(drum roll) It’s the native Apple Notes app. I know, perhaps it sounds boring but let me explain.

Like many people out there I have tried many different to do apps. This is just a short list. I tried Any.do, TickTock, Google Keep, Trello, WorkFlowy, Notion, Taskade, Todoist and probably a dozen others.

I always wanted a simple to do app where I can keep a list of tasks I need complete. Once a task is done I wanted to mark it done (or cross it out). I didn’t need any complicated project management features or collaboration features. On a number of occasions I wanted to just switch to using pen and paper. I imagined I’d write my list of tasks and cross them out when completed. One drawback with a pen and paper is that you need to carry it with you.

As I continued to try more apps and read what other folks are using (there are thousands articles on various to do apps and approaches out there). I decided to give a very simple app a try. I thought this approach would bring me the closest to a pen and paper but I’d still be using an app.

That app is the native Apple Notes app on iOS, ipadOS and macOS.