Flash Log – Estimate & Track
Know what fits in today
Free
A quiet to-do app that shows just today. Write, start, check off. Look back on your day in the order it happened. Estimates wait until you want them. Now on iPhone Duo.
Flash Log is an app for handling your to-dos simply, so you can move the one in front of you forward.
Today's screen shows only today. Write it down, start it, check it off — that's all there is to learn. Finished to-dos tuck themselves away, so the screen always stays quiet.
■ Simple to start
- Write down today's to-dos and check them off. That alone is a complete way to use the app.
- Completed items hide automatically, so you always see only what's ahead.
- Next morning, you choose which of yesterday's leftovers to carry over. Nothing piles up on its own.
■ Focus on doing
- Start a to-do and it opens in a full-screen focus view — just you and the one thing.
- "Just these today" — pick the few things that really matter today and show only those.
- While it's running, it also shows on the Lock Screen, in the Dynamic Island, and on Apple Watch, where you can pause or complete it.
- The time you spend is recorded automatically. Your effort leaves a trace. When you finish, you can leave a star rating and a short note as a reflection (optional, of course).
■ Think in time (only if you want to)
- Give a to-do a time estimate and the day shows its total — you'll know "today is full" before it happens.
- Estimates (gray) and actuals (blue) sit side by side, so you gradually learn what your "30 minutes" really is.
- Estimates are always optional. Everything works beautifully without them.
■ Look back on your day (only if you want to)
- At the end of the day, see what you did in the order you did it. Add things you did that weren't planned.
- Send unfinished things to another day, the Inbox, or a smaller next step — or simply let them go.
- Read each day's actual time and notes across a week or a month.
■ Your style, your method
- Capture ideas into the Inbox, then drag them onto a day when you decide. (For GTD fans)
- Drag to-dos onto a timeline in calendar view. (For timeboxing fans)
- Comparing estimates with actuals will feel familiar to TaskChute practitioners.
- Use any method fully, partially — or none at all. A plain to-do list is a perfectly good way to use Flash Log.
■ Recurring to-dos that don't pile up
- Daily and weekly to-dos appear each day as a dimmed "tentative" preview.
- Tap the ones you'll actually do — only those become real. Skipped days never stack up.
- If you like, each repeat's estimate can follow the average of your recent actual times — or keep a number you set yourself.
■ An everyday tool
- Add to-dos by voice. Works with Siri, Shortcuts, and Spotlight search.
- Home Screen & Lock Screen widgets, Live Activities, and an Apple Watch app.
- Reminders for start and expected end times, search across every day, and your calendar events overlaid on the timeline.
- Runs on iPhone, iPad, and Mac, with optional iCloud sync — you decide.
- On iPhone Duo, Flash Log uses the whole screen, closed or open. Open it up and the day list and Inbox sit side by side.
■ Easy to trust
- Free. No ads. No account.
- Your data stays on your device; sync only uses your own iCloud, only if you turn it on.
- Add-by-voice speech recognition runs entirely on your device; your voice never leaves it.
- Export your data as plain text anytime. No lock-in.
Not for managing your to-dos — for finishing them.
Flash Log tries to be a tool that never gets in the way of your pace.
more EDIT: Wow! I’m super impressed with the developer! Updated my review to 5 stars. Keep up the awesome work!PREVIOUS REVIEW:All it seems to be missing is some of the basic to do list features like custom recurring timeframes (like every 3 weeks or every 2 months) and the ability to organize recurring tasks into folders. Alternatively, if the app could sync with Reminders that would be a suitable workaround. Without custom recurring tasks the app is unfortunately unusable for me personally. But I’m going to keep an eye on this app as they seem to be actively developing it. Hopefully it will get some finishing touches soon and then I can begin using it and change my rating to 5 stars!
