I’ve been thinking about downloading the Simple Life app to help me declutter my schedule, but I’m unsure if it actually delivers on its promises. I’ve seen mixed feedback online and don’t want to waste time or money on something that won’t help. Can anyone share genuine Simple Life app reviews, including what you liked, what you didn’t, and whether it really simplified your daily routine?
Used Simple Life for about 4 months. Short version. It helped some, but not enough for me to keep the paid sub.
What it did well for me:
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Time blocking.
The calendar and time block view made my day clearer. Dragging tasks into blocks felt fast. I spent less time juggling between Google Calendar and a todo app. -
Weekly review.
Their review screen pushed me to check what I did, what slipped, and what to drop. That part helped declutter my schedule, because it forced me to say “no” to recurring stuff that was not worth it. -
Simple prioritizing.
You set 3 “main things” for the day. That single limit helped. If task 4 did not fit, I moved or deleted it. That helped with overload.
Where it fell short:
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Notifications.
On Android, some reminders did not fire on time. I missed two calls because I trusted the reminder instead of my default calendar. After that I stopped trusting it fully. -
Sync.
Sync with Google Calendar worked, but edits sometimes lagged. I would move something in Simple Life, open Google Calendar, and see the old time for a few minutes. Not fatal, but annoying. -
“Declutter” promises.
The app gives structure. It does not fix overcommitting. I still had to say no to people and delete recurring tasks myself. The app did not auto-suggest what to remove in a smart way, it only surfaced what took time. -
Paywall.
Free tier felt tight. The features that help the most, like unlimited projects and full history, sit behind the sub. If you only use the free version, you get a glorified todo list with a nicer UI.
Concrete use case from me:
- I listed all recurring events and tasks for a week.
- I tagged each as “must”, “nice”, or “drop”.
- I watched the weekly time chart.
- I removed “nice” items that pushed me above 45–50 planned hours.
That process helped. The app was only a structure for it. You can do the same in Google Calendar and a simple task app, it is just more manual.
Who I think it fits:
- You like time boxing.
- You live inside your phone calendar.
- You want one place for events plus tasks.
Who it does not fit:
- You need strong integrations with work tools like Jira, Asana, Notion.
- You want automation or AI suggestions about what to cut.
- You hate subscriptions.
If you want to test it without wasting time:
- Export or list your current recurring events.
- During the free trial, set up only next week, not your whole life.
- Use only Simple Life for that week. No second planner.
- After 7 days, ask yourself:
- Did you miss anything important because of sync or notifications.
- Did your days feel clearer than with your current setup.
- Did you actually remove things from your schedule, or did it feel like another layer.
If the answer to the last point is “it felt like extra work”, I would drop it and go back to your old tools with a simpler system. If your main pain is too much stuff on your plate, not chaos, then no app will fix that. You need to cut commitments first, then pick a tool.
Used it for ~2 months on iOS, cancelled before the second billing cycle, but I don’t hate it either. Kind of in the “useful but overhyped” bucket for me.
My experience vs what @shizuka wrote:
Where it actually helped me:
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Visual load, not “life decluttering.”
I didn’t magically get fewer commitments, but it did make my week feel less mentally noisy. The day view with tasks + events in one timeline made it obvious when a “free” afternoon was actually a graveyard of tiny tasks. That part delivered for me. -
Friction to overbooking.
When I tried to add a new thing and saw my day already solid red from 9–6, it was way harder to lie to myself. I wouldn’t say it taught me to say no, but it made overcommitting more uncomfortable. For me, that did translate into fewer “sure I can squeeze that in” moments. -
Simple templates.
I liked creating “morning routine” and “deep work” blocks I could drop into the calendar. It saved time vs re-creating the same structure every day. Tiny thing, but it made me actually stick to a schedule for a few weeks.
Where it bugged me:
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The whole “declutter your life” promise.
Here I agree with @shizuka, maybe even stronger. The marketing makes it sound like the app will almost coach you into a saner schedule. In reality it is a clean calendar plus a todo system with a bit of structure. If you expect some smart logic that tells you “cut these three things,” you’re going to be dissapointed. -
Paywall vs value.
