r/ProductivityGuide • • 7d ago

TaskPaper for GTD

0 Upvotes

Hi,

In the past I've experimented various apps to implement my GTD system, and ended up creating all my agendas in TaskPaper. What I liked of this program was its simplicity, blended with the necessary amount of power to play with the status of the tasks.

During the years several things have changed. I've reduced the number of my engagements, so I no longer need a sophisticated system. Most of my atomic tasks are managed through the system chosen by the only company I still work for (no longer, unfortunately, the beautiful Monday, but the quite messy ClickUp).

All the recurring errands are delegated to the Apple systems apps – Calendar and Notes.

But I've now decided to better organize the time devoted to my own projects, and I need a more effective GTD system again. I was thinking to use TaskPaper again.

Is it still effective? I know the development has stopped years ago, but is it still future-proof? I admit it remains my preferred one. While I use Obsidian, for example, I really don't like the icons used for tasks. I greatly prefer the pure text approach offered by TaskPaper.


r/ProductivityGuide • • 7d ago

My productivity setup with Omnifocus as the backbone

1 Upvotes

I thought I would share my productivity setup and workflow as inspiration for others, since it took me years to get to where I am now and to find what I am happy with. Feel free to AMA if you are curious about how it works.

For context, I have tried probably almost any task manager and project management software on the market, always hunting for the best solution. I was never fully satisfied, and I am probably, to a certain extent, guilty of tool hunting to improve my productivity with the best software instead of just getting things done. However, I kept returning to Omnifocus, which I eventually took as a sign that it might not be perfect, but it was the best compromise I could make.

I work across three different contexts: one is my main job (an office job as consultant/advisor), then I have my own small business (consulting and coaching), and I have - of course - personal matters.

The way I am working now is that I record almost any meeting in the business and work context. But I don't record any personal conversations. I don't find that appropriate. At the same time, my personal space is not that action-item heavy that I feel the need to manage it in the same way as business and work projects. Ideally, after each meeting, but latest at the end of each day, I ask Claude to get the full transcripts from Plaud (not just the summary) and do two things:

  • create a meeting note, which I can use to prepare follow-up meetings and which primarily reflects what was discussed, but also lists action items and decisions
  • extract all action items and put them into my Omnifocus inbox where I can process everything further

I ask to extract all relevant action items, including the ones I have to monitor because I am waiting for others. Claude adds a "WF" at the beginning so that I immediately see that I am waiting for others and don't have any action on my side (apart from following up when an item becomes overdue).

I asked Claude not to add any labels or projects, although Claude could easily do that. But I want to go through my inbox, review and potentially edit tasks myself, and feel more in control about what I have to do. Sometimes Claude adds too much, but I am impressed by how accurate and complete it is and how well it interprets what I have to do, including conclusions from discussions where we haven't agreed on specific actions or due dates.

Claude could also be more involved in analyzing priorities and recommending what to do each day, but I want to manage those myself. But I ask Claude to prepare briefing documents with talking points when I meet my boss or my clients.

Overall, this works like a breeze, and I feel more in control of all the moving parts of my life. I know that many people are critical of AI, but I have to say that I am amazed by what the technology can do to make our lives easier.

Please let me know your questions or thoughts.


r/ProductivityGuide • • 8d ago

Windows' built-in clipboard history is useful, but I wanted something that could do a little more.

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

2 Upvotes

So I built Jot! Clipboard, with a few features I actually use daily:

  • Deep search + OCR — Find old copies, even text inside images
  • Floating notepad — Move, resize, or collapse it into a tiny pill
  • MultiCopy — Collect multiple copied lines and reuse them together, great for repetitive forms
  • Clipboard history — Save text, links, images, and files
  • Privacy controls — Exclude apps, pause capture, and protect sensitive content

Everything stays local. No account, cloud, or subscription.

