Projects · Productivity · Free
Work with a finish line, whether it's a kitchen, a trip or a fortieth birthday, each counting down to its date.
Give multi-step work a finish line: standard projects, trips with an itinerary, and dated events, each with milestones and tasks.
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Three kindsA Standard project has a target date, a Trip runs from departure to return with an itinerary, and an Event falls on one day.
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Milestones on the wayDated checkpoints between start and finish, counted apart from tasks. One you miss turns amber and stays next until you reach it.
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Finished, and keptCompleting a project archives it and can add it to your Life Timeline and Highlights, with a note on how it went.
Your first week with Projects
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Pick the kind
Tap + and choose Standard, Trip or Event. Give it a name and a date, and link it to a goal or a life area if it serves one.
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Break it down
On the project's page, add the tasks it needs and two or three milestones with dates. The ring on its card fills as tasks get done.
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Plan a trip by the day
A trip opens on its itinerary. Add each day and where you'll be, then the flights, beds, tables and sights, with times and booking references.
Every step, in detail
- 1 Tap + ("Add project"), then under "What kind of project?" pick "Standard", "Trip", or "Event".
- 2 Name it and fill the details for that type, such as a "Target date", trip dates and "Destination", or the event date and type.
- 3 Under "Link to (optional)", attach a goal, life area, identity, or value if it serves one, then tap "Create".
- 4 Open the project and use the + next to "Tasks" and "Milestones" to add the steps.
- 5 When the work is done, tap "Complete Project" and choose what to add to your history. A trip can be completed any time while it is active.
Three kinds of project, each counting down in its own words
A new project starts with one question, “What kind of project?” A Standard project has a target date, a Trip runs from departure to return, and an Event falls on one day. Each card counts down to its date in its own way. Drag the day along and watch them change.
Sample · three projects on Tuesday, October 20
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Standard
Kitchen remodel
60%Due in 12 days
Next Cabinets installed · Oct 16
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Trip
Lisbon & Porto
75%Underway · day 3 of 9
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Event Social
Maya’s 40th
29%In 25 days
Drag the day, and each card says what the app would say on it. Task counts and rings stay as they are on Oct 20. “Show relative countdown”, in Project Settings, turns off an event’s countdown only; standard and trip cards always count down.
“Event type”, chosen when you make an event
- SocialDinner, gathering
- ProfessionalTalk, workshop
- Life eventWedding, ceremony
- RecurringAnnual event
A trip takes a departure date, a return date and a destination. An event takes its date and type, and shows the type as a second badge on its card unless “Show event subtype badge” is off. Any kind can link to a goal, a life area, an identity or a value under “Link to (optional)”.
Milestones planted on their dates
A project’s percent is its tasks: done over all. Milestones are the checkpoints between start and finish, counted on their own. Here is the kitchen remodel laid along its dates, then its page as the app shows it.
Sample · Kitchen remodel, Sep 28 to Nov 1
2 of 5 milestones are reached and 6 of 10 tasks are done, so the page reads 60% with “M 2/5” beside it. A missed milestone stays the card’s “Next” until you reach it or move its date, and its date turns amber.
Add a milestone with the + beside “Milestones”: a name, notes, and a target date. Its ⋯ menu has “Mark reached”, “Reopen” once reached, and “Delete”. A task added from the page belongs to the project; in Tasks, a task’s “Project” chip files it there.
Kitchen remodel
Household · 10 tasks · 60% · M 2/5
Next Milestone
Cabinets installed
Overdue by 4 days
Milestones
UPCOMING
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Countertops in⋯
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Final walkthrough⋯
OVERDUE
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Cabinets installed⋯
COMPLETED
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Demolition done ·⋯
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Plumbing rough-in ·⋯
Tasks
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Order backsplash tile
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Pick cabinet hardware
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Book the countertop templating
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Paint the ceiling
6 done
A trip, day by day
A trip’s page opens on its itinerary. Add a day and where you’ll be, then what happens there: a flight, a bed for the night, a table, a sight. Each place keeps its arrival time, an address, a booking reference and what it should cost.
