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.
■ 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.
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!
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.
Version 1.12
The developer, Shinichi Nanbu, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Not Collected
The developer does not collect any data from this app.
Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More