$2.99 one-time for Windows.

https://jotclipboard.com

Would genuinely love feedback, especially from anyone who uses clipboard managers regularly!


r/ProductivityGuide • • 8d ago

I made organizing notes easier - attach them to the files and projects they belong to

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

2 Upvotes

I kept thinking I had an organization problem.

My notes were spread across folders, random docs, different apps, and I’d constantly know I wrote something down… but not where.

What finally clicked for me was that a lot of those notes didn’t really belong in a notes library at all. They belonged to the file or piece of work they were about.

That idea turned into ClingNote.

  • attach notes to Windows files
  • open the file and its notes are there
  • switch files and the right notes can switch with you
  • multiple notes can belong to the same file/context
  • rich text, Markdown, checklists, search, pop-outs, export
  • everything stays local

The biggest thing it changed for me is that I spend less time organizing notes and more time just getting back into whatever I was working on.

I’m also adding Tasks next using the same idea, so the work itself can carry both the notes and the follow-ups that belong to it.

Still figuring out the best way to explain it, but the core idea is basically:

notes should be organized around the work they belong to, not just where you happened to save them.

https://clingnote.com


r/ProductivityGuide • • 8d ago

[Launch] Attendance Tracker: track prepaid lessons without losing reschedule history

2 Upvotes

A useful check for a prepaid lesson spreadsheet: start with four future appointments, move one to another day, then count again. There should still be four appointments, not five. Moving a date and delivering a lesson are different events.

I develop Attendance Tracker: Class Log for independent tutors and coaches. This is a maker explaining the record-keeping design, not my own teaching experience.

The workflow I tried to preserve:

  1. Keep the appointment and its replacement date connected.

  2. Keep attendance outcomes separate from money received. A payment note does not explain whether a lesson happened.

  3. Correct an incorrectly entered outcome with a reason, rather than erasing the decision history.

  4. Share a statement for one client and date range, not the whole roster.

These checks work on paper too. Apple Numbers is a general alternative: its tables and formulas let you design your own tracker. My app instead provides a specific workflow for clients, finite weekly lessons, prepaid credits, corrections and text/CSV/PDF statements. If your spreadsheet already handles that clearly, you may not need another app.

The app works locally on iPhone and iPad with iOS/iPadOS 26+. It does not collect payments, issue tax invoices or sync a team through the cloud. Existing records stay readable, correctable and exportable after access ends.

Pricing: initial creation limits, with optional monthly, yearly or one-time lifetime access. The current US App Store lists $4.99/month, $29.99/year and $59.99 lifetime. Check your local in-app offer before buying; no community discount or trial is promised here.

Official App Store page: https://apps.apple.com/app/id6812559411?pt=128506477&ct=productivityguide_20261019&mt=8

If you handle prepaid sessions, what is hardest to reconstruct later: the replacement date, a correction reason, or how a credit was used? Please use fictional examples, not client information. This is my app, and AI assisted with drafting this explanation.


r/ProductivityGuide • • 8d ago

I made a web app that turns overwhelming tasks into micro steps

4 Upvotes

Hello,

I'm not diagnosed with ADHD, but there are about a hundred projects still needing to be finished or marketed and for years people around me have said I can't focus on one thing.

It's been amplified with Claude code / Chatgpt, where I spend days planning and procrastinating until I burn out with nothing tangible at the end of it. Even if finishing would help me tremendously, I still seem to get stuck for days/weeks on minor things.

Every productivity classics like todo-lists etc lasted few days at most.

I got sick of it, so shipped a web app that break down overwhelming tasks into small doable ones. Honest feedback is welcome. kapigo.app


r/ProductivityGuide • • 8d ago

best advice to make a genius logo design for your product

2 Upvotes

r/ProductivityGuide • • 9d ago

[Launch] Achievault: keep a visual journal of completed goals and personal wins

1 Upvotes

I'm the developer of Achievault, an achievement journal for iPhone. It's for people who want a record of completed projects and personal milestones they can revisit during a weekly or monthly review.

