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The project
Sometimes a random idea lands in your lap and quietly takes over your entire week. This project was one of those moments. I didn’t set out to build a productivity device, and yet somehow I ended up creating something that genuinely changed the way I get things done.
It all started with… a receipt printer.
The Strange Beginning
During a completely justified session of browsing components on my go-to site, I stumbled on something I never expected to see there: a thermal receipt printer.
Not a fancy DIY module. Not a “printer-like device.”
A literal receipt printer. The kind you’d see at a shop till.
I stared at it for a moment, questioned my sanity, then bought it anyway.
A few days later it arrived—no manual, two mysterious cable bundles, and a single self-test receipt tucked inside. I powered it with 9V from my bench supply, pressed the feed button, and watched it spit out paper. A good sign.
After some Googling and a lot of confusion, I managed to trigger another test print. Technically I hadn’t achieved much, but the tiny win felt glorious.
And then… it sat on my desk for days.
The Idea That Finally Hit
One afternoon I remembered how restaurant kitchens manage their orders: small receipts clipped onto an order rail, physically moved along as each dish is completed. There’s something very satisfying about seeing progress that way.
So I wondered…
What if I used a receipt printer to manage my to-do list?
Not handwritten scraps, but real tasks—printed automatically from my favourite task manager, Todoist.
Suddenly the idea clicked. The printer could:
- Print each task as a physical “ticket”
- Give me that dopamine hit when I rip it off
- Let me move them around, track them visually, and tick them off
A tactile, fun way to push through the day.
Gathering the Parts
Once the idea took hold, the rest moved quickly.
I grabbed:
- An ESP32 dev board (because Wi-Fi + API calls)
- A tiny OLED screen for status messages
- A NeoPixel LED ring for visual feedback
- A voltage regulator, a button, and cleaner wiring
- And of course, the receipt printer
As always, I broke the project in on a breadboard first. After a few connection issues (and a debugging session with ChatGPT), the ESP finally started pulling tasks from Todoist and printing them one by one.
Watching that first task appear on real thermal paper was a pure “YES!” moment.
Moving From Prototype to Real Build
With the electronics working, it was time to make the project permanent.
I jumped into KiCad, drew the schematic, designed a custom PCB, and sent the files off to PCBWay, the sponsor of the video. Their ordering process is ridiculously simple—upload the Gerbers, get an instant quote, and wait for the boards to show up. Mine arrived in just over a week.
This build was also my first time really leaning into:
- Thinner-gauge wiring
- JST connectors for clean assembly
Both made a huge difference in tidiness and reliability.
Once the electronics were assembled, I modelled a full enclosure in Fusion 360 to bring everything together into a single polished device.
How It Works
Using it is simple:
- Power it via a 9V DC plug
- LEDs flash blue while it connects to Wi-Fi + Todoist
- A white heartbeat indicates it’s ready
- Press the button → it prints your next task
- The OLED updates your progress
- Once all tasks are complete, you get:
- A motivational message
- A full rainbow LED celebration
You can also long-press the button to print every task currently in Todoist in one go.
The printout itself is intentionally simple:
- The date at the top
- The task name
- A tick box you can mark off by hand
It’s minimal, clean, and surprisingly satisfying.
So… Why Build This?
Let’s be honest: this is a gloriously overengineered to-do list.
But here’s the thing:
It makes productivity fun.
There’s something about turning digital tasks into physical tickets—you feel the progress. You get a tangible reward for completing things. You can move them around, pin them up, throw them away when done.
And in a world where almost everything is digital and a bit joyless, a small physical ritual like this brings back some of that spark.
Final Thoughts
This entire project started from a random purchase and turned into something genuinely useful. It’s made getting through my daily tasks more enjoyable, more visual, and weirdly… a little addictive.
If you want to build your own, I’ve shared the code, PCB files, and 3D models in the video’s description. And huge thanks again to PCBWay for making the final build possible.
Sometimes you don’t need a plan.
Sometimes you just need a strange component, a bit of curiosity, and the willingness to see where it leads.