Why I Built MILO: A Signal-Based Approach to Task Management
Developing Jobs/Musk-level signal-to-noise ratio for shipping at scale
Todo lists are fundamentally broken. They show you everything at once, treating a quick email reply the same as a project that will define your quarter. MILO applies signal-to-noise filtering to help you ship like Jobs and Musk.
The Problem Nobody Talks About
Todo lists are fundamentally broken.
Not because they don't work—they do, technically. The problem is they work too well at one thing: making you feel overwhelmed. Every productivity app I've used has the same fatal flaw: they show you everything at once, treating a quick email reply the same as a project that will define your quarter.
After 20 years in TV production—managing shows where a missed deadline means blown budgets and angry networks—I realized that the tools we use for personal productivity have learned nothing from how professionals actually work under pressure.
The Signal-to-Noise Revelation
In audio engineering, there's a concept called the Signal-to-Noise Ratio (S/N). It measures how much useful signal exists compared to background noise. The higher the ratio, the cleaner the transmission.
Steve Jobs and Elon Musk are legendary for this exact skill—ruthlessly filtering signal from noise at scale. Jobs killed hundreds of products to focus on four. Musk runs five companies by ignoring everything that doesn't move the mission forward. Their superpower isn't working harder—it's filtering better. MILO helps you develop that same Jobs/Musk-level signal-to-noise ratio, so you can ship at scale without drowning in noise.
I started thinking: what if we applied this to task management?
Signal = Actions that directly advance your goals Noise = Everything else fighting for your attention
Most todo apps are noise amplifiers. They dutifully collect every task, every idea, every "I should probably..." thought—and then dump them all in front of you. The result? Paralysis. You spend more time organizing tasks than doing them.
Enter MILO: Mission Intelligence Life Operator
MILO is the task manager I wished existed. It operates on a simple principle: show only what matters right now.
The Signal Queue
Instead of endless lists, MILO surfaces your top 5 priorities. That's it. In-progress tasks first, then the highest priority pending items. Everything else goes to the backlog—organized, accessible, but out of your immediate attention.
This isn't about having fewer tasks. It's about seeing fewer tasks at once.
Categories as Projects
Tasks don't exist in isolation. They belong to projects, life areas, goals. MILO's category system lets you group related work with custom colors and drag-to-reorder organization. But here's the key: categories help you organize, not overwhelm.
Work Tracking for Multi-Day Tasks
Real work rarely fits in a single session. MILO tracks estimated days vs. actual days worked, giving you honest feedback about how long things really take—not how long you think they take.
Why Claude Code Integration Changed Everything
Here's where MILO becomes something special.
As a developer, I live in my terminal. Switching to a GUI to manage tasks breaks flow. So I built an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that lets Claude Code manage MILO directly:
"Create a task called 'Refactor auth module' with priority 1"
"Show me my signal queue"
"Mark the database migration task complete"
17 tools. Natural language. Zero context switching.
When I'm deep in code and remember something I need to do, I tell Claude. Task created. Back to coding. The friction disappeared.
Recent Updates: The Polish Pass
MILO just went through a major refinement phase. Here's what's new:
CRT-Inspired UI
The interface now has that vintage terminal feel—curved screen edges, subtle scanline effects, and theme customization. It's not just aesthetic. The warm CRT glow reduces eye strain during long focus sessions.
Command Palette (Cmd+K)
Full keyboard navigation. Jump between projects, create tasks, search everything—all without touching the mouse. Power users stay in flow.
Drag-and-Drop Everything
Projects. Tasks. Categories. All reorderable with virtual scrolling for performance. Your organizational structure is whatever you want it to be.
Task Execution Modal
Hit the launch button and MILO shows you exactly what's happening. Color-coded output, real-time progress, clear success/failure states. No more wondering if your task is running.
Chat with Persistent History
Built-in AI chat with typewriter effect and full history. Your conversations persist across sessions. Context carries forward.
Settings That Matter
Theme customization, API key management, preference controls. All in one clean settings page. No more digging through config files.
355 Tests Passing
Unit tests, E2E tests, API contract tests. 98%+ coverage on critical paths. MILO doesn't ship broken.
The Technical Details (For Fellow Builders)
MILO is built with:
- -Electron + React + TypeScript for the desktop app
- -SQLite via better-sqlite3 for local-first data
- -@modelcontextprotocol/sdk for Claude Code integration
- -TailwindCSS + Zod for clean UI and validation
- -Vitest + Playwright for comprehensive testing
The MCP server exposes:
- -11 task management tools (CRUD, lifecycle, signal queue, work tracking)
- -6 category management tools (projects, organization, reordering)
- -4 read-only resources (signal queue, backlog, categories, today's tasks)
Both the Electron app and MCP server share the same SQLite database. Changes from either appear instantly in both.
What's Next
MILO is just getting started. On the roadmap:
- -Activity monitoring - MILO will know when you've drifted off-task
- -Smart nudges - Gentle reminders that respect your flow
- -Time blocking integration - Connect signal queue to your calendar
- -Goal tracking - Tasks roll up into objectives, objectives into milestones
The vision is a system that doesn't just store your tasks—it actively helps you stay on mission.
The Philosophy
Every productivity tool promises to help you do more. MILO is different. It's designed to help you do what matters.
The goal isn't to check more boxes. It's to check the right boxes.
That's the signal.
Get MILO
MILO is open source and free. Clone it, build it, use it.
Quick Start
# Clone the repo
git clone https://github.com/eddiebe147/milo.git
cd milo
# Install dependencies
npm install
# Build and run
npm run build
npm start
Claude Code Integration
Add MILO as an MCP server in your Claude Code config:
{
"mcpServers": {
"milo": {
"command": "node",
"args": ["/path/to/milo/mcp-server/dist/index.js"]
}
}
}
Then just talk to Claude: "Show my signal queue" or "Create a task for..."
GitHub: eddiebe147/milo
Eddie Belaval is the founder of ID8Labs, building professional tools for the AI era. Previously a producer on 90 Day Fiancé and other reality TV series.