a tiny app for daily focus

What's the
one thing
you want to do today?

Every morning, write it down. At night, mark it done. That's the whole app. No lists, no projects, no notifications nagging you. Just one thing that matters, kept quietly for as long as you need.

try it · free forever no account · works offline
One Thing. Tue · May 26
today's one thing
Finish the second draft.
streak 4 · done 17 of 21 done
Why

Most productivity apps make you feel behind.

Long lists. Open loops. Eleven things in five categories with three priority levels and four colored tags. You finish the day having "done a lot" but you can't quite remember if you did the thing that actually mattered.

One Thing is built on the opposite idea: you'll do one important thing today. Maybe more, but at minimum, one. Decide what it is in the morning, when you're clear. Honor it at night, when you're tired.

A life is just one thing, done a thousand times.

That's the entire premise. The app is a single screen. There is no "Pro plan" hiding the good features. The free version is the product, complete, forever — because a daily-use app is only worth anything if you use it every day, and you only use it every day if it's beautiful and unobtrusive.

The paid tier, One Thing Plus, exists for the small handful of things that cost real money to run — syncing your entries across devices, keeping a searchable archive forever, and supporting an indie maker who'd like to keep the lights on.

How it works

Three steps. Every day.

01

Decide in the morning

When you open the app, you see one cursor blinking. Write what matters today. 140 characters or less. No tags, no categories.

02

Carry it through the day

A gentle reminder at 8am and 8pm if you want one. Otherwise, the app is silent. It's not trying to win your attention back.

03

Close the loop at night

Mark it done — or don't. Either way, it joins the quiet archive of what you've done. Patterns emerge over months.

Pricing

Free forever, actually.

Free has everything you need to use One Thing every day. Plus is for the few people who want it on more devices or want to support the work.

Free
$0
forever · no card
  • The full daily flow — write, complete, undo
  • Streaks and completion stats
  • Gentle morning and evening reminders
  • Two beautiful themes (paper, linen)
  • Last 90 days of your archive
  • Share, export, reset, offline mode
open the app
Plus
$5/mo
or $48 / year
  • Sync seamlessly across all your devices
  • Unlimited archive, searchable forever
  • Weekly & monthly reflections
  • Two additional themes (midnight, sepia)
  • Year-in-review PDF export
  • Early access to anything new
start 7-day trial
Questions

Asked & answered.

Is it really free? +
Yes, forever. The free version has everything you need to use One Thing every day — including reminders, your streak, the last 90 days of your archive, share, and offline mode. Plus is genuinely optional. If we ever change this, we'll grandfather you in.
Why only one thing? +
Because long lists let you off the hook. If you write down ten things, you can finish four and feel productive. If you write down one, you have to actually do it. The constraint is the point.
What if I have more than one thing? +
You probably do. Most days, most people have ten. One Thing isn't your task list — it's the question of which one matters most. Keep your task list wherever you like. Use this for the answer.
Do you sell my data? +
No. Free users' entries live only on their device, never on any server. Plus users' entries are end-to-end encrypted so we can sync them between your devices without ever reading them. We make money from Plus subscriptions, full stop.
What languages will it support? +
English at launch. Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, and Japanese coming within six months. Hindi, Korean, Italian, and Arabic the six months after that. The full app, not just translated buttons — adapted in tone for each language.
Who's behind this? +
A small team trying to build the kind of app we wished existed. We use it every day. If you have feedback, the email is hello@onething.today and we read everything.
try it · free forever