagen Lover: How To Make a To Do List for Use Across Multiple Devices

There are a ton of productivity applications out there that will help you plan a project, sort through a complex series of tasks, or simply get things done. While power users might need to download applications like Things or Omnifocus to keep their affairs in order and synced across multiple piece of hardware, many day-to-day users don't need the raw organizational power that those sorts of software packages provide. If your to-do list needs are spartan, we've got an easy to use solution that will help you keep on top of of everything in your busy life.

By using Dropbox to synchronize a single to-do list across multiple devices, you'll never have to worry about forgetting to pick up milk on the way home again. Let's get started:

1. Download & Install Dropbox

Dropbox is an great piece of software that, through the use of a free online account, allows you to sync a multitude of files across any number of computers and devices. You can download a copy of Dropbox for Mac here. If you're rocking an iOS device, Dropbox is also available via the iTunes App Store.

Once you've downloaded and installed the application to the various pieces of technology in your life, follow the on screen instructions provided by the software. If you're already a Dropbox user, enter your user name and password when prompted to do so. If you're new to Dropbox, you'll be asked to create and account. Don't worry--it's a relatively painless process.

Now that you've created your account, the installation process will be complete. Dropbox will install a new folder to your Mac. Any files you see fit to drop into your Dropbox folder will automatically be syncronized to your dropbox account as soon as an internet connection becomes available.

2. Make a List

The goal of this how-to is to get you going with an easy to use to-do list. With that being the case, we'd better create one. Turning to your Mac, open up a new document in TextEdit, and type a title at the top of the page. Now, save your new document to your Dropbox folder with a name you'll remember later. We reccomend something clever like "Dropbox To Do List". As for file format, you'll want to save it as a Microsoft Word .doc file.

Once you've created your file, turn your attention to your Dropbox folder. You'll note that the file has a blue sync icon overlaid on top of it. Once that icon turns green, your to-do list has been syncronized with your Dropbox account.

3. Check it Twice

Open the Dropbox application you installed to your iOS device and sign in with your user name and password. If the document you just created is now present on your iOS device, you're on the right track.

4. Write Out Tasks Both Naughty and Nice

Now that you know your document is synconrizing between your computer and your iOS device, add a few errands to your to do list using your Mac. Once you're done, save the list. The newly updated list will automatically sunc with your iOS device.

5. Edit On The Go

Reading a to-do list on your iOS device you created on your Mac is sweet, but being able to edit that list and then sync it back to your Mac is bananas--well, let's go bananas. In order to edit documents syncronized to your Dropbox account, you'll need a text editor. QuickOffice, with versions available for all current iOS hardware, is a great choice, not only because of its reasonable price, but because in addition to letting you edit Microsoft Word documents downloaded from Dropbox, it also handles Excel and PowerPoint and a wide variety of other cloud-based services too.

Once you've installed your QuickOffice on to your iOS device, open the application and look to the bottom left hand corner of your screen. Click the Add icon. Now, add your Dropbox account to QuckOffice. Bingo! You're in business! You'll find that an icon representing your Dropbox account has been added to QuickOffice's file system. Tap the Dropbox icon; your to-do list ready and waiting to be worked on.