WorkFlowy Software Review

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Workflowy

Workflowy is a list-based note-taking application that is flexible and easy to use. This cloud-based, centralized, and synchronized work organization tool runs on all platforms (desktop, web app, mobile) with keyboard shortcuts to allow for quick taking and retrieval of notes. It enables users to capture ideas, organize files, and share lists in an intuitive and smart way.

Table of Contents

Workflowy Review: Features and Strengths

Capture and Search

Workflowy is built to launch quickly, so users can quickly open and use it the moment an idea or opportunity materializes. Its intuitive bullet-style interface enables users to quickly create an outline, adding headers, lists, and paragraphs, and attach images and other types of files.

Workflowy is offered as a web app, a freestanding desktop app (macOS, Windows, and Linux), and native mobile apps for Android and iOS. This means that no matter which device ypu’re using, Workflowy’s single, synced workspace can be edited, added to, and searched across all content and documents.

Organize and Analyze

Workflowy allows users to create nested lists within lists to help organize or break down major projects or topics into smaller sub-items. Users can add colored tags for quick visual identification as well as faster text search. The app offers several keyboard shortcuts to handle common tasks including changing text from a from a bulleted list item to a paragraph/header, moving items around the workspace using keys only, crossing off items or checking off a to-do item.

Users can also change views from a list to a Kanban board. This allows users to view lists in columns instead of endless lists of bullet points. The software also allows the quick creation of a live copy of any list. The copies sync to each other so that users can view the same information and update from anywhere. Other features include expandable/collapsible lists and backlinking.

Share and Collaborate

Workflowy includes collaboration features with its simple sharing capabilities. Users can quickly share lists to give others full access, edit controls, or view-only permissions. Collaborators do not need to have an account to work with Workflowy users.

Teams can enable link sharing to share a selected part of their list. They can also invite others with the accompanying level of permission. Users who receive shared lists can save these lists to their accounts for later viewing. They can also access various templates from a library under meeting, engineering, design, product, marketing, sales, education, and personal categories.

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Workflowy Pricing

In addition to a free plan for individuals, Workflowy pricing is available for its Teams plan. At $4.99/user/month, users get all Free plan features plus premium features like unlimited item creation for all members, unlimited file uploads for all members, one-on-one team setup, simple team administration, and auto-backup to Dropbox.

The Free plan includes features to capture information, organize notes with multi-nesting structures, zoom-in views from overview to the deepest sub-sub-item levels, and and simple sharing. However, it limits free plan users to 250 items per month.

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Who Uses Workflowy?

Workflowy is for individuals and small teams looking for a flexible note-taking tool to organize ideas, content, files, to-do items, and all kinds of lists. Customers include individuals and teams in MIT, Google, Spotify, Amazon, Apple, Stanford University, Twitter, UCLA Berkeley, and Organisologie.

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Workflowy Supported Language

Workflowy’s interface is currently available in English only.

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Case Studies

Julien Gueniat is a productivity writer, coach, and founder of Organisologie. He used to work for a company as a project manager and was managing a large number of complex projects at the time. While with the company, he did not mind being disorganized because the consequences were not that big. After he left his job and became his own boss, not being able to organize work resulted in not just losing time but also losing opportunities and money.

He started using Workflowy and immediately it was useful. The app suits his unique way of doing things because he believes that some tools are too rigid, and that forcing oneself to fit into a particular tool’s framework will cause frustration and even resentment. With Workflowy, he starts projects with just a list. This simple beginning allows him to start with a basic structure which he can then expands as ideas come along. Even with collaborative features, Workflowy has minimal notifications, allowing him to do focused, undistracted work.

Deborah Carver is a digital content strategist and website consultant. During the times that she is in an ideation or research phase, traditional blank-page note-taking apps are not of much help to her. She needs a single place to keep and connect all decent ideas with the potential to turn out something.

Workflowy allows her to jot down occasional blog post ideas that she does not have time to explore fully. The bullet-style structure enables her to list the key ideas for a post. Over time, she can add as many bullets as she needs until she is ready to start drafting. Also, because she’s collected her thinking in one central place, she can always go back to Workflowy and revisit other ideas.

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Why Choose Workflowy?

Workflowy is a highly accessible outlining and work organization tool that runs across platforms and devices so it is never out of reach. The simple interface does not intimidate or distract and can be quickly adopted by users of all technical levels.

Also, Workflowy is versatile enough to meet a a broad range of applications, including idea cature, note-taking, organizing of thoughts or projects, enumerating tasks, and even writing complete drafts.

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Company Info

Workflowy is a privately held software company with headquarters in Centennial, Colorado. It was co-founded by Jesse Patel and Michael Turitzin in 2010. Frustrated with existing project management tools at the time, the founders created a simple, flexible, and infinitely nesting note-taking system that allowed users to capture information and organize it quickly and easily. Today, Jesse and his team continue to further develop and refine the product.

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Once your ideas have formed themselves into full-fledged projects, it’s time to consider using a full-featured PM solution to get teams organized and get work done. If you’re interested in learning more about top-rated project management software, the editors at Project-Management.com actively recommend the following:


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