If it takes you more than four seconds to jot down an idea, that idea dies. It's the informal rule we've kept repeating in every design decision since the very first Floatask mockup.
Why four? There's no science to it. It's how long a thought lasts before it slips away when you're in the middle of something else: in a meeting, driving, making dinner, reading. If the app asks for more, the idea is lost and your brain learns not to bother telling you about the next one.
The 4-second budget
We break it down like this:
- 1s — open the app or switch to the tab.
- 0.5s — the field is already focused, no need to click.
- 2s — you type the idea without thinking about format.
- 0.5s — Enter. Done. Back to your life.
What we had to avoid
- Modals before you can start typing.
- Mandatory selectors (type, list, priority).
- "Save?" confirmations.
- Animations that are pretty but slow.
The result: the top bar always has implicit focus, Enter creates the task in the active list, and it disappears. If you later want to give it a date, importance or assign it to someone, you open the detail and do it. But capturing is always four seconds.