I kept forgetting to open my to-do app.
I'd write my tasks the night before, feel organised, and then start the next morning without looking at them.
By the time I remembered, half the day was already gone.
So I built a to-do app that doesn't wait for me to remember it exists.
The idea
Daily Start opens automatically when my day starts.
I set a time for my morning checklist. When I turn on my PC around that time, the app opens with today's list.
I can:
- Add today's tasks
- Check things off
- Leave notes for tomorrow
- See my previous days
- Track my streak
- Look at my productivity analytics
Then it gets out of the way.
No notifications every 10 minutes.
No "don't forget!" reminders.
Just one check-in at the beginning of the day.
There's also a night check-in
Before going to bed, Daily Start shows the checklist again.
That's when I can update what I actually finished, add notes, or prepare something for tomorrow.
So the whole workflow is basically:
- Morning → Plan your day
- During the day → Get things done
- Night → Update your checklist
- Next morning → Start again
The goal isn't to create another complicated productivity system.
It's to make one small habit easier to maintain.
The part I cared about most
I didn't want the app to become annoying.
Imagine closing the morning window because you're busy, only for it to open again 30 seconds later.
So closing the window counts as an answer too.
The app doesn't care whether you completed everything.
It only needs to know that you've already responded to today's check-in.
Once you've answered, it leaves you alone.
That tiny distinction makes a surprisingly big difference.
It's completely local
Daily Start is built with Electron and stores your data locally.
- No account.
- No server.
- No network calls.
- No analytics tracking.
- No crash-reporting service.
Your checklist stays on your computer, and you can access your own data directly.
And yes, it's free.
Why I built it
I don't think everyone needs another giant productivity platform.
Sometimes you just need something that asks:
What are you doing today?
And then, at the end of the day:
What did you actually do?
That's Daily Start.
It's free, open source, and available for Windows 10 and 11.
👉 Try it here:
https://daily-start-sigma.vercel.app/
**If you use a to-do app, I'd love to know:
What's the one thing you wish it did automatically?**
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