How to Use WithYou
A complete guide to how the app works — and how the pieces fit together
WithYou is designed for moments when starting, staying focused, or getting back on track feels hard.
It is not a task manager you need to keep perfectly organized.
You can use one feature or all of them. There is no wrong way.
Table of Contents
Today View (Your home base)
Today is the main screen of the app.
It’s the place you open when you want the app to answer, “What matters right now?”
Today adapts to your state and your day instead of forcing a plan.
Sections in Today
Right now
This section answers one question:
“Is there anything I need to deal with immediately?”
- If there is something urgent or relevant, it will appear here.
- If there isn’t, you’ll see a calm confirmation like:
“You’re clear for now.”
This is intentional.
Being “clear” is information — it tells you you’re not behind.
What to do here
- If something appears: tap Start focusing to begin a Focus Session, or Not now to let it wait. It steps aside for a while, no questions asked.
- If nothing appears: you don’t need to invent work.
Energy today (optional) At the top of Today you can tap Low, Okay or Good. On a low-energy day, Today suggests the smallest thing and replaces “If you have energy” with “Rest counts too.” It resets each day, and you never have to set it.
Still relevant? If a reminder’s time passed, Today asks about it once, kindly: Later today, Ask later, or Let it go. Then it lets go.
If you have energy
This section is optional by design.
It answers:
“If I do feel okay and want to do more, what would be a good next thing?”
- It only shows something if there’s genuinely something useful.
- If it says “Nothing extra needed today,” that’s permission to stop.
This prevents the ADHD pattern of:
finishing one thing → immediately feeling pressure to do everything else
Reset
This section is for moments when your nervous system needs help — not more tasks.
You’ll see:
- Refocus (1 minute) – a short reset to pause and re-center
- I’m stuck – a signal that you’re blocked and need gentler guidance. It offers one tiny step, and Make it smaller shrinks it further. On iPhones with Apple Intelligence, the smaller step is suggested on your device.
- Let today rest – in the evening, if anything is left for today, one tap moves it to tomorrow morning.
These are not failures.
They’re tools for moments when pushing won’t work.
Completed today
This shows anything you finished today — including Focus Sessions.
Each item includes the phrase:
“That counted.”
This is deliberate reinforcement:
- Progress is real, even if it felt small
- Starting counts
- Stopping counts
Today is as much about acknowledgment as it is about action.
Focus Sessions (Protecting your attention)
A Focus Session is a short window where the app helps you stay with one thing.
It’s not about productivity. It’s about reducing the friction of starting and returning.
Creating a Focus Session
When you tap Focus, you’ll see:
Focus on…
This is where you name the thing you’re working on. Examples:
- “Do some stuff”
- “Read chapter 3”
- “Open the document”
Vague is okay. This is for you, not reporting.
Optional start step
This is one of the most important features.
You can write the smallest possible first action, such as:
- “Open the first app I’ll use”
- “Write one sentence”
- “Just start”
This helps bypass task paralysis.
Duration
You choose how long you want the container to last:
- 25 min
- 45 min
- 60 min
- even 1 minute
Short sessions are valid.
The goal is entry, not endurance.
During a Focus Session
Once it starts, the screen changes to reinforce one idea:
“Only this matters right now.”
You’ll see:
- A countdown timer
- The task name
- Simple actions:
- Pause
- Refocus
- Add thought
- End
Add thought
If something pops into your head:
- Tap Add thought
- Park it
- Return to focus
You don’t need to remember it. The app remembers for you.
Refocus
If you notice you’ve drifted:
- Tap Refocus
- Pause briefly
- Gently return
Refocus is not punishment.
It’s a reset.
When time ends (or you stop)
When the timer ends, you’ll see options:
- Extend 5 minutes
- Keep going
- Wrap up
Nothing auto-forces you.
If you choose to end, the app asks “How did it go?”
- I finished it → moves to Completed Today and clears it from Inbox/Schedule
- Stopping for now → the task stays where it was. Stopping still counts.
Any thoughts you parked during the session are waiting for you at the end. Schedule them, send them to the Inbox, or let them go. Anything you leave moves to your Inbox, so nothing gets lost.
This protects you from “I didn’t finish so it doesn’t count.”
Brain Dump / Capture (Getting thoughts out of your head)
Capture is where you put things you don’t want to hold in your mind.
You’ll see language like:
“What’s pulling at your attention? Park it here so you can focus.”
This is not a to-do list. It’s mental offloading.
When to use Capture
- A thought interrupts a Focus Session
- You remember something unrelated
- Your brain feels crowded
- You’re anxious about forgetting
How it works
- Type or dictate a thought (or tell Siri: “Capture in WithYou”)
- As you type, a small preview shows where it will go: your Inbox, or a time if you mentioned one (“email landlord tomorrow morning”)
- Save it. You can undo right away if you change your mind.
- You’re done
You don’t need to organize it yet.
Inbox (Your holding area)
The Inbox is where captured or unscheduled items live.
Think of it as:
“Things that exist, but not now.”
Inbox items often include:
- A task name
- An optional suggested start step
- An estimated small duration
Inbox Item actions
When you open an Inbox item, you can:
-
Schedule
Give it a specific time so it appears in Schedule and Today. -
Make smaller
Break it into something more approachable (e.g. 2–5 minutes). -
Mark completed
If it’s already done. -
Let it go
Explicitly let it go. This is a feature, not a failure.
Inbox gives you control without forcing decisions upfront.
Schedule (Time-based commitments)
Schedule is for things that must happen at a specific time.
Examples:
- “Do some things at 11:30pm”
- Appointments
- Time-bound tasks
Each scheduled item can include:
- A start instruction
- A small first step
- A time anchor
Schedule feeds Today, so:
- Upcoming items surface automatically
- Missed items can be gently checked in on later
Refocus (Outside Focus Sessions too)
You can use Refocus even when you’re not in a Focus Session.
Refocus is for moments like:
- You feel stuck
- You’re overwhelmed
- You’ve been avoiding something
- You’re looping mentally
It’s a one-minute reset — not a lecture.
Putting it all together: Real scenarios
Scenario 1: “I feel overwhelmed and don’t know where to start”
- Open Today
- See “You’re clear for now” — okay, no urgency
- Tap Capture
- Dump everything on your mind (30–60 seconds)
- Return to Today
- Choose something small from Inbox or “If you have energy”
- Start a Focus Session with a short duration
- Use Add thought or Refocus if needed
Scenario 2: “I have time and energy right now”
- Open Today
- Look at If you have energy
- Choose the suggested next thing
- Tap into Focus directly
- Work until time ends
- Mark completed or stop — either counts
Scenario 3: “I keep getting distracted while working”
- Start a Focus Session
- When distracted:
- Tap Add thought to park it
- Or tap Refocus
- Return gently
- If you stop early, that’s okay — end the session cleanly
Scenario 4: “I missed something and feel bad about it”
- Open Today
- Notice anything surfaced as missed
- Decide:
- Still important → Schedule or Focus
- Not important → Let it go
- No backlog guilt required
Scenario 5: “My brain is loud but I don’t want to work yet”
- Open Today
- Tap Refocus (1 minute) or I’m stuck
- Breathe
- If clarity comes, proceed
- If not, stop — the app still did its job
The core idea
- Capture frees your mind
- Inbox holds things without pressure
- Schedule anchors time
- Today tells you what matters
- Focus protects attention
- Refocus helps you return
- Completed Today reminds you that it counted
WithYou isn’t about doing more.
It’s about making starting, continuing, and stopping gentler.