Developer Response Thank you — this is the kind of review I hope for, and it genuinely made my day.I keep Flash Log small on purpose. I want it to stay out of your way so you can just finish what you set out to do, which makes me slow to add anything that might tip it into complicated — and repeating to-dos get complicated fast. Your review is what I needed: it made the use case concrete. So custom intervals like every 3 weeks or every 2 months are in development now, and I plan to ship them within 2 weeks.Meanwhile, you can already group recurring to-dos. From the main screen: "…" → "Recurrence settings", then the "…" at the top right of that screen → "New Group". Add to-dos with the group's + button — they repeat together by default, and turning off "Same repeat as the group" in a to-do's editor gives that one its own schedule.If that's not what you pictured by folders, I'd really like to hear it. Email me at support@nambu.dev and tell me how you'd actually use them — I'd much rather build one small, specific thing around your real workflow than guess at a big one. It's just me here, so your reply goes straight onto the list.Thanks for keeping an eye on the app — I hope it fits your workflow soon!
EDIT: Wow! I’m super impressed with the developer! Updated my review to 5 stars. Keep up the awesome work!PREVIOUS REVIEW:All it seems to be missing is some of the basic to do list features like custom recurring timeframes (like every 3 weeks or every 2 months) and the ability to organize recurring tasks into folders. Alternatively, if the app could sync with Reminders that would be a suitable workaround. Without custom recurring tasks the app is unfortunately unusable for me personally. But I’m going to keep an eye on this app as they seem to be actively developing it. Hopefully it will get some finishing touches soon and then I can begin using it and change my rating to 5 stars!
Thank you — this is the kind of review I hope for, and it genuinely made my day.I keep Flash Log small on purpose. I want it to stay out of your way so you can just finish what you set out to do, which makes me slow to add anything that might tip it into complicated — and repeating to-dos get complicated fast. Your review is what I needed: it made the use case concrete. So custom intervals like every 3 weeks or every 2 months are in development now, and I plan to ship them within 2 weeks.Meanwhile, you can already group recurring to-dos. From the main screen: "…" → "Recurrence settings", then the "…" at the top right of that screen → "New Group". Add to-dos with the group's + button — they repeat together by default, and turning off "Same repeat as the group" in a to-do's editor gives that one its own schedule.If that's not what you pictured by folders, I'd really like to hear it. Email me at support@nambu.dev and tell me how you'd actually use them — I'd much rather build one small, specific thing around your real workflow than guess at a big one. It's just me here, so your reply goes straight onto the list.Thanks for keeping an eye on the app — I hope it fits your workflow soon!
A big update that reworks the parts you touch every day — writing, editing and organizing — down to the small details. And there's a new app icon.
- Say it once and it all goes in. With Apple Intelligence on, say "Meeting at 10 for 30 minutes, then write the report" and Flash Log splits it into to-dos and groups, start times and estimates included. It runs entirely on device and is optional (off by default).
- Tap Review in the totals row to see when today will likely end and whether a time window runs over, then apply a suggestion like moving one to tomorrow in a single tap.
- Opening a to-do keeps the date and week at the top in view. The name slides from the list into the editor, and a to-do near the bottom moves up just enough to show the whole editor.
- Drag a to-do onto a collapsed group, or use "…" → "Group…" in the editor, to put it inside. The group's header glows as it catches it.
- URLs in notes are now links you can tap.
- Editing in the Inbox opens it to full height, so the keyboard never hides the name or note.
- Finish every to-do for today and a little confetti falls.
1.15 1d ago
A review asked for repeat estimates that follow your actual times, so here it is. It's off by default; turn it on in the Recurring screen's settings whenever you like.
- Turn on "Match estimates to actuals" and each repeat's estimate becomes the average of its last 10 recorded times, updating each time you complete one. You can see which times were used on the estimate screen.
- Change a repeat's estimate yourself and that repeat becomes "manual" — it keeps your number as more times are recorded. Tap "Back to automatic" anytime to follow the average again. A label at the top of the estimate screen shows which one is in use.
- Things you've already added keep their estimates, so your past estimates and actuals stay as they were.
1.14 5d ago
Two of your reviews asked for repeats that take less effort, so here they are. Both are off by default; turn them on in the Recurring settings whenever you like.
- Add today's repeats automatically each morning. The first time you open the app after the time you pick, today's repeats go into your plan together and briefly light up. You can turn this on for each device; if two devices add the same repeat before syncing, the extra copy is removed after sync.
- Finished a timed to-do that had no estimate? Tap “Make it repeat” in the completion message. The recorded time becomes the next estimate, and you can add it to the same group if your repeats have one.
