I read Matt Birchler’s post on The Sweet Setup as soon as it appeared in my feed. Anything he has to say usually leaves me better after consuming it, and it also mentioned Todoist, which I have a soft sport for after becoming a brand ambassador a few years ago. It really is a great post, and one that I’ve been able to feel swirling around in Matt’s head for some time, but it touches on two points that I really wanted to stress.

As early as the second paragraph, he points out that chasing the perfect app is a fool’s game. It is, as Matt puts it, “a path that leads to madness” and will result in you just going around from app to app and not actually using the thing to get anything done. I’m a scholar of this pathetic chasing, so I think I can speak from experience when I wholeheartedly agree with Matt.

He’s clear on this, and does a fantastic job of pointing this out. He is no doubt aware of the sway his posts can have over people (my self included), so this declaimer of sorts is even more worth paying attention to. If you take absolutely nothing away from the post apart from this, then it will have been a worthwhile read. If, however, you have now downloaded Todoist, or Things, stop and just use what you have.

There Are Feelings Involved

The second point that is hinted at several points in the post, and then downright stated towards the end, is that you have to pay attention to the way things feel. It’s an important trait to be aware of and something that you may not be able to put into words, but even the best app or system in the world can feel wrong. If it does, don’t be afraid to leave it alone despite everyone else evangelising for it.

It turns out that the generally joyful UI of Things was more important to me than I realised, and a longer feature list couldn’t win me over — Matt Birchler

Matt speaks of his yearning for change, and whilst it’s essential to take into accounts what other apps can do, if the app you are using just feels better, stick with it. Unless you are hitting walls and cant do things because features are missing, you won’t gain anything by messing around.

If you get a better feeling from the app you already have you will use it more, something particularly critical if that app you are using needs you to use it to get things done. It is one of the reasons I now just use a notebook. Everything in my logical brain tells me it’s worse, possibly in every single way, but the feeling of using it and writing in it trumps all.