Most people I've presented this idea to don't have much to say about it. If you had a similar reaction, I'm curious, is it because:
1) tl;dr
2) tried to read it, but fell asleep/zoned out
3) read it; didn't get it
4) don't think it's monetizable
5) too trivial
6) already busy building it
Heh, was this in response to my "Ask HN" earlier today? :) I agree that these list based systems are always trumped by a text file or pen/paper for portability and simplicity. However, having tried so many list-based systems as well as the "simpler methods", I still found myself just not getting things done. That's why I built http://todoneapp.com, which is really an experiment with a new methodology for doing things. The point isn't to organize you, it's to compel you to fulfill promises to yourself, in a way. This is the system I needed to help me pull weeds. Putting it down on paper wasn't helping. Building a system that allowed me to say "I need to pull the weeds" and at some point asking it "What should I do now?" to be told "You should pull the weeds. Go away and pull the weeds." That's what I needed. It's much easier to do something that "someone else" is telling you to do, than listening to yourself tell you to do it. YMMV of course. :)
Nudging may be a bit brute force, but I was definitely thinking about the live search -- primarily as a mechanism for preventing you from entering duplicate todos -- could also effectively be used as a search that way.
I've only really shown it to friends and family so far, so I appreciate the feedback. Seeing all the todos you've entered so far does seem to be a common request. Of course everything with this app represents a line in the sand - once crossed, it becomes a regular (horribly underfeatured) todo app.
I've thought about making the list available, but in an intentionally inconvient format, such as comma separated and horizontally laid out, and on another page, so you will only consult it to remember what you've entered. It's all about keeping the constraints to steer you to interact with the app in a way that's actually productive.
Re: motivation, I agree. Hard to make any "productivity" tools sticky, unless they really do improve your life. I have a couple ideas though.
1) tl;dr 2) tried to read it, but fell asleep/zoned out 3) read it; didn't get it 4) don't think it's monetizable 5) too trivial 6) already busy building it
Thanks :)