You have six or seven different apps on your phone. Recording one expense requires switching between two apps. Habit tracking for half a month and you forget where the entry point is. The features you actually use every day are just a few—does this sound like your reality? I glanced at my own home screen: expense tracking, calendar, to-dos, diary each take up a screen, and in the end, none of them stuck.
Zaso AI takes a different path: not an all-rounder, but six independent mini tools, each solving one specific problem. Expense tracking just tracks expenses, habit recording just records habits. They are not bundled together and don't aim to consume your entire life management needs.
I've used it for two weeks. Here are my actual impressions.
Six Mini Tools, Each Mind Their Own Business
Opening Zaso, you don't see a big dashboard, but six independent entry points. Expense tracking, habit tracker, diary, inspiration notes, to-do list, and a simple data dashboard—each can be opened separately without interfering with each other.
I tried the expense tracker more. It doesn't have a complex category tree, and you don't need to set a budget first. Just open it, enter the amount, and pick a label. For someone like me who only records a few times a month and forgets each time, one less step means a higher chance of sticking with it. I got used to snapping a photo of a receipt, and it automatically recognizes the amount and category, saving the hassle of manual input.
The habit tracker is similar. Want to cultivate drinking water in the morning or walking 8,000 steps a day? Set the frequency, then just tap once each day. No need to think about 'which category does this habit belong to' or 'should I set a reminder time.' For those tired of making choices in elaborate habit apps, this 'just check in' experience is actually relaxing.
Diary recording and inspiration notes are quite similar to me. Diary leans towards writing a recap of the day in the evening, while inspiration notes let you grab an idea on the fly and save it with a keyword. Both support voice input, which is handy when you don't feel like typing.
The to-do list design is restrained—just a simple 'what to do today' list. No projects, no priorities, no Gantt charts. If you need a big tool that can manage team tasks, it's not for you. But if you just want to jot down three or four things for today so you don't forget, it's just enough.
Two Real Scenarios
Scenario 1: At the end of the month, I want to check how much I spent on takeout. Previously, I would open the expense app, select a time period, then find the category, and finally realize that expense wasn't recorded at all. With Zaso tracking, I just say 'how much did I spend on takeout last month' via voice, and it directly gives the number. This search-like interaction is faster than scrolling through lists.
Scenario 2: Want to cultivate the habit of drinking enough water daily. After setting it up, just leave your phone on the desk and tap when you remember. No check-in community, no rankings, no 'XX consecutive days' celebration animations. If you like social motivation, it might feel lonely, but if you just want to do this quietly on your own, this silence is actually an advantage.
Who It's For, Who Might Find It Lacking
Zaso is clearly not for 'management maniacs.' If you need a complete life management system—budgets, projects, OKRs, diary reviews all linked together, automatically generating weekly and monthly reports—then it will seem too simple.
It's more suitable for another group: people who have tried many productivity apps but eventually abandoned them. These users often lack not tools, but tools that are too heavy, with too many steps, making opening them a psychological burden. Zaso's thinking is: make each feature light enough that you are willing to use it, rather than making it comprehensive enough.
The trade-off is also clear: data is not interconnected across tools. Expense records won't automatically affect habit tracking evaluations, and writing 'I spent too much today' in the diary won't reflect in the budget view. If you especially care about integration between tools, you might find it somewhat fragmented.
Another practical issue is that you might only use two or three of the six tools. For example, I mainly use expense tracking and habit tracker, and occasionally open diary and notes. The rest are just there as backups. Fortunately, each is an independent entry, so they don't get in the way if not used, unlike those big apps packed with modules you never use.
Is It Worth Trying?
If what you need is not a 'more powerful tool' but a 'tool you are more willing to use,' Zaso offers a straightforward option: split expense tracking, habit recording, and daily recording into three independent tasks, each solved with the simplest method. No need to learn how to use the app within the app—just open and use it.
The downside is that the functional boundaries are clear. It won't exceed expectations, but it won't disappoint you either. Using it won't change your life; it just gives you one less reason to 'forget to track expenses' or 'break your habit streak'—and that itself might be more important than how many features it has.
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