Also
- Strict time forecasts now use the remaining time of every unfinished to-do, including paused ones, to calculate start and finish times.
1.13 Oct 28
Added support for iPhone Duo. Flash Log uses the whole screen whether Duo is closed or open, and on the wide open screen the day list and Inbox can sit side by side.
A richer daily reflection. This one came from a review asking to look back on the day in the order things happened.
- Your sessions line up in execution order with their times and actual durations. Fix a record, or add something you did that wasn't planned.
- Send unfinished things to another day, the Inbox, or a smaller next step, or let them go this time.
- Review the next estimate or register a thing as recurring, right there.
- Reflection in the menu now starts with the day you're viewing, so past days are one tap away.
Also
- In the running full-screen view, edit the name and note without stopping the timer, and turn the "estimate reached" notification on or off.
- Deleting every session record of a paused to-do now returns it to not started.
1.12 Oct 15
Start a to-do with one tap using the new option to keep Start buttons visible in the day list. It is off by default and can be turned on in Settings. On macOS or on iPad with a mouse or trackpad, the button appears only when you hover over a to-do.
- Added support for iPhone Duo. The day list and Inbox can sit side by side when the screen is wide enough.
- Moved “Add recurring items to the top” from Settings to the Recurrence screen.
- With a hardware keyboard, press Command-Return while editing a note to save it and close the to-do editor.
- Fixed text loss during Japanese conversion with a hardware keyboard, along with other editing and display issues.
1.10 Sep 27
Improved performance during continued use.
- Reduced unnecessary work in display updates, saving, and history loading.
- Fixed scrolling to the newly added to-do.
- Jelly time badges now react to shaking, fast scrolling, and edge rebounds, with wider, rounder shapes and more slime-like motion.
1.9.2 Sep 19
Fixed reminder issues. Thank you for reporting them in your reviews!
- Fixed a crash when tapping a reminder banner.
- A to-do without a start time couldn't send a reminder, even with the reminder turned on. The bell now shows a slash until the to-do has a start time, and you can use the time shown in the list or calendar as the start time in one tap.
- Reminders are now re-checked each time you open the app, so they work right after you allow notifications in Settings — no reinstall needed.
1.9.1 Sep 18
Added support for iOS 27 / macOS 27.
- The screen now stays on while a running to-do is shown in full screen. You can turn this off in Settings (iPhone and iPad).
- In preparation for iPhone Duo, improved how the inbox adapts when the window size changes.
- Added a setting to log a to-do's estimate as its actual time when you complete it with no actual time recorded. Enable it in Settings → Actual.
- Made screen transitions and timer updates smoother.
- Refined the app icon's appearance and brought the same design to Apple Watch.
- Fixed issues with the running display on the Lock Screen, the inbox, notifications, and calendar view.
- Updated the Mac window's default size. It now remembers the size you choose.
1.9 Sep 16
You can now register a to-do as a repeat right from its editor. A group's time is now called a "time slot" with a "length," and it shows as soon as you set it.
■ Register a repeat, right where you are
- The edit screen's menu now has "Register as recurring."
- A sheet opens right after, so you can adjust the note, the estimate, and the start time on the spot (only the repeat is affected — the original to-do stays as it is).
- You can register the same to-do as many times as you like.
■ New words for a group's time
- What used to be a "container" and its "capacity" is now a "time slot" and its "length." The total inside is "the to-dos' total."
- A time slot shows up as soon as you set one — even when the group is still empty, on the repeats screen, and on a tentative repeat in the day view. Until now it stayed hidden until something was inside.
■ Quieter when the screen is dim
- With Always-On, or when you lower your wrist, the running to-do shows just its name and time — no buttons. It returns to normal as soon as the screen lights up.
- The estimated time now stays visible while dimmed.
- On Apple Watch, the running to-do moved to the top of the list.
■ Start times on the Lock Screen
- When your next to-do has a start time, the "Next" widget shows that time instead. Which times appear follows the same rules as the day view.
■ No more duplicate groups with the same name on one day
- Putting a repeating group on your schedule, or carrying yesterday's leftovers over, now adds to the group of the same name if one is already there.
