Motion vs. Amie: Your Calendar Is About to Change

Productivity apps promise organization but give you more things to organize. They promise clarity but add more complexity. They promise time savings but create new tasks to manage.

But something interesting is happening in this space.

Two new tools, Motion and Amie, are approaching the problem differently. Instead of adding to your cognitive load, they’re trying to reduce it.

Motion eliminates the hundreds of tiny decisions you make when planning your day.

Amie does something equally interesting: it merges your calendar, tasks, and email into a single view that makes sense.

In reality, every email is a potential task. Every task needs time on your calendar. Every meeting creates new tasks and emails.

This article isn’t just about comparing two tools. It’s about understanding a fundamental shift in how we might work.

I’ll show you how these tools handle real work situations—like when your morning meeting runs long, or when a high-priority task lands in your inbox at 4 PM.

More importantly, I’ll help you understand which approach might work better for your particular way of working.

Let’s dig in.

TL;DR Summary

But Motion and Amie are different. They’re trying to reduce cognitive load, not add to it. Here’s what you need to know:

Motion:

• Plans your entire schedule automatically
• Reshuffles everything when meetings run long
• Find perfect slots for urgent tasks
• Manages team capacity and project timelines

It’s best for people who:

1. Want AI to make all their scheduling decisions
2. Need serious project management features
3. Work with teams and complex projects
4. Don’t mind spending time on the initial setup

Amie is where:

• Your calendar, tasks, and email live in one place
• Everything’s visible but nothing’s cluttered
• You can drag tasks right onto your calendar
• Email becomes calendar events with zero friction

It’s perfect for people who:

1. Want everything in one beautiful interface
2. Prefer simplicity over automation
3. Need seamless email integration
4. Like to maintain control over their schedule

Motion believes the solution is eliminating decisions. Amie believes it’s unifying your workspace.

The price difference tells you something too. Motion starts at $34/month because it’s trying to be your entire work operating system.

Amie costs $13.60/month because it’s trying to be the cleanest desk you’ve ever had.

Choose Motion if you want AI to run your work life. Choose Amie if you want to run it yourself, just more elegantly.

Motion Overview

Motion is an AI-powered productivity app that automatically plans your work schedule, prioritizes tasks, and adapts your calendar in real-time.

When we manually plan our days, we make hundreds of micro-decisions.

Motion eliminates these decisions entirely. You can add your tasks and meetings, set your working hours and preferences, and the AI creates your optimal schedule.

But how it handles real work situations is some next-level stuff:

Your morning meeting runs 30 minutes over?

Motion instantly reshuffles your schedule to keep you on track.

A high-priority task comes in?

The system immediately finds the best time slot while keeping all your existing commitments and deadlines intact.

Team member calls in sick?

The group project timeline automatically adjusts.

The technical core of Motion is its Happiness Algorithm. It is an AI system that processes hundreds of variables about your work style, energy levels, task dependencies, and deadlines to create schedules that work for you.

For teams, Motion transforms project management.

Each team member gets a personalized schedule that updates automatically as project needs change.

Motion understands who’s working on what, when they’re available, and how long tasks typically take – then creates individual plans that ensure everything gets done on time.

What this means for your daily work:

• Every morning, you know exactly what to focus on.
• Your calendar protects time for deep work.
• Meetings get scheduled at optimal times.
• Deadlines become realistic and achievable.
• Project timelines stay accurate and updated.

Motion expects and adapts to the messiness of real work life. When things don’t go as planned, it adjusts automatically.

What we like about Motion

• Eliminates decision fatigue by handling all scheduling decisions
• Proactively warns about deadline risks weeks before they become critical
• Prevents overcommitment by calculating actual available working hours
• Creates realistic project timelines based on team capacity and existing workload
• Automatically protects deep work time by scheduling meetings in clusters
• Provides early warnings when project timelines become unrealistic
• Shows exact workload distribution across team members in real-time

What we don’t like about Motion

• Requires significant initial setup time to properly configure preferences and work patterns
• Premium features like workflow automation limited to Business plan users
• No built-in time tracking in the Individual plan
• Limited customization options for the AI’s scheduling preferences
• Meeting scheduling features require attendees to use Motion’s booking system
• No offline mode for working without an internet connection
• Integration with project management tools requires Zapier for most connections

Motion’s Platform Availability

• Web app.
• Mobile app: Android and iOS (iPhone).
• Desktop app: Windows and Mac.

Amie Overview

Amie is a calendar app that combines your schedule, tasks, and email into a single, visually pleasing workspace.

But that’s just what it does, not what makes it important.

The real story of Amie starts with a problem we all face—our work lives are scattered across too many tools.

Your calendar shows one version of your day. Your task list shows another. Your email holds yet more commitments. And somehow you’re supposed to keep it all straight in your head.

When someone emails you about a meeting, you can create the calendar event right there in Amie.

When you need to block time for a task, you drag it directly onto your calendar. When you’re looking at your schedule, you can see your complete workload – not just meetings.

The email integration deserves special attention.

Unlike basic calendar apps that just send and receive invites, Amie lets you handle all your emails without leaving your calendar view.

