Get all your ducks in a row.
Get your documents, money, digital life and everyday admin under control, one manageable activity at a time. Some activities take 2–5 minutes. Others need longer. Know where to start, see your progress and pick up where you left off.
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- US$4.99, once
- No subscription
- 14-day refund
- Any device
Made by Naomi Shiels (about Naomi)
- Former lawyer
- ADF veteran
- Author of seven books
- Your documents never uploaded
- The Just-in-Case File
- Legal Life
- Money Plumbing
- Digital Life
- Home Base
- Time Architecture
- Paper Flow
- Points and Travel
- AI Crew
- Momentum
Sound familiar?
Right now, your ducks are everywhere.
A password on a sticky note. The will in a drawer, somewhere. An insurance renewal you remember the day after it renews. None of it is hard. It is just scattered.
Duck by Duck lines it up, one small activity at a time.
It is all fine, until the day it is not.
If you were suddenly not there, could someone find what they need?
The Just-in-Case File
Emergency information that someone you trust knows how to find.
Your phone dies. Can you still get into your email?
Digital Life
Organise passwords, backups and the information about your accounts.
How many bank accounts, cards and direct debits do you have? Exactly?
Money Plumbing
Organise your accounts, bills and regular payments.
The insurance renewal slips past, and you pay whatever they ask.
Home Base
Organise household records, insurance and maintenance.
- 10modules
- 103activities in all
- 26take five minutes or less
- 69take a quarter of an hour or less
Times are our estimates, not yet measured with members.
Real progress comes in different sizes.
Three real activities from the programme. Every activity tells you what it involves and roughly how long it takes before you start.
A short one
Put your home insurance renewal month in the diary, with a note to read the policy before you pay
- Time
- About 2 minutes
- You end up with
- A reminder exists, so the renewal does not sneak past you.
- Module
- Home Base
A focused session
List every institution that holds or owes you money on one page
- Time
- About 45 minutes
- You end up with
- An overview of every account and lender, in one place.
- Module
- Money Plumbing
A staged task
Build your Just-in-Case File: emergency information someone you trust can find
- Time
- 14 activities, about three and a half hours in total, over as many sittings as you like
- You end up with
- Your information is organised, someone knows where it is, and they have tested finding it.
- Module
- The Just-in-Case File
Times are our estimates and have not yet been measured with members. Appointments and anything that depends on someone else take as long as they take.
How it works
Step 1
Start somewhere sensible
Take the free Duck Check or just open your dashboard. It suggests one next activity and says why.
Step 2
Do one real thing
Each activity says what you need, what to do and what done looks like. Stop at any point; your place is saved.
Step 3
Tick it when it is real
You mark an activity done yourself, when the real-world thing exists. Nothing completes itself.
Step 4
See it add up
Finish every activity in a module and that module is done. Ten modules in all, at your own pace.
Ducklings are activities.
Ducks are modules. Finish its ducklings and the duck joins your row.
No streaks, no guilt notifications, nothing lost if you stop for a month.
Try it now
Which of your ducks are out of line?
Tap any area that feels messy right now. Nothing is saved or sent.
Or take the full Duck CheckWhat you see when you sign in
The dashboard leads with the next useful activity, then shows all ten modules and how far through each you are. Lessons are written to be read in a few minutes.
Your dashboard
Do next
Every institution that holds or owes my money is on one page
Money Plumbing · About 45 minutes
Pick up where you left offDo next
Every institution that holds or owes my money is on one page
Money Plumbing · About 45 minutes
You started this and have not finished it yet.
Pick up where you left off2 of 10 modules finished
- The Just-in-Case File14/14 · done
- Legal Life2/9 · in progress
- Money Plumbing4/11 · in progress
- Digital Life0/11 · not started
- Home Base0/10 · not started
- Time Architecture10/10 · done
- Paper Flow1/10 · in progress
- Points and Travel0/10 · not started
- AI Crew0/10 · not started
- Momentum0/8 · not started
Lesson 1Written on a good day
Pilots do not use checklists because we are stupid. We use them because under pressure, smart people forget things, and the cockpit is not the place to discover which things. The checklist exists for the worst day, written on a good one.
