Sofa: Downtime Organizer

I have been looking for this APP for years! I mainly am using this to organize my ebook to be read (TBR) list. I was unhappy with other options as they would not let me add ebooks that I did not already own or were not part of their internal catalogue. I happen to subscribe to an unlimited ebook “library” and since they recently changed their wishlist settings, I have found I needed a better way to organize my TBR list and organize what I want to read next. This APP allows for tagging with customizable tags so I can make a tag for how interested I am in reading a book, what themes/tropes are in the book/series (oh yeah, you can save a whole series instead of each individual book in a series creating a much cleaner list unlike a certain conglomerates wishlist set-up). You can also sort into groups, static lists or smart lists to help keep your “shelves” organized. There are some quality of life improvements that could be added but overall this is an amazing APP and I’m so glad I found it. If you are an avid ebook reader/collector and are tired of Goodreads, Story Graph, Library Thing, Calibre, excel, and more, this APP is for you. One downside is that this is only offered for Apple products, but if you are an Apple user, it saves to your cloud so you can use the APP on all devises (which is really nice for those of us who are constantly moving device to device).

I used to approximate the functionality of Sofa using iOS notes years ago. Way back I wondered, however, if a dev might eventually build a niche app for keeping track of media consumption. Sofa really is akin to a project or time management app for your downtime, but both in functionality and design aesthetic it hits the mark for this purpose beautifully, while its capabilities extend well beyond a simple single purpose todo list. To the less OCD among us, the entire concept implied by this app may seem a little nuts, but to others (you know who you are), this is pretty much the most well crafted solution I can imagine. The app is sophisticated enough to satisfy every purpose I’ve put it to, yet simple enough to fade into the background when you’re just trying to get things listed & organized. Sofa is stable and mature, the UI is well considered and implemented, it’s quite functional and it’s certainly actively developed and improved. The sourcing of info and cover art for everything from movies & shows to books & podcasts is quite strong. All the expected centric and iOS amenities are there in the current version: iCloud syncing and backup, shared lists, multi-format data export, widgets, strong Shortcuts support and a good user data privacy model. For anyone who desires an app like this, the Super Sofa subscription for full functionality is well worth it. Five stars across the board! The only feature requests I can imagine based on my near daily usage of the iPhone & iPad versions would be perhaps an Watch app for quick reference, and a native macOS app.

I was looking for a cataloging app for my collections when I came across Sofa. I didn’t realize it at the time, but Sofa was actually what I needed. This app strikes just the right balance between simplicity and information density to make it the perfect companion to help navigate your downtime. Before, I would spend so much time going over everything I could do that I would lose the opportunity to actually do anything. With Sofa, I can not only keep track of everything in my collections, but I can also keep track of how I want to spend my time, and quickly find the perfect thing to complement my mood or situation. I no longer need to work to remember recommendations from others. Just long press on the icon and you can add from your home screen, an option so quick that you don’t even need to stop the conversation to explain what you are doing. Additionally, the app’s surprisingly powerful sticky note feature lets you write about and cross reference items in your collections to your heart’s content. Sofa makes it easy to organize the things you want to spend your time doing, allowing you to make as many or as few categories as you want. Sofa is designed to help you spend less time contemplating what you might do, and help you zero in on exactly what you want to do. I cannot overstate how useful this app honestly is — a true game changer that actually helps you use your collections, as opposed to simply possessing them. I love this, and it has quickly become one of my most used apps.