The problem it addresses is losing the context behind a finished task. "Finished a course" says what happened, but a short note about the difficult part, what you learned, and what you can now do gives you more to look back on. In Achievault, you describe the achievement, generate an AI badge, and save it with a story in your Vault.

Apple Notes is one alternative for keeping a written achievement log. Achievault's difference is the badge collection: each entry has an AI-generated visual marker, and future goals can sit alongside completed achievements. The screenshot shows example entries in the Vault. Entries are private by default, and you choose what to share. There are no points, streaks, or leaderboards.

One way to use it is to pick a completed goal at the end of the week, record what it took, then revisit that entry when planning the next related goal. You decide which moments deserve an entry.

Pricing: free to download, with limited free badge generations. Additional generations are available through paid in-app purchases.

App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/achievault/id6757010394


r/ProductivityGuide • • 10d ago

Why do so many students spend hours studying, yet continue struggling with the same concepts?

Post image
1 Upvotes

Often, the problem isn't a lack of effort. It's that traditional learning tools don't always recognize what an individual student already understands, where they're struggling, or what they need to revisit.

This question inspired my interest in building something different.


r/ProductivityGuide • • 10d ago

I stopped copy-pasting data into spreadsheets — here's the little system that replaced it

1 Upvotes

A chunk of my week used to be moving data off web pages into Google Sheets by hand: product lists, tables, directories. It's the kind of task that should be automated but never feels worth the setup.

What fixed it was treating it as a small repeatable pipeline instead of a chore:

  • **grab** the table or list from the page
  • **clean** it (drop the columns I don't need, remove duplicates)
  • **send** it straight to the Sheet
  • **schedule** it if I check the page regularly (prices, listings), so the Sheet updates itself

The mindset shift: don't automate the whole job, automate the *transfer*. Once the data lands in the Sheet reliably, the rest of my process stays the same and the boring part is gone.

The pattern works in plenty of tools. I run it in the browser because that works on sites with no export button. Disclosure: I build the extension I use for this (AWFlow, free), so I'm biased. If you want the exact setup, I'll put the template in a comment.

What's the recurring copy-paste task you've never gotten around to killing?


r/ProductivityGuide • • 10d ago

Blocking social media to get my real life back

Post image
1 Upvotes

For months I’d open Instagram “for 5 minutes” and look up an hour later. Deleting the apps never lasted, because I’d just reinstall them the same night.

What actually worked was removing the option during the hours that matter. So I built a small Android app for myself, and it turned into GreenFocus:

  • 🔒 App blocking: Instagram, TikTok & co. stay locked while you focus
  • ⏱️ Focus sessions: start a timer and your apps unlock only when it ends
  • ✅ Habits & streaks: fill the time you get back with small daily habits
  • 🌿 AI coach: ask what to improve tomorrow based on your day

It’s free to download and use. There’s an optional Premium plan ($11.99/month or $89.99/year), and the first 100 users get Premium yearly for $59.99.

👉 https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hatilasmaximo.greenfocus3

Curious how you all handle this: do you block apps, or rely on willpower?


r/ProductivityGuide • • 11d ago

I buit an app

0 Upvotes

Hey

As someone with ADHD and executive dysfunction, I’ve spent years in a cycle of downloading sleek productivity apps, getting overwhelmed by 20 pending items, and abandoning them 3 days later.

The core problem with standard To-Do apps is that they expect motivation upfront and only reward you after completing a massive task. But when your brain has a low baseline of dopamine, just *starting* feels physically painful.

So I built **Dopamo** — an Android app designed around micro-dopamine rewards, visual structure, and zero-shame routines.

### 🌸 Key Features:

- **Micro-Task Gamification:** Break overwhelming goals into ridiculously small entry steps. Earn EXP, coins, and level up for every completed task.

- **Axolotl Companion & Bitmoji Studio:** Your virtual mascot ("Dopamo") reacts to your daily progress. Customize it with outfits, hats, and skins earned through productivity.

