You probably arrived here for one of two reasons: you like DayZen's idea of seeing your whole day as a clock face, but you want it on your Mac. Or you're comparing visual day planners before committing to one.
Short version: the two apps share a shape, not a starting point. Both draw the day as a radial dial. DayZen is an iPhone app built around ADHD and staying aware of time in the moment. Solvarv is a Mac app built around a simpler, older fact: your day is finite, and seeing exactly what's left of it is what makes prioritizing possible.
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Same dial, different question
Everyone gets the same 24 hours. That's the one fact about your day nothing can change. And you never get to use all of them: sleep claims its share, rest matters, and life's obligations, meals, commutes, and commitments are non-negotiable. What's genuinely yours to direct is the remainder, and on most days it is smaller than it feels.
Both of these apps make that remainder visible by drawing the day as a radial 24-hour dial: the non-negotiables become blocks, and the free hours left over stop being a vague feeling and become a shape you can look at. This sits alongside whatever to-do list or calendar you already use. Those tell you what needs doing; the dial shows how much day actually exists to do it in.
But the two apps arrived at the dial from different directions, and it shows in what each one is for.
DayZen's question is about attention: for someone with ADHD, time slips by unnoticed, so put a clock face on the phone that makes the present hour impossible to lose. The dial is an awareness device.
Solvarv's question is about priority: once you can see that today holds three free hours and not eight, the real question surfaces on its own: what do these hours deserve? Its maker used the method on paper 18 years before the app existed, drawing each day as a circle to aim its scarce free hours at one make-or-break exam. The dial is a prioritization instrument.
Same shape. Different job. Which one you want depends on which question is yours.
Solvarv vs DayZen at a glance
| Solvarv | DayZen | |
|---|---|---|
| Platform | macOS | iOS (iPhone & iPad) |
| Core view | Radial 24-hour dial | Radial 24-hour dial |
| Built around | Seeing your finite day to prioritize it | ADHD & in-the-moment time awareness |
| Price | €29 one-time | Free (10 tasks/day) · $24.99 one-time Pro |
| Subscription | None | None |
| Account required | No | No |
| Works offline | Yes | Yes (local-first, iCloud sync) |
| Calendar sync | No | Google, Outlook, Apple (Pro) |
| Recurring blocks | Yes, fixed blocks repeat daily | Yes |
| Weekly capacity view | Yes | No |
| Focus timer | No | Yes |
| Widgets | No | Yes (Pro) |
When DayZen is the better choice
Honestly: if you need the dial on a phone today, DayZen is the one that exists there. If your struggle is staying aware of time during the day, in the moment, away from a desk, a pocket dial with widgets and a focus timer fits that, and DayZen also syncs with Google, Outlook, and Apple calendars, which Solvarv currently doesn't. Its free tier lets you try the radial-day idea at zero cost. And if what you're actually waiting for is Solvarv on your iPhone, tell us.
When Solvarv is the better choice
Solvarv is for the moment you sit down and decide what today is for.
- The whole finite day, on a screen big enough to think on. A phone fits a glance; a Mac fits a decision. Your 24 hours in one closed shape, open next to the work, the calendar, the plans it has to accommodate.
- Set the non-negotiables once. Sleep, meals, the fixed commitments repeat daily, so every morning starts pre-shaded. What remains is the honest answer to "how much of today is actually mine?"
- Free hours you can see are free hours you can aim. When the remainder is visible, prioritizing stops being abstract. Three free hours and a visible shape make "what really matters today?" a question you answer at planning time, not one that ambushes you at 11pm.
- A closed shape can't stretch. The circle has no scroll and no overflow. When today is full, you can see it's full, and something moves to tomorrow by choice instead of by collapse.
- Deliberately small. One dial, your blocks, nothing else. There are no templates to choose, no option sheets to tune, no feature list to learn before the tool is useful. Solvarv does one thing: show the day whole so you can decide what it's for. The absence is the design.
- €29, once. No subscription, no account, no tracking, works offline. You buy it, it's yours.
Solvarv started as a hand-drawn circle, 18 years before it was an app: facing a make-or-break language exam, its maker drew each day as a closed shape, blocked what was fixed, and gave the visible free hours to the one thing that mattered. He passed. Back then the circle had to be redrawn on paper every morning; Solvarv is that same circle as a surface you set up once and reuse every day. The method →
See it, don't read about it
Can I use both?
Yes, and the split is natural: DayZen on your phone for in-the-moment awareness, Solvarv on your Mac for sitting down and deciding what the day is for. They don't sync with each other (different apps, different developers) but they don't overlap much either.
FAQ
Is Solvarv available for iPhone or Windows?
No, Solvarv is macOS-only today. If you need it on iPhone right now, DayZen covers that context; if a Solvarv for iPhone or Windows is what you're waiting for, tell us: [email protected].
Is Solvarv a subscription?
No. €29 one-time. It runs offline, requires no account, and collects no tracking data.
Does Solvarv replace my to-do app or calendar?
No, and it isn't trying to. Your list tracks what needs doing and your calendar tracks appointments; Solvarv shows how much free day exists around them, so you can decide what those hours deserve. It's designed to sit alongside the tools you already use.
Does Solvarv import my DayZen data?
No import exists. Setup is fast, though: you block your non-negotiables once and they repeat daily.
Is there a free trial?
Not yet. Instead, Solvarv comes with a simple guarantee: buy it, use it, and if it isn't for you, email us within 30 days and we'll refund you. No forms, no questions.
What happens if development stops?
Nothing, to your copy. Solvarv has no server, no account, and no license check that phones home, so there is nothing on our side that can be shut down. The app you buy keeps working exactly as bought, offline, for as long as macOS runs it.
Can I get my data out?
Your plans are stored locally on your Mac and never leave it. A dedicated export (JSON or CSV) isn't built yet; if you need one, tell us at [email protected] and it moves up the list.
Is Solvarv an ADHD app?
It isn't positioned as one. Solvarv visualizes the finite day so you can prioritize it. If the dial's way of showing time happens to click for you, that's the method doing its job, whoever you are.
See your day in full.
Solvarv for Mac. One-time purchase. Yours forever, offline.
Get Solvarv for €29Solvarv is a visual day-planning app for macOS. It displays the full 24-hour day as a radial dial: non-negotiable commitments such as sleep, meals, and appointments become fixed blocks that repeat daily, making the remaining free hours visible so users can prioritize them deliberately. It includes a weekly capacity overview, works fully offline, requires no account, and costs €29 as a one-time purchase. It complements to-do lists and calendars rather than replacing them. Alternatives include DayZen (iOS), DuePal (iOS), and See Time (iOS).