Task Compass for Reminders
Pairwise Prioritization
Free
For long to-do lists. You answer "which task is more important?", app remembers your choices, builds the priority order, and shows you the #1. Works with Apple Reminders.
Task Compass is for you if:
- Have long to-do lists
- Need to choose what to work on next
- Want to keep the important task on top of list
- Want top task on the lock screen
This isn’t for you if you need complex project hierarchies, dependencies, or time tracking.
Task Compass prioritizes your tasks by asking you to compare two tasks. "Which task is more important?" The app finds and displays your top priority, in-app, in a widget, in a live activity, and in a lock screen widget.
Always in sync with Apple Reminders.
No new accounts. Your data lives on your phone and in your iCloud account.
Terms of Use: Standard Apple Terms (https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/)
more # Added
Workspace Review: re-establish your #1 task using only fresh comparisons, so older ones don't weigh on the result. Start it from the overflow menu of a Compass workspace, Today or Tomorrow.
Why is this task on top? Tap the small "i" next to the top task's due date to see the comparisons behind its rank. Swipe a row to delete a comparison you disagree with.
More widget sizes: the Today widget now supports the circular Lock Screen accessory and the extra-large Home Screen sizes.
Undo when you complete a task from the Home Screen widget.
"Remove from Today" / "Remove from Tomorrow" as a left-swipe action on the other-tasks list.
The move-to-list menu groups lists that share a name prefix and shows each list's color.
New Reminder picks a smarter default list in Workspaces, Today and Tomorrow.
# Improved
Far fewer comparisons when you work through tasks one by one. In simulations, 12 reminders needed 31% fewer comparisons and 30 reminders needed 63% fewer.
Widgets adapt better to tinted, Lock Screen, Always-On, StandBy and CarPlay modes.
Widget due dates are shorter, and overdue dates are red.
The Deadlines widget shows the first line of each reminder's notes when you have three or fewer deadlines.
# Fixed
The widget no longer opens its own iCloud sync connection. This is meant to prevent sync problems when the widget is installed.
Comparisons made in the Lock Screen widget or Live Activity are now recognized on your other devices.
Comparison cleanup: cycles are removed automatically, your newest comparison is no longer overridden by older ones, and comparisons against deleted tasks are cleaned up.
In the Reassess sheet, deleting one comparison no longer hides others or deletes several at once.
Closing an untouched New Reminder form no longer asks "Discard Changes?".
Undo and Redo are shared across Today, Tomorrow and Compass.
The widget no longer says "No tasks to show" right after you complete a task.
1.12.0 Oct 14
A new, more accurate prioritization algorithm
Recurring reminders
An in-app “I can’t start” troubleshooter
Per-row comparison estimates in Plan Today/Tomorrow
A “Tasks for later today” section on the Today screen
Live iCloud sync without restarting the app
1.11.0 Sep 8
Bulk actions: select multiple tasks to complete, delete, reschedule, move, or reassess them all at once.
Lock Screen widget: see your top-priority task without unlocking your phone. During an active comparison, the inline widget shows how many comparisons remain, and the rectangular widget lets you tap to record a winner. Tap the circle next to the top task to mark it complete. Tap again within 5 seconds to undo.
Custom reschedule: pick any date and time from a calendar and time picker, not just the preset options.
Thai and Ukrainian translations added.
Prioritization fixes: resolved several cases where the top task was hidden behind a prompt it didn't need, where a task appeared in the #1 slot before its ranking was confirmed, where two tasks tied for the last spot showed in an arbitrary order, and where comparing the same two tasks twice caused Today to go blank.
Other fixes: relative date labels (Today, Tomorrow, This Weekend) now translate correctly; completing a recurring reminder from its detail screen now closes reliably; force-quitting no longer spawns a duplicate Live Activity; the app now remembers the last list you added a reminder to; notes edits can no longer be silently overwritten by a background refresh.
1.10.0 Jul 24
Undo and Redo for task actions: complete a task, record a comparison, change K, reassess, move, or schedule/unschedule, then undo it. Toolbar buttons show the action name; Cmd+Z works on macOS.
Multiple named Workspaces in the Compass tab. Each workspace has its own name, description, and priority count. Today and Tomorrow remain independent tabs with their own list selections.
Deadlines widget: medium/large Home Screen widget shows your Deadlines list sorted by time remaining, with compact labels like "2h" or "1d ovd".
Compare tasks and mark done from the Home Screen widget or Lock Screen. The Live Activity and widget show tappable comparison buttons, no need to open the app.
Live Activity for task focus: start a session from the Today toolbar to see your top task on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island.
Priority Health in Settings → Maintenance: finds comparison cycles, buried tasks, and weak-king candidates in your priority graph.
Top task row redesigned to match the detail view: urgency bars, list menu, due-date button, and tappable title. Overdue stripe now appears on all ranked rows.
French language support.
