The motivation behind kitai goal tracker: what was missing for me in existing solutions and why I built it.
tldr: getkitai.app, kitai: How to use
Once again, I found myself starting a new "to-do list." Not just any list, of course — I’ll use some fancy system I picked up from work. I'll write SMART goals, create small and actionable tasks, rank them in an Eisenhower matrix, set deadlines, and all that good stuff.
But why did this happen again? Haven't I tried so many tools already? I'm perfectly fine with Jira, Notion, or Asana at work, so why am I starting from scratch again, writing down my personal goals and imagining how I'll follow this elaborate plan I'm about to make? Seems like it's time to step back and reflect a bit.
Finding the balance
The common feature of my previously abandoned lists and productivity tools is their size. They grew so big over time that they became a burden instead of a productivity tool. Every time I look at them, they dilute my attention instead of focusing it. I remember putting everything in there very deliberately, these are all important things, but now the task of planning my days has gradually turned into a task of organizing my tasks. It’s also overwhelming to look at those lists and projects. I know I should just grab the first thing and start doing it. I did that yesterday, but somehow the list didn’t get any smaller. That’s draining my motivation more and more, and I’m starting to fight with myself right when I should be excited to move forward.
The solution seems obvious: just keep the big picture for high-level strategizing and look only at today’s tasks for focused work. Most apps offer this through filters or kanban boards. But the problem runs deeper. What I’ve realized is that the tools I’ve been using can narrow down in time, but they don’t narrow down in depth. There are always so many context menus to sift through, pages just a click away, and even when creating a task, do I really need to add markdown, images, and checklists in the description? Do I even need a description at all, or can I just use a subject line? It’s so much mental overhead.
And finally, after all that effort crafting the perfect plan, setting deadlines, and organizing everything in a task tracker and calendar, I found myself trapped by it. So many constraints have been put in place around me that even a small deviation could ruin everything. Skip just one day because something unexpected happens or you get sick, and you need to reschedule and move everything again. It's in these moments when you seek support and motivation the most that you encounter the most friction instead. It should be the other way around.
One important missing piece
I've been using a physical journal for my personal tasks for quite some time, starting with a simple list and then moving to the bullet journal technique. But when organizing on a piece of paper, I've always felt like I have to fully commit. It's like you can't really change things on paper; you make a plan, and that's it. You can't move things around like you do digitally. Want to make a list for today? Turn the page and start over. Want to try breaking things down differently? Turn the page and start over. That adds too much friction and makes it harder emotionally to approach, at least for me.
It was really unexpected when I realized I feel almost the same even when I switch to digital. You strategize in a text editor or a task tracker app, write down your goals or tasks, and you're left with a list of things and a question: "What do I need to do right now from all of this?" So after "strategizing," you then go through a second phase - "the planning," where you schedule all the tasks you've made, calculate ETAs for your goals to check if they are really achievable, and move tasks around to make a "today's list," then a "tomorrow's list," etc.
The interesting part is that all the software I've tried doesn't help with that at all. Of course, from my management background, I know how to plan and schedule really well, and it's clear that I don't need any complex algorithms for my personal tasks; it's a completely linear process with just one person to execute it. The question I asked was: "Why can't the software tell me what to do next, even if I break down and estimate everything?"
Some apps really help you plan your work automatically. Some even use AI these days, but to be honest, I'm not ready to hand over something so simple and mechanical to AI just yet.
The second missing piece
The other thing I struggled with when using the existing tools was reminders, or what you might call regular tasks or events. It's surprising how many apps that are considered the industry standard either don’t have any functionality for repetitive tasks or implement it in a very crude way. Sure, there are specialized tools like calendars or reminder apps on phones, but I was looking for something different, see:
- Calendar - ideal for meetings, appointments, and other things that have a specific time and relatively short duration; it's okay for day-long events but not the best choice.
- Reminder notifications - these are great for quick and small tasks, just to help you remember something.
- Habit trackers - excellent for building habits and tracking your progress.
But where should I put something more vague that doesn’t have an exact duration, like "Writing day" or "Collect invoices"? If I put them in a calendar, how do I track my consistency with writing? If I put them in a habit tracker, then my one-off tasks and event reminders would end up somewhere else. If I want to "water the plants" weekly, should I create an event, a habit, or set a notification? Notifications are the most disruptive of all, they constantly pull me out of the flow. How can anyone even choose a time for a notification if it’s a couple of days away?
It felt like I needed something simpler, something that does all these things and it's ok if it's not close to doing them fully and thoroughly. I wanted something frictionless enough to trade its incompleteness for ease of use.
What I've built
So, with all of the above in mind, I decided to spend a couple of days building a tool for myself. It should be straightforward and work as a simple mechanism: you tell it what you want and how difficult it is, and it tells you what to do next. It should take deadlines, priorities and dependencies into account and create a schedule. At the same time, it should be lightweight and flexible, not pushing you to rush things, allowing for some slack, and helping you get back on track when you need it.
Here it is: getkitai.app. There’s no registration, I won’t ask for your email, and everything is completely free to use. I also wrote a follow-up to this post that describes its features in depth: kitai: How to use. It's also night-owl friendly, days start and end at 4:00 AM.
I've been using it for a couple of months, and it has survived a few of my "resets" and a handful of "life getting in the way", so I’d call it a success.
P.S. I’m eager to hear your feedback if you decide to try kitai. All the info on how to connect and chat is in the app.