I’ve always liked the feeling of a clean desk.
Not the kind where nothing ever happens, but the kind where you can actually see what you’re doing today without sticky notes, random tabs, and 3 different apps fighting for your attention.
Most days, my reality was the opposite:
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A to-do list that kept growing
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A calendar full of meetings
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A brain that couldn’t tell what was actually realistic for today
I kept catching myself doing the same loop:
open calendar → open task app → think “this is too much” → feel quietly stressed → do the easiest thing instead.
At some point I realised:
I don’t need another full “system”. I just need one clear view of today.
That’s why I made Today Desk – a tiny, calm planning page you can open in your browser:
No login, no account, nothing to remember. Just a little front panel for your day.
How I use Today Desk in 5 minutes
I usually open Today Desk once in the morning and once in the evening.
Here’s what it looks like in practice.
1. Paste today’s info
First, I dump everything into the left side:
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quick tasks that pop into my head
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events copied from my calendar’s agenda view
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calls, focus blocks, errands
It’s not meant to be perfect. It’s just a realistic snapshot of today.
2. See my free time, for real
When I click “Parse day”, the middle column shows a simple timeline of my workday and the free time slots between events.
This part changed everything for me.
Instead of thinking “I have the whole afternoon”, I see something like:
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09:00–10:00: meeting
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10:00–10:30: free
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10:30–11:30: call
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11:30–12:30: free
Suddenly it’s obvious what actually fits and what doesn’t.
The timeline is calm, almost boring – and that’s exactly what my brain needed.
3. Build today’s plan
On the right side, I turn that raw information into a gentle plan:
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I star up to 3 must-do tasks for the day
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I let Today Desk place them into the free slots
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I keep the rest as “nice if it happens”
It’s not about squeezing every minute. It’s about having one honest plan I can follow without constantly renegotiating with myself.
Why I wanted it to stay small and calm
There are already powerful productivity tools out there.
Today Desk is intentionally not one of them.
I wanted:
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No accounts or passwords – just open the page and start.
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No integrations – you copy from your calendar when you want to.
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No long-term project management – only today matters here.
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A soft visual feel – colours that don’t shout at you while you’re trying to think.
It’s a tool you can close at the end of the day and reopen tomorrow without guilt.
About your data
One of my non-negotiables: I didn’t want other people reading my notes.
So Today Desk keeps your tasks and notes in your browser’s local storage.
That means:
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I can’t see your tasks
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there’s no shared server full of your plans
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everything stays on your device unless you clear your browser data
It’s closer to a digital notepad than a cloud app.
If you want to try it
If you’re like me and your day often feels louder than it needs to be, you can try the same 5-minute routine I use:
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Open Today Desk
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Paste today’s tasks and events
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Parse the day
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Choose up to 3 must-do tasks
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Follow that simple plan and let the rest be a bonus
My hope is that it gives you what it gives me:
one clear, honest view of today, and a little more calm around your work.
If you try Today Desk and want to share how it feels or what could be better, you’re welcome to leave a comment on this post. I read them and may quietly improve the app based on what you write.