Lyster - Swipe to Plan

Like others who have written reviews, I found Lyster as a replacement for Swipes, and have been really happy with the app the past few years. I find other to-do list apps needlessly over complicated, whereas Lyster has just the right blend of functionality and simple UX. My only problem - and why I’m seeking an alternative now - is that the app hasn’t been kept up to date, with notifications no longer working on the latest iOS (18). That’s limited the app’s usefulness considerably.

I loved Swipes. I’ve tried everything else out there and nothing works as well with simple, intuitive, highly flexible ways of organizing tasks in ways that are FAST. Lyster almost gets there. The quick swipes to mark something off or to reachedule it to another day. But it’s missing a way to categorize or sort tasks, ways to add subtasks, and a few other important frills. They are allegedly working on a Premium version. If this Premium version appears soon, I’ll gladly pay for it assuming it does those other things I need. Short review: This app has the basics down right of simple swiping to check off or reschedule. But it’s otherwise too trimmed down at present to powerfully organize many tasks well.

I used to use a similar app called Swipes because it was the only to-do app that worked for me. I’m both an over-planner and a procrastinator. To-do apps with too much going on just get me bogged down into planning. I tend to spend all my time getting everything entered and organized, and eventually I get overwhelmed and give up on using it. There’s something about the simple interface that Swipes had (and now this app) that worked for me. A “today” view, and a swipe-to-do-later feature (with an easy menu of when to reschedule it for), and swipe-to-complete. That’s it. Somewhat counterintuitively, the swipe-to-do-later actually INCREASES my consistency of getting things done. I think it’s because it frees me to easily say “I can’t do this now, so I’ll do it at such-and-such time”, rather than “well, missed that deadline, guess I’ll just let it sit as a badge on my home screen for weeks”. If you’re an over-planner and/or a procrastinator, this is the app for you. A couple things I would love to have: a widget would be great. Also, the day-by-day “Later” view is nice, but I would also like a view with just a full list of everything coming up. Still a great app without those things. Thanks so much to the developer for making this! I can finally start feeling on top of things again!