The Just-in-Case File is the same object for your life. It is one folder, physical and digital, that answers every question your family would need answered if you were suddenly not available to answer them.
Activities in this module (first three of 14)
- Binder exists, labelled Just-in-Case File, nine dividers inAbout 15 minutes · done
- Read Me First page written in my own wordsAbout 20 minutes · in progress
- Identity section completeAbout 20 minutes · not started
The programme: ten modules
Start with whichever one matters most to you. All ten are included and available from day one.
Get Sorted
The one-off admin, done once and done properly.
The Just-in-Case File
Emergency information that someone you trust knows how to find.
14 activities
Legal Life
Get ready for the legal documents that matter, and for the professional help they need.
9 activities
Money Plumbing
Organise your accounts, bills and regular payments.
11 activities
Digital Life
Organise passwords, backups and the information about your accounts.
11 activities
Home Base
Organise household records, insurance and maintenance.
10 activities
Run Your Life
The systems that keep it that way.
Time Architecture
Organise your calendars and plan your week.
10 activities
Paper Flow
Deal with incoming paperwork and keep records findable.
10 activities
Points and Travel
Organise loyalty programmes and travel admin.
10 activities
AI Crew
Set up useful AI help, with clear limits on what it sees.
10 activities
Momentum
Keep routines going, and restart them after life gets in the way.
8 activities
One account, wherever you are
On the website, today
Duck by Duck runs in the browser on any phone, tablet or computer. Sign in anywhere and your progress is there.
iPhone and Android apps, coming
The apps sign in to the same account and show the same progress. They are built but not yet in the App Store or on Google Play, and you will not pay twice for them.
Why it exists
“The gap between people who look organised and people who are organised is enormous, and it only becomes visible at the worst possible moment, to the people who love them most.”
Naomi Shiels, founder. Former lawyer, ADF veteran, author of seven books, mother. About Naomi
Your documents stay with you
- Your will, passport and passwords live in your own binder, password manager or cloud. There is nowhere here to upload them.
- We store your account, your progress and a record of your payment. That is all.
- The privacy page says the rest in plain English.
Price and access
One payment
US$4.99
One payment for the whole programme. Your access has no expiry date and nothing renews.
- All ten modules
- Every checklist and template
- Any phone, tablet or computer
- Full refund within 14 days
The whole programme, all ten modules. Changed your mind? Ask within 14 days of paying and we refund you in full, no questions asked. A refund ends your access. Prices are in US dollars. Paying in another currency? Your bank converts the amount and may add its own fee.
See what is includedQuestions
How long does it take?
It depends on the activity, and we say which before you start. Some take about two to five minutes, like putting an insurance renewal month in your diary. Others need a focused session of half an hour or more, like listing every account you hold. A few span several sittings or depend on someone else, like booking a professional appointment and then waiting for it. Times shown are our estimates and have not yet been measured with members.
Is there an app?
The website works on any phone, tablet or computer, and that is how members use Duck by Duck today. iPhone and Android apps that sign in to the same account and show the same progress are built but not yet in the App Store or on Google Play; we will say so here when they are.
Can I use it outside Australia?
Yes. Anyone, anywhere, can join, and the organising methods work wherever you live. Duck by Duck is written in English only. It was written in Australia, so a few lessons, mostly in Legal Life, Money Plumbing and parts of the Just-in-Case File, use Australian examples and rules such as superannuation and Australian powers of attorney. If you live elsewhere, treat those parts as worked examples and check how it works where you live. We have not yet written country-by-country guidance.
Do you store my documents or passwords?
No. You keep your will, passport, passwords and every other document in your own binder, password manager or cloud storage. Duck by Duck only stores your account, your progress through the activities, and a record of your payment. There is nowhere on the site to upload a document, and we will never ask you to.
What if I stop for a while?
Nothing is lost. There are no streaks to break and no guilt notifications. Your progress stays exactly where you left it, and the dashboard shows you the next sensible step when you come back. The last module, Momentum, is about restarting after life gets in the way.
More in all questions and on the Help page.
Start with one duckling.
Not sure where? The Duck Check takes about two minutes, needs no email, and suggests a first activity.