- When you move a to-do by changing its date, you can choose "Merge into one group."
■ iPad & Mac
- Drag the edge of the docked inbox to set its width. A vertical grabber on the edge shows that it can be grabbed.
- The default Mac window is now slim. Resize it and it opens at that size from then on.
■ Also
- The selection action bar is now ordered date, group, duplicate, delete.
- The last page of the welcome leads with "Get Started," and sample data is a quieter button below it — nothing is added unless you choose it.
■ Fixed
- The press-and-hold menu could vanish the moment you lifted your finger, which is why multiple selection sometimes seemed unavailable.
- Missing translations have been filled in.
1.8 Aug 26
The inbox can now sit at your side (iPad & Mac), and repeats are now both more powerful and simpler.
■ Inbox at your side (iPad & Mac)
- On wide screens, keep the inbox as a sidebar on the left (turn on "Keep the inbox beside the list" in Settings).
- Show or hide it any time with the inbox button in the toolbar. Drag and drop to and from your day, just like before.
- Narrow the window and the familiar bottom tray comes back on its own.
■ One drag-and-drop feel everywhere
- The pick-up, carry, and drop feel I refined in the day view now applies to the inbox, repeats, and calendar view too.
- In calendar view, dragging a block shows its start–end time right under your finger.
- All of it respects Reduce Motion.
■ Repeats: much stronger, still simple
- "Every 3 days," "every other week," "the 2nd Tuesday," "the last day of the month," "yearly" — just pick them.
- Several weekdays, end after a number of times, a start date. One to-do can even combine conditions (every Monday plus the 1st, say).
- The editor always shows "Next"; tap it to see the upcoming dates on a month calendar.
- If you never touch any of this, repeats stay exactly as simple as before — the deeper options only appear when you reach for them.
- This one came straight from your reviews. Thank you.
■ A small adjustment to the app icon.
■ Small things, polished
- The edit screen changes dates with one tap, "Details" is now "Record," and tapping the note icon starts writing right away.
- Editing an inbox row no longer dims the whole panel.
- Complete a whole group with a swipe on its header.
- The inbox count is now a plain gray number.
■ Also
- Press and hold a to-do without moving, and a menu opens with "Start Selecting."
- The welcome went from 7 pages to 4 — features now introduce themselves the first time you meet them.
- Hardware-keyboard ⌘ shortcuts on iPad, readable widths on big screens, a slimmer default window on Mac, and Esc to cancel a drag.
- "Language" in Settings (also from a review). Devices set to neither Japanese nor English now see English.
- Sync status now shows whether the last successful sync sent or received.
■ Fixed
- Opening the app right after completing from the Live Activity could wrongly show "iCloud sync failed."
- Moved or carried-over to-dos no longer keep a repeat mark, and sending a repeating group back to the inbox no longer allows double import.
- Untitled to-dos now read "To-do" everywhere, and missing English strings were filled in.
1.7 Aug 12
The Apple Watch app has been substantially rebuilt, tapping a to-do flows straight into its editor, and widgets are now yours to configure.
■ A much richer Apple Watch app
- The running screen now feels like the system Timer app, with remaining time as a circular ring.
- Changing an estimate has its own screen, and the calendar is a week strip anchored on today.
- Offline, your taps apply right away; anything not yet delivered to your iPhone is marked "unsent."
- Pull the list down to refresh, and start or complete a to-do straight from a notification.
■ A smooth move between a to-do and its editor
- The row you tap expands into the edit card.
- It moves together with the keyboard, and pulling the grabber down closes it.
■ Widgets, your way
- "Today's to-dos" now lets you set the row limit and whether to show completed items, the date, start times, and badges.
- When something is running, it switches to a card showing that one to-do large.
- New on the Lock Screen: "Today's progress" and "Starting in." From Control Center: "Start next to-do."
- A new widget guide in Settings lists every widget by where it goes.
■ Reflection
- A new card shows the median gap between your estimates and actuals, plus the three to-dos that most often run long.
- Choose when the app invites you to reflect, or have it always available.
- "Close the day," "Close today," and "Review" are now all called Reflection.
■ Also new
- Yesterday's leftovers are now a quiet "carry over to today" card; carrying a group over brings its time container along.
