Motion: A Multipurpose AI Productivity App That Delivers

Many of us feel that 24 hours simply isn’t enough. But often, it’s not about time — it’s about how we use it. That’s why we were excited to try Motion, an AI-powered productivity app that promises to organize your work, tasks, and time — intelligently.

TL;DR: Motion is an all-in-one productivity app that combines smart scheduling, task management, and AI-powered automation. After using it for a week, we found it particularly helpful for reducing decision fatigue, optimizing work hours, and replacing multiple tools like Calendly, Asana, and even Notion.

What Is Motion

Motion calls itself the AI-powered SuperApp for work. This multipurpose platform aims to replace multiple tools you need for your team. Motion aims to replace project, task, calendar, meeting, document, and note management tools with a judicious use of AI.

In doing so, Motion claims to help you get work done at a 10x pace. If these claims are true, having Motion means you don’t need things like Things, Asana/Monday, Calendly, Otter, and Notion/Evernote/Obsidian. In addition, Motion works with platforms like Zoom, Google Meet, Gmail, Outlook, and Apple Calendar.

There are two major USPs to Motion. One, it brings multiple tools together to create a central dashboard for your (personal or team-based) projects. Two, all these modules use the power of AI to boost productivity across your team.

Motion Features

Let’s look at some of the core features that Motion offers:

• AI-Powered Calendar: This Motion AI module lets you make the best out of your time without all the hassle of scheduling. It can efficiently analyze your calendars and find the right spot for your projects and tasks.
• Project Manager: The project management utility from Motion claims to help your team save up to 50% of the time through prediction, analysis, and constant improvement. The AI engine helps your team with analytics and standard proceedings.
• Gantt Charts: Motion brings the power of AI predictions and updates to traditional Gantt charts. This module makes it easy for big teams to manage multiple projects at once while not engaging in micromanaging.
• Task Manager: Motion’s Task Management module also goes beyond the conventional idea. On top of keeping track of all your tasks, Motion will re-prioritize everything to meet your needs. It can also give you a heads-up for tasks that won’t be completed on time.
• Meeting Assistant: Motion also works as a meeting assistant, integrating well with platforms like Google Meet and Zoom. It takes care of scheduling, note-taking, and availability tracking and works with popular platforms.

Motion prioritizes workload and team efficiency instead of focusing on numbers and dashboards.

Our Hands-On Motion Review

Like we do for other products we review, we wanted to test all aspects of Motion. We were a bit concerned, though — our small team and flexible work style might not be the best fit to showcase Motion’s project management and Gantt chart capabilities.

So instead, we focused on how Motion supports individual workflows, daily scheduling, and note/document handling.

Getting Started with Motion

Getting started with Motion is quite straightforward, thanks to a wizard-like interface. As soon as you log into the account, Motion will ask you for a few things. For instance, you can connect all the calendars you want to manage and set up recurring tasks. More importantly, Motion lets you provide details about your work week and timings. The AI engine will use these timings when scheduling your tasks across the week.

Everything is editable and customizable to the dot. For instance, if you want to adjust the working hours for some days of the week, you can do it anytime. We also found that Recurring Tasks add great value. Motion will notify you about these things at the right time—like your lunch or tea break..

In a few seconds, you can complete the setup for Motion, and the dashboard will welcome you.

UI Design and User Experience

Those who are familiar with tools like ClickUp and Notion won’t have any trouble navigating across Motion. The left sidebar is the central navigation element, which lets you access different modules such as Tasks, Agenda, Calendar, All Projects, Team Schedule, and Meeting Notes. This sidebar interface also lets you access your workspaces and some real-time notifications.

Each module has a well-optimized UI of its own. For instance, the Calendar module lets you choose between multiple viewing options.

Similarly, you get to decide how different tasks, projects, and their priorities would be shown on screen. So, Motion retains a design that makes things easier for those who are migrating from platforms like Notion, Monday, or Asana. At the same time, the UI leaves enough room for customization. It is pretty convenient that you can choose between multiple viewing options regardless of the module.

Overall, we really loved the user experience that Motion offers.

Now that we have covered the basics of Motion, we shall see how the AI-powered platform helped us in day-to-day tasks and battles.

Daily Battle Against Decision Fatigue

Prioritizing tasks and making the right decision was something we struggled with, especially when there were too many projects. Earlier, we had to maintain priority lists on different apps in addition to sticky notes on our table.

With Motion, however, we can skip most of these routines. All we have to do is add a task on Motion AI and set the deadline. Because the AI engine knows our working hours and can access our calendar entries, it will assign that task to a suitable slot. Because we receive on-time notifications about starting the tasks, things are easy and hassle-free.

We get more time to focus on the task instead of worrying about whether things will clash with another lecture or a meeting. Because the engine has access to our recurring tasks like food and workout sessions, we can stay away from those worries as well.

Another standout is Motion’s ability to connect multiple calendars to the Motion Calendar. This way, we get to make sure that all parts of our lives are considered before tasks are scheduled.

Overall, we love how Motion helps us deal with the various difficulties we face when it comes to scheduling tasks and following up.

Calendar as Command Center

The AI-powered calendar module on Motion works as a comprehensive command center for all your tasks and projects. First, the calendar on Motion is quite customizable, and you can choose between different viewing modes and priorities. The Day view offers a clear preview of what is lined up for the day as well as how Motion has scheduled the tasks for us.

