Question 1

What is Listless?

Accepted Answer

Listless is a decision tool for moments of inertia. When you feel overwhelmed, stuck, or low on energy, it tells you what to do next — matching you to a science-backed activity based on your mood and energy level right now. Rather than presenting an open-ended list of options that adds to your cognitive load, Listless narrows the decision to three purposeful actions suited to your current state. You can also build your own library of personal activities, so the things that actually work for you are always in the mix. You go from stuck to doing in under 30 seconds.

Question 2

How does Listless decide what to recommend?

Accepted Answer

Listless maps emotional states across two axes: mood (how pleasant or unpleasant you feel) and energy (how activated or depleted you are), leveraging the principles behind Russell's Circumplex Model of Affect, a peer-reviewed psychological framework. Your answers to a three-question check-in place you in one of four states — anxious and wired, energised and focused, calm and reflective, or drained and stuck. Listless then matches you to activities from a library of 60+ evidence-based options across nine categories, calibrated to what your mind and body can actually do right now. Any custom activities you've created are included in your recommendations too, so the more you personalise your library, the more relevant your suggestions become.

Question 3

How is Listless different from a to-do list or productivity app?

Accepted Answer

To-do lists and productivity apps assume you already know what to do and just need to execute. Listless solves a different problem: what to do when you can't decide at all. It removes the meta-decision — the exhausting process of choosing which task or activity to start — by doing that choosing for you based on your emotional and cognitive state in the moment. It's a decision tool, not a task manager.

Question 4

What is decision paralysis and why does an app help?

Accepted Answer

Decision paralysis is the inability to act when faced with too many options or too much cognitive load. It's closely linked to decision fatigue — the documented depletion of mental resources that comes from making repeated choices throughout the day. Apps can reduce this by constraining the decision space. Instead of an open-ended question like "what should I do?", Listless presents three pre-selected, contextually appropriate options. The smaller the choice set, the lower the barrier to action.

Question 5

What kinds of activities does Listless recommend?

Accepted Answer

Listless includes 60+ activities across nine categories: physical health, managing your space, sensory regulation, creative expression, getting things done, learning and growth, rest and recovery, purpose and values, and play and joy. Activities range from a two-minute breathing exercise to a short walk, a creative prompt, or a tidying task — all matched to your available time and current state. Every activity in the library is evidence-based, selected for its effectiveness at a specific point on the mood-energy spectrum. You can also create your own custom activities — things you know help you — so Listless learns to recommend what actually works for you, not just what works in general.

Question 6

How is Listless different from a mood tracker?

Accepted Answer

Mood trackers record how you feel. Listless is designed for the moment you're stuck — you check in with your current state, get a recommendation, and act. The entire interaction takes under 30 seconds. It's a decision tool for right now, not a retrospective wellbeing journal.

Question 7

Is Listless free?

Accepted Answer

Listless is free to download and includes unlimited access to the curated activity library plus up to three custom activities you create yourself — so you can start personalising your recommendations from day one. Listless Premium removes the custom activity limit, unlocking unlimited personal activities and all future premium features, for $4.99 per month or $49.99 per year. Listless is available on iOS and Android.

Question 8

What does 'evidence-based' mean in the context of Listless?

Accepted Answer

In the context of Listless, evidence-based means every activity in the library has been selected based on published psychological and behavioural research demonstrating its effectiveness for mood regulation, energy management, or behavioural activation. This distinguishes Listless from wellness apps that recommend activities based on general popularity or user preference alone.

Question 9

What problem does Listless actually solve?

Accepted Answer

Listless solves the moment between knowing you should do something and actually doing it. That gap — often called inertia, paralysis, or being stuck — is caused by decision overload, mismatched energy, and the cognitive cost of choosing. Listless collapses that gap by reading your current state and returning a single, actionable next step. The goal isn't optimising your day or building a perfect routine. It's making it easier to do something useful right now, rather than to do nothing at all.