Show HN: Plimsoll Line, an iOS to-do app that prioritizes mood over productivity

Show HN: Plimsoll Line, an iOS to-do app that prioritizes mood over productivity(plimsoll-line.app)

2 points by tunaoftheland 166 days ago | 2 comments

Hello HN,

I’m the developer of Plimsoll Line, an iOS app that tries to solve the anxiety I feel when my to-do list gets too long.

I built this to scratch my own itch. I’ve found that most productivity apps optimize for "getting things done," which often just leads to me feeling overwhelmed and guilty about what I haven't done. My wife struggles with this too, so I wanted to build an alternative that prioritizes mental bandwidth over raw output.

THE CONCEPT

The app integrates with Apple Reminders but adds an emotional layer. You assign an "impact" score to tasks (positive or negative). The app visualizes your net emotional load as a water line. That water line hopefully won't reach the "Plimsoll Line", currently the top edge of the app viewport.

If the water gets too high (too much negative load), the app implies (I need to make the app suggest instead) adding positive tasks or taking steps to reduce the negative impact rather than just grinding through the list.

It’s designed to stop you from overloading your "ship" before it sinks (it won't, at least not in the app).

TECHNICAL / PRIVACY

* Stack: Native Swift/SwiftUI.

* Integration: It reads/writes directly to the built-in Reminders database (EventKit). This means you can keep using the default Reminders app and Siri alongside this.

* Privacy: The reminders and emotional impact data are 100% local. No accounts. There is device ID that gets saved on a backend server that tracks whether you've made an in-app purchase for a tip jar. But your emotional data stays on your device.

* Feedback Request: I’m currently experimenting with "actions" to take when the water line gets too high (e.g., a "quick journal" context menu). I’d love to hear your thoughts on:

1. Does the metaphor of a "load line" click for you?

2. What immediate actions (besides journaling) actually help you decompress when you see your to-do list is overwhelming? E.g., a quick physical activity such as taking a walk outside?

It’s free to use (with optional tips). Here is the direct App Store link if you want to try it: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/calm-to-do-list-tasks-plimsoll...

Thank you HN!

johnsillings 166 days ago |

this is super cool - congrats on the launch!

tunaoftheland 166 days ago | |

Thank you so much John for your encouragement and the awesome tool HN Simulator (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46036908)!

For those who haven't tried it yet, I did couple of test posts on the Simulator to get an idea of what kind of comments I might get. Some of the comments were hilariously close of the real HN ones, and others posed excellent questions and even potential solutions to the UX issues that I had been thinking about.