Timestripe: What kind of to-do app is the closest life planner? - Minority Report
Omnivore#
Timestripe: What kind of to-do app is the closest life planner?
Perhaps you are already used to using Things 3, OmniFocus, and TickTick to complete daily tasks;
Perhaps you are already used to using Notion, Fibery, and Trello for project management;
Perhaps you are already used to using Goal Canning, Goal Mapping, and Pixel Habits to cultivate habits;
Perhaps you are already used to using Cron and Calendar to manage schedules.
So have you ever thought about integrating them?
If you have, then I suggest you give Timestripe a try, not because it is perfect in all aspects, but because it is the best, most beautiful, and closest tool that combines all of the above functions and is suitable for life and work scenarios.
In fact, as early as 2021, Minority Report had a brief introduction about Timestripe, which basically covered the core functions of the software. If you are not interested in specific usage scenarios and ideas and just want a simplified introduction, you can click on the card below to go directly.
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In the following text, I will introduce the main functions of Timestripe in modules and explore how they are connected according to a certain product philosophy.
Breaking Down and Organizing Tasks with Horizon#
When you open Timestripe's website or app, the first thing you will notice is its most iconic and well-known feature, the Horizon view. In this view, you can see Today, Week, Month, Year, and Life arranged from left to right. Of course, you can also add options such as quarter (quarterly) according to your needs.
The most basic element of Timestripe is called Goal, which is similar to a to-do item in practical use.
Through the Horizon view, you can easily see the hierarchical relationship from daily goals to weekly goals, then to monthly goals, yearly goals, and life goals on one page. At the same time, there are separate daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly views under the horizon, allowing users to allocate tasks in the same dimension.
Horizon view
So how do you use the Horizon view specifically?
Generally speaking, there are two ways to use it. One way is to break down goals from top to bottom on the levels of year, month, week, and day, so that one goal becomes a sub-goal of another goal. This is one method. To achieve this breakdown of goals, they support setting unlimited levels of sub-goals. You can set a task to be completed today, which is also part of your weekly goal and part of your monthly goal.
The other method is the one I currently use more often. Since most tasks are at the same granularity, I often plan which tasks I want to complete in a month and write them all in the list for that month. At the beginning of the month or during the month, I drag these tasks one by one from the monthly view to the weekly view. Then, in each week, I drag the weekly goals to each day. And after assigning goals for each day/week/month, I abstract the goals at the higher level from bottom to top. The advantage of doing this is that it allows the monthly/weekly view to serve as an Inbox-like function in the GTD system. However, although it is similar to an Inbox, it has a certain time attribute that can help us focus on the most important tasks in the current stage.
In general, I recommend combining these two usage methods. Some people may feel a sense of familiarity with this approach, yes, it actually aligns with the OKR approach. Only when your Objective combines top-down and bottom-up inputs can it be truly achievable.
Task Management with Board#
So, besides breaking down tasks based on time, are there any other ways to organize tasks and goals? After all, if you only manage to-do items based on time, it may just be an ordinary scheduling and to-do app. However, the uniqueness of Timestripe lies in its various Boards that users can choose from.
Use Cases for Boards#
Boards can be copied from the official Gallery templates or created by users themselves. Each Board consists of several lists, and users can put goals or tasks in any form into these lists and drag them between different lists. Different colors and dividers can also be added to different goals. You can create countless variations if you want.
Simplest board view
For example, you can use dedicated boards to plan travel itineraries. Taking my Japan travel board as an example, I would add various lists such as transportation, dining, attractions, and accommodation. I would then break down these tasks in these lists and assign them time attributes. When specific dates or weeks arrive, they will automatically appear in the corresponding horizon view.
Travel plan
In addition, I also use a creative board where I can divide my writing into different stages, from the initial inspiration to the writing and editing stages. I can even create a list to temporarily store content that needs more research or is temporarily put aside due to lack of time. It is very flexible.
Linking Boards and Horizon#
At the beginning of the article, I mentioned that Timestripe's most prominent feature is the integration of various functions. This integration is not simply stitching various functions together without interaction or a forced combination. Instead, it combines these aspects organically based on its own design philosophy and through mutual connections, allowing you to have a better plan for your daily life and personal goals.