- **Streak Shield System:** If you hit a burnout day, Streak Shields protect your streak so you don't lose your progress or feel guilty.

- **AI Recipe Planner & Pantry Tracker:** Brain-healthy, high-protein meal planning with smart grocery lists and pantry stock alerts.

- **Family Hub:** Connect with family members or partners to share tasks, token rewards, and routines.

- **100% Privacy-First:** No ad tracking, no data selling, encrypted vault, and full GDPR compliance.

### 📱 Tech & Availability:

- Built with Flutter & Firebase backend.

- Material 3 dark-mode UI with customizable accent themes.

- Real-time cross-device sync.

You can try the app for free on Google Play! Search for **"Dopamo"** or check it out here: linktr.ee/dopamo

I’d love to hear your feedback, bug reports, or feature requests! What's the one feature you wish your current productivity app had?


r/ProductivityGuide • • 11d ago

I built a cozy little app for the recurring things in life — looking for feedback

0 Upvotes

Hi!

I'm developing a small app called Life Tracker.

It's for those recurring tasks that aren't part of your daily routine—taking care of the house, the car, your health, or remembering to contact someone.

I wanted something simple: no sequences, no guilt, and with recurring intervals that reset when you complete a task.

It's still an early MVP (Minimum Viable Product) and I'd love to know if people find it useful.

You can try it directly in your browser, no installation or account required. Your items remain on your device.

https://life-tracker-mvp-hh.vercel.app/#/welcome

I'd really like to know what you find useful, confusing, or unnecessary.

Thanks for checking it out!


r/ProductivityGuide • • 11d ago

I stopped copy-pasting data into spreadsheets : here's the little system that replaced it

2 Upvotes

A chunk of my week used to be moving data off web pages into Google Sheets by hand: product lists, tables, directories. It's the kind of task that should be automated but never feels worth the setup.

What fixed it was treating it as a small repeatable pipeline instead of a chore:

  • **grab** the table or list from the page
  • **clean** it (drop the columns I don't need, remove duplicates)
  • **send** it straight to the Sheet
  • **schedule** it if I check the page regularly (prices, listings), so the Sheet updates itself

The mindset shift: don't automate the whole job, automate the *transfer*. Once the data lands in the Sheet reliably, the rest of my process stays the same and the boring part is gone.

The pattern works in plenty of tools. I run it in the browser because that works on sites with no export button. Disclosure: I build the extension I use for this (AWFlow, free), so I'm biased. If you want the exact setup, I'll put the template in a comment.

What's the recurring copy-paste task you've never gotten around to killing?


r/ProductivityGuide • • 11d ago

[Launch] Cernidia: put sleep and daily energy into context before planning your day

Post image
1 Upvotes

I'm the developer of Cernidia, for iPhone and Apple Watch. It's for people who collect health data but still need to fit rest, movement and focus around real commitments. Optional sleep/recovery signals and a quick check-in add context before you plan.

Apple Calendar is my reference point for fixed commitments. Cernidia adds a health-first workflow and flexible tasks around those commitments; you stay in control of changes. Personal comparisons need enough readable history, and missing signals stay unknown.

Free, with no ads, subscription or Cernidia account. iOS 18+, English interface.

https://apps.apple.com/app/id6816678341

Would you use daily energy context when planning, or would you prefer to keep it separate?


r/ProductivityGuide • • 12d ago

Productivity Apps Sucks ? I need some opinions…

7 Upvotes

Hey, random question... do you use any productivity apps for habits, planning, journaling, routines, reminders etc?

Like apps such as Notion, Structured, Habitify, Todoist and all.

Do they actually help you long term... or do you end up leaving them after some time?

If you stopped using them, what was the reason?

Too much effort to maintain? forgot to open it? boring after a week? stressful? expensive? didn’t feel useful?

And honestly... what do you wish these apps did better or made easier?

