Capture thoughts. Plan time. All in one place.

A simple productivity app with two panes: one for your thoughts (notes, tasks, ideas), and one for your timeline (what's scheduled, what's coming up). Everything syncs automatically and works offline.

Screenshots

Desktop Interface (Book Mode)

The dual-pane interface showing the Thoughts pane (left) with notes and tasks, and the Time pane (right) with the timeline and Daily Review.

Mobile Interface (Infinite Scroll Mode)

Mobile views in infinite scroll mode showing the floating date header at the top. Left: Thoughts pane with all item types (notes, tasks, events) arranged chronologically. Right: Time pane with scheduled items and Daily Review section displaying incomplete tasks from previous days. Both panes feature swipe navigation and touch-optimized controls.

Philosophy

Thoughts & Time is built on the principle that productive work emerges from the intersection of free-flowing thoughts and structured time. Most productivity tools force you to choose between capturing ideas and scheduling tasks. This app bridges that gap.

The Two Panes

• Thoughts (Left Pane): Your stream of consciousness. Capture ideas, notes, tasks, and reflections as they come to you. This pane is for thinking, not just doing.

• Time (Right Pane): Your timeline. See how your day unfolds, what needs to happen when, and what you've committed to doing.

The magic happens when these two views coexist. An idea can become a task. A task can spawn new thoughts. Notes provide context for scheduled work. Everything flows together naturally.

Core Principles

1. Minimal Friction: Quick input with simple prefixes. No clicking through forms or navigating complex hierarchies.

2. Natural Language: Write "meeting at 2pm" or "call mom tomorrow" – the app understands.

3. Contextual Structure: Items can nest (todos can have subtasks, notes can have subnotes) but the structure emerges from your thinking, not from imposed categories.

4. Two Modes of Engagement:

   • Infinite Scrolling: For the flow state. Capture everything as it comes. Review all days at once.
   • Book Style: For focused reflection. One day at a time, like turning pages in a journal.

5. Typography Matters: Serif fonts for content (easier on the eyes, feels like writing). Monospace for metadata (clear, functional, distinct).

How to Use

Quick Start

1. Adding Items: Click the input box at the bottom of the Thoughts pane. Type your item with a prefix:

   • t buy milk → Creates a todo
   • e team meeting → Creates an event
   • r exercise → Creates a routine
   • my thought or * my thought → Creates a note (no prefix needed for top-level notes)

2. Adding Time: Include time naturally in your text:

   • t buy milk at 5pm
   • e team meeting from 2pm to 3pm
   • t submit report on Friday

3. Nesting Items: Use indentation (Tab key) to create subtasks or subnotes:

   t plan party
       t book venue
       t send invitations
       * remember to check dietary restrictions
   

Item Types

Todos (t): Tasks to be completed. Show up in the timeline when scheduled.

• Checkbox symbol: □ (unchecked) / ☑ (checked)
• Click the checkbox to mark complete
• Can have subtasks

Events (e): Time-bound occurrences with start and end times.

• Symbol: ↹
• Always appear in the timeline
• Can span duration ("from 2pm to 4pm")

Routines (r): Recurring activities.

• Symbol: ↻
• Can recur daily, weekly, monthly
• Examples: "every day", "every Monday", "first Tuesday of each month"

Notes (no prefix or *): Thoughts, ideas, references.

• Symbol: ↝
• Never appear in the timeline
• Can have subnotes for elaboration
• Use * prefix only for subnotes

Editing Items

Hover over any item and click the edit icon (✎). The item appears with its symbol in an editable text box:

• Change the type: Delete the symbol and type a new prefix letter + space

  • Type t and it converts to □
  • Type e and it converts to ↹
  • Type r and it converts to ↻
  • Type * and it converts to ↝

• Revert during editing: Backspace after a symbol converts it back to the prefix letter for easy editing

• Time prompts: If you convert an item to a todo/event/routine without specifying a time, you'll be prompted to add one

• Save: Press Enter or click ✓

• Cancel: Press Escape or click ✕

View Modes

Infinite Scrolling (Default):

• See all days at once (30 days past to 30 days future)
• Scroll seamlessly through your timeline
• Snap-to-day sections for easy navigation
• Great for capturing and planning

Book Style:

• One day per "page"
• Scroll to the top or bottom and keep scrolling to flip to previous/next day
• Page-turn animation (like flipping pages in a book)
• Each pane can show different days independently
• Perfect for focused daily review

Switch between modes in Settings (⚙️ icon in header).