The linking of Boards and Horizon embodies the advantages of this integration.
In these boards, each task can be assigned a time attribute, such as specifying a year, month, week, or day. This corresponds one-to-one with the Horizon view mentioned earlier. Goals with time attributes set will be automatically added to different lists in the Horizon view. Therefore, each to-do item in a project can be transformed into a goal on a specific time dimension, allowing these to-do items to integrate into daily life and work, reducing the resistance to scheduling.
Moreover, there is a dedicated calendar-like timetable view for each day, which, combined with the synchronization with the system calendar, can better manage life.
In Timestripe, each task can be expanded for rich text editing. Similar to the operation in Notion, users can embed various modules, making it very convenient and flexible. Users can even consider Timestripe itself as a note-taking app. For example, there is a template in the Gallery specifically designed for students to record their notes in courses, store various files, and manage assignments.
Climb#
So, if you don't know how to break down your goals, how do you get started? In Timestripe, there is a special feature called Climb, which provides many pre-set projects by other users. For example, "Learn Programming in 30 Days," "Learn Writing in 30 Days," "Develop Good Sleep Habits in 7 Days," and so on. When a fixed time comes, the related tasks will be unlocked and appear in your daily or weekly view.
With Climb, Timestripe can even become a habit-building tool or a learning tool. By combining habits and daily to-do items, users can check in every day or follow the ideas of Climb creators. Users can also create their own Climb for personal use and share it in the community.
Other Views#
Data View#
Timestripe has a dedicated data view that calculates how many goals were created, completed, and updated each day. Through this view, users can understand how many tasks they have completed based on data (giving a sense of achievement).
Calendar View#
Calendar view
The calendar view visually shows the current position of the time node in different dimensions. At the same time, users can switch between reviewing and looking ahead to see the goals they have completed in the past and the goals they will face in the next stage.
Other Views#
The other views in Timestripe have more aesthetic value than practical value. However, these views reflect Timestripe's design philosophy and concept.
For example, the dot-filled view is called Overview. Each dot represents one to two months in a year. As you hover over these dots, you can see what famous people have done on that day, at that time point, at their corresponding age. For example, when I hover over the year 2031, I can see what great things famous people have done at the age of 37 and what I can achieve if I do certain things starting from now until that year.
Overview view
Another view, the Clock view, shows the passage of time from different dimensions. Users can clearly see which stage of life they are currently in and which moment of the year. This also reflects Timestripe's design philosophy, which attempts to help users divide their goals from different time dimensions, develop habits, break down habits, and better plan their life goals.
Clock view
Recently, Timestripe launched its mobile app, allowing users to truly integrate to-do items into their daily lives, rather than just being a planning tool for work. This undoubtedly expands the usage scenarios of Timestripe.
To illustrate with a very simple example, I set up a board called "Delivery." Since there are four different delivery points near my home, I can put the information of the packages I receive into the corresponding lists every day. Then, I can view all the pickup codes for the packages in the Today view or quickly retrieve all the delivery information at a specific delivery point through the lists when I arrive there.
Another use case is to create an inbox board to consolidate all the items to be read/listened to/finished/tried later. Whenever I come across interesting apps, good songs, or books I want to read later, I can put them in different lists in the inbox board, review them regularly, and plan their time information so that I can complete these goals even if they are not urgent.
Mobile interface
In addition, Timestripe also provides collaboration features. Timestripe's company roadmap, onboarding, and other boards are built on this feature and can be viewed by all users. In terms of personal collaboration, for example, you can collaborate with family members to manage a travel board and plan travel to-do items together.
Conclusion#
Timestripe may not be the best to-do app, the best project management app, the best habit-building app, or the best calendar app. However, it is the best software that combines these functions, and it is the tool that is closest to life and work scenarios. Moreover, the team has its own development ideas and is currently working on two-way synchronization with Google Calendar, which will undoubtedly make it more closely integrated with our schedule management. Through Timestripe, you can do light project management at work and collaborate and plan your life better. As the title suggests, Timestripe may be the most suitable life planner for you.
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