Diurnal and Things 3
Things 3 is a task manager you open. Diurnal is an overlay you summon with ⇧⌘A on top of whatever you are already doing, write a line into, and dismiss.
The deciding difference is the calendar. Things reads events from Apple Calendar only, so a Google calendar has to be synced into Apple Calendar first. Diurnal talks to Google directly and shows those meetings beside your tasks.
Side by side
| Diurnal | Things 3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Shows your whole day in the overlay | ||
| Reads Google Calendar directly | ||
| Runs on iPhone and iPad | ||
| Creates calendar events | ||
| Projects and areas | ||
| One-time purchase | ||
| Built-in focus timer | ||
| Voice capture inside the app |
A key, not a place
Press ⇧⌘A anywhere, type “pay rent tomorrow 4pm #home”, and the day, the time and the tag are read out of the sentence as you type. The overlay closes with the same keystroke that files the task.
Your meetings sit on that same timeline. Connect Google Calendar and the day shows both; type /cal to book a new event, or change one you already have, without opening a browser.
Where Things 3 is the better answer
It is on your iPhone, iPad and Watch. Diurnal is Mac only, so if you capture tasks while walking to the station, Things wins outright.
Its project structure is deeper: areas, projects, headings and checklists give a long piece of work somewhere to live. Diurnal organises around days and a week instead. And you buy Things once, which is rare and worth saying.
Which one suits you
Pick Things 3 if you want one polished task manager across every Apple device, or if your work is organised into projects rather than days.
Pick Diurnal if your calendar is Google, and if most of your capture happens while you are in the middle of something else on a Mac.
Questions
- What does ⇧⌘A actually open?
- Your whole day, over whatever you are in: the tasks, your Google meetings and a timeline, not just a box to type into. Write a line, press Return, and the same key puts you back where you were.
- Does Diurnal work with Google Calendar?
- Yes. It reads your calendars and shows those meetings beside your tasks, and /cal books a new event without a browser. It creates events; editing and deleting existing ones stay with Google for now.
- Can I use both?
- Yes, and plenty of people will. They keep separate data and neither touches the other, so Things can stay on your phone while Diurnal runs your Mac.
Other comparisons
Facts about Things 3 were checked in . Software changes; if something here has gone out of date, it is a mistake rather than a position.