A thesis, one chapter and one week at a time
Ines is in the third year of a PhD in sociology: chapter two in draft, a seminar to teach every Thursday, and replies owed by her supervisor and the ethics board. This is one of her weeks, and the six moments in it where HourLife does its work.
- Third year of a PhD
- Chapter two in draft
- One seminar a week
Ines's week, Monday first. Each lit hour is a moment below.
Ines 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 thesis has one deadline that is years away and a hundred small ones nobody sets for you. The chapter is due when it is ready. The supervisor replies when she can, and the ethics board replies when it meets. The seminar needs teaching every Thursday whether the chapter moved or not.
So the plan lives in five places: a reference manager full of papers, a document of notes, an email thread with her supervisor, a paper diary, and a whiteboard at home. None of them says whether chapter two moved this week, or how long the board has had her form.
A week with HourLife
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Hour 8 of 168 Monday 08:00
The thesis, chapter by chapter
Monday starts in Goals. The thesis is a yearly goal, a full draft by next September, and under it sit quarterly sub-goals, one per chapter, each with a target date. Chapter two is this quarter's.
The yearly goal takes its progress “From sub-goals”, so it moves as the chapters do. The Tree view shows how the pieces nest, with the year on top and the quarters opening under it.
Goals in the guide Free
The Tree view puts the North Star on top, and a yearly fitness goal opens into quarterly sub-goals and two monthly ones. -
2 hours later Monday 10:00
One paragraph before email
Writing every morning is an intention, not a target. It keeps a why in her own words, for the days the chapter feels too big to start, and a tiny step: one paragraph before she opens her email.
She writes the paragraph and taps “I did it”, and the card reads “Done today. That counts.” The intention is linked to the thesis goal, so the step also counts in that goal's “Little by little”. There is no streak to break. A missed morning leaves one square empty.
Play guitar again on day 42, with its why, today’s tiny step done, Note and Win, and “Showed up 19 of the last 28 days · 24 days in all” above today’s thread. -
29 hours later Tuesday 15:00
A passage worth keeping
Tuesday afternoon is reading. The paper she is working through is in Learning as an article, and a passage on page 14 answers a question chapter two has been circling.
She taps “+” next to “Captures”, saves the passage with its page and a line of reflection, and under “Send to” chooses “Brain inbox”. It lands in Brain Dump with the paper's title as context, to sort when she next plans.
Learning in the guide Premium
A new capture with its text, location and reflection fields, and “Send to” with Save here, Wisdom library, Brain inbox and Someday / Maybe. -
20 hours later Wednesday 11:00
Two replies out of her hands
Her supervisor has the revised chapter one, and the ethics board has her request for a second round of interviews. Each goes into Waiting, one from a “Person” and one from an “Organisation”, with “Since” set to the day she sent it.
The supervisor's item keeps the 14-day default under “Nudge me on”. The board meets monthly, so she picks a date a month out. In Waiting's Settings she turns on “Follow-up reminders”, which is off at first, so each follow-up date brings a notification at 9 AM.
Waiting in the guide Free
Waiting’s Settings, with the Active, Overdue and Resolved counts, the 14-day default, and “Follow-up reminders” off. -
30 hours later Thursday 17:00
The same checks before every draft
The seminar is taught, and the first half of chapter two is ready to send. First she runs a template in Checklists: references checked, figures numbered, page numbers on, and a note on what changed since the last draft.
“Run” opens a clean copy with a progress bar, and she ticks as she goes. The note is marked “Optional”, so if she finishes without it, the summary lists it under “Skipped optional” rather than hiding it. The template's page counts its runs and shows when she last ran it.
The Weekly Reset template with five numbered items, the last marked Optional, a “Run checklist” button, and RUNS 8, LAST RUN Oct 16. -
41 hours later Saturday 10:00
The dates that are not chapters
On Saturday she opens Countdowns. The chapters' target dates are already there from Goals, each marked with where it came from, so she types none of them twice.
What is not a goal she adds by hand. The department's annual progress review is a countdown, with “Show on Today” set to the last 30 days so it stays off the “COMING UP” card until it is near. A count-up from the day she started the PhD sits under “COUNTING SINCE”.
The Add Countdown sheet, previewing “New Year 2027” in 81 days, with the colours, the Countdown and Count-up cards, a note, and “Show on Today”.
The screens show HourLife's own sample data, not Ines's.
Where Ines 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 hold my references or my draft?
No. HourLife is a personal planner, not a reference manager or a writing app. It can track a paper you are reading and keep a passage with its page, in Learning, but your citations stay in your reference manager and the chapter stays in your writing software.
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Which of these modules are free?
Goals, Intentions, Waiting, Checklists and Countdowns are free. Learning is part of HourLife Premium.
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What happens if I miss a morning of writing?
Nothing resets. Intentions has no streak. The page shows the last 28 days as squares, with “Showed up X of the last 28 days · Y days in all”, and a missed day only leaves one square empty.
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Can I get a reminder when it is time to chase my supervisor?
Yes. Turn on “Follow-up reminders” in Waiting's Settings, which is off at first, and it notifies you at 9 AM on each item's follow-up date. When you chase, “Follow up” logs a progress note and the next date to follow up.
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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. The app is in English.
Your week, not Ines'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.