You can easily add events or tasks to your schedule as usual. With the ‘Reschedule Tasks’ button, Motion will automatically reorganize them for you. If the engine can find a suitable time on the same day, it will be rescheduled accordingly. Otherwise, Motion will push the event or task to the next available period.

It is impressive that we can get to know almost everything about these schedules from a single screen. We must also appreciate how intuitive the User Interface is. It feels so convenient to drag-and-drop or pull-to-expand tasks.

Priority-Driven Deep Work Optimization

Something we deeply appreciate about Motion is that it is not intrusive. At the same time, you can use the platform to prioritize and optimize your work schedule for improved productivity. It’s impressive that we get to choose what tasks are a priority to us.

Thanks to this approach, if we need to ensure that we spend quality time with our family, a week with intensive workloads would not prevent us. As a result, we get to stay calmer about how our work week ahead looks like. The Project Manager feature also deserves a mention.

We tried the feature to create project templates for something up ahead. Motion makes it easy to not only split the project into chunks but also assign sufficient work blocks/chunks to each section. In the end, we don’t have to worry about whether we are on track with the project.

Once again, for someone who overthinks a lot, having a proper plan that is flexible is no less than a blessing. Because we know that the Motion calendar will find time within our time, we are less worried about unexpected meetings or deadline changes.

Performance and Efficiency

Thanks to its different modules working together, Motion has contributed to improved performance and efficiency in work life.

First, because it takes care of scheduling, we can spend more time on the actual tasks. It also considers our workday schedules and other commitments. It essentially makes sure that none of our time is wasted. It is a big achievement for someone dealing with deadlines from multiple realms of their life. Using Motion also helped us realize how much time we normally spend on scheduling our week.

We also noticed that a well-packed calendar has made us more efficient, especially because we know we are getting time for important events, nevertheless. This tool has also helped us recognize underlying patterns in our productivity. We have started relying on these insights while choosing deadlines for tasks and general planning. In short, although Motion is designed for teams, it has made our individual work lives better.

Apps and Integrations

Motion is designed to work with multiple services and apps. It also offers dedicated clients for mobile and desktop devices. For the review, we have used the macOS app for Motion, which works great. You can get the official apps for Android and Windows as well. However, we haven’t heard great things about the Android app.

When it comes to integrations, Motion does not disappoint. First, you get native integration with services like Google Calendar, iCloud Calendar, Zoom, Google Meet, and Gmail. You can also set up your Microsoft Outlook account with it. These are the basic options, and you get decent functionalities for accessing all the features that Motion offers.

When it comes to third-party integrations, the list includes platforms like Zapier, Make.com, and Pipedream. All these are designed in such a way that you can get the most out of task automation, custom workflows, and collaboration at the team level.

In short, it works great with existing apps/services that you may already be using.

Pricing and Plans

You can choose between two plans from Motion: Individual and Business Standard.

The Individual plan gives you access to features like scheduling, task management, calendar, etc. It will cost you $19 per month when paid annually. This plan is great for individuals.

The Business Standard plan would cost $12 per user per month and is available for smaller businesses with less than 15 members. You get advanced features like Timeline, Gantt views, project delivery predictions, AI for SOP, etc.

At first look, Motion is indeed expensive. If you are paying monthly, you will have to pay around $34 per month, which is not a small amount. But what you should keep in mind is the time that Motion can help you save.

For someone handling multiple projects every day and having trouble taking care of all these aspects, this could be a good investment by any means. We should also remember that it can easily replace your other premium subscriptions, such as Asana and Monday.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

• AI-driven scheduling and task prioritization for optimized workflows.
• Unified platform for calendar, task, and project management.
• Automatic rescheduling of tasks based on changing priorities.
• Time-blocking and focus-time features to enhance productivity.
• Integrates with tools like Google Calendar, Outlook, Slack, and Zoom.
• Mobile, desktop, and web apps for accessibility on the go.

Cons:

• Steep learning curve for new users; not very intuitive initially.
• Auto-scheduling may not always align with user preferences.
• High pricing compared to other productivity tools; no free plan available.

FAQs

Who uses Motion?

Motion is for everyone who wants to get organized, stay on top of the tasks, and experience a bit more control over the work they do without having to worry about the tasks and scheduling.

Is Motion worth it?

Yes, Motion is worth it for two reasons. It’s very affordable, AI-powered, and it provides extreme value for individuals, teams, businesses, and even some of the largest enterprises.

Can students take advantage of Motion?

Yes, Motion is ideal for students who have a busy schedule. Inputting tasks that need to be done might take a while but Motion can change how and when you study to maximize your time spent studying.

Is there Motion alternative for smart scheduling?
‘While Motion excels in smart scheduling, several tools offer a different but valuable experience. Reclaim AI prioritizes work-life balance with AI suggestions, while Clockwise focuses on calendar clarity and scheduling efficiency. Research and compare options to find the best fit for your needs.

Conclusion

After testing Motion for over a week, we have found it quite impressive and worth the money it asks for.

Motion has been able to replace multiple services like Monday and Asana and bring the best of AI into rudimentary tasks. In particular, the options for automated scheduling and due date predictions can offer incredible value at individual and enterprise levels.

The macOS app of Motion works flawlessly, offering a seamless experience thanks to keyboard shortcuts and other integrations. But please note 2015 and older Macs currently aren’t supported.

Overall, if you need an AI-powered, centralized way to schedule and manage your work life, Motion is a great choice.

For more details, visit the official site usemotion.com