Countdowns · Productivity · Free
Every date ahead in one list, nearest first, with no date typed in twice.
Days until the dates that matter and days since the ones that changed things, with dates from goals, projects and birthdays added for you.
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One listYour own countdowns sit beside goal and project deadlines, birthdays, sobriety milestones and Household dues, each tagged with where it came from.
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Days until, days sinceA countdown counts down to a day. A count-up counts the days since one, from a move to the day you quit something.
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On TodayThe "COMING UP" card shows the nearest few, tinted coral, gold or indigo as they close in.
Your first week with Countdowns
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Look before you add
Open Countdowns first. Target dates you already set on goals, milestones and projects are here, with the birthdays of your Inner and Close rings.
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Add the one on your mind
Tap +, give it a label and a date, and choose "Countdown" or "Count-up". "Show on Today" can keep a far-off date off the card until it is near.
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Pin what leads
Turn on "Pin to widget" for the date that matters most this season. It leads the page as "PINNED", however near the others are.
Every step, in detail
- 1 Open Countdowns and tap + ("Add countdown").
- 2 Type a label, pick the date, and choose "Countdown" (days until) or "Count-up" (days since).
- 3 Pick a colour and an icon, and add a note under "Why this matters…" if you like.
- 4 Set "Show on Today" and "Repeat", or link it to a goal, a person, an event or a project under "LINK TO". Then tap "Save".
Every date ahead, nearest first
Your own countdowns sit in one list with the dates you already set in other modules. With “Group by timeframe” on, the list breaks at 30 and 90 days. Below, the scale breaks in the same places.
Sample · Tuesday, Oct 20, 2026
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Verify laptop backup Admin Thu, Oct 222 days
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Submit passport renewal Personal countdown PINNED Sat, Oct 244 days
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Maya’s birthday Birthday Tue, Oct 277 days
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Lead Engineer role at Northwind Opportunity Wed, Oct 288 days
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Quarter planning day Life Timeline Fri, Oct 3010 days
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Product launch Project Thu, Nov 516 days
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90-day milestone Abstinence Mon, Nov 920 days
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Run a half marathon Goal Sun, Dec 647 days
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Our anniversary Personal countdown Sat, Dec 1253 days
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New Year 2027 Personal countdown Fri, Jan 1, 202773 days
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Flight to Lisbon Personal countdown Fri, Jan 15, 202787 days
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First draft finished Milestone Mon, Mar 1, 2027132 days
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Dad’s birthday Birthday Fri, Apr 9, 2027171 days
COUNTING SINCE · PAST
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596days since
Moved to Bristol
Personal countdown -
197days since
Started running
Personal countdown -
70days since
Alcohol-free
Abstinence -
6days ago
Dentist check-up
Personal countdown
Count-ups sort longest first, and their badge turns to years from 365 days: “Moved to Bristol” reads “1 year”. Past dates sort the most recent first, and “Show past” in Settings hides them.
Where the dates come from
Set a date once, wherever it belongs.
A small branch icon marks a date from another module. Its ⋯ menu has “Manage in …”: Household items open in place, and the rest offer to open their module.
- Personal countdown Yours, from the + button. The only ones you edit here.
- Goal An active goal with a target date. Goals
- Milestone An upcoming milestone with a target date, on a goal or a project. Goals
- Project An active project: its target date, or its start date when it has none. Projects
- Birthday The next birthday of each person in your Inner and Close rings. People
- Abstinence Each active sobriety goal, twice: a count-up since it began, and its next milestone. Sobriety
- Life Timeline A future event on your timeline. Timeline
- Admin A Household item due in the next 90 days. Household
- Opportunity An open pursuit with a decision deadline. Pursuits
The tags are the app’s own words. Household dates are tagged “Admin”, and sobriety dates “Abstinence”. Turn a module off and its dates leave Countdowns.
Coming up, on Today
The “COMING UP” card shows the nearest dates still ahead, tinted by how close each one is. Move the day on and watch them arrive, roll over to next year, or step aside for later ones.
Sample · the list above, as Today shows it
COMING UP See all →
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2days
Verify laptop backupAdmin
ThuOct 22 -
4days
Submit passport renewalPersonal countdown
SatOct 24 -
7days
Maya’s birthdayBirthday
TueOct 27
From Countdowns Settings, 1 to 10. It starts at 3.
- Today or tomorrow0–1 days
- This week2–7 days
- This month8–30 days
- Further off31+ days
Waiting for “Show on Today”
- Our anniversaryLast 30 days · on the card from Nov 12
- New Year 2027Last 7 days · on the card from Dec 25
- Flight to LisbonLast 30 days · on the card from Dec 16
“Show on Today” holds back only countdowns you made. Dates from other modules always qualify, and count-ups never show on the card.
How the page says a day
One date leads the page, set large. Under the number, the app adds the span in words once the count gets hard to picture.
The lead tile
The nearest pinned date, or else the nearest date.
“Pin to widget” on a countdown makes it “PINNED”, and it leads ahead of nearer dates. With nothing pinned, the nearest date leads as “NEXT UP”. The tile leaves the list below it.
PINNED
4DAYS TO GO
Submit passport renewal
Saturday, October 24, 2026
The hairline runs from the day the countdown was set to the day itself. A birthday’s runs from the last birthday.
- Todaythe day is here“Mark as complete” archives it.
- 1day to goTomorrow.
- 596days sinceA count-up.
- 6days agoUnder “PAST”.
The span in words
Weeks under two months, then months, then years.
Nothing under a fortnight: a number that small says enough on its own.