Bug fixes: 100% CPU on macOS caused by an EventKit notification loop; list selection load estimate now matches the workspace's filtering.
1.9 Jul 7
Cross-device sync is now reliable. priorities you build on iPhone are fully honored on Mac, and vice versa.
Several bugs fixed: ranked list order is now consistent between launches, the Prioritize button no longer gets stuck, and deleted tasks are properly shown for cleanup in Reassess.
1.8 May 27
Added: Today and Tomorrow tabs
The Planning tab has been replaced by two dedicated tabs — Today and Tomorrow — giving you a clear, day-by-day view of your upcoming tasks without having to enter the Daily Cycle mode first. The old Planning tab’s functionality is folded into these two tabs.
Added: Undo for completing tasks and comparisons
Made a mistake? A 5-second undo toast now appears at the root level whenever you complete a reminder or record a pairwise comparison. The toast is reachable from anywhere in the navigation stack. You can also trigger undo by tapping the filled-circle button on the task detail view while the view is still visible.
Added: Account picker in Create List
When you have multiple EventKit sources set up — iCloud, On My iPhone, Exchange, or others — a picker now appears above the name field in the Create List form so you can choose which account the new list belongs to.
Changed: Faster prioritization for large task lists
Prioritization performance has been significantly improved for large task lists. The ranking algorithm now resolves the next comparison pair faster, reducing the delay you’d notice when working through a long list.
1.7.0 Apr 29
Bug fix: the "+" button in the Doing mode.
1.0.6 Apr 10
### Added: Drag-and-drop planning
The Plan phase of Daily Cycle mode is completely redesigned. Instead of the
task carousel, planning now shows three boxes Today, Tomorrow, and
Priority list where you drag reminders between boxes to schedule or
unschedule them. Chips are coloured using the same priority and overdue logic
as the status bar squares, so you can see urgency at a glance. When you're
done, tap Start the Day in the toolbar to transition to execution.
### Added: Simpler reminder entry
Creating a new reminder now opens a compact form by default: just a title
field and a segmented due-date picker (no due / Today / Tomorrow). Tap
More options to expand to the full form - the title you've already typed
carries over. Editing an existing reminder always opens the full form.
### Added: Know what you're getting before you subscribe
The new premium info screen explains All Lists Access and The Shortlist
before showing you the subscription dialog. Tapping a locked mode, the padlock
button, or the locked "Add List" now takes you to this screen first, with a
"View Subscription Options" button to continue if you decide to subscribe.
### Added: Archive lists from the list selection screen
You can now archive a list directly from the list selection screen by swiping
left or using the context menu — no need to navigate to Settings first.
### Changed: Markdown in notes
Reminder notes displayed in the top priorities view now render basic Markdown
formatting.
### Changed: Background adapts to time of day
The app's background gradient shifts with the time of day, moving away from
blue tones in the evening to be easier on the eyes at night.
### Changed: Reassess sheet loads immediately
The Reassess sheet no longer shows a multi-second delay when loading comparison
rows. Task titles are now resolved before the sheet opens.
### Changed: Simplified mode picker
The mode picker is now a flat list of three options - Stream, Planning, and Doing - replacing the previous two-level menu (Stream | Shortlist → Planning | Doing). It appears as a standalone toolbar item next to the settings gear, so switching modes takes one tap instead of two.
### Other changes
- Small widget now shows "today" for date-only reminders due today, and shows
only month and day (e.g. "May 4") for all other dates.
- Reminder entry form title changed to "New Reminder" or "Edit Reminder".
- Settings → Archived Lists now shows only archived lists with an Unarchive
button per row.
- List sort order (task count, alphabetical, or custom) is now consistent
across the entire app, including the list picker in the reminder entry form.
### Fixed: Status bar hides when switching to Stream
The scheduled-reminders status bar now disappears immediately when switching from Doing mode to Stream.
### Fixed: Subscription takes effect immediately after purchase
After subscribing, the app now unlocks premium features straight away.
Previously, a timing issue caused the app to think no subscription was
active immediately after a successful purchase on TestFlight - the
purchase went through, but the app appeared to be on the free tier until
the next launch. This is now fixed.
### Changed: Onboarding adapted for free-tier users
Free-tier users skip the list-selection onboarding step (choosing which
lists to include), since multi-list access is a premium feature. When a
free-tier user subscribes, the list-selection screen is shown
automatically so they can configure their lists right away.
### Bug fixes
- Choosing Today, Tomorrow, Weekend, or Next Week in the schedule menu no
longer carries over a stale alarm time from the previous schedule.
- Archived lists no longer appear in the list picker or the move-to-list menu.
- "Out of N tasks for now" count in the top priorities view now correctly
excludes time-gated tasks scheduled for later in the day.
- Comparison estimate on the list selection screen updates correctly when
toggling lists.
