Pikko, an Energy-Based Task App Aimed at 'P-Type' Users and People With ADHD, Lands on the App Store

The developer writes that he spent years trying nearly every well-known task manager, from Things and Sorted to OmniFocus and Todoist, installing and deleting them. He concluded that such tools are built for people who prefer planning — the Judging type in MBTI terms — while he is a Perceiving type, and that they left him recording tasks he never carried out.

Pikko, developed over about a month, drops the list-based approach. Instead of projects, deadlines and tags, a task is described along four dimensions: how much energy it consumes, which device it requires, what scene it takes place in and what frame of mind it needs. The app assigns those attributes automatically, and a user can tap a task card to change any of them.

A built-in algorithm estimates the user's current energy from their chronotype and sleep schedule and, for users who wear an Apple Watch, from sleep records and heart rate. The result appears on the home screen as a Current Energy Level number, with the background color shifting to match. The task list reorders itself in real time to surface items that fit the current state, showing at most three tasks until the user swipes up for more. Swiping right on a card marks a task complete and swiping left deletes it; tapping the focus button opens a timer that marks the task done when it ends.

The developer says the algorithm refines itself locally as usage accumulates and that, in his own use, its energy estimates have been accurate.

Time-based reminders are deliberately limited. Users cannot set them manually; the app adds one only when a task text contains explicit time information, such as a 3 p.m. meeting, and a bell icon on the card toggles it. Notifications fire before a task starts, when it is due and at its expected completion time.

Two features are meant for moments when a user wants to work but does not know where to start. Pulling down on the home screen opens a receipt-printer interface that prints a slip containing one or more recommended tasks, split into a main task and subsidiary ones; tearing off the slip starts a focus timer automatically. A geofence feature called Focus Fence lets users prioritize or de-emphasize task scenes by location, so that tasks meant for home are not recommended while they are at the office.

Completed tasks are filed in a card holder, where the cards and receipts can be reopened and exported as images whose background reflects the user's energy state at the time. Four stamp styles are available in a stamp workshop.

The developer says Pikko runs entirely on the device: all data and computation stay local, no user data is collected, and the algorithm adapts locally, so two users entering identical tasks may see different results.

All basic features are free. A one-time Pikko Pro purchase unlocks the receipt printer, the geofence and the stamp workshop, plus a shareable identity card. The developer says the app currently works best on iPhone, with iPadOS improvements and possibly a macOS version with cross-device sync to follow.