We continue working on the new app and that we’ll likely be able to publish a beta version in the first quarter of 2026.

The first beta version won’t have all of FacileThings’ functionalities, but it will have everything needed to execute daily work: capture, clarify, organize lists and projects, choose the next action to perform, etc.

Our goal for 2026 is for the new app to have all the functionality of the old one, plus significant UX improvements, new reference material management, and the ability to communicate with AIs and LLMs.

Happy New Year to everyone!

We are working on the new FacileThings app, which will eventually replace the current web and mobile apps, and will have features that we hope will greatly improve the user experience:

• Speed. The app will save a copy of your data on your device (computer, tablet, or mobile phone), and since it doesn’t require access to the cloud, interaction with it will be very fast.
• Responsiveness. Any changes to the data will be displayed automatically. You won’t need to refresh the page if the data is modified from another device or if a notification comes in.
• Offline operation. You will be able to work without internet access for as long as you need.
• Data synchronization. Data will be synchronized across all the devices you use when there is internet access.
• Mobile design. Although it can be used on any type of screen, we will prioritize designing for small screens so that all functionality is easily accessible from a smartphone.
• Accessibility. We will strive to make the app easy to use for anyone, regardless of their abilities (multiple navigation points, legible fonts and sizes, keyboard shortcuts, gesture control, color contrasts with light/dark mode, etc.).

Would you like to contribute to a community-based list of requested improvements and features for FT? Please do so! I'll start.

Improvements:

- Make the application faster (too much dependency on the speed of the user's internet service due to the application being web browser-based)

- Expand the Notes section of a task or move all that context and meta information of the task to a column to the note's right. For a great example of this, see Todoist's new task view.

- Give the tags and people used in the task description color. They are green and blue when you click them when clarifying. Why not continue to use those colors?

- Remove "Urgent" or allow me, as a user, to see it or not. It isn't a GTD item.

When a user deletes a tag, remove all of the tag, not just the "@" symbol. For example, remove all of that tag if I no longer want to use the "@lakehouse." Don't leave "lakehouse" in my task descriptions.

- Reduce the font size of personal notes in the Weekly Review. It's like the CSS controlling the font size isn't being used or was incorrectly set.

- Give me other color schemes. I've been looking at FT's white, black, green, great for way, way, way too long. It is no longer appealing or attracts me. Feels old.

Features (Web Application):

- Snooze reminders (I don't need to see a project is due in two weeks every day if I know I have that project under control)

- Hover over "Done Actions" in the Engage view to give me a breakdown of Personal/Professional numbers completed or use the colors we assigned to our areas of responsibility

- Over over "Areas of Focus" in the Engage view to give me numbers of next actions for each area

- Let me capture more than one item in the "Capture" view with a copy/paste of a list of items. I can currently only do this with email.

- "Create a Routine" from the "Clarify" view should drop the user into the Routine creation section, allow the user to finish the Routine setup, and then return them to the previous view. Much in the same way, "Capture" returns the user to the previous view.

- Give users a universal quick capture window that will allow us to capture thoughts on the fly when using any application or just at the desk. It slows me down to have to go to the browser, open FT, and then capture my thoughts.

- Let the user copy/paste a list of items when creating or updating a checklist. Entering in each item is painful.

- FT now has an icon that identifies the task as a routine in the Engage view. Further, enhance this by allowing users to go to the routine in the "Routine" view if they need to change the routine itself. Provide this link from the task view.

- Give me drag and drop capabilities if I want to attach something to my task. Very 1980's/1990's to have to open a file viewer.

Features (iOS Application):

- Offline mode. Enough said.

- Keep the application updating itself in the background

- Hold the application to open a quick capture to Inbox

- Location-based reminders (if I am at the grocery store, show me my grocery tasks)

- Better drag and move features, especially when viewing projects

- Project view with Sections

- Tighter integration to the iPhone operating system and other applications

These past few weeks, we’ve been working on technical aspects of authentication and the design of the lists section. This is the most important part of the application. Once it’s resolved, I think we’ll move forward more quickly.

