A semester of problem sets, one week at a time
Maya is in the second year of a math degree: three courses, a problem set due most weeks, and finals in December. This is one of her weeks, and the six moments in it where HourLife does its work.
- 3 courses
- A problem set most weeks
- Finals in December
Maya's week, Monday first. Each lit hour is a moment below.
Maya is an example, not a customer. The week is made up; everything HourLife does in it, the app does today.
The week without a system
A math degree is not hard to plan because there is too much on it. It is hard because the work is uneven. One question on a problem set takes ten minutes and the next takes three evenings. A reading looks short until the proofs start. The exam is far away until it is suddenly not.
So the plan lives in four places: the course site, a notes app, a paper diary, and the back of a lecture handout. None of them knows how far through the textbook she is, and none of them can say whether the week went to the course that needed it.
A week with HourLife
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Hour 8 of 168 Monday 08:00
Three priorities, and one of them first
Monday starts on Today. “Start your day” asks how much energy she has and for three priorities: problem set 4 for linear algebra, the analysis reading, and a question for office hours.
She stars the problem set. A starred task is the day's one thing and sits at the top of Today, however long the rest of the list gets.
Today in the guide Free
Today on a Sunday evening, with the week's hours and Sunday marked, your One Thing, “Today's overview”, the Brain field and today's three focus items. -
2 hours later Monday 10:00
How many lectures are left, at her pace
Each course is in Learning, counted in lectures, and the analysis textbook is counted in pages. After the lecture she logs where she is.
Learning divides what is left by her pace since the start of term, so each card says how long the rest will take if she keeps going as she has. When the textbook reads five weeks and finals are four weeks out, she finds out in October rather than December.
Learning in the guide Premium
Courses chosen, with a course counted in lessons, “Lesson 14 of 23”, and what is left. -
28 hours later Tuesday 14:00
Fifty minutes on question 3
Tuesday afternoon goes to the problem set. She opens Focus, links the session to the task, sets the dial to 50 minutes and starts.
Each finished session adds a Pomodoro to the task, so by Thursday “Problem set 4” shows the four sessions question 3 took. Breaks show on the day's thread in grey and never count as focus.
Focus in the guide Free
Focus before a session: “What are you working on?”, the Focus, Short, Long and Custom chips, and a 25-minute dial. -
21 hours later Wednesday 11:00
A question caught mid-lecture
Halfway through Wednesday's lecture she half-follows a proof and wants to ask why it needs compactness. She types one line into Brain and goes back to the board.
That evening, Review shows each capture with “What is this?”. The proof question becomes a task for Thursday's office hours, and a note to email her study group is snoozed to Friday.
Brain in the guide Free
Brain with “5 to process” in the header, the “What's on your mind?” box and five captures waiting below it. -
29 hours later Thursday 16:00
Finals, pinned
The analysis final goes into Countdowns, pinned, so it leads the page however near the other dates are, and the “Coming up” card on Today keeps it in view.
With upcoming reminders on, it reminds her at 9 in the morning a week before the exam, and again on the day.
Countdowns with “20 upcoming” in the header, a passport renewal pinned at the top with 6 days to go, and the “NEXT 30 DAYS” group below it. -
75 hours later Sunday 19:00
Where the week actually went
Maya added two tiles to Hours, Lecture and Problem sets, and taps one when she starts. On Sunday evening the week is seven 24-hour ribbons, with the time she never logged hatched.
This week linear algebra had nine hours and analysis had four. The final is in analysis. Next week's three priorities start from that.
Hours in the guide Free
Hours opens on this week as 24-hour ribbons, with Monday's sessions in colour and 3h 17min logged, above the twelve activity tiles.
The screens show HourLife's own sample data, not Maya's.
Where Maya would start
Four modules, set up in the first week. The rest can wait until the week asks for them.
Related
Common questions
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Can HourLife show my class timetable?
If your timetable is in Apple Calendar, yes. HourLife's Calendar reads your events and shows them on each day's timeline once you turn on “Show system calendar events”. It never changes or copies them.
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Which of these modules are free?
Today, Focus, Brain, Countdowns and Hours are free. Learning is part of HourLife Premium.
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Can Focus play sound while I work?
Yes, once you turn on “Ambient Sound” in the app's Settings: rain, waves, a fireplace, a forest morning, or white, pink or brown noise. It fades in as the timer starts and out when the session ends.
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What if I fall behind on a reading?
Learning keeps counting from where you are. The time left at your pace grows when you fall behind and shrinks when you catch up. If you drop a book, mark it “Abandoned” and it moves to Set Aside, which the page labels “not a failure”.
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Does it work on my Mac too?
Yes. HourLife runs on iPhone and Mac, and your data syncs between them through iCloud.
Your week, not Maya's
Every moment above is one module. Most people start with Today and one other, and add the next when the week asks for it.
HourLife runs on iPhone and Mac, and syncs between them through iCloud.