I Built a Productivity App for People Who Hate Productivity Apps

Most productivity apps made me feel like a failure.

You know that feeling when you open your todo list in the morning and see 20+ tasks waiting for your attention, staring back at you, and you just… freeze?

Where do I even start? What’s most important? Should I reorganize these by priority first? Maybe color-code them? Oh, this one should probably be in a different project…

And suddenly it's been 30 minutes and I haven't actually done anything. I've just been shuffling digital cards around, making my Notion board look prettier, creating the perfect system that I'll definitely stick to this time.

Spoiler: I never did.

Don't get me wrong, I like scheduling tasks beforehand. But the truth is, I never wake up the same person each day. My mood and energy are different. What worked yesterday doesn't work today. So I need to reshuffle… again.

Then when I finally start working, the guilt will creep in in different forms. Get through a few quick tasks, emails, small stuff. Check, check, check. Feels good, right?

But then I'd spend 3 hours deep in something complex. Writing. Problem-solving. Real work. The kind that actually matters.

And at the end of the day? Only 3 checkmarks. The complex thing I spent all day on? Still not "done" enough to check off.

My brain would tell me: "You barely did anything today."

Even though I was exhausted. Even though I actually made real progress.

The list didn't care. It just showed me everything I didn't finish.

And don't even get me started on Pomodoro timers.

They're supposed to help you focus, right? 25 minutes on, 5 minutes off. Simple.

Except when you're finally in flow, like really in it, and the timer goes off. Do I stop? Do I keep going and feel guilty for "breaking the system"?

I'd usually keep going. Skip the break. Then feel bad about it later.

Or worse: I'd actually take the break. Start brewing coffee. My husband would ask me something. I'd check my phone for "just a second."

10 minutes would become 20. Then 30.

And when I'd try to get back to work, the flow was gone. That perfect focus I had? Vanished.

So then I'd feel guilty for taking too long of a break. For not following the rules. For being "bad" at productivity.

I felt like I was constantly failing at systems that were supposed to help me.

And let's talk about aesthetics for a second.

I wanted my workspace to look nice. I'd see these gorgeous screenshots of people's setups, beautiful color schemes, everything organized, aesthetically pleasing.

So I'd try to make mine look like that.

Hours would disappear. Trying different templates. Picking colors. Arranging widgets. Making custom icons.

And in the end? It either looked like a mess or it was so complicated I didn't want to use it anymore.

I'd get discouraged and abandon the whole thing.

I just wanted something that looked good and worked at the same time.

So I built SharpDay. For people exactly like me.

Here's how it actually works differently:

1. You only see a few tasks at a time. Everything else disappears.

No more staring at an overwhelming wall of tasks wondering where to start.

SharpDay shows you 6 smart suggestions from that nasty list based on what you've been working on, what's actually due, and what matters today. You pick one. You start.

Everything else? Hidden. Out of sight, out of mind.

You can set your own limit, like how many tasks feel manageable to you.

When you're ready for more, you pull up the next batch. But you're never drowning in the full list.

2. The Focus timer works with you, not against you.

Want to use it? Great. Set a timer, focus, take breaks when you want.

Don't want to use it? Also great. Just work.

In flow and don't want to stop? Keep going. No forced breaks. No guilt. No broken streaks.

Need a longer break because life happens? Take it. The app doesn't judge you.

You won't see guilt-tripping notifications about breaking your "perfect focus chain" or whatever.

It's just a tool. You use it when it helps. That's it.

3. It looks beautiful without you having to do anything.

Pick your mood: Calm, Energized, Chill, Happy, Melancholic, whatever you're feeling that day.

Each mood has its own color scheme, vibe, and even a custom music playlist full of motivational stories I wrote. Your whole workspace changes to match.

No setup. No customization nightmare. No spending 2 hours picking the perfect shade of blue.

It just looks good. Aesthetic by default. And you can change your mood whenever you want, depending on how your day is going.

4. You see actual progress, not just what you didn't finish.

At the end of the day, SharpDay shows you:

• How far you came today
• What you actually tackled
• Where your time went
• Which project got most of your focus
• Your streak (just for motivation, not guilt, and you are free to turn it off)

It's about recognizing the work you did, not just the boxes you checked.

Because sometimes the most important work doesn't fit into a neat little checkbox.

The reality check:

I launched 3 days ago. I have 4 trial users.

I’m working on marketing, figuring out what works and what doesn't, and where my users are hanging out so I can reach them.

I know this problem is real. Because I lived it. Every single day.

And I'm hoping I'm not the only one.

Does this sound like something you'd actually use, or am I in my own bubble?

If you try it, I'll personally respond to any feedback you send, good, bad, or ugly.

I'm not fishing for compliments. I really need to know if this is something people actually want.

Thanks for reading the whole thing. 🙏

Link: https://www.mysharpday.com