Search

Click the search icon (🔍) in the header to filter items across all days. The search works on:

• Item content
• Tags (use #tag in your items)
• Nested items (searching finds parent items too)

Themes

Choose your visual preference in Settings:

• Light: Clean, bright interface
• Dark: Easy on the eyes
• System: Automatically matches your OS preference

Mobile Experience

The app is fully optimized for mobile devices (phones and tablets):

Single-Pane Navigation:

• On screens < 768px, view one pane at a time
• Swipe left/right to switch between Thoughts and Time
• Footer navigation with active pane indicator

Touch-Optimized:

• Floating Action Button (FAB) for quick capture
• Bottom sheet for input (slides up from bottom)
• All buttons meet 44px minimum touch target size
• Haptic feedback on interactions (where supported)

Smart Keyboard Handling:

• Footer automatically hides when keyboard appears
• Optimized input layouts for touch typing
• iOS safe area support for notched devices

See MOBILE_IMPLEMENTATION.md for complete mobile documentation.

Tags

Add tags anywhere in your text with #tagname:

• t review #work #quarterly report
• interesting thought #philosophy #book-ideas
• Tags appear below the item in smaller text
• Fully searchable

Deleting Items

Hover over any item and click the delete icon (×). You'll be asked to confirm before deletion.

Advanced Features

Natural Language Time Parsing

The app understands various time expressions:

• Absolute: "tomorrow at 3pm", "Friday at noon", "Oct 15"
• Relative: "in 2 hours", "in 30 minutes", "in 3 days"
• Ranges: "from 2pm to 4pm", "between 10am and 12pm"

Nested Structure

Create hierarchies by indenting (press Tab):

t launch website
    t design mockups
        * consider mobile-first approach
    t write copy
    t test on staging

Subtasks and subnotes create rich context for your work.

Keyboard Shortcuts

• Enter: Submit new item (in input box) or save edit (when editing)
• Escape: Cancel editing
• Tab: Indent (create nested item)
• Type prefix + space: Convert to symbol (works in input and when editing)

Tips for Effective Use

1. Start each day in Book Style: Review yesterday, plan today with focused attention.

2. Capture in Infinite mode: Let thoughts flow without day boundaries. See the bigger picture.

3. Use notes liberally: Context is valuable. Document your thinking, not just your tasks.

4. Nest for structure: Break complex tasks into steps. Elaborate on ideas with subnotes.

5. Edit freely: Change types, update times, refine wording. Your system should evolve with your thinking.

6. Tags are for finding, not organizing: Don't stress about tag hierarchies. Use tags to make things findable later.

7. Let the timeline guide you: In the Time pane, see what's coming up. Let it inform your priorities without creating pressure.

Philosophy in Practice

This app doesn't prescribe a methodology. It won't tell you to be "productive" or "optimize" yourself. Instead, it provides a clean space where:

• Thoughts can exist without immediately becoming tasks
• Tasks can exist without losing their context
• Time provides structure without creating pressure
• The past informs the future without constraining it

Use it as a journal. Use it as a task manager. Use it as both. The tool adapts to your thinking, not the other way around.

Running the App

Development

cd /home/user/Thoughts-Time
npm install
npm run dev

Open http://localhost:5173 in your browser.

Build for Production

npm run build
npm run preview

Install as App

Thoughts & Time can be installed as a Progressive Web App (PWA) on your device:

• Desktop (Chrome/Edge): Click the install icon in the address bar
• Android: Open menu → "Add to Home Screen"
• iOS: Tap Share → "Add to Home Screen"

Once installed, the app works offline and feels like a native application.

Technical Stack

• Frontend: React 18 + TypeScript
• Build Tool: Vite
• Styling: Tailwind CSS
• State Management: Zustand with persistence
• Date Parsing: Chrono (natural language understanding)
• Date Utilities: date-fns
• Storage: localStorage (persistent across sessions)

Data Storage

All your data is stored locally in your browser's localStorage. Nothing is sent to a server. Your thoughts and tasks stay on your machine.

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License

This project is licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 (AGPL-3.0).

What this means:

• ✅ You can use, modify, and distribute this software (including commercially)
• ✅ If you run a modified version as a network service, you must make the source code available
• ✅ You must give appropriate credit to "Thoughts & Time by Sawt Dakhili"
• ↪️ Any modifications must also be licensed under AGPL-3.0
• 🔓 This is OSI-approved open source software

See the LICENSE file for details or visit AGPL-3.0.

Copyright © 2025 Sawt Dakhili

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Deployment Options

🆓 Free Tier (Self-Hosted)

Run your own instance using PocketBase:

• Complete control over your data
• No usage limits
• Community support
• See SELF_HOSTING.md (coming soon)

💎 Hosted Service (Coming Soon)

Let us handle the infrastructure:

• ✅ 1-week free trial - No credit card required
• ✅ Automatic backups and sync across devices
• ✅ Always up-to-date with latest features
• ✅ Premium support
• 📊 Pricing tiers starting at $1/month

Interested in early access? Star this repo and watch for updates!

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Status: Feature-complete MVP ✅

Built with care for thoughtful work.