I’m not totally on the same page as @shizuka about the free tier being “just a glorified todo list,” but I do think the subscription kicks in too fast. You kind of need a full month to see if this type of planning even fits your brain, and the trial window feels rushed. For a habit / planning tool, that’s… not ideal. -
“Focus” features feel half baked.
They push the “focus mode” stuff, but it’s basically a timer plus a filtered list. I tried using it to actually stay on track and ended up back in Forest and my regular calendar. It did not become my central focus tool the way the ads imply.
Difference from their experience:
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Notifications on iOS were mostly fine for me.
I didn’t miss anything critical, so maybe Android is worse, or I was lucky. I would not trust it as my only reminder for something like a job interview, but it never totally failed for day to day. -
Sync lag was there but not a dealbreaker.
Yes, sometimes it took a minute or two. For me that was mildly annoying but not app-killing. If your job requires second-by-second calendar precision across systems, I’d stay in Google Calendar proper anyway.
Who I’d recommend it to:
- You like the idea of “everything in one timeline” and hate bouncing between apps.
- You’re willing to do the actual hard part: deleting commitments, not just rearranging them.
- You’re OK paying a sub for a nicer, slightly more opinionated calendar + tasks combo.
Who should skip it:
- You already live happily in Google Calendar + a todo app. This will feel like rearranging the same deck chairs.
- You expect some magic AI that audits your life and tells you what to quit.
- Your main pain is work systems (Jira, Notion, etc.). It does not solve that mess.
If you try it, I’d ignore all the inspirational “life reset” fluff in their marketing and treat it as: “Is this a better calendar + tasks UI for my brain than what I use now?” If yes, maybe worth paying. If no, the decluttering promises won’t suddenly kick in later.
Short version: Simple Life is decent scaffolding, not a miracle decluttering machine. Worth a test drive if your main chaos is “too many tools” rather than “too many commitments.”
Here is my take, building on what @byteguru and @shizuka already said.
Where I slightly disagree with them
They both frame Simple Life as “just structure.” I’d go a bit further: if you are even mildly visual, that “everything in one timeline” view can directly change behavior. Seeing white space vanish as you drag in tasks is a pretty strong nudge. That is more than neutral scaffolding for a lot of people.
Also, I think the “declutter” angle is not totally marketing fluff. No, it will not auto-delete your obligations, but the combination of:
- hard daily priorities
- weekly review
- visual overload in the calendar
does create a feedback loop that some people never manage to build with Google Calendar plus a todo app.
Pros of Simple Life
- Clean combined view of tasks and events
- Time boxing feels natural, not like wrestling a calendar
- Weekly review actually surfaces stale or pointless recurring stuff
- Lightweight templates for routines help you keep a stable day
- Good enough for folks who want one app instead of 3 separate tools
Cons of Simple Life
- Marketing oversells the “life reset” fantasy
- Subscription hits quickly, trial period is short for a habit app
- “Focus” mode is shallow compared to dedicated focus tools
- Android notifications and sync (as mentioned) can be flaky
- Weak integrations if your work lives in tools like Jira or Notion
How it compares to just sticking with your current stack
If you already have:
- Google Calendar for events
- A task manager you actually use daily
Simple Life often ends up being “prettier mashup” rather than a real upgrade. Where it genuinely wins is for people who never quite got those two tools to play nicely in their head. In that case, paying for a single mental model can be worth it.
Who should really try the Simple Life app
- You constantly double book because tasks are invisible next to meetings
- You like visual planning and time blocks
- You are willing to prune your commitments, not just rearrange them
Who will be disappointed
- You expect coaching, AI advice, or auto-pruning of your calendar
- You already trust and like a combo like Google Calendar + Todoist
- You need rock solid, cross-system sync for work-critical stuff
Compared with the experiences from @byteguru and @shizuka, I’d say: if the “visual friction” of overbooking sounds appealing to you, the Simple Life app might be worth a month of paid use just to see if that nudge changes your behavior. If decluttering for you is more about emotional pressure, relationships, or job demands, then no planner app, including this one, will feel like it “delivers on its promises.”