Tired of Cluttered Productivity Apps? This One’s Just a Text Document

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I've spent decades testing, reviewing, and (most importantly) using different to-do list applications. It's a career, yes, but it's also a bit of an obsession.

And I think we can all admit that most of these apps are way too complicated. A to-do list is just a list. Humans have been making lists for thousands of years, long before computers existed. Paper works well, but so does a stone slate if that's what you've got handy.

It's possible that you, a modern human, absolutely need a to-do list application with bells and whistles—due dates, recurring tasks, sharing features, and maybe even an AI integration. But there's a good chance all you need is the digital equivalent of a piece of paper: A simple list of things that need to get done.

And that's what Tasks.txt, a totally free Mac app, offers. From Ukrainian programmer Yevhen Kharkivskyi, this tool is based on the todo.txt system developed by Gina Trapani. It's a complete alternative to a to-do list app that is based on a single text file.

The important thing here, though, is that it offers more than just a text file. This is a well-executed app. Open Tasks.txt and you'll see a simple list broken down into three categories: Done, Next, and Backlog.

The general idea is to use "Next" for the tasks you want to accomplish today and "Backlog" for the things you want to do later. The "Done" section is populated as you check things off, then cleared out at the beginning of every day.

It's possible to use this application using only the keyboard, which I love. Open the window and you can just start typing tasks—your cursor is already active in the text box at the bottom. Hit Enter and your task will be added either to Backlog or Next, depending on what you choose in the drop-down menu to the right of your text box. Press the Tab key to switch from the text box to your task list. You can use the arrows to change which task is currently selected. Pressing the Enter key adds a note below the name of a task, and Cmd+Enter marks a task complete. You can also move tasks up and down the list using Cmd+Up/Down.

There are no unnecessary controls or interface elements in your way. You can open this application, decide what you need to do, then get to it. And you aren’t stuck using keyboard shortcuts—using the mouse is just as intuitive, if that's what you prefer.

The to-do list is the heart of the app, but there's also an Archive and Scratchpad tab. The Archive includes every task you’ve completed in the past—everything from the Done section is moved here at the end of each day. The Scratchpad is just a blank text document you can use for keeping notes.

All of this, notably, is stored in a couple of text documents. You can find these documents in the app’s settings and open them with any text editor. It's pretty easy to look at the document and figure out what's going on.

Your task list isn't in some database in the cloud—it's on your computer, in an open, human-readable format. This simplicity means you can easily grab your tasks to use in some other application later, if that's what you want.

And Tasks.txt makes it clear that your tasks are completely private. "There is no account, no cloud sync, no telemetry, no analytics, no crash reporting," the website states. "There are no servers. Nothing leaves your machine." This is a rarity in the modern age, where every piece of software is trying to hold your data hostage to sell a subscription. This alone makes this an app worth considering.

Mostly, though, I just think it's a well-implemented app that gets the basics extremely right. It won't work for everyone, sure, but it might work perfectly for you.