1.0.5 Apr 8
Archived Lists: You can now archive reminder lists via Settings → Archive Lists. An archived list is hidden from the entire app: list selection, prioritization, and the Execute phase in the Daily Cycle mode. Archiving also disables the list so reminders don’t reappear unexpectedly if you later unarchive it. The Settings row shows how many lists are currently archived. This is useful for lists “you want to have but don’t want to see.”
Also:
- Added the URL field in the Reminder entry form
- “Add New Reminder” button in the all-scheduled state
- Prioritization now starts while the card-tap animation is still running, rather than after it completes, so the next comparison appears a bit sooner
- Fixed the estimate in the progress bar shown during comparisons
1.0.4 Mar 16
## Version 1.0.3 — March 9, 2026
### Added
- Sidebar navigation on macOS with Plan, Capture, Lists, and Settings tabs
- Capture tab: add reminders from a dedicated tab without leaving the Plan view
- Daily Cycle Overdue Advisory on first activation when many tasks are overdue
- Upgrading to Full Access automatically switches to Daily Cycle mode
- Reassess sheet: delete individual comparisons by swiping left
- Reassess sheet: deleted or reassessed tasks shown as indirect references
- Due date menu: 9 AM, 3 PM, and 6 PM shortcuts (past times are disabled)
- Pull-to-refresh on caught-up task cards
- "All Done for Now" shows the time of the next upcoming task
- Daily Cycle Execute mode shows a dedicated screen when no tasks are scheduled
- "Get in Touch" section in Settings
### Changed
- Time-gated tasks unlock at exactly the scheduled time (previously up to 60 seconds late)
- Notes editing opens a dedicated sheet instead of expanding inline
- Settings, Lists, and Capture moved from toolbar buttons to dedicated tabs
- Lists tab shows reminders updated on other devices without visiting the Plan tab first
- Onboarding re-shows on each device independently after app updates
### Removed
- Pomodoro timer
- Focus session scheduling
### Fixed
- Completing a task now reliably marks it complete in Apple Reminders
- Rescheduling a reminder now preserves the original notification time on the new date
- Edit/Create reminder sheet no longer dismisses accidentally when there is unsaved content
- Reminders with an early-warning alarm now appear from the alarm time, not the due date
- Correctly showing "for now" and "for today" depending on the presence of further tasks for the same day
- Several internal fixes and reliability improvements
1.0.3 Mar 13
- Moved most action buttons to toolbars for consistency.
- Daily Cycle mode shows status bar at the bottom, you can tap it and see reminders scheduled for today and tomorrow.
- Removed the Pomodoro timer as the default way of completing reminders. It's still available in the context menu (three dots). Instead, there's a cancellable button, with 2s delay.
- In the caught up mode (after the comparisons are done) more items are directly modifiable:
- tap the list name to assign the reminder to a different list
- tap the date to reschedule the reminder (or remove the scheduling)
- tap the priority number to reassess the importance of the reminder
- tap the notes area to edit
1.0.2 Feb 24
Daily Cycle mode: Identify your top tasks, and make a list of Reminders for today. Based on Oliver Burkeman's idea of a manageable, closed list.
1.0.1 Feb 17
# Added
Workspace Review: re-establish your #1 task using only fresh comparisons, so older ones don't weigh on the result. Start it from the overflow menu of a Compass workspace, Today or Tomorrow.
Why is this task on top? Tap the small "i" next to the top task's due date to see the comparisons behind its rank. Swipe a row to delete a comparison you disagree with.
More widget sizes: the Today widget now supports the circular Lock Screen accessory and the extra-large Home Screen sizes.
Undo when you complete a task from the Home Screen widget.
"Remove from Today" / "Remove from Tomorrow" as a left-swipe action on the other-tasks list.
The move-to-list menu groups lists that share a name prefix and shows each list's color.
New Reminder picks a smarter default list in Workspaces, Today and Tomorrow.
# Improved
Far fewer comparisons when you work through tasks one by one. In simulations, 12 reminders needed 31% fewer comparisons and 30 reminders needed 63% fewer.
Widgets adapt better to tinted, Lock Screen, Always-On, StandBy and CarPlay modes.
Widget due dates are shorter, and overdue dates are red.
The Deadlines widget shows the first line of each reminder's notes when you have three or fewer deadlines.
# Fixed
The widget no longer opens its own iCloud sync connection. This is meant to prevent sync problems when the widget is installed.
Comparisons made in the Lock Screen widget or Live Activity are now recognized on your other devices.
Comparison cleanup: cycles are removed automatically, your newest comparison is no longer overridden by older ones, and comparisons against deleted tasks are cleaned up.
In the Reassess sheet, deleting one comparison no longer hides others or deletes several at once.
Closing an untouched New Reminder form no longer asks "Discard Changes?".
Undo and Redo are shared across Today, Tomorrow and Compass.
The widget no longer says "No tasks to show" right after you complete a task.
more Version 1.12.0 Oct 14
Data Not Collected The developer does not collect any data from this app.