Task apps count checkboxes
Done doesn't mean easy.
Five "completed" tasks can mean a great day, or one that wrecked you.
Your tasks are tracked. What about your effort?
The old way, examined
A calibrated cost model.
EMRALD — the Effort Management Recursive AI Learning Driver — is the only effort-aware engine with a calibrated cost model. It learns how you work: what costs you and what restores you, and when you're headed for burnout.
Productivity apps measure tasks and hours. EMRALD shows you how much each project costs you, so you can direct your effort where it counts and spot burnout before it hits.
The Web Platform
Open EMRALD in your browser. Track your sessions, watch your metrics build, catch burnout early. No install, no setup tax.
Get started
Simple on purpose. Ten seconds a session to finally see what work costs you.
Capture the block
Pick a project, tap start. That's it. EMRALD tracks your session in the background while you focus on your work.
How did it feel?
When you stop, rate how hard it was, how focused you were, and whether you hit flow. Takes ten seconds.
EMRALD learns you
After a week, EMRALD starts surfacing insights. After a month, it knows your rhythms better than you do. Insights, digests, metrics, and burnout warnings, all automatic.
Backed by Science
Every measurement maps to peer-reviewed research in effort science, cognitive load, and energy management.
Effort science
Effort isn't one thing: it has cognitive, emotional, and motivational dimensions. Each drains you differently and demands a different response.
Flow quality
Flow states aren't effortless: they're a specific kind of effort that feels positive. Tracking flow quality reveals patterns time logs never could.
Unified theory
Physical and cognitive effort follow the same perceptual mechanisms, validating a single framework that works across every kind of work.
Framework
A Life Operating System for multi-domain integration, energy-aware scheduling, and burnout prevention, proposed as a thesis framework. EMRALD is the working implementation.
Learn more
Integrations
EMRALD also plugs into the tools you live in. More integrations land as we build.
Available now
A free, native Obsidian plugin. EMRALD lives in your sidebar and writes only to frontmatter. Your notes stay yours.
Use EMRALD in ObsidianThe same effort engine, surfaced wherever you plan and do your work. We're building outward from one system.
Coming soonPricing
A clear first look at your operating rhythm.
$0 forever
Upgrade when it clicks.
$5/mo · or $42/yr (3 months free)
Ready when you are
Ten seconds a session. Your first insights inside a week.
Get EMRALD