How many times have you stared at the same list of stale tasks on your to-do list? I have whole sections that have been there so long they’ve become invisible to me —- just like the sign in by bathroom telling guests to sit down to pee has become invisible to certain of my antisocial visitors.

Now, today’s tip isn’t going to help you to finish off those lingering tasks. You may as well just delete them, because you’re never, ever going to complete them. But it might help you rescue newly added tasks from the same stagnant fate. It’s called the “question mark to-do list trick”, and so far it’s working for me.

It has taken me a couple of weeks to refresh and recharge from my first Macworld experience (now known as Macworld | iWorld, of course). But during that time of getting clear I had the opportunity to give the latest offering by RealMac Software (Rapidweaver, LittleSnapper) in collaboration with Milen and Impending, Inc. a thorough “beta” test drive. Coincidentally, the iOS app is called Clear, and it is one of the more compelling list-makers/task managers I’ve seen for the iPhone.

The innovative thing about Clear is that it is entirely gesture-based in execution. There are no visible buttons or sliders; you use a series of gestures to interact with it, and that is what makes it stand apart from other iPhone list apps and task managers.

Wunderlist HD – (Free) iPad – Productivity

Wunderlist is a beautifully elegant task manager that’s been around for a short while on the iPhone, and now it’s available in all its HD glory on the iPad. Use it to boost your productivity by managing your tasks and to-do lists, while effortlessly syncing them between your Mac and your iOS devices to ensure you’re always on top. Its impressive list of features includes task sharing, push notifications, email reminders, notes, customizable backgrounds, and lots more.

With all its features and its near-perfect user interface, Wunderlist gives many paid task management applications a good run for their money.

[xrr rating = 80%]