A daily planner app that lays out your day.
Ethos turns your routine into a timeline each morning: what’s next, what’s done, and where you are right now. You plan the week once, then tick the day as you go, on iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch.
Your day as a timeline.
Today shows your tasks in order, grouped into morning, afternoon and evening, with a thin line marking the time now. Each task has its time and, if you gave it one, how long it takes. Tick it when it’s done and the next one is right there.
Something only for today, like a parcel to collect, goes on with “Just today” and leaves the rest of your week alone.
Each weekday has its own routine.
Most planners hand you a blank page every morning. Ethos starts from the week. You decide once what Monday asks of you, and what Saturday asks, and each day arrives already filled in.
Change a weekday whenever your life changes, and every week after follows it. The routine planner page goes into this in more detail.
Reminders that fit the task.
Each task can remind you at its time or a little ahead of it, with a snooze when you need ten more minutes. For the one or two things you can’t sleep through, there’s an alarm. If a task doesn’t need a reminder at all, turn it off for that task alone.
For the days that don’t go to plan.
Running late? Push the rest of the day back from the day’s menu and the tasks still to come move with it. You can move one task for today without changing the week, skip it, or use another day’s routine when a Monday feels more like a Saturday.
On a hard day, make today light. Only the tasks you’ve marked as anchors count, so a rough day still has a shape. Rest days and days off count as kept.
Calendar events beside your tasks.
Turn on “Show calendar events” and today’s appointments appear faintly next to your routine, so you can see that the dentist lands in the middle of your deep work. It’s optional, Ethos asks before reading your calendar, and the events never leave your device.
On your wrist, your desk and your Home Screen.
The Apple Watch keeps its own copy of your day. Tick a task with a tap or a double tap, and reminders still arrive when your phone is in another room.
On the Mac, your day sits in the menu bar and the whole week fits on one screen. On iPad it spreads out beside the week. Widgets, a Live Activity, Control Centre, Siri and Shortcuts all reach the same day.
Compared with a paper planner.
Paper is pleasant to write in, but you copy out the same Tuesday every week, it can’t remind you of anything, and it stays at home when you leave. Ethos keeps the part of paper people like, a calm page with the day on it, and does the copying for you.
If you still want paper on the wall, Ethos Plus prints the month.
Private, with no account.
There is no Ethos account and no Ethos server, and the app collects no data. Your planner is on your devices and, with Ethos Plus, in the private part of your own iCloud, which we can’t see. Once a week Ethos also saves a backup to Files.
Free to start.
Your routine, the week and Rhythm are free, along with reminders, widgets and Apple Watch paired with your iPhone. Ethos Plus adds iCloud sync and a few extras, such as the watch on its own without your iPhone, the printed month, and making a family group and inviting people to it. Prices are shown in the app.
Questions
Do I need an account?
No. There is no Ethos account and no Ethos server. Your planner lives on your devices and, with Ethos Plus, in the private part of your own iCloud.
Will reminders reach my watch if my phone is in another room?
Yes. The watch schedules its own reminders for the next two days, so they arrive even when your phone is somewhere else.
What happens when I fall behind?
Push the rest of the day back from the day’s menu, move one task for today, or skip it. If the whole day is off, make it light so only your anchor tasks count, or take it off.
Does Ethos read my calendar?
Only if you turn on “Show calendar events”, and it asks first. Today’s events then appear faintly beside your tasks. They are used on your device and never sent anywhere.
Can I print my plan?
Yes. The printed month comes with Ethos Plus and lays the month out on paper, for the fridge or a folder.