- Press and hold the app icon for Add, Today's focus, What fits in N minutes, and Search.
- "Save to Files" when exporting.
- Time badges can now wobble softly (turn it off in Settings).
- Reorder, move, and work the tray using VoiceOver alone, plus full Reduce Motion support.
- Press-and-hold drags and other hidden gestures are explained in a permanent guide and with in-place tips.
■ Fixed
- In time zones such as the Americas, a newly added to-do could fail to appear on that day's list.
- A crash while syncing with Apple Watch.
- The screen becoming unresponsive after a completion toast.
- UI strings that stayed in Japanese.
■ Changed
- End-time notifications now fire only for to-dos you actually started.
- The reminder bell was removed from the list to keep it clean (you can still see it in the edit screen).
- A Live Activity now holds only the thing you're currently on — finishing one never nudges you into the next.
- The compact Dynamic Island now shows the Flash Log bolt.
1.6 Aug 5
This big update centers on the new Apple Watch app, "Today's focus," and adding by voice — so you can move things forward right at hand, without opening your iPhone.
• Apple Watch app (new): a standalone Apple Watch app. See today's to-dos on your wrist and start, pause, or complete them, plus a name-only quick add. Your running to-do shows on watch face complications (circular, corner, inline, rectangular) with the remaining time, and you can turn the Digital Crown to set an estimate (when your iPhone is nearby).
• Today's focus: on a busy day, narrow things down to just the to-dos you chose as "today's focus." Toggle it from the icon at the top-right of the day view; each morning it quietly asks once if you'd like to pick them. Your picks can also appear in dedicated widgets as "Today's N" (set the count to 1–7, or turn it off).
• Add by voice: press and hold the "+" button and speak — what you say becomes a to-do ("Buy milk 15 min" → title plus a 15-minute estimate). All speech is processed on-device and never leaves your phone. A two-second capture for whatever just crossed your mind.
• Day note: write a short one-line note for the day, right in the date header.
• Export & import your data: export and import all your data (to-dos, groups, dividers, execution logs, recurrences, notes, and more) as JSON — handy for backups or moving to another device.
• Time framing (TaskChute / timeboxing): give a divider a "time" and a group a "time container." Anchored to the divider's time, the app faintly shows expected times for to-dos without a start time (nothing appears unless you set it up). For fans of these methods.
• Reflection: give a completed to-do a star (self-rating) and a short note. Review a daily summary from "Close today," or see trends over any period from "Reflect."
• Timeline & widget upgrades: the calendar view gathers all-day events into a band up top, and you can pinch to zoom the time axis. New widgets include a Lock Screen "remaining-time ring," a "Today's focus," a "Next to-do," and an "In focus now" for StandBy.
• A redesigned day view, a unified color scheme, and lots of refinements & fixes: start times are larger and rows roomier; colors are unified to "planned & estimate = gray / actual = blue"; drag-and-drop feel and Apple Watch sync are smoother.
1.5 Jul 14
This update centers on searching your to-dos, a big expansion of recurrence, Apple Watch control, and running several to-dos at once.
• Redesigned recurrence screen: it now looks and works like the day view — reorder, drag & drop, create right from the "+" button, and use "Select" to add several to your plans or delete them in bulk. The action is now consistently called "Add to plans."
• Groups and dividers can recur too: recurrence is no longer limited to to-dos — set a frequency on a group (with all its to-dos) or a divider. A group's children can "Match the group" (inherit) or get their own frequency (override), and you can give any recurrence an end date.
• Run several to-dos at once: starting a new to-do no longer stops the ones already running, so you can track several at the same time, with an "N running" switcher in the mini-player.
• Control from Apple Watch: your running to-do appears in the Apple Watch Smart Stack, where you can Complete or Pause it. Ask Siri to "check elapsed time" to hear the elapsed and estimated time.
• Search across every day: find to-dos by title or notes, including completed and cancelled ones. You can also search by voice with Siri ("Search Flash Log for design") or straight from iPhone Spotlight.
• Drag a to-do to the Inbox: press-and-drag a to-do in the day list onto the Inbox at the bottom-left to send it back. The Inbox now supports groups too.
