I’ve just quietly released the first version of The Stack.

It represents a slightly different and fairly opinionated take on solving the To Do list / note taking problem, and I made it mostly to scratch my own itches¹. I’m hoping that some other people think the way I do and will also find it useful.

You can download it here.

For some more detailed answers as to why I made it, read on…

Isn’t This A Solved Problem?

Well, yes, sort of.

To Do lists are paradoxical though. Much like Rimmer’s revision timetable in Red Dwarf, they can become a distraction and a source of anxiety.

The Stack Isn’t Reminders

There are some categories of thing-to-remember where an app like Reminders is perfect. It’s helpful to be able to set alerts, especially . It’s helpful to be able to have multiple lists, and to share them with other people.

I use Reminders to alert me to things that repeat periodically (“file your taxes”, “put the bins out”, etc). I also use it to share a shopping list with my partner.

The Stack definitely isn’t trying to be that kind of app.

The Stack Isn’t A Methodology

There are some mature methodologies in this problem space - one of the best known being Get Things Done.

There are some great apps out there to support these methodologies, and if you swear by a methodology then you probably want an app that supports you - lets you put tasks into buckets, or give them colors, or group them in a way that makes sense for the methodology.

The Stack isn’t trying to be that kind of app either. Or, at least, it’s not trying to support another methodology. Arguably, it’s trying to introduce a new one, albeit a very lightweight one.

The Stack Isn’t An Issue Tracker

When trying to keep track of tasks, at the heavier end of the spectrum are fully-fledged issue tracking system.

If you’re in a team, the ability to share tasks with everyone, prioritize them and plan them, set deadlines, add keywords, etc, etc, is essential.

Even if you’re working on your own, the features of issue trackers may be helpful for you.

There are plenty of issue tracker apps out there for you. The Stack isn’t one of them!

So What’s Left?

The full name of my app is actually “The Stack - Notes To Self”, and that should give you a clue as to where I think it fits.

When I’m in the middle of something, and an idea pops into my head, I just want to record it and move on. This is what I call a “note to self”.

What matters most to me in this situation is just to capture the thought.

I don’t want to have to think about which list it goes in. I don’t really want to have to think about dates or priorities or any of that stuff.

I find having to make those decisions is off-putting and can slow me down or even paralyze me into indecision.

Even as a solo software developer, I find that I don’t really need a proper issue tracker a lot of the time. I’ve used many different trackers, and have come to realize that the simpler they were, the fewer options and fields they had, the more I liked them.

The Stack is built for these situations.

It isn’t intended to replace your shopping list app, or your issue tracking database, although it can, if you want it to.

It can complement a methodology-based app (or perhaps, it can replace the methodology with a simpler one?).

Triage?

The Stack is essentially just a sequential list of notes, with the latest at the top.

You may be worried that this will rapidly get too big and unruly, and you’ll not be able to find anything.

I can understand this concern, and if you want, you can think of it as just being for initial capture of thoughts.

You can then triage them periodically and move into other more permanent places, that the the stack itsef stays quite light and empty.

I don’t use it that way, but you can if you want.

A Big Heap ‘O Stuff

My idea is that it will work even when there are lots of notes in the stack, and it feels a bit like a big heap of unsorted stuff.

Embrace the Chaos, I say!

It is perhaps counter-intuitive, but I actually suspect that many notes get added to many to-do lists in many apps, and then never actually actioned.

My thesis is that it’s more important to just capture quickly and move, on. Later, when you’re looking for something, The Stack can help you find it.

There are three main mechanisms for this:

Ordering is one. Another of my theories is that a kind of locality of reference applies here. The things near the top of the stack, generally the things you added most recently, are often the things care about most.

For the few cases where this isn’t the case, I’ve added a mechanism for pulling older items back to the top. Note that this isn’t full re-ordering. You can’t move notes around in the list, you can just pull them to the top. This is a deliberate choice!

Tagging is another way to organise things. You can add #hashtags into notes, just like you do on your favourite social media site. You can then filter the stack by a tag. I find that this is all I need most of the time.

When I’m focussing on a task, I filter by the tag for that task, and I can see what I need to do next, in a list that isn’t too large. Periodically I will scan this list, and move items to the top if I think they are a priority.

For everything else, free text search lets you find notes that have fallen through the cracks.

Give It A Go

Anyway… that’s the idea behind the stack. I’m finding it useful, and will keep maintaining it for as long as I actually do. Your mileage may vary.

For now it’s free. I am hoping to use it as a vehicle to test some monetisation ideas based on true micropayments, in which case you might one day have to pay something for it, but if that ever happens, it will be a small amount derived from the real usage you make. Even then, the changes are that there will be an honour-based opt out.

If you’re interested in trying The Stack, download it from the app store on your phone or mac.

If you like it and would be interested in helping me test it, there’s also a public Testflight link.