- 4 no words Submit passport renewal · days to go
- 16 about 2 weeks Product launch · days to go
- 47 about 6 weeks Run a half marathon · days to go
- 73 about 2 months New Year 2027 · days to go
- 171 about 5 months Dad’s birthday · days to go
- 596 1 year, 7 months Moved to Bristol · days since
Months are counted on the calendar, not in 30-day blocks: 171 days to Apr 9 is still “about 5 months”, because the 20th of April is not yet reached.
Your own countdowns
The + button adds a date the other modules don’t know about. It counts down to a day, or counts the days since one.
Add Countdown
A label, a date, and which way to count.
- Show on Today
- AlwaysLast 90 daysLast 30 daysLast 7 daysOn the day only
- Repeat
- No repeatAnnual
- Pin to widget
Leads the page as “PINNED”. Pick one date with the Premium “Pinned Countdown” widget; the free “Countdown” widget shows your nearest countdown.
- LINK TO · optional
- GoalPersonEventProject
Twelve colours, any icon, a note under “Why this matters…”, and a life area. A cover photo comes later, from the countdown’s ⋯ menu.
Repeat · Annual
An anniversary rolls on to next year.
Once the day has passed, an Annual countdown counts to the same date a year on. A count-up ignores Repeat.
Reminders
One ahead, one on the day.
Turn on “Upcoming reminders” in Settings and pick 1, 3, 7, 14 or 30 days under “Notify me”.
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Fri, Jan 8, 2027 · 9:00
Flight to Lisbon7 days to go.
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Fri, Jan 15, 2027 · 9:00
Flight to LisbonToday’s the day.
- Dates from other modules
No reminder from Countdowns. Their own modules remind you.
What is coming, and from where
“Insights” in the ⋯ menu. The cards below are drawn from the same sample list.
Sample · Tuesday, Oct 20, 2026
Verify laptop backup is next, in 2 days.
3 in the next 7 days, 7 in the next 30.
Attention
3 dates are inside the next week.
The next 30 days are the dates most likely to need planning attention.
Each window holds the one before it: the 7 days include today, the 30 include the 7.
Sources
Personal countdown contributes the most dates.
7 personal, 10 attached to other modules.
- Personal countdown 4 upcoming 7
- Abstinence 1 upcoming 2
- Birthday 2 upcoming 2
- Admin 1 upcoming 1
- Goal 1 upcoming 1
The Library card: 17 tracked dates across your system.
Next up
Verify laptop backup is your nearest upcoming date.
- Verify laptop backupOct 222 days
- Submit passport renewalOct 244 days
- Maya’s birthdayOct 277 days
- Lead Engineer role at NorthwindOct 288 days
- Quarter planning dayOct 3010 days
Counting since
Moved to Bristol has been running longest.
- Moved to BristolMar 3, 20251 year
- Started runningApr 6197 days
- Alcohol-freeAug 1170 days
Tips
- "Show on Today" decides when a countdown appears on Today: "Always", in the last 90, 30 or 7 days, or "On the day only".
- Change "Maximum shown" in Countdowns settings to fit more dates on Today's "COMING UP" card.
- "Archived" in the ⋯ menu keeps countdowns you have finished with. Turn off "Show past" if you do not want a "PAST" section in the list.
Questions
About Countdowns day to day.
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Do I have to add my goal and project deadlines again?
No. An active goal with a target date, an upcoming milestone, an active project and a future Timeline event appear on their own, tagged with their source. Change them in their own module; "Manage in …" in the ⋯ menu points there.
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Can it count the days since something?
Yes. Choose "Count-up" when you add it. Count-ups sit under "COUNTING SINCE", longest first, and read in years from 365 days. Each active sobriety goal adds one for you.
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Will it remind me before a date?
Turn on "Upcoming reminders" in Countdowns Settings and choose 1, 3, 7, 14 or 30 days under "Notify me". Each countdown you made gets one reminder then and one on the day, at 9 in the morning. Dates from other modules are not reminded from here.
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Which date leads the page?
The nearest pinned date still ahead, marked "PINNED". With nothing pinned, the nearest date leads as "NEXT UP".
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What happens when the day arrives?
The count reads "Today", and the countdown's page offers "Mark as complete", which moves it to "Archived". An Annual countdown rolls on to next year instead. "Restore" brings an archived one back.
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Why isn't a countdown on Today?
The card holds the nearest dates up to "Maximum shown", 3 to start with. A countdown you made also waits for its "Show on Today" window, such as "Last 7 days". Count-ups and past dates never show there.
Works with
Where Countdowns hands off to the rest of HourLife.
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Today
The "COMING UP" card on Today lists your nearest countdowns, with "See all" to open Countdowns.
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Goals
Active goals and their milestones with a target date show up as countdowns.
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Projects
Active projects with a target or start date show up as countdowns, and a countdown can be linked to a project.
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People
Birthdays of people in your Inner and Close rings count down each year, and a countdown can be linked to a person.
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Sobriety
Each active sobriety goal appears as a count-up "Since" its start, plus a countdown to its next day milestone.
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Household
Household items due in the next 90 days appear as countdowns.
Read and try
Books from the library that Countdowns puts into practice, and something to try on paper or in the browser.
Already have HourLife?
Countdowns is under Productivity in the module list. The ⋯ menu on the Countdowns page holds "Insights", "Archived" and "Settings".
Countdowns is in the Library, under Productivity. If it isn’t there, turn it on in Settings → Look & Feel → Modules.
What would you like to know?
Ask a question about this feature or tell us what’s missing.
Try Countdowns in HourLife.
Countdowns is one of HourLife’s free modules.
