it kind of boggles my mind that it wouldn't be driven by some kind of javascript MVC framework, instead using old-fashioned complete page loads to operate.
It's not like a todo list isnt the prototypical example[1] of these frameworks.
I will never, ever, understand why I would like to delegate something so trivial and marginal to a distant server, for example:
Todo: change password from XXX to ZZZ.
I can imagine only procrastination as a valid reason to do so, because you can state that your todo-list isn't available to you, and its not your fault.
The "I want to do something else!" button does nothing for me. I have many "MUST" todos and only 1 "WANT" while trying this button. The button just brings me to the same single "WANT" I have.
I should probably have been more clear about that. When you indicate that you want to do something else, it will only pick from your "WANT" items - so if you only have one, it will keep coming up with the same item.
This is actually intentional; I've noticed that I got tempted to move aside a fun project to get more 'work' stuff done. The idea of only giving you a "MUST" after finishing the current "WANT" is that you'll have to take a break from work, before you can start with it again.
Another reason for doing this is that it would be quite unfair to give you a 'work' item when you don't feel like the 'play' suggestion it's making and just want to relax with something else - it would defeat the point of the 'play' part, and would make you afraid of clicking "something else", because it might come up with a 'work' item. It's all part of the "balance between work and play" thing :)
I'll change around the sidebar text in a few minutes, to clarify on this.
It's theoretically possible to 'skip' a MUST task by marking it done and then manually re-adding it to the list. Because that's a (comparative) hassle, it introduces a psychological barrier that will keep most people from doing it to 'cheat' (the equivalent of channel surfing), and will make them only skip a MUST item when absolutely necessary.
I haven't tried Workflowy but from the AppStore description it looks like a clone of TaskPaper or FoldingText (free form text with to dos / outlining / tagging). Isn't the main point of the poster's app that it chooses the next task for you?
It's not like a todo list isnt the prototypical example[1] of these frameworks.
[1] http://todomvc.com/