u/ajayesivan

I have tired almost all productivity tools from Todoist to Notion, Obsidian to Asana. From simple task manager/habit trackers to complex project management tools. But nothing worked for me. Either I find it too simple and lacking what I want or too complex and I end up spending more time building the system than improving productivity.

Every time I try a new tool I think this it will be different, but again in a few days or maximum in a few weeks I will reach back to my notebook.

I'm I alone? has anyone else been through this?

For most of my life my productivity system was a paper notebook. Daily tasks, journaling, plans and everything.

I've tried going digital many times: Todoist, Toggl, Notion, Obsidian, Asana, habit apps, simple to-do lists, all-in-one workspaces. Some of them are great tools, but none ever stuck. They were either not enough or far too much, even Notion felt like work about work. I'd set up a system, use it for two weeks, and drift back to paper.

I always wanted to build my own tool and I tried several times over the years. Those attempts failed too, building was slow and every prototype drifted from what I actually needed. This time, prototyping with AI was fast enough that I could actually experiment: keep what fits, throw away what doesn't, and build only on top of my own simple daily needs.

The result is Zympl: a calm daily planner. It has a daily task list (with projects and recurring tasks), time tracking with a day timeline and weekly reports, habits and goals, and a one-entry-a-day journal. Deliberately minimal.

Full honesty:

• It's early and unfinished. There are rough edges and it will change.
• It's completely free: no trial, no card, no locked features. Right now I want feedback, not revenue. It runs in the browser today. iOS and Android apps are coming.

I'm mostly launching to answer one question: am I the only one who kept sliding back to paper because every app was too much? If you're a paper person too, I'd genuinely love to hear what would make this work for you or why it wouldn't.

Link: https://zympl.app

Product Hunt: https://www.producthunt.com/products/zympl?utm_source=other&utm_medium=social

Happy to answer anything about how it's built, too.

I've noticed that even tiny details in Store screenshots can change my perception of an app.

Recently I saw a screenshot with red low battery icon and that immediately made me feel that the app could be of poor quality, I noticed it very quickly and I can't explain why.

Is any such small details affected your perception of an app before even downloading it?

I genuinely enjoy redesigning App Store screenshots. Drop a link to your app and DM me 3–4 raw screenshots taken straight from inside the app — just the plain app screens, not your current App Store designs (so I don't have to pull them myself). I'll turn one into a proper store screenshot and walk through what I changed.

No catch. I like doing it, and I'm always curious what people are shipping. No catch. I like doing it, and I'm always curious what people are shipping.

A few things I usually end up tweaking, in case it's useful even if you don't post:

• The first screenshot tends to do most of the work, since a lot of people don't swipe — so I try to make it say what the app does fast.
• I lean toward captions about what the app does for you, rather than just labeling the screen.
• Checking it's still readable shrunk down to thumbnail size in search.
• Whether the set tells a bit of a story, vs. being a few random screens.

Drop your app below and DM the raw in-app screenshots, and I'll get through as many as I can.

(Heads up: I make a screenshot tool, so this is my thing — but it's just free feedback, no pitch.)

I genuinely enjoy redesigning App Store screenshots. Drop a link to your app and DM me 3–4 raw screenshots taken straight from inside the app — just the plain app screens, not your current App Store designs (so I don't have to pull them myself). I'll turn one into a proper store screenshot and walk through what I changed.

No catch. I like doing it, and I'm always curious what people are shipping. No catch. I like doing it, and I'm always curious what people are shipping.

A few things I usually end up tweaking, in case it's useful even if you don't post:

• The first screenshot tends to do most of the work, since a lot of people don't swipe — so I try to make it say what the app does fast.
• I lean toward captions about what the app does for you, rather than just labeling the screen.
• Checking it's still readable shrunk down to thumbnail size in search.
• Whether the set tells a bit of a story, vs. being a few random screens.

Drop your app below and DM the raw in-app screenshots, and I'll get through as many as I can.

(Heads up: I make a screenshot tool, so this is my thing — but it's just free feedback, no pitch.)

I honestly don't know how to interpret these numbers.

I built this as an indie developer and have been learning marketing as I go.

So far:

* 1,304 signups
* 57 paying customers
* 4.37% signup-to-paid conversion

For those who've built SaaS products before:

* Is this considered healthy?
* What metric would you focus on next?
* Would you prioritize improving conversion or growing acquisition at this stage?

I'd appreciate any feedback from people who've been through this before.