Who is Miles Mochizuki?
Productivity YouTuber who's reviewed basically every task manager that exists. The channel mixes app deep-dives with workflow experiments and honest takes on productivity culture's more ridiculous trends.
What makes Miles different is the willingness to switch tools publicly. Most productivity creators pick one system and defend it forever because brand partnerships and affiliate links. Miles will torch an app he recommended six months ago if something better launches or his workflow changes.
Started the YouTube channel around 2019 while working a corporate job. Videos were filmed on weekends and edited late at night. Quit the day job in 2022 when YouTube revenue crossed five figures monthly. Now the channel is the full-time focus, which creates this weird loop where he reviews productivity tools while using them to run the business that reviews productivity tools.
As of December 2024, the channel has maybe 200K subscribers. Not massive compared to tech reviewers, but the audience is stupidly engaged. Comments sections turn into debates about GTD methodology and whether natural language input actually saves time or just feels fancy.
Everything below comes from videos where Miles walked through his actual setup. Fair warning: the stack changes periodically. He'll probably try something new in three months and half this list will be different.
Why Things 3 for Personal Work
Things 3 handles all personal projects and YouTube content planning. The Today view is where every morning starts. Quick glance shows what actually needs doing versus what's just floating in the system waiting for someday.
Areas keep work completely separate from personal life. YouTube Production area holds all video-related tasks. Personal area has household stuff, errands, life admin. The separation prevents work bleeding into every corner of the task list.
Projects break down big video ideas into filmable chunks. Each video gets its own project with tasks for scripting, filming, editing, thumbnail creation, SEO optimization. Checking off tasks as the video progresses feels weirdly satisfying in a way digital task managers usually don't achieve.
The design is stupidly clean. No clutter, no overwhelming feature lists, just tasks organized logically. After years of testing chaotic apps with 50 different views and customization options, Things 3's simplicity is refreshing. Sometimes you just want a task manager that looks nice and doesn't require a PhD to understand.
In a video from September 2024, Miles said Things 3 has been the longest-running constant in his productivity stack. Tried switching to Notion, TickTick, Motion, and a dozen others. Always comes back to Things 3 for personal stuff because nothing else feels as frictionless.
When Todoist Becomes Necessary
Todoist handles anything that needs collaboration. Things 3 is phenomenal until you need to share a project with someone else, then it's completely useless because there's zero collaboration features.
Shared projects for sponsor deliverables and editor coordination. Comments on tasks for back-and-forth discussions without jumping to Slack or email. Assigned tasks make it clear who's responsible for what instead of vague project plans that sit there forever.
The natural language input is clutch during calls. Type 'film sponsor segment tomorrow at 2pm p1' and Todoist parses the date, time, and priority instantly. Faster than clicking through date pickers and dropdown menus while someone's talking on the other end.
Miles switches between Things 3 and Todoist depending on project needs. Solo YouTube video from concept to upload? Things 3. Sponsored collaboration with deliverables and timelines? Todoist. Running two task managers is annoying but less annoying than compromising on either use case.
In a comparison video from November 2024, he said Todoist would be his only task manager if Things 3 didn't exist. The collaboration features and cross-platform availability are too useful to ignore. But for pure personal task management, Things 3 still wins on design and feel.
Apple Reminders as the Inbox
Apple Reminders is the quick capture tool when walking around or driving. Siri integration means hands-free task adding without fumbling with the phone. Hey Siri, remind me to email the sponsor contact tomorrow at 9am. Done.
Location-based reminders for errands. Remind me to grab batteries when I arrive at Target. The phone buzzes when pulling into the parking lot. Actually useful instead of forgetting why you drove there in the first place.
Everything in Reminders gets reviewed weekly. Real tasks migrate to Things 3 for proper planning and execution. Most reminders just get deleted because they weren't actually important, just random thoughts that felt urgent in the moment but turned out to be noise.
The integration with Apple ecosystem is stupidly seamless. Reminders sync across iPhone, iPad, Mac instantly. No third-party app required, no subscription fee, just works out of the box. For quick capture, that frictionless experience beats opening a dedicated task manager app every time.
Miles mentioned in a July 2024 video that he tried using Things 3's quick entry shortcut for captures. Technically faster than Siri once you're at the computer. But for mobile captures while moving around, nothing beats voice input through Reminders.
Why Not Just Pick One?
The productivity community hates this approach. Pick one system and stick with it forever. Build habits around a single tool. Don't context switch between apps. Miles tried that. It sucked.
No single task manager is perfect for every use case. Things 3 nails personal task management but collaboration is nonexistent. Todoist handles teams great but feels cluttered for simple personal lists. Apple Reminders is amazing for quick mobile captures but lacks project organization.
Using three apps means each one handles what it's actually good at instead of compromising everywhere. The cognitive overhead of remembering which app holds what is real, but Miles would rather deal with that than force everything into one mediocre system.
In a video from October 2024 titled 'Why I Use Three Task Managers,' he got roasted in the comments. Half the audience thought it was genius. The other half said it was productivity theater. Both sides had valid points honestly.
The stack will probably change again. Motion launches a killer feature, maybe that replaces Things 3. Todoist adds better design, maybe it becomes the only app. Apple Reminders gets project support, everything consolidates there. Flexibility beats dogmatic commitment to one tool when the perfect task manager doesn't exist yet.
Frequently Asked Questions About Miles Mochizuki's Stack
What task manager does Miles Mochizuki use?
He rotates between three depending on context. Things 3 for personal projects and YouTube planning. Todoist for collaborative work and sponsor deliverables. Apple Reminders for quick mobile captures with Siri. Running multiple task managers drives some people nuts but Miles would rather use specialized tools than compromise on one mediocre system.
Why does Miles Mochizuki use Things 3?
Clean design, great for personal task management, and the Areas feature keeps work separate from life. Projects break down videos into filmable tasks. The Today view is where mornings start. He's tried switching to Notion, TickTick, and others but always comes back to Things 3 for solo work because nothing else feels as frictionless.
Does Miles Mochizuki use Todoist or Things 3?
Both, depending on the situation. Things 3 for personal YouTube work where collaboration isn't needed. Todoist when working with editors or sponsors because Things 3 has zero sharing features. The natural language input in Todoist is also clutch during calls when adding tasks quickly matters more than pretty design.
What productivity apps does Miles Mochizuki recommend?
His main stack is Things 3, Todoist, and Apple Reminders for task management. Beyond that, recommendations change constantly based on what he's testing. Check recent videos for current favorites because he switches tools publicly when something better launches or his workflow evolves. Not married to any brand or affiliate deal.
Why does Miles Mochizuki use multiple task managers?
No single app is perfect for every use case. Things 3 nails personal tasks but can't collaborate. Todoist handles teams but feels cluttered for simple lists. Apple Reminders crushes mobile quick capture but lacks project structure. Using three apps means each handles what it's actually good at instead of forcing everything into one mediocre compromise.
How does Miles Mochizuki organize YouTube videos?
Things 3 projects for each video. Tasks cover scripting, filming, editing, thumbnails, SEO. The breakdown makes big projects feel manageable instead of one massive item sitting there forever. Areas keep YouTube Production separate from personal life so work doesn't bleed into every corner of the task list.