• Smaller refinements and fixes: smoother dragging, drop zones at the very top and bottom of the list, and more.
1.4 Jul 1
This update focuses on lighter, friendlier wording, simpler user experience and a big expansion of Siri shortcuts.
• Wording is now "to-do": "task" was changed to "to-do" throughout the app — buttons, menus, notifications, widgets, and Siri — to make getting started feel lighter.
• "Due date" is now "Do Date": the day you plan to do a to-do (not a deadline). The edit-screen icons and the Duplicate glyph were tidied up to match.
• Clear the do date from the editor: open the Do Date picker and tap "Clear date and move to Inbox" to send a to-do back to the Inbox on the spot.
• Empty-state hint in calendar: when no to-dos have a start time, the timeline now shows a "No timed to-dos" hint so it's clear why it looks empty.
• Simpler show/hide for closed items: the "Hide completed & canceled items" setting toggle was removed; you now toggle it only with the bar at the top of the day list.
• Smaller refinements: more readable calendar hour grid and local events, outlined estimates for unconfirmed recurring placeholders, row swipe actions disabled while editing, and a Mac menu shortcut (⌘⌥L) to switch view modes.
• More Siri shortcuts: on top of "add a to-do" and "check today," you can now say "Complete / Pause the running to-do" and "Start the next to-do." Complete and Pause run without opening the app and speak the result, and both "to-do" and "task" wording are recognized.
• Bug fixes: fixed Japanese Siri not recognizing the app name, invocation phrases showing in Japanese for English users, and the delete message overlapping the add button.
1.3 Jun 23
This update focuses on a refined editing experience, better organizing, and large-data performance.
• Spotlight while editing: the rest of the screen gently dims so you can focus on the task you're editing. You can still scroll the background, and tapping outside finishes editing.
• Place groups anywhere: group headers are no longer pinned to the top — drag them in the same column as tasks, and mark a whole group complete.
• Reworked day header: scrolling slides the date and week strip under the top glass buttons and dissolves them into the background color.
• Streamlined Settings: "Trash" moved to the top with an item-count badge, and "Data" and "About" are now tidy submenus.
• iCloud sync status: see whether sync is in progress, up to date, or hit a problem, with a heads-up that the first sync can take a while with lots of data.
• Smooth with large data: switching days, adding tasks, and launching stay snappy even with hundreds of thousands of tasks and records.
• Smaller refinements: cleaned up the time display with left-aligned start times, tidied the recurring menu, and reviewed the English wording.
• Bug fixes: fixed the calendar sliding the wrong way when you changed direction, a time-zone issue where a newly added task could miss the day, and more.
1.2 Jun 16
The Inbox is now a bottom tray — open it while keeping the day in view, drag tasks onto the day, and select several at once.
• Inbox bottom tray (drag to schedule, reorder, multi-select)
• Separate start and end reminders
• Drag the "+" button to drop a task exactly where you want it
• Quick-add widget (Home Screen, Lock Screen, Controls)
• Estimated and actual totals on the widget
• Recurring tasks reworked as "tentative" placeholders (tap to add for the day)
• Carry over yesterday's unfinished tasks
• Option to start the week on Monday
Plus many refinements and bug fixes.
1.1 Jun 15
A big update that reworks the parts you touch every day — writing, editing and organizing — down to the small details. And there's a new app icon.
- Say it once and it all goes in. With Apple Intelligence on, say "Meeting at 10 for 30 minutes, then write the report" and Flash Log splits it into to-dos and groups, start times and estimates included. It runs entirely on device and is optional (off by default).
- Tap Review in the totals row to see when today will likely end and whether a time window runs over, then apply a suggestion like moving one to tomorrow in a single tap.
- Opening a to-do keeps the date and week at the top in view. The name slides from the list into the editor, and a to-do near the bottom moves up just enough to show the whole editor.
- Drag a to-do onto a collapsed group, or use "…" → "Group…" in the editor, to put it inside. The group's header glows as it catches it.
- URLs in notes are now links you can tap.
- Editing in the Inbox opens it to full height, so the keyboard never hides the name or note.
- Finish every to-do for today and a little confetti falls.
more Version 1.15 1d ago
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