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🚀 Beta Running
PYNGUP: Rebellion against toxic productivity
Beta limited to 100 spots. Tasks become social commitments instead of lonely to-dos.
June 30, 2025 - Day 2 of my public PYNGUP journey | 10 min read
You asked which 17 apps drove me to madness. Here's the complete list of my productivity app hell. With honest reviews, estimated costs, and the reason why each one failed.
Spoiler: It wasn't the apps. It was the system behind them.
The "Clean & Simple" Phase (Apps 1-4)
1. Todoist - €48/year
The seduction: "Finally, a clean, professional to-do list!"
Todoist was my first great love. So clean, so organized, so... adult. I immediately felt more productive. Just creating projects and categorizing gave me a dopamine hit.
Why it failed: After three weeks, I had 47 unfinished tasks in 12 different projects. "Organizing" became more important than "doing." I spent more time sorting tasks than completing them.
2. Any.do - €36/year
The seduction: "Even cleaner, even simpler!"
After the Todoist fiasco, I thought: "I need something simpler." Any.do looked like the iPhone of to-do apps. Minimalistic, elegant, perfect.
Why it failed: Too simple. No categories, no projects, no structure. After a week, I had an endless list without context. "Redesign website" stood next to "buy milk." Pure chaos.
3. Things 3 - €50 one-time
The seduction: "This is the Mac-native masterpiece!"
€50 for a to-do app. FIFTY EUROS. But it was so beautifully designed, so thoughtful, so... Apple-like. "This will change my life," I thought.
Why it failed: Too complicated for daily use, too simple for complex projects. The "Getting Things Done" system needed to be learned. I spent more time understanding the system than completing tasks. And only available on Apple devices - what about Windows?
4. Microsoft To Do - Free
The seduction: "Free and from Microsoft - must be good!"
After €134 for the first three apps, I tried the free Microsoft To Do. "Back to basics," I thought.
Why it failed: Felt like an Excel sheet with checkboxes. Zero personality, zero motivation. Opened the app and immediately felt demotivated.
The "Power User" Phase (Apps 5-9)
5. Notion - €96/year
The seduction: "The all-in-one tool for real pros!"
Notion was like crack for productivity junkies. Databases! Templates! Infinite customization! I built systems within systems. My Notion workspace became a work of art.
Why it failed: I spent 80% of my time building the perfect system and 20% using it. Notion became my full-time hobby. Plus: way too slow for quick task captures.
6. Asana - €60/year
The seduction: "This is what real teams and companies use!"
Asana was supposed to be my "professional" upgrade. Gantt charts! Project tracking! I felt like a real project manager.
Why it failed: Overkill for personal tasks. I was a one-man team trying to use enterprise software. Like driving a tank to the bakery.
7. Trello - €60/year
The seduction: "Kanban boards! This is how the Japanese work!"
Trello promised visual project management. To Do → Doing → Done. Simple and brilliant, right?
Why it failed: Works great for teams, terrible for personal tasks. My "Doing" column was always empty because I never did more than one thing at a time. The system didn't fit my workflow.
8. TickTick - €36/year
The seduction: "Todoist alternative with Pomodoro timer!"
TickTick had everything: lists, calendar, timer, even habit tracking. The Swiss Army knife of productivity apps.
Why it failed: Too many features. I used 10% of the functions and was confused by 90%. Feature bloat at its finest.
9. OmniFocus - €120/year
The seduction: "The serious Getting Things Done tool!"
OmniFocus was the Rolls-Royce of to-do apps. Complex, powerful, expensive. For real GTD professionals.
Why it failed: Two problems: First, Apple only. Second, so complex I would have needed to take a course. The learning curve was steeper than an Alpine slope.
The "Fun & Gamification" Phase (Apps 10-13)
10. Habitica - €48/year
The seduction: "Turn your life into a game!"
Habitica turned to-dos into an RPG. I had an avatar, collected XP, fought monsters. Productivity as an 8-bit adventure!
