Focus Matrix – Task Manager 4+

This app keeps my mom brain organized

This app takes my insanely long to do list from overwhelming to organized and my overwhelmed exhausted heart couldn’t be more grateful 😆. It literally helps me relax knowing my top priority to dos are so easy to see amid the million other things . I can focus on those first yet still see all the others if I have extra time . I love the Eisenhower method and I love this app . I’ve tried two others and this one is the best for me. I did have to add a little extra step to my weekly routine though … to purposely do one or more of the important but not urgent things on the list even if I had to stay up a bit later at night because my important and urgent priorities take up most of my time and then things like schedule a mammogram ( important but not urgent due to no preset deadline) keep getting pushed aside . That’s not the apps fault of course . If anything the app helped me see how to squeeze in self care and why that kept getting pushed aside . 5 stars for helping a mom schedule the all important mammogram 😆

Developer Response ,

It’s great that our application helps you!

THE BEST.

I’ve used a lot of productivity apps. This one has everything I want and nothing I don’t. The inbox is where I add stuff to do. When I get a chance, I add my custom tags, then assign them to one of the 4 quadrants. It’s SO clean and useful. It could be sexier, but so could I.

Next: it syncs to my Google cal. So I can see items I want on my cal with a click. That’s helpful in reminding me to engage my to-do list!

The phone app is great, and so is the desktop app. I use them both depending on where I’m at, and they sync perfectly and seconds away from instantly.

I also started using it with BeFocused for time-driven tasks. So when I’m tracking a client project task, I just tick a box and it syncs the two apps. In Focus Matrix it’s a task. In BeFocused it’s a trackable (timer-based) task. Each task shows up in both apps accordingly.

I’m deeply impressed by this app. What it lacks in eye candy it over-delivers in simple, useful, and usable features and functionality. For me, it’s become indispensable. I’m saving a ton of time, I’m organized, and it plays nice with my other productivity tools of choice.

Give this thing a go and ditch to over-engineered kitchen sink productivity apps. It’s a tad quirky/eccentric (not sleek). So it might feel like seeing that band you didn’t understand. Then (light bulb!) it hits you and you realize it’s kinda brilliant. I hope you get where I’m at with it. It will help a lot.

Update 5 months in — 5+ stars

Update from my review below. This is the only system I’ve continued to use several months in. I may love it even more which is amazing.

My wish for Outlook integration still stands!

I’m a few days in and thinking Focus matrix might do the trick. The interface and its a subtle way of “training” our brains to think in terms of the 4 boxes. I especially like that a task automatically moves to urgent and important as it nears its due date. Most importantly rather than feeling overwhelmed by an ever-growing list — which is when I tend to abandon an app — I am calmed by the fact that items are captured, and I only need to focus on the important/urgent items. On my wish list is for an integration with Outlook.

Developer Response ,

You can mark a task as completed. And then use filters so that the task remains in the reports but is not displayed in the list.