Your First 10 Minutes with Suanpan: No Bullshit

Stop reading productivity porn. I gave up a long time ago.

What You're Getting Into

Suanpan is an abacus for your life. Three columns. Ten beads max per column. That's it.

No AI assistants. No gamification. No "insights dashboard." Just you deciding what matters, then doing it.

If you want another app to "manage your productivity," close this tab. If you want a tool that gets out of your way, keep reading.

Setup (Actually 2 Minutes)

1. Your Three Columns Are Already There

Mine: Your health, sanity, growth
Family: The people who matter
Work: The stuff that pays bills

Don't rename them yet. Use them as-is for a week. You can add custom columns later, but most don't need them and shouldn't.

2. Brain Dump

Open each rod. Type every task screaming in your head. No organization yet. Just get it out.

Mine: "gym," "read," "actually sleep 7 hours"

Family: "book dentist," "plan anniversary," "fix that leaky faucet"

Work: "finish proposal," "email John," "review Q3 numbers"

Aim for 5-10 tasks per column. More than 10? You're either overthinking or need to admit some things won't happen in the short-term.

Keep the rods in this order You take care of yourself first, your people second, then work. Not the other way around.

3. Position Them

Here's the only rule: The most important task goes at the top. Everything else follows.

Not "urgent." Not "high priority." Just: If I could only do one thing in this column today, what would it be?

Drag it to the top or shift the dates. Then ask the same question about what's left. Repeat.

Your list now has an order. That's positioning.

Using It (The Dead Simple Part)

Morning Ritual (30 Seconds)

Open Suanpan
Look at the top task in the first rod and move across
Do that task

That's it. No planning. No reviewing. No "setting intentions."

When You Finish a Task

Check it off
The next task automatically moves
Start on that

When Shit Changes (Because It Always Does)

Something urgent lands? Drag it to the top of the right column. The system adapts. You keep moving.

The 10-Task Limit

Can't add an 11th task? Good. That's the point.

Either:

Delete something that doesn't matter
Finish something to make space
Admit you're overcommitted

The limit forces honesty. Most productivity systems let you pretend you can do everything. Suanpan doesn't.

What Not to Do

Don't create custom columns yet. Three is enough for 90% of life. More columns = more decision fatigue.

Don't assign dates to everything. Dates are for deadlines, not wishes. If it needs to happen by Friday, mark it. If it's just "someday," position it and let it surface when it matters.

Don't make elaborate systems. No color coding. No tags. No nested projects. Just tasks, positioned, done.

Don't check the app every 10 minutes. Check it when you finish a task or when your day shifts. That's enough.

The First Week Reality Check

Day 1-2: You'll love how simple it is.

Day 3-4: You'll want to add features, create rules, make it "better." Don't. Just use it.

Day 5-7: You'll either get it or you won't. If you're still thinking about "optimizing the system," you're missing the point. If you're just doing tasks, you're getting it.

Why This Works

It works because:

Positioning beats priority. You can't do everything, so you position what matters most.
Limits force decisions. Ten tasks max means you actually have to choose.
Visual simplicity. One glance tells you what's next. No parsing, no thinking.

Your tasks aren't "high priority." They're positioned relative to everything else competing for your time. That's the difference.

Try This Instead of Reading More Guides

Add your tasks right now (2 minutes)
Position them top to bottom (3 minutes)
Close this guide
Do the top task in Work

Everything else is just procrastinating on work by "optimizing your system."

Questions? Use the app for a week first. Most questions answer themselves when you stop theorizing and start doing.