We don’t choose a task manager.
We choose a story about how we’ll show up.
The software is decoration.
The practice is the point.
You already know this. The question is: will you act like you know it?
The smallest viable system
Don’t chase the “ultimate setup.”
Build the smallest viable system—the one you can keep on a Tuesday afternoon when you’re tired.
Three moving parts:
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Capture: under five seconds, from anywhere.
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Today: one place that tells you what to do next.
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Review: five minutes daily, thirty minutes weekly.
If your app helps you do those three, you’re in business.
If it fights you, you’re not.
Friction is the real cost.
Features don’t cost money.
They cost attention.
Ask:
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How fast can I capture when I’m in the middle of something else?
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Does my Today view make me calmer or guilty?
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When plans change (they will), how easy is it to reschedule without drama?
Every extra tap is a tax.
Stop paying it.
The bake-off (90 minutes, total)
You don’t need a month to decide. You need a plan.
Pick two or three contenders. Then:
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Set up a simple Today view, one work project, one personal project, and a Routines list.
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Stress-test capture from four places (keyboard, phone share sheet, voice, email/shortcut).
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Run one real day only from the app’s Today view.
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Do a weekly review—plan next week in ≤30 minutes.
Done. No tinkering marathons. No forum rabbit holes.
Just enough tension to learn what matters.
Make a 30-day promise
Tools work when we make promises to ourselves.
Promise:
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One app, 30 days.
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Five-minute daily clean-up.
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Thirty-minute weekly review.
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Three outcomes per day, chosen on purpose.
At the end, measure stress, not screenshots.
If you did more of the right things with less friction, you chose well.
What matters (and what doesn’t)
Matters:
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Capture that never makes you think.
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A Today view you trust.
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Repeats that don’t become busywork.
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Rescheduling that’s painless.
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Backups and export so you’re never trapped.
Doesn’t:
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Infinite hierarchies you’ll never maintain.
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Ten tags when two will do.
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An ecosystem that your life doesn’t need.
Write your constraints in ink.
Constraints are generous. They keep you honest.
Try these:
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Three custom views, max: Today, Projects, Waiting/Agendas.
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Three priorities, max per day: ship those, then bonus rounds.
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No fake due dates (due means “consequence,” not “preference”).
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Routines live together, so you can edit them in one sweep.
If a tool can’t support these constraints without hacks, it’s not your tool.
The scorecard you’ll actually use
Give 0–2 points for each:
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Capture speed
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Today view clarity
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Recurring tasks (ease + flexibility)
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Rescheduling ease
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Daily review (≤5 min)
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Weekly review (≤30 min)
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Friction (fewest taps/clicks)
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Portability (sync/export/backups)
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Notifications that help (not nag)
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Delight (you want to open it)
16–20: Keeper.
12–15: Maybe. Try the promise and re-score.
≤11: Say “thank you” and move on.
My story (brief, on purpose)
I tried the usual suspects. Some were beautiful. Some were powerful.
The winner was the one who made capture thoughtless, Today calming, and reviews short. Not the flashiest. The lowest friction.
Because the tool isn’t the work.
The work is the work.
Ship your day
Open your app.
Pick three outcomes.
Plan the rest if you must, but ship the three.
Tomorrow, do it again.
Drip by drip, you’re building a practice.
And a practice is better than a preference, every time.
