When it comes to building your productivity stack, different tools will suit different people. However, despite using some of the best software available, I found myself overwhelmed by the solutions I was using.

As a result, I overhauled my system towards the end of 2025. Some of my changes seemed counterintuitive, but ended up being the refresh I needed.

Moving away from all-in-one apps

These tools just don't suit me

As my workload became more varied and complex, I thought an all-in-one productivity app would help me keep things in check. But instead, I spent a lot of time learning different tools and workflows, creating solutions that didn't stick, and becoming overwhelmed by complex features.

Comprehensive solutions work for some people, but they weren't right for me. I just ended up feeling overwhelmed and then avoiding the very app that I was trying to learn to help me fix my disorganized flow.

Instead, I started looking at simpler, focused apps. Some of these were ones I had used before, but others were ones that I hadn't tried. I discovered the simplicity was a bonus, rather than something to avoid.

I also stopped trusting apps that try to do everything. There are some genuinely useful tools out there that allow you to customize features to your heart's content. But generally, I find that in the productivity sphere, this usually ends up manifesting as generative AI bloat or a way to push users to higher subscription tiers.

Spreading my to-do list across multiple apps

A helpful change I discovered by accident

For years, I used TickTick as my main task management solution. But keeping everything in one app made it difficult to prioritize, and the app itself became a source of anxiety.

A big reason for this was because of the backlog of certain tasks. These were the less urgent tasks that still needed to get done, but which I had limited time for. They would hang around in my inbox alongside all my other tasks, and as the weeks progressed, the shame and sense of failure grew.

I started offloading certain tasks to other apps, starting with my chores. This started as a way to better keep track of things, since more time was passing between certain chores than I had intended. But I soon realized that having a separate app for certain tasks was actually helping me get more done.

I soon offloaded "life admin" tasks to an app called Jotty Page. These were the tasks I needed to keep in mind so that I didn't forget them, but which aren't as urgent as work tasks. Its checklists are a major step up from Google Keep, while still remaining intuitive and easy to use, which encouraged me to create more lists for different types of tasks.

This also meant that TickTick became reserved for the more important tasks again, and the anxiety I felt dealing with the app improved. And because I was using Jotty to create lists of different types, like shopping lists for specific stores, I also found I was forgetting things less often.

The app's notes were also more streamlined and mobile-friendly than Notion's, and more organized than Google Keep or Google Docs. So, despite being relatively simple, it unlocked a lot of functionality for me that I didn't get out of a more complex solution like Notion.

Automation based on task completion

A handy feature I'd previously missed

The most underrated software feature I've encountered recently is automated scheduling based on completion date. Many apps allow you to schedule tasks to reoccur at specific dates or time frames, but this can become frustrating when you haven't been able to complete the previous iteration of the task, and the next scheduled date is coming up.

But apps like Donetick and Amplenote allow you to schedule reoccurring tasks according to the last completed date. This removes the hypothetical element from your task scheduling and bases it on what you actually manage to complete.

Seeing the feature in other apps is also what encouraged me to unearth it in TickTick. As much as I love TickTick, it has a habit of burying features in its UI. So when a new feature is introduced, I often don't see it since it's buried in a tab I didn't notice had changed.

Because I often shuffle around tasks due to my energy and pain levels, setting automated scheduling according to completion date is a lot more helpful than setting it to simply reoccur at a specific interval. For example, if I'm a week late when switching out a water filter, I don't want the next replacement date to stay on its original schedule. Rather, I want the new date to be slotted in a month later.

Using notifications only where necessary

Only certain apps get permissions

Push notifications are a handy way to receive reminders, but if you receive too many notifications, they become a distraction instead.

As a result, I've started using notifications for only the most important tasks and events. Most of the things I add to my note and task apps don't have notifications or reminders set.

I used to be tied to the idea that I needed notification functionality for my productivity apps. After all, that's what led me to set up a Cloudflare Tunnel to connect my Donetick server to the Android app. However, I realized that I only need notifications for specific reminders — mostly meetings, birthdays, and time-sensitive tasks.

I've also started proactively muting or unsubscribing from certain notifications from apps like Asana and Slack, since these apps are the most guilty of contributing to my notification overwhelm.

Unsubscribing from unnecessary email alerts

Yet another avenue of overwhelm

There was a time when productivity apps didn't incessantly email you, but now it seems like they seize every chance they get. Rather than making emails an opt-in feature, many apps make you opt out instead.

Every time I try out a new app that is linked to an email address, I end up getting emails telling me to try out a new feature or to add an additional task. I've had to unsubscribe from numerous flavors of Asana emails.

Recently, Slack also started sending emails of messages I hadn't read on the app — even though none of the messages had mentioned me, and I don't have notifications enabled for those messages.

As a result, I've taken a strict stance when it comes to unsubscribing from email alerts. I used to wait it out, trying to see how big a problem it was. But now I know how disruptive it is, especially because I still allow email notifications on my smartwatch. As a result, whenever an app sends me an email about something I didn't explicitly subscribe to, I unsubscribe immediately.

Taking control of my productivity tools helps me get more done

I used to trust the default experience of productivity apps more, thinking that if they weren't working for me, then it's because I wasn't using them correctly. However, I've realized that sometimes you need to adapt them so that they work for you.

By using tools in ways that work for me while also being more skeptical of features like push notifications and email subscriptions, I've tweaked my productivity stack so it's much more manageable.