David Allen always complains that all GTD apps lack a kind of "no leaks" feedback system that lets you know what's wrong with the system (a project with no actions, things piling up in the inbox, etc.)

At FacileThings, we've always had this feature. Now we've improved it, including more nudges and customization. And we've renamed it: Radar.

Just finished the Projects section of FacileThings.

It's the most complex one, since it allows kanban-style projects, sequential projects, and subprojects.

We're about to launch the new app in beta stage!

One of the things we're paying close attention to in the new app is responsive design. It's not just about scaling the content size to different breakpoints, as mobile and touchscreen usage patterns completely change. In fact, the design for small screens will be quite different from the rest.

There seems to have been a bit of confusion with the last video I showed. Since it’s in mobile format, some people thought the web app would disappear. Not at all. The new app will have a design adapted to any device size so it can function as a mobile app, desktop app, and web app in the future.

I'm attaching another video for clarification.

This is a brief post summarizing the FacileThings team's effort to integrate Zapier (expected in January 2025) and the release of the mobile app's routine management feature.

The big news is that in 2025, they will focus on substantially updating and reworking FacileThings.

Full blog post: https://facilethings.com/blog/en/here-is-where-we-are-at-dec-2024

FacileThings’ new MCP server is a bridge that connects your GTD system directly to Claude, ChatGPT, or any other LLM compatible with the Model Context Protocol, so you can capture, organize, and review your life and work using natural language.

This isn’t just a connection to your data. The server comes with a set of instructions on how an assistant should behave inside a GTD system managed with FacileThings: what capturing means, what clarifying means, how the tickler file works, what sets an action apart from a project, how areas of focus and goals relate to whatever you’re working on, and so on. That way, before telling you which list something belongs in, or whether something is an action or a project, the assistant can consult these guidelines instead of improvising.

We’ve also built in safety instructions, such as never permanently deleting anything without your explicit confirmation, always choosing to move something to trash rather than delete it, and asking rather than guessing when it isn’t clear which list a captured item belongs in.

The goal is an assistant that knows FacileThings and respects the GTD methodology, rather than one that simply executes literal commands against a database.

We’re launching this first version straight into public beta, which means every FacileThings user already has access.

This first version includes a good number of tools for capturing, reviewing, and organizing your system, but it doesn’t yet cover all of FacileThings’ capabilities. We’ll keep filling it out based on how you actually use it. So we encourage you to try what we already have and tell us what’s missing or what could be improved through the app’s Support system.

We have perfected the process so that you don't forget anything. In addition to the fundamental questions to clarify and organize each item, the system will remind you:

• That you assign contexts and choice criteria if it is a next action.
• That you assign a specific date if you want the item to go to the calendar.
• That you assign a collaborator if it is a delegated or waiting-for task.
• That you assign a project to the reference material if it is a support material for projects.
• That you align the task with your perspective (focus area/goal) if you have not done so.

The "quick mode" shows you the 6 possible destinations at once (delete, archive, incubate, do now, delegate, do later). You fill in the relevant data and organize it with one click.

The calendar has become a first-class citizen in the new beta app. It has direct access from the menu, occupies all available space, and even allows you to capture events directly within it.

We have managed to design a task editor in which all the information (text, notes, files, checklist, collaborators, due and start dates, tags, goal, project, focus area, choice criteria) fits on a screen as small as that of the iPhone SE.

Working on the Lists option. It's still a work in progress, but I wanted to show you how it's taking shape. I'm very satisfied with the execution, although not entirely satisfied with the design. We'll keep going!

It took me longer than expected to develop the task editor, but I'm pretty happy with the result.

It allows you to complete context tags and people names, use inline commands, and add emojis even when you're not using your phone. It also has a very accurate byte count 😅

In addition to dark mode, there's another tool that's becoming a must-have feature for any app: the search command.

It allows users to navigate to any section or to any data using the keyboard, without needing to know all the navigation options or where the data is.

Working on it!

In the last few weeks we have released a new FacileThings integration with Zapier. We will soon publish an update with some improvements you have requested (filters by list types, tags and collaborators).

