Methodology
How Radical Subtraction Works
Radical Subtraction is not productivity — it's leverage protection. Here is the mechanism behind the Pulse signal, the Kill List, and the Guardrail.
The paradigm shift
This is not a better productivity app. It is a different category of tool entirely.
Traditional productivity apps
"How can we pack more into your day?" They play calendar Tetris, auto-rescheduling tasks to help you survive an overloaded week. The outcome: an organized, exhausted, hyper-efficient operational worker.
Radical Subtraction™ Pulse
"How much of this can we kill?" A blunt governance engine that triggers hard psychological disruption before you touch your schedule. The outcome: a protected, high-status leader operating purely within their zone of highest authority.
The ROI argument
If this guardrail successfully forces a leader to delegate just one useless 60-minute meeting per week, it has saved them thousands of dollars in high-leverage time every single month. For an executive, paying $49 to protect their focus is a rounding error.
Frequently asked questions
- Is this a productivity or scheduling app?
- No. Radical Subtraction Pulse does not reschedule or auto-organize your calendar. It is a governance engine that flags dilution and forces a subtraction decision — the opposite mindset of tools that help you fit more in.
- How is the Pulse status calculated?
- The engine applies leverage-based heuristics: weekly meeting hours over 16, recurring meetings over 10, or 3+ clustered days trigger RED. Hours between 10-16 or recurring meetings between 7-10 trigger YELLOW. Anything below both thresholds is GREEN.
- What is the Kill List?
- A GPT-4o-generated, numbered list of 1-3 specific meetings to cancel or delegate immediately, based on your actual event names and load — written to be blunt and surgical, not diplomatic.
- What is the Execution Guardrail?
- A set of surgical coaching questions that surface automatically when dilution is high (RED status), designed to interrupt the reflex to simply accept another meeting.
- What is Digital Subtraction?
- A one-click, quick-copy Slack status message you can paste in to signal and protect a deep-work block you just reclaimed by cutting meetings.
- How do I get my calendar data in?
- Three ways: connect Google Calendar via OAuth for a live audit, upload a .ics export from any calendar app (Outlook, Apple Calendar, Calendly), or enter your hours and meeting names manually.
- How much does it cost?
- Every account starts with a 7-day active calibration trial. After that, an individual license is $49/month, or a corporate license for enterprise domains.