For most of my life, I struggled to stick with things. Starting was hard. Finishing was harder. It wasn't until my mid-forties that I began to understand why focusing on one thing at a time felt so impossibly hard when it seemed effortless for everyone else.
By then I was running a company. Two teenage kids. A demanding market. Every day brings dozens of things that need attention, and every one of them feels equally urgent. The kind of life where dropping a single ball can have real consequences.
So I did what you'd expect: I tried everything. To-do list apps. Spreadsheets. Project management tools. Time-blocking. I read the productivity books. I tried the frameworks. They all had the same problem: they assume you can concentrate on one task, prioritise clearly, and come back to things without losing your place. They hand you a list and expect you to just get it done. That's not a tool — that's a test I was already failing.
I needed something different. Not another list. Not another system to maintain. I needed something that would think with me, not wait for me to think. Something that would answer the only question that matters when you're overwhelmed: what should I do right now?
So I built Brasstacks.
It shows you one task. The right task, right now. It breaks big things into small things. It sits with you while you work. And when everything feels like too much, it helps you breathe first and figure out the rest after.
It's not a cure. It's not therapy. It's a companion that understands that some days, just starting is the hardest part.
— Sajid, founder of Brasstacks
One Task at a Time
No overwhelming lists. Brasstacks surfaces the single most important thing right now, using smart prioritization that weighs urgency, importance, deadlines, and your own patterns. You decide what to do with it — not what to do about everything.
Break It Down
Big tasks cause paralysis. Brasstacks helps you break them into micro-steps — small, concrete actions you can actually start. "Write the report" becomes "Open the document and type the first sentence." You can use templates or create your own steps.
Focus Companion
Sometimes you just need the sense that someone is there. Focus companion mode provides gentle check-ins while you work — like having a colleague quietly working alongside you. It's accountability without judgment.
Rescue Mode
For those moments when everything feels like too much. Rescue mode meets you where you are with simple options: do just five minutes on one thing, park it with a note for later, or take a moment to breathe and ground yourself first.
Context Memory
When you switch away from a task, Brasstacks asks where you left off. When you come back to it, that note is waiting for you. No more losing twenty minutes trying to remember what you were doing.
Gentle Nudges, Never Guilt
Customizable reminders with the tone you prefer — supportive, direct, or playful. Quiet hours when you need silence. And absolutely no streaks, no shame, no red "overdue" warnings. Missed something? It simply asks if you'd like to come back to it.
Learns Your Patterns
Over time, Brasstacks notices when you're most productive and adjusts its suggestions. It tracks your energy levels and completion patterns — all on our server, never shared with anyone — so the right tasks surface at the right times.
AI Assistant (Bring Your Own Key)
Ask the built-in assistant about your tasks, get help breaking them down, or just ask what to focus on. You connect your own AI account (Claude, OpenAI, or Gemini) — so you control the provider and the cost. Your API key is encrypted with your password, meaning only your login can unlock it. Learn more.
Your Data Stays Yours
Your tasks, notes, and patterns are deeply personal. Brasstacks does not sell your data, share it with advertisers, or use it to train AI models. What you put in stays between you and the app. Read our privacy policy.
Honesty
This won't fix everything for everyone, but it is a genuine attempt to help us manage things and get more done.
Kindness
No shame, no guilt, no punishment mechanics. Ever.
Privacy
Your data is yours. It is never sold, and is only ever used to help you get things done. Anonymised and aggregated data may be used to improve the service, but your personal information is never sold.
Simplicity
One thing at a time. That's the whole point.
Brasstacks wouldn't be what it is without Aarish Insaf, my son and closest collaborator on this project. Aarish designed the logo, shaped the UI layout, and pushed back on features until they actually made sense for real users. The home screen widget — showing your tasks at a glance grouped by urgency and importance — was his idea. He's also been the app's most dedicated tester, catching bugs, producing assets for the App Store launch, and offering the kind of honest feedback that only someone who genuinely cares about the product will give.
Aarish is a third-year Psychology student at Missouri State University in Springfield, MO. His perspective — grounded in how people actually think and behave — has made Brasstacks a better tool for the people it's meant to help.
But Brasstacks is also the product of a family that showed up. My wife inspired this endeavour from the start and quietly took on more than her share of everything else so I could have the time and headspace to build it. My daughter has been a constant source of cheer and support — the kind that keeps you going on the days when nothing seems to work. My brother, a psychiatrist, gave me invaluable clinical insights and advised on critical considerations that shaped how the app approaches mental health. My sister brought her project management skills to bear and kept me on track when my own executive function wasn't up to the task. And my sister-in-law has been the rock for our entire family — the steady presence that made everything else possible.
This app was built by one person, but it was made possible by all of them.