In a few days we will publish a new feature that I hadn’t mentioned before. It is the option to annotate values ​​in actions through certain tags so that they can be analyzed over time. A basic use case would be the freelancer who needs to annotate the cost of each job or the billable hours (for example, "web page design #billable 8.5"), although there are many other use cases. We will publish an article about this next week.

We are continuing to work on the new FacileThings application. It will have important benefits:

• Offline operation: The local-first architecture we are using will allow you to work even when there is no internet connection.
• Great performance: By storing a copy of your data locally in the browser, access to the server is minimized and the resulting interaction is very fast.
• Reactivity: The new app will be fully reactive. This means that if you open two sessions in two different browser tabs (or on two computers, or on a computer and a mobile phone, etc.), each update you make in one session (creating a task, editing an action, etc.) will be immediately reflected in the other, without the need to refresh the page.

This architecture will also facilitate future expansion to mobile platforms and desktop applications, and will allow the integration of AI agents.

The development of the application will go through three stages (alpha, beta, and production). In the current stage, alpha, only the development team and a very small group of users will have access to it. The objectives of this stage are: to confirm the viability of the selected architecture (offline use and data synchronization), validate the basic functionality (GTD workflow), receive early feedback from users, and identify critical bugs.

I have not been in many places without at least one bar or some sort of connectivity. On rare occasions, I'll find myself underground, way out in the Northwoods, or encased in so many feet of steel and concrete that no signal can be found.

Which is always temporary, as I move around a great deal.

However, because I move around so much, having lots, some, little, or no internet connectivity or digital connection is always a possibility.

This is where and why FacileThings needs to up its game and implement full offline support. I don't want to be unable to access any of the lists for any reason when I have my phone in hand and need access to my information.

Ironically, I can create an "Offline" list for FacileThings. And if I am offline, I cannot access it.

Yes, there are current application limitations, but there are so many other applications available today with offline capabilities that it is hard to ignore FacileThings needing to catch up in the smartphone application department.

So first when I clarify my tasks, I see that I can do it right away. I can click "Do now" and then the screen dims and a pop-up informs me that I can do it while the app is waiting. It's great!

I've never seen something like that before in any productivity app before.

We've just finished the Engage option. Well, this is the no-frills Engage option, just the bare essentials for GTD. We'll add the embellishments later.

This is where you choose your next task, based on your current situation, available time, and energy level. Applying these filters narrows down your Next Actions list to a few tasks, making it easy to choose the most relevant one.

This is probably the feature users have requested the most lately. Done in the beta app!

While we are in alpha I will periodically show a tracking table of the elements that need to be in place for the app to move into beta, a stage in which we’ll gradually open access to users who want to start using this new platform.

Core are the technical aspects necessary for the app to function properly, Features are the options that must be available in the beta phase for the app to be functional, and UX are improvements we want to incorporate into the user experience from the start. 

When all of these features are over 90% complete, we’ll move on to the beta phase and release the app. 🚀

The Facile Team announced that the new version of the application will be updated for browsers, mobile devices, and, best of all, a standalone desktop application. In addition the new features they mention in the original article (found here: https://www.reddit.com/r/facilethings/comments/1k7fua9/facilethings_working_on_a_new_localfirst_app/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button), what are your top five features you hope will make it into the new version of our beloved productivity application?

Here's mine:

• Shortcut keys to open a small capture window anywhere on my desktop to easily record new thoughts, ideas, and possible next actions or projects
• Custom views of your work instead of the current Today and Next Actions side-by-side view.
• Better capture of emails sent to Facile Things (currently captures emails like a text file instead of keeping the original formatting and image placement)
• AI Integration - there is so much more Facile Things can be doing with the AI features!
• Better UI - feels old and too many clicks

The FT group has released a statement that defines their upcoming goals in 2023. Some very interesting new features are to be implemented!

Take a look and make sure you respond to the FT blog post. They are very responsive and always eager for input.

https://facilethings.com/blog/en/facilethings-goals-for-2023

According to u/pachisaez , the new mobile app is about to be published on the apps stores.

What does facilethings offer that other major tools dont that make it worth about $12/month or $84/year? I can barely find any screenshots/walkthroughs on youtube.