5+ reasons to use Sunsama to organize your day
Sunsama is an app that allows users to be intentional about their daily tasks and weekly objectives. By letting users organize their tasks, events, and email in a central place, Sunsama helps users to control their day.
I started using Sunsama while looking for a new calendar or day planner app. Although I was initially drawn to Friday, after a short run, the app is shutting down. Friday’s integration with Todoist was an excellent addition to my workflow and a feature that I require any new day planner I use to implement. As of now, Sunsama meets that need and more.
Sunsama allows me to visualize and track progress
Sunsama works for me because it helps me to see how much I am taking on and accomplishing each day. The daily kanban and progress bar work for me because I can see the number of tasks I’ve accomplished and how many are still outstanding. I can also reorganize my tasks across the week to lighten my load or pull in tasks from Todoist, Trello, Gmail, or Notion to fill in open slots in my day. Sunsama is also effective for time-boxing, which allows users to block out time each day to work on specific projects or tasks.
Sunsama helps me to unify my tasks
Sunsama has genuinely changed the way I approach my work. As a Ph.D. candidate, I work on many different projects with research teams that use different project management software. I am also working on my dissertation and need to plan my time accordingly to meet my professional and personal goals.
Sunsama has changed the way I work
The app lets me to prioritize my daily tasks and weekly objectives, which often become blurred when there are demands on my time and commitment. Sunsama asks about your plans for each day and inquires about your accomplishments the day before. It allows me to ask: do I really intend to have a 14-hour workday? This small addition allows me to stay on track throughout the week.
Sunsama is flexible
The ability to toggle between different views is a highlight of the app. I keep Sunsama open throughout the day, which allows me to use it as a reference point. I enjoy seeing my tasks and calendar events simultaneously because it gives me a better sense of the day and enables me to prepare for upcoming activities. So far, I’ve had no issues with Sunsama’s Google Calendar integration. Sunsama currently integrates with Todoist, ClickUp, Gmail, Outlook, Asana, Trello, Github, Google Calendar, Slack, and Notion.
Sunsama has reporting and tracking features
Sunsama’s reporting and tracking feature is another reason I’m drawn to the app. As long as I time box and use the channels as intended for my workflow, I can see exactly how I’ve spent my time each week.
Sunsama has a mobile app
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and the move to remote work, I have relied less on mobile apps and have started to weigh this less in considering apps over the last two or so years. I discontinued several apps where I was paying a premium price for location-based features. However, I understand how central a mobile app is for potential users.
Sunsama takes an interesting approach to pricing
For some users, the $20 (per month, billed monthly tag) is steep. There are currently no discounts for educators or students. For some users, especially those familiar with Sunsama’s pricing manifesto, the price may not matter. Sunsama argues that the product is worth at least $1/workday.
Looking across other calendar/day planner-type apps, few are in direct competition with Sunsama. However, this might change down the line. For now, Sunsama is ahead of its competitors, as it is truly in a league of its own. I do more with less effort while using the app.
If you are not willing to shell out $20 a month for Sunsama, here are some alternatives to check out:
Motion
Amie
DayBridge
Akiflow
Focuster
Amazing Marvin
Some cons
There are a few areas Sunsama can further develop. Meeting notes and task notes are important in my workflow. I also frequently need to reference notes from previous meetings across many different projects. Currently, trying to locate previous meeting notes in Sunsama is not practical. I still rely on my notetaking tools for this. It would be great to see Sunsama create one central place for notes.
Another issue I have is that the labels I apply in other apps have to be recreated in Sunsama. While this ensures that I can appropriately track my time and effort for each activity, it is an unnecessary friction point. Unfortunately, I usually have to manually categorize new tasks and events every day. Once I am in Sunsama, I am ready to work and don’t want to spend time reorganizing tasks.
Concluding thoughts
I enjoy Sunsama because I am not replacing any tools that I have become accustomed to using. I still use Todoist and Google Calendar and have no plans to give these up. The issue I’ve faced is that neither Todoist nor Google Calendar, together or separately, allow me to manage my workload across many different teams in a way that helps me to feel accomplished at the end of the day or week. For me, Sunsama excels with this.
However, the app may not be sustainable for me down the line. I use it now because I am pulled across different projects, but this may not be the case next year.
I am a Sunsama ambassador and this post is based solely on my experience with the app. With my ambassador link, you can get started with a 30-day trial. This is twice as long as the default 14-day trial. No credit card or payment information is needed at sign-up.
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