LYSO

A calmer way to organise your day.

Tasks, reminders and notes — out of your head, all in one place.

Getting started · 6 minutesAdvanced · Focus on what matters now
Lesson script
  1. Captured is good. Knowing when is better.Getting everything into a list gives you somewhere to come back to. But when that list grows, it can start to feel as though every job is asking for attention at once. And they don't all need doing today. Quick capture is the intake, whereas dates help you decide 'when' it needs attention. Let's give Steve's week a little shape, and see how Focus brings forward what matters now.
  2. The package needs to go today.It's Monday, and the package needs to go today. Open its menu and edit the task. Use the date picker to choose today, and set four o'clock. Then save. We're giving this job a clear place in the day, rather than leaving it among everything else.
  3. The meter reading is due today too.The meter reading needs doing today as well. Let's give that a date and a time. Once it's saved, it leaves Quick capture and joins the package in Today. These are the things Steve has decided need attention now.
  4. The proposal is due tomorrow.The proposal is for tomorrow afternoon. Choose tomorrow, set three o'clock, and save it. It's important, but it isn't today's job. A date lets you keep that distinction without having to make it all over again every time you open the list.
  5. Measure the garden on Saturday.And measuring the garden? Saturday morning would be a good time. A date doesn't have to mean an outside deadline. It can be a deliberate plan for when you'll do something. Give it a useful date, rather than putting everything in Today.
  6. See what’s coming.Open Next, and there's the proposal and the shed task. Next covers the next seven days. You can see what's coming without mixing all of it into today's work.
  7. The weekly update is for Tuesday next week.The update isn't needed until Tuesday next week. That's eight days away from this Monday. Choose that date and save. Now it's planned, but it doesn't have to compete with the things Steve is doing this week.
  8. Planned for later. Out of today’s way.That's where Later comes in. Open it, and there's the update. Still recorded, still dated, just further ahead than the next seven days.
  9. The tiles are controls, not just counters.These tiles aren't just numbers to glance at. They're controls. Click Next again to put that section away when you've finished looking ahead.
  10. Choose what you see. Nothing gets lost.And close Later too. The count stays visible, so you still know those tasks are there. You're changing what you see, not throwing anything away.
  11. A date organises. A reminder prompts.There's one distinction worth making here. A due date organises the task in Focus. A reminder is a separate prompt. Let's keep the package due at four, but ask for a reminder an hour before. Set that in Remind me, then save.
  12. The package is on its way.Steve has sent the package to Kevin now. The work is actually done, so he ticks it off. Getting the address was one step; sending the package was the task.
  13. Done—and still there to look back on.Open Completed if you want to look back. There's the package alongside the electricity bill from earlier. Finished tasks are out of the working list, but you can still check what you've done.
  14. Keep your attention on what remains.Then close it when you're ready. You don't have to keep finished work in front of you to know it's been taken care of.
  15. Tuesday morning…Now it's Tuesday morning. Steve hasn't rearranged all these tasks overnight. The dates are doing that job for him.
  16. The proposal is now Today. The update is now Next.The proposal has moved into Today. The update is now seven days away, so it's in Next. And the meter reading wasn't finished yesterday, so it's Overdue. Focus reflects where things stand now, without Steve rebuilding the list.
  17. See what slipped. Decide the next move.Overdue is useful information, not a reason to give up on the list. Steve can see what slipped. He sends the meter reading, then marks it complete.
  18. Work today. Work coming next.The tags we made still work across these dates. Choose Work, and you can see today's proposal and the update that's coming next. It's a view of work across time, not a separate copy of those tasks.
  19. Clear the filter to see the rest of your life.Clear the filter, and the rest of life comes back into view. Tags answer what something belongs to; dates help you see when it needs attention.
  20. Some tasks come round again.Some jobs come round again. Let's give Water the plants a date for today, then open Repeat. You can see the available patterns here. For this one, choose Weekly and save. No need to remember to write out the same task every week.
  21. Done for this week. Ready for next week.Once the plants are watered, tick the task off. This occurrence is done, and the task advances to its next date. It's ready for next week, without staying in the way of the rest of today.
  22. Waiting on someone else? You already know what to do.And if a job is blocked by someone else, use Waiting, just as we did with Kevin. Knowing when something is due and knowing who has the next move are different parts of keeping things clear.
  23. Steve has called the dentist.Steve has made that call to the dentist. Tick off the call. The appointment itself is something different: time he's agreed to be somewhere. Let's put that in the diary.
  24. Focus and Calendar work together.Focus doesn't replace a calendar. Lyso has Calendar views as well. Open Calendar from the navigation when you want to see how your plans fit together in time.
  25. Choose Friday for the appointment.The appointment is on Friday, the eighteenth of September. Use the date tile to move to that day. Now we're looking at the day the appointment actually belongs to.
  26. Friday at 10am. Put it in the diary.Choose ten in the morning, then Event, and enter the dentist appointment. This isn't another instruction to call the dentist. It's the appointment he booked. Save it, and it has its place in the calendar.
  27. See your tasks and appointments across the week.Switch to Week for some context. There's the proposal, Friday's dentist appointment, and measuring the garden on Saturday. You can see your tasks and appointments together, instead of trying to picture the week in your head.
  28. Look further ahead.Month takes you further out. This week's plans sit alongside the tasks coming up next week. It's useful when you're deciding where something new could fit, or simply getting your bearings.
  29. Or take the long view.And Year gives you the longer view. Day, Week, Month or Year: different perspectives on your calendar, depending on how far ahead you're thinking.
  30. Back to what needs attention.Then come back to Focus when you want to get on with things. You haven't left your plans behind. You're just looking at them in a way that brings the next actions forward.
  31. The same appointment. Here when you need it.Open Events, and there's that same dentist appointment. Future appointments appear here; today's appear in Today. There wasn't a second appointment to create. Calendar and Focus are showing the same plan.
  32. Focus for what needs attention. Calendar for the bigger picture.That's the idea. Capture what needs doing. Give it a date when that helps, use tags to bring related things together, and let Focus show what needs attention. Calendar is there for the bigger picture. One place to come back to, with different ways to see what matters. So you can get on with the thing in front of you, without carrying the whole week in your head.

How Focus works

Busy, yet calm? That’s Focus.

Holding so many things in your head is stressful. Lyso gives you the place to dump it all and keep it safe. Separate today’s wins from things for later, and things you’re waiting on others for. Always know what’s next. Stay calm, stay amazingly productive.

See how Waiting and follow-up works
01

Put it down quickly

Quick capture accepts one line now. Detail can wait.

02

See less at once

Focus brings forward what is useful without making every list compete.

03

Place it in time

Use dates, recurrence, Calendar and reminders only when they help.

04

Keep the thought

Notes hold context, checklists, links and things you want to remember.

Start quietly

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A dependable personal place for tasks, Focus, dates, reminders, Calendar and Notes.

  • One personal workspace
  • No task-count limit, within 5 MB of storage
  • Recurrence, reminders and notifications
  • Calendar and offline task capture
  • Create your own themes in Theme Studio
  • 5 automatic Waiting follow-ups each month
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  • 5 members per workspace, People and shared Notes
  • File uploads, diagrams and full Note version history
  • 5 GB shared by content, files and Note history
  • 100 automatic Waiting follow-ups each month
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Give one loose thought somewhere safe to land.

Lyso Free has no time limit or task-count limit, within its 5 MB storage allowance.

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