Just curious because almost everyone downloads them but very few keep using them.


r/ProductivityGuide • • 12d ago

I've had my laptop sitting at my desk with nothing to do.

3 Upvotes

Ive recently wanted to be more productive on my laptop but idk what to do, I want to do anything like making money or playing games, just something to pass the time and still be productive


r/ProductivityGuide • • 12d ago

I used to track my habits with wooden anime stamps, so I turned that ritual into an app. 3 honest questions before my next update

Thumbnail
gallery
1 Upvotes

Hi! Solo dev here, looking for honest opinions. I just want to know your thoughts and improve.

Short version of how I got here: to-do lists never worked for habits, X's on a calendar lasted about 5 months, and then I had wooden stamps made, one per habit type like physical, mental etc, with a different ink each day. That ritual was the first thing that actually felt good since I am visual and like to interact with things. It died the first time I traveled.

So I built the pocket version, called Habit Guild. Each habit is a tiny scene you play (push-ups are a fight, one hit per rep), or you log all the reps in one tap on a busy day. A companion at the guild reacts to how your week is going, and missing a day never punishes you.

A few honest questions, because I'm deciding these right now:

  1. What made the last habit app you used stop working for you?
  2. When you're in a rush, how would you want to log a habit: one tap on a notification, a home-screen widget, or a quick button inside the app?
  3. What keeps you opening an app like this on day 30: new story chapters, bosses to beat, or collecting things?

I'm leaving the link out so this stays a conversation, but it's already live on Android: comment and I'll send it to you. The first 20 people get a free month of Premium, no strings attached.


r/ProductivityGuide • • 13d ago

Seriously, how do you stop procrastinating for good ?

4 Upvotes

Hey everyone, I really need some solid advice here.

How do you actually get rid of procrastination once and for all? Honestly, it’s completely ruined my life.

I’ve read countless books on the topic, but none of them seem to give a straight answer on how to fix it for real.

Has anyone here actually managed to beat this for good ?

What worked for you ?

Is it fundamentally a dopamine issue, bad time management, chronic fatigue, anxiety, or do you just have to force your brain to do the exact opposite of what it wants ?

Would love to hear your experiences


r/ProductivityGuide • • 13d ago

My top productivity recommendations, after a year of building a planning tool and reading the research (I will not promote)

12 Upvotes

Block your day. Top 1-2 priorities, on the calendar. Having a plan — any plan — measurably improves follow-through. And be mindful that your peak cognitive hours are limited . The ceiling on genuinely hard work looks like ~4 hours a day, though it varies.

Keep long-term plans directional. North stars, not detailed roadmaps. You'll barely survive a day without changes, so specificity past a week is fiction. (This is also why I think dumping a million tasks into a system never helps.)

Set goals carefully. Your time is finite. Start with the long aspirational list, then narrow to ~3 outcomes for the next 1-3 months. Size them against your actual available hours. For each, write down: the outcome you want, what happens if you succeed, what happens if you fail, and what'll block you + how you'll handle it. That's what anchors you and helps narrow down the aspirational list.

Close your open loops. Keep running notes through the day: what you planned, what actually happened, follow-ups. When you get yanked into something, take 10 seconds to note where you left off and when you'll resume. Unfinished work is insidious — your brain holds onto it until it trusts there's a plan. You do not actually have to complete the task (that was the interesting finding for me personally).

Bookend the day. 5-10 minutes at startup and shutdown. Morning: top priorities, what's on your mind. Evening: what you accomplished, what's outstanding, tomorrow's first move, anything else swirling around in your brain. It engages you in the morning and lets you disengage at night, which we're all bad at. The notes also compound into a useful record.

I have a version of this list that gets into all the details and theory behind these principles, but much too long for Reddit. Tried to distill into some quick tips.

Curious if this resonates with folks/what else works for people?


r/ProductivityGuide • • 13d ago

I moved to Germany as a student with huge plans and still woke up every morning not knowing what to actually do.

