I’m eternally searching for just the right tool for the task(s). Lately, definitely PLURAL.
“Right” means it helps me work the way I think, carrying me with the least possible intrusion by the tool toward completion of the job or jobs at hand.
And when it comes to sorting out the “action items” on my plate, it helps me to see the whole plate. For that, I’ve often tried, then abandoned software utilities called “mind mappers.”
But here’s one such web-based, free and sophisticated program I just might stay with. It’s called Mindomo. Just click the LAUNCH button. My PROJECTS map has 16 MAIN TOPICS so far, some of them running three levels deep. I can SEE all the things that are “out there”, in various states of need or progress, and decide what “to do” to move each along. Then I set alarms and calendar events accordingly. And I can see the same map from work or home, laptop or desktop.
Works for me. Another similar program is bubbl.us but I think I like Mindomo better. I wish it didn’t take so many clicks to start a particular saved map on startup. It’s still in beta but I’m finding it fully functional. Your mileage may vary.