Each email can immediately become a scheduled task or meeting, with no friction in between.

But Amie isn’t perfect.

The project management features are basic compared to what we saw in Motion.

There’s no automatic rescheduling when meetings run long. The AI scheduling features are still developing.

The integrations with Todoist, Spotify, and Google Meet are thoughtfully implemented.

The Spotify integration, for example, turns your calendar into a record of not just what you did, but what soundtrack accompanied your work.

What we like about Amie

• Unifies your calendar, tasks, and email in one view
• Transforms emails into calendar events or tasks with zero friction
• Lets you drag tasks directly onto your calendar
• Provides full email functionality within your calendar view
• Shows your complete workload (not just meetings) in the calendar view
• Integrates with Spotify to create a timestamped soundtrack of your workday

What we don’t like about Amie

• Lacks Motion’s intelligent auto-rescheduling when meetings run over
• Offers basic project management features only
• Missing AI-powered scheduling optimization
• Can’t automatically protect deep work time like Motion does with meeting clustering
• Doesn’t calculate team capacity or provide workload distribution insights

Amie’s Platform Availability

• Web app
• Mobile app: iOS.
• Desktop app: Windows & Mac.

With that out of the way, let’s get on with how Motion and Amie compare with their best productivity features.

User Interface

When two products are both exceptionally good at what they do, comparing them becomes harder, not easier.

Motion is comprehensive. Its sidebars are like a busy restaurant menu—everything you might want is there. Tasks, projects, settings, meeting scheduling. The works.

Amie took the opposite approach. Their sidebar has exactly one feature: creating tasks. That’s it.

You might think this would make Amie feel limited. It doesn’t.

Instead of cramming everything into a sidebar, they float a few essential tools at the bottom of your screen—search, AI chat, and meeting notes.

Both approaches work surprisingly well. The interfaces are so polished that using either feels smooth and natural.

Motion is built for people who want everything in predictable places, like a well-organized desk where every drawer has its purpose.

Amie is for those who prefer a clean workspace with just their essential tools floating nearby.

Task Management

You’ll only use an app if creating tasks is as effortless as having a thought. That’s what makes Motion interesting. You just hit ‘T’ and you’re ready to go.

Most task managers give you a form to fill out. Motion gives you possibilities. You can specify everything from priority to duration, but here’s the crucial part: you don’t have to.

The AI can figure out a lot of this for you.

This might seem like a small thing, but it’s not. The difference between a two-step process and a one-step process is the difference between using something and not using it.

The real power comes from what I call “task gravity” — the way Motion pulls everything into its orbit.

Your emails can become tasks automatically. Just forward them to Motion. The AI reads them like a human would, extracting deadlines and priorities.

The weekly agenda view is where things get interesting. You can drag tasks directly onto your calendar.

Motion is solving a problem that’s plagued knowledge workers since the invention of the calendar. The artificial divide between “what I need to do” and “when I’ll do it.”

When it comes to task management, Amie stripped everything down to its essence. There’s just a sidebar. That’s it.

But the real magic isn’t what you see—it’s how you talk to it.

Instead of filling out forms, you just write what you want. “Bring milk today at 1 PM” is all you need to type. Amie figures out the rest.

The floating search is another example of this philosophy. Most software makes you go to a specific place to search. Amie’s search follows you, like a good assistant would.

Tab between different types of items, or search everything at once. It’s the search that works as your brain does.

The timer feature shows how simplicity and power can coexist. It’s right there in your calendar, where you need it. Just click and start.

All the usual task management features are there too—duration, repeating tasks, priorities, and deadlines.

But they’re not shoved in your face. They’re there when you need them, invisible when you don’t.

The AI scheduling feature is particularly interesting.

Most task managers make you your own AI, constantly juggling priorities and times. Amie just does it for you.

Calendar Management

Here’s something interesting about calendars: they haven’t really changed since the Romans invented them.

Motion and Amie are trying to change that. But they’re taking different paths up the mountain.

Let’s talk about Motion first.

Motion’s calendar has a tool for every situation.

Take the clock icon. It’s not just a clock; it’s a mission control center for your time. Start tasks later, end them early, block out hours, or write off entire days.

Most calendar apps assume perfect execution. Motion assumes chaos because that’s what real work is like.

Think about it. When was the last time your day went exactly as planned?

The ability to add multiple calendar accounts (Google, Outlook, iCloud) reflects this reality.

Most of us live in several worlds simultaneously – work, personal, and side projects. Motion gets this.

Amie looked at the same problem and came to a different conclusion.

Their calendar interface looks similar to Motion’s on the surface. They’re both well-designed, but they’re built for different missions.

Take the timezone feature. Motion limits you to two time zones. Amie lets you add as many as you want.

But Amie’s approach has its own wisdom. By focusing solely on Google Calendar integration (compared to Motion’s support for multiple calendar services), they’ve been able to dig deeper.

The sub-calendar customization options in Amie are more refined and more thoughtful.

This brings us back to a principle I’ve observed repeatedly in software: depth versus breadth. Motion chose breadth – multiple calendar services with solid integration.

Amie chose depth – one calendar service with exceptional integration.

