Migrating from Things 3 takes one focused afternoon, because what you are really moving is your system, not your database. There is no one-click importer between Things 3 and any non-Apple app, so the practical path is a structured manual move: audit, export, rebuild, then run both apps in parallel for a week.

This guide uses Organized3 as the destination since it mirrors the Things 3 structure on Windows, Android, and iOS (see the full Things 3 alternative for Windows comparison), but the process works for any GTD-style app. The steps assume you are leaving because your devices changed: a Windows laptop from work, an Android phone, or both.

First, reframe what "migration" means

People postpone this move for months because they picture re-entering every task they have ever written. You will not do that, for two reasons:

  • Your Logbook stays behind. Completed tasks are history, not workload. You do not need them to act; at most you need them for reference, and Things 3 keeps working as a read-only archive for as long as you keep it installed.
  • Half your open tasks are probably dead. Anyone who has run Things 3 for a year has projects that quietly expired. Migrating only what is still alive is not cutting corners; it is the weekly review David Allen keeps telling you to do, with a deadline attached.

Treat the migration as a full GTD review that happens to end in a different app, and the whole thing gets lighter.

Step 1: Audit what is actually alive (60 to 90 minutes)

Open Things 3 and walk through every list, top to bottom. For each project and task, ask the classic clarifying question: is this still something I am committed to?

  • Active: it has a real next action you intend to take. It moves.
  • Someday: you still want it, just not now. It moves to the Someday list.
  • Dead: you have not touched it in months and feel relief at the idea of dropping it. Complete it or delete it. It does not move.

Do not skip the Someday area in Things 3 itself. It is usually the biggest list and the one with the highest dead-weight ratio. Be ruthless: every item you drop now is an item you never re-enter.

Step 2: Get your tasks out of Things 3 (15 to 30 minutes)

Things 3 has no export button for other task managers, but you have decent options:

  • On a Mac: select the tasks in a project and copy them. Things pastes to-dos as plain text, one per line, into any text editor. Do this project by project into a single text file, with a heading per project.
  • On iPhone or iPad only: there is no bulk copy, so type your surviving projects into a note as you audit, or keep the phone beside you and work directly from the screen during Step 3.

Either way, the output of this step is one flat list of surviving projects and tasks. Do not organize it yet. Capture first, organize later, the same rule as always.

Step 3: Rebuild the skeleton in the new app (30 to 45 minutes)

In Organized3, build the structure before you move the tasks:

  1. Create your projects first. Just the titles of the projects that survived the audit. This gives every migrated task a place to land.
  2. Paste or type tasks into the Inbox. Resist filing directly. Dumping everything into the Inbox and processing it gives each task one last clarify pass, and gets you fluent in the app's processing flow on day one.
  3. Process the Inbox. Assign each task to its project, schedule the ones with real dates so they surface in Upcoming, send the "not now" items to Someday, and put today's actual commitments in Today.

If you used Areas in Things 3, flatten them with a naming prefix like "Work: Website redesign" and "Home: Kitchen renovation". You keep the grouping at a glance without waiting to reproduce the exact hierarchy.

Step 4: Run both apps in parallel for one week

Trust is the currency of a GTD system, and trust needs evidence. For the first week:

  • Do all new capture in Organized3, on whichever device is in your hand. This is where a Windows PC or Android phone stops being a gap in your system.
  • Keep Things 3 installed as a reference archive. If you reach for it and find something you missed, move that item and note what kind of thing slipped through.
  • At the end of the week, do your weekly review entirely in the new app: clear the Inbox, scan every project for a next action, read through Someday, and check the Logbook to see the week's completed work in one place.

If the review works, the migration is over. Things 3 can stay on your iPhone as an archive indefinitely; it costs nothing to keep and you will open it less each month.

Three mistakes that sink migrations

  • Moving everything "just in case". If you port all 400 open tasks, you have moved your guilt, not your system. The audit in Step 1 is the migration; the typing is just logistics.
  • Rebuilding the perfect structure on day one. Do not spend the afternoon designing a tag taxonomy in an app you have used for an hour. Flat projects plus the four core lists will carry you for weeks; refine after your second weekly review, when you know how the app thinks.
  • Skipping the parallel week. Cold-turkey switches fail at the first stressful day, when you instinctively reach for the old app and find half your tasks in each. The one-week overlap is what makes the new system the trusted one.

The migration checklist

  • Walk every Things 3 list and mark each item Active, Someday, or Dead
  • Delete or complete the dead items in Things 3
  • Copy surviving tasks out (Mac: copy-paste as text; iPhone: retype during rebuild)
  • Create the surviving projects in Organized3
  • Dump all surviving tasks into the Organized3 Inbox
  • Process the Inbox: project, Today, Upcoming, or Someday for every item
  • Flatten Areas into project name prefixes
  • Capture only in Organized3 for one full week
  • Run a complete weekly review in Organized3
  • Demote Things 3 to a read-only archive

Ready to start? Organized3 is free on Windows, Android, and iOS, with no subscription. Set it up on all your devices before Step 3 so sync is working when the tasks arrive.

FAQ

Can I import Things 3 data directly into another app?

No. Things 3 has no export format that other task managers import directly, and Organized3 does not have an automatic Things 3 importer. The reliable path is the manual audit-and-rebuild process described above, which most people finish in an afternoon.

Should I migrate my completed tasks and Logbook?

No. Completed tasks are reference material, not work. Keep Things 3 installed as an archive if you want the history; your new Logbook starts building from the day you switch.

How long does the migration take?

Plan for one afternoon: roughly 60 to 90 minutes of auditing, up to 30 minutes of exporting, and 30 to 45 minutes of rebuilding, plus a one-week parallel run that costs almost no extra effort.

What happens to my Areas from Things 3?

Flatten them into project name prefixes such as "Work:" and "Home:". You keep the visual grouping immediately, and you can revisit the structure once you know the new app well.

Can I keep using Things 3 on my iPhone alongside Organized3?

You can, and many switchers do for a transition week. Just pick one app for new capture, otherwise you split your system in two and lose the single trusted list GTD depends on.