Run the business without the business running you
Leo roasts coffee for six cafés, sells online, and works the market on Saturdays with one part-time employee. This is one of his weeks, and the six moments in it where HourLife does its work.
- 6 wholesale cafés
- 1 part-time employee
- A market stall on Saturdays
Leo's week, Monday first. Each lit hour is a moment below.
Leo 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 small business does not fail on the big plan. It frays on the small things: the invoice nobody chased, the supplier who said Thursday and meant next month, the idea that ate twenty evenings and never paid.
Leo's books are in his accounting software and his orders are in his shop. What had no home was everything in between: who owes him, what he is betting his evenings on, and the decisions he keeps putting off.
A week with HourLife
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Hour 7 of 168 Monday 07:00
One thing before the roaster warms up
Monday starts on Today, before the first batch. “Start your day” asks for his energy and three priorities: send Café Nord their November invoice, order cups for the winter market, and call the importer.
He stars the invoice. It is the one that pays, so it sits at the top of Today as the day's one thing.
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. -
4 hours later Monday 11:00
Who still owes him
Two cafés owe October's invoice, the importer owes a shipping date, and the council owes the stall permit. Each goes into Waiting, grouped by who has it, with the day he asked and a day to follow up.
On the follow-up day an item moves into “Follow up needed”. He chases it and logs what he said and when to chase next. When it is paid, “Mark Resolved” records how many days he waited.
Waiting in the guide Free
The Waiting list with five overdue items in the “Follow up needed” banner, each with how long it has waited and a “Follow up” button. -
28 hours later Tuesday 15:00
A side bet that has to earn its hours
The subscription box is a bet in Ventures: forty subscribers by the end of January, with a budget of 60 hours and $900, and a day to decide by. The wholesale business, which is settled, sits under Steady.
Every Tuesday he checks in with the hours, what he spent and what came in. The venture divides its net by the hours, so if the box pays $4 an hour, it says so before the deadline does.
Ventures in the guide Premium
A check-in for today, 4 hours, nothing spent and $150 earned, with room for a signal and a note. -
30 hours later Wednesday 21:00
A bigger roaster, or a second roaster?
The decision he has put off since summer goes into Decisions as a question with two options: buy the bigger roaster, or hire someone part-time to run the small one longer. Each gets a leaning, its good reasons and its risks.
He picks one and sets a review for three months out. That day it comes back with “How did it turn out?”, and the answer joins his track record of calls.
Decisions in the guide Premium
The Decisions lanes, with a track record of 1 of 1 went well, its latest lesson, two decided choices, one looking back on Nov 3, and one reviewed. -
12 hours later Thursday 09:00
The winter market, counted down
The winter market is an Event in Projects, on its one day in December, with its tasks (cups, the price board, the permit) and two milestones on the way.
Countdowns picks the date up by itself, so it reaches Today's “Coming up” card without being typed in twice.
The first step of a new project: Standard, Trip, or Event. -
31 hours later Friday 16:00
Friday clears the week
Before he locks up on Friday, Review brings up each overdue task and each one still due this week. He moves it, finishes it, sends it to Someday or deletes it, one tap each.
The tally at the end says what he moved and what he finished, and Monday starts clean.
Tasks in the guide Free
The end of a review: “Tasks reviewed.” with the tally of what was rescheduled, completed, moved to Someday and deleted.
The screens show HourLife's own sample data, not Leo's.
Where Leo 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 send invoices or keep my books?
No. HourLife is a personal planner, not accounting software. It can track that an invoice is still owed, in Waiting, and how a side project is earning, in Ventures, but the money itself stays in the tools you already use.
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Which of these modules are free?
Today, Waiting, Projects and Tasks are free. Ventures and Decisions are part of HourLife Premium.
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Can I get a reminder when it is time to chase a payment?
Yes. Turn on “Follow-up reminders” in Waiting's Settings and it notifies you at 9 in the morning on each item's follow-up date. Overdue items can also appear on Today with a “Follow up” button.
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Can a venture use a currency other than dollars?
Yes. Each venture has its own currency. Insights adds up only the currency most of your ventures use and says how many it left out; it does not convert between them.
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Does it work on my Mac at the shop?
Yes. HourLife runs on iPhone and Mac, and your data syncs between them through iCloud. The Mac app has its own Ventures screens.
Your week, not Leo'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.