What’s fascinating is how these choices ripple through the entire user experience.

Remember how Motion’s interface is comprehensive, with everything in predictable places?

Their calendar features follow the same philosophy. Every option is there, visible, waiting to be used.

Amie’s minimalist sidebar philosophy?

That carries through to their calendar too. The features are there, but they’re not in your face. They emerge when needed, then gracefully disappear.

When you understand this, the feature differences between Motion and Amie start to make more sense.

They’re not really competing on features. They’re competing on different theories of how to reduce cognitive load.

Project Management

Amie made a deliberate choice not to compete in project management.

Motion, on the other hand, went all in on project management. And they did something clever that most project management tools miss.

When you hit ‘P’ (or click the blue ‘+ Project’ button), the first thing Motion shows you isn’t a blank project.

It’s a collection of templates. This is brilliant in a subtle way.

Think about what happens when you’re starting a new project. There are usually two scenarios:

1. You know exactly what you need (rare)
2. You have a vague idea but could use some guidance (common)

Motion optimizes for the common case.

The templates aren’t just forms to fill out. They’re like having an experienced project manager whisper in your ear, “Here’s how we typically handle this kind of project.”

Look at how Motion handles views – List, Kanban, and Gantt. Most project management tools make you choose one. Motion doesn’t.

This mirrors what we saw in the calendar interface. Just as Motion assumes you live in multiple worlds (work, personal, side projects), it assumes you think about projects in multiple ways.

Sometimes you need a list to get clarity. Sometimes you need a Kanban board to see flow. Sometimes you need a Gantt chart to understand dependencies.

Meeting Scheduling

Scheduling meetings is one of those things that seems like it should be simple but isn’t.

I’ve been thinking about this problem lately while looking at tools like Motion. What’s interesting isn’t just what they do, but what their approach reveals about how we work.

The core idea is pretty straightforward:

You create booking links that others can use to schedule time with you. But the details matter a lot here.

When you make a booking link in Motion, you’re essentially creating a mini-program that runs your scheduling logic.

You tell it your work hours, how much buffer time you need between meetings, and how many meetings you’re willing to do per day.

What’s clever about their approach is the one-time link feature.

Instead of maintaining a permanent portal into your calendar, you can quickly drag and drop available slots and generate a temporary link.

Motion’s booking page looks like this:

Moving on to Amie, it has a much simpler yet beautiful meeting scheduling capability.

All you have to do is click on ‘Share‘ at the top right corner and then click ‘Create link‘.

Next, drag and drop the available slots as we do in Motion and click ‘Create‘.

Boom! You can copy the message or the link of your booking page that looks like this:

Talking about meetings, here’s something from Amie that Motion hasn’t thought about yet: meeting notes.

Amie allows you to take meeting notes in a simple three-step process.

1. Join a meeting (with automatic recording).
2. Generate notes with summary, todos, and transcript.
3. Share it with anyone to view.

Overall, Amie provides a much better user experience and feature set when it comes to meeting scheduling.

Integrations

Motion integrates with:

• Google Calendar
• Zoom
• Zapier
• Gmail
• Microsoft Teams
• Google Meet
• Microsoft Outlook 365
• iCloud Calendar
• and Siri.

Amie integrates with:

• Slack
• Apple Calendar (available for macOS only)
• Spotify
• Zoom
• Linear
• Notion
• Todoist
• TickTick
• and Things.

Both Motion and Amie provide valuable integrations that cater to different user needs.

Motion focuses on automation and collaboration for teams, while Amie emphasizes seamless integration of emails and natural language scheduling for individual users.

How Does Motion & Amie’s Price Compare?

Let’s look at Motion first. Their pricing starts at $34/month ($19 per month if billed annually) for individuals.

But what’s really interesting is their business plan at $20/member/month ($12 per month on annual billing).

The individual plan gives you the AI scheduling, project management, and calendar features we discussed earlier.

The business plan adds workflow automation, time tracking, and team planning.

Amie takes a different approach. Their pricing is as minimalist as their sidebar – $13.60/month for everything we discussed in this article.

The Verdict: Which One Should You Choose?

After spending considerable time with both Motion and Amie, I’ve realized something interesting:

They’re not really competing with each other. They’re competing with different problems.

Motion is fighting the problem of decision fatigue.

Every time you have to decide when to do something, what to prioritize, or how to adjust when things go wrong, you’re burning mental energy.

Motion’s bet is that AI can make better decisions about these things than you can.

Amie is fighting a different battle:

The fragmentation of our work life. Every time you have to switch between your calendar, email, and task list, you’re losing context.

Amie’s bet is that unification, not automation, is the key to productivity.

So here’s how to decide:

Choose Motion if:

1. You hate making scheduling decisions
2. You work with teams on complex projects
3. You want AI to optimize your workday
4. You’re willing to trust automation
5. You need serious project management features

Choose Amie if:

1. You want to maintain control over your schedule
2. You value elegant simplicity
3. You need seamless email integration
4. You prefer having everything in one view
5. Your work is more individual than team-based

And if neither of these descriptions fits you?

Maybe you don’t need either tool. That’s fine too.

Choose accordingly.