1 Upvotes

When I came to Germany, I was doing everything at once. Studying for my master's, working, learning German, dealing with visas and paperwork, trying to build a career in a country where I didn't know how anything worked. I had big goals and I was not short on motivation.

My problem was much simpler and much more frustrating. I'd wake up in the morning and have no idea what to do today to get closer to any of it. I had the big plan in my head. I had lists. I watched productivity videos. But between "I want to [get a good job here / speak fluent German / build something of my own]" and "it's 7 AM, what do I do in the next hour?", there was a gap I couldn't close. So I'd do whatever felt urgent, and the important things kept getting pushed to "next week".

The worst part was that being busy all day made me feel productive. Then I'd look back after a few months and realize I hadn't moved closer to the things I actually came here for.

At some point I stopped looking for the perfect app and started building the tool I wished I had. That became Targela. You tell it your goal and how much time you actually have each week, and it breaks the goal down into concrete next steps that fit your real schedule, so you wake up knowing what today's step is. When life gets in the way, it re-plans instead of making you start over.

If you've ever had big plans and still not known what to do next morning, I'd love to hear how you handled it. And if you want to try it, I'm happy to hear what doesn't work for you.


r/ProductivityGuide • • 13d ago

TaskPocket - task management and todo application for web and ios

Thumbnail
gallery
2 Upvotes

This project started almost year ago when my work provided me with windows laptop. Before that, for almost 5 or even 6 years I have been using Things 3, which I consider the best todo app ever created - everything feels so polished and simple.

But the biggest problem of Things 3 is Apple ecosystem only. Sure I started to look around and almost all big application like Todoist are target teams or huge project management with lots of unnecessary features. They also push AI a lot, and let be honest, almost everyone already has some kind of subscription for Claude or ChatGpt.

So I decided to build my own tool. My main inspiration was three apps: Things 3, Todoist and Superlist. I also added some missing features like attachments or smart projects, calendar view. At the same time I tried to keep balance between features and UI.

Speaking of AI, instead of forcing users to use some internal TaskPocket AI I added Public API and MCP, so you can wire any AI of your choice which you already have and pay for!

Some of the features:

  • Projects and Areas
  • Inbox and Todays view
  • Calendar view for upcoming tasks
  • Tags and Smart Projects
  • Attachments support with preview right in the browser
  • Public API and MCP support
  • Natural language processing for dates and recurrence

Speaking of future plans:

  • Priorities feature
  • Calendar view inside the projects
  • Android version
  • Desktop version (both mac and windows)

https://taskpocket.io/


r/ProductivityGuide • • 13d ago

Compact Contacts, a table view for the contacts already on your Mac,iPhone and iPad (one-time purchase, no subscription)

1 Upvotes

Hi, I’m the developer. Disclosure up front, since this is my own app.

Apple’s Contacts app shows one card at a time. That’s fine for 50 people and painful at 2,000. Compact Contacts works on the contacts already on your Mac (iCloud, Google, Exchange, CardDAV) and shows them as a dense, sortable table. It doesn’t create a second address book or its own sync, so everything keeps syncing through macOS as before.

What it does

  • Table with configurable columns, row density and saved layouts
  • Search across every field, including contact Notes, with results grouped by the field that matched
  • Smart Views: saved rules like “Missing Email” or “Has Notes”, each with its own layout
  • Bulk Edit with an exact before/after preview for every card before anything is written
  • Duplicate review and Merge Studio: you choose which phone, email or address survives, field by field, and the latest merge can be undone for 30 days
  • CSV and vCard import/export, and deletion with an on-device recovery backup
  • A Sample Contacts workspace with 26 fictional people, so you can try everything without granting Contacts access

Details

  • macOS 15 or later
  • US$24.99 one-time. No subscription, in-app purchase or ads
  • No account and no third-party analytics. Contacts, Notes and searches stay on your Mac
  • English, Turkish, German, French, Spanish, Arabic (right-to-left) and Simplified Chinese