Why it failed: After two weeks, the gamification was just annoying. Real progress can't be measured in XP. Plus: looked like 1995.
11. Forest - €24 one-time
The seduction: "Focus through virtual trees!"
Forest planted trees while I worked focused. Beautiful idea: productivity meets environmental protection.
Why it failed: I focused more on the trees than on work. Virtual forest gardening became procrastination.
12. 2Do - €30 one-time
The seduction: "Finally an app that gets everything right!"
2Do was the insider tip in productivity forums. Flexible, powerful, without subscription rip-offs.
Why it failed: Too flexible. I spent hours finding the perfect setup. 847 configuration options are 846 too many.
13. Clear - €15 one-time
The seduction: "Gesture-based elegance!"
Clear was pure elegance. No buttons, just gestures. Swipe, drag, pinch. Like Minority Report for to-dos.
Why it failed: Gestures are cool for 5 minutes, then annoying for 5 months. And zero functions except "create list."
The "AI & Automation" Phase (Apps 14-17)
14. Sunsama - €192/year
The seduction: "Daily planning with zen-like calm!"
Sunsama was meditation meets productivity. Daily planning rituals, calm colors, mindful task planning.
Why it failed: €16 per month for a glorified calendar app. Plus: the "mindful planning" took longer than the actual work.
15. Motion - €408/year
The seduction: "AI plans your perfect day!"
Motion promised AI-powered scheduling. The app was supposed to calculate my optimal daily routine. Skynet for productivity.
Why it failed: €34 per month, and the AI was dumber than me. Scheduled 12-hour workdays and 15-minute breaks. And I'm not Mark Zuckerberg.
16. Remember the Milk - €40/year
The seduction: "The classic! This must be good!"
Remember the Milk has been around since 2005. A veteran of the to-do world. Proven, reliable, classic.
Why it failed: Looks like 2005. Feels like 2005. Was revolutionary in 2005, museum-ready in 2024.
17. Wunderlist (RIP) - €60/year
The seduction: "One last time, I swear!"
Wunderlist was my final attempt. Beautiful, simple, acquired by Microsoft and... discontinued.
Why it failed: Microsoft killed it in 2020. My perfect app was suddenly dead. The ultimate productivity trauma.
The Bill: €1,247 and 3 Years of My Life
Total cost: €1,247 (not €487 as I originally thought - I had repressed how expensive the madness really was)
Time spent on setup/learning: ~120 hours
Productivity increase: -23% (estimated, but feels accurate)
The Pattern: Why ALL 17 Apps Failed
After this odyssey, I recognized the problem: All apps treat productivity as a solo sport.
It was always about:
- YOU optimizing
- YOUR system perfecting
- YOUR habits tracking
- YOU becoming more disciplined
But humans aren't made to be productive alone. We're social beings. We need other people to stay motivated.
I only realized this when Sarah called me and we tackled her tasks together. In 45 minutes. Without an app. Just through human connection.
The Turning Point: From App-Search to People-Power
What if productivity wasn't lonely? What if tasks automatically involved other people?
Instead of "redesign website" → "Show Tim my new website"
Instead of "write business plan" → "Tell my sister about business idea"
Instead of "work out" → "Go jogging with Sarah"
Suddenly someone is waiting for you. Suddenly you're disappointing a real person, not just yourself. Suddenly productivity works.
That's PYNGUP. Not the 18th app in my collection. But the exit from app hell.
What's Coming Next
This week I'm starting the beta phase of PYNGUP. Not with perfect features, but with the simple idea: Transform lonely tasks into social commitments.
If you want to be part of the beta - and are also tired of apps that don't work - write to me. Tell me about your own app odyssey. How many have you tried? Which one disappointed you the most?
Let's prove together that productivity can be human.
Tomorrow continues with: "What is a PYNG? (And why your brain is programmed for it)"
Your question for me: Which of the 17 apps do you know? And which one also disappointed you?
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