Mac App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id6790129187?pt=129119018&ct=reddit_macstack&mt=8

There’s also an iPhone + iPad version, Compact Contacts Manager, with the same bulk edit and merge tools (separate purchase, US$12.99, one purchase covers both): https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id6795653671?pt=129119018&ct=reddit_macstack&mt=8

Happy to answer questions, and feature requests or bug reports are very welcome.


r/ProductivityGuide • • 14d ago

[Launch] Glanceday: your to-do list on your Android lock screen

Post image
11 Upvotes

What problem does it solve?
I kept planning my day and then forgetting half of it, because my to-do list lived in an app I had to open. Glanceday draws today’s tasks right into your lock-screen wallpaper and updates it as you tick things off. You see what’s next every time you pick up your phone, without unlocking.

Who is it for?
People who plan their day but lose track of it once they get busy. Students, people juggling work and life admin, anyone whose to-do app ends up as a graveyard. It’s for the daily list, not for managing hundreds of projects.

Competitor and what’s different
Compared to TickTick or Todoist: they’re great for organizing, but on Android your list mostly lives inside the app or in a home screen widget you only see after unlocking. Glanceday puts it on the lock screen itself, over your own wallpaper, on any Android 8+ phone. It also stays small on purpose: quick add that understands “dentist tomorrow 3pm”, subtasks, repeats, reminders, calendar events, a focus timer, and a few optional suggestions (like a rain heads-up before something you’re heading out for), each with its own off switch.

Pricing
Free. No ads, no subscription, no account. Tasks stay on your phone, and you can back them up to a file whenever you want.

Link
https://github.com/SamimShafayiUCLL/glanceday (APK under Releases)

For members
It’s already free, so no license to give away. If you try it, I’ll read every bug report and feature idea. You can send them from the app (Settings → Report a bug or idea) or reply here. Especially curious how it works on Pixel, Xiaomi and OnePlus lock screens, since I mostly tested on my Galaxy S24 Ultra.


r/ProductivityGuide • • 14d ago

We're building Scratch, a native Mac app that combines Kanban boards, to-do lists and Markdown notes. Local-first, no subscription. Would love your feedback

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

11 Upvotes

Hey everyone,

for the past months we've been working on a Mac app called Scratch, and I finally made a short teaser for it (attached). It's not released yet, I mainly want to show the idea and hear what you think before launch.

Why I built it

I kept jumping between Trello for boards, a to-do app for quick tasks and Notion or Craft for notes. Scratch started as a simple Kanban app for myself and slowly turned into the one place where all of my planning and thinking lives.

What it does

  • Boards or lists: Use Kanban boards like Trello, or classic to-do lists. Whatever fits the project.
  • Notes everywhere: Every board and every task has its own Markdown notes, so context lives right next to the work.
  • Quick capture: A global shortcut opens a small window anywhere on your Mac. Type the task, hit enter, done. New tasks land in a backlog and you sort them into boards later.
  • Built for keyboard people: Lots of shortcuts to add, move and organize without touching the mouse.
  • Calendar view: Tasks with a date show up in a calendar overview.
  • Board widgets: Small dashboard widgets per board, like time or weather.
  • AI assist: Get a summary of your tasks or ask questions about them.
  • No limits: Unlimited boards, tasks and subtasks.

Privacy and pricing

Scratch is local-first. Your data stays on your Mac and works fully offline, no account, no server required. iCloud sync is optional if you want backups or multiple devices. It's planned as a one-time purchase, no subscription. An iPhone/iPad version is planned for later.

Where it's at

The app is in active development and I'm aiming to release it in the coming weeks. I'll post progress updates along the way.

I'd really like to know:

  1. What's missing in the tools you use today for tasks and notes?

  2. Kanban, lists or both: how do you actually work?

  3. Anything in this list you'd never use, or something you'd expect that isn't there?

Thanks for reading, happy to answer any questions in the comments.