Sample · Lisbon & Porto, Oct 18 to Oct 26
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SUNDAY OCT 18 · Lisbon
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9:40 AMTAP 1352 to Lisbon
Confirmation: K7Q2LM (Transport) -
3:00 PMCasa do Largo, Alfama
Confirmation: 4410-8823 (Accommodation) -
8:30 PMTaberna da Rua das Flores
Walk-ins only. Go early. (Restaurant/Food)
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WEDNESDAY OCT 21 · Sintra
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8:41 AMTrain from Rossio
Sintra line, every 20 minutes (Transport) -
10:00 AMPena Palace
Confirmation: PENA-55210 (Attraction) -
1:30 PMWalk up to the Moorish Castle
(Activity)
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FRIDAY OCT 23 · Porto
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11:09 AMAlfa Pendular to Porto
Confirmation: CP 4KX9 (Transport) -
3:00 PMFlat in Ribeira
Confirmation: HMQ3P8 (Accommodation) -
6:00 PMSunset on the Dom Luís I bridge
(Other)
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- Accommodation
- Transport
- Activity
- Restaurant/Food
- Attraction
- Other
“Overview” holds the trip’s header card. Its milestones and tasks sit under “Tasks”. A day’s ⋯ menu edits or deletes it, and deleting a day takes its places with it.
What finishing writes, and where
“Complete Project” appears on a project’s page once every task is done. A trip can be completed any time it is active. The sheet takes an optional note, then asks what to add to your history.
Sample · after “Mark Complete”
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The projectAlways
Kitchen remodelMarked completed and archived. It leaves Active, and Insights counts it as finished.
Lisbon & PortoThe same, whenever you finish it, even with tasks still open.
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Life Timeline“Add to Life Timeline”
Kitchen remodelAn achievement on the day you finish.
Lisbon & PortoA place, so the trip sits on your timeline where you went.
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Highlights“Add to Highlights”
Kitchen remodelA win, carrying your completion note. With no note, nothing is added.
Lisbon & PortoA moment, carrying your one line from the trip. With no note, nothing is added.
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Milestones“Mark remaining milestones as reached”
Kitchen remodelShown while any are pending: “3 milestones still pending.”
Lisbon & PortoThe same, when the trip has milestones.
Insights: what you’re building, and what you’ve finished
“Insights”, in the ⋯ menu, reads every project at once: how many are moving, what is coming due, what has gone quiet, and how long a project takes you.
Sample · 4 active projects
There is project pressure that needs a review.
4 active, 5 completed, 1 paused.
Portfolio
Where everything stands.
3 finished in the last 90 days.
A finished project is archived too, so it counts under Completed and Archived alike. Cancelled shows only when there is one.
Capacity
Your active project load is inside your 5-project limit.
1 paused project is out of the active lane.
- active
- 4
- limit
- 5
- over
- 0
The limit is “Active project limit” in Project Settings: 5 unless you change it, anywhere from 1 to 12.
Task load
1 project task is overdue.
19 active and 59 completed project tasks.
- Kitchen remodel 1 over
- Portfolio site 6
- Maya’s 40th 5
- Lisbon & Porto 2
Each bar is a project’s tasks done, 6/10 for the kitchen. The number is what is still open, or what is late.
On the horizon
What’s coming due.
3 due in the next 30 days.
- Lisbon & Porto Personal in 6d
- Kitchen remodel Household in 12d
- Maya’s 40th Personal in 25d
- Portfolio site Work in 56d
Milestones
1 milestone date has slipped.
3 upcoming in the next 30 days.
- Cabinets installed Kitchen remodel 4d over
- Countertops in Kitchen remodel in 7d
- Final walkthrough Kitchen remodel in 12d
- Case studies drafted Portfolio site in 17d
Setup quality
2 active projects have no milestone.
Good projects usually have a next task, a milestone, and a date or trip/event window.
- no task
- 0
- no milestone
- 2
- no date
- 0
Stalled
1 active project has been quiet for 30+ days.
Based on project, task, and milestone activity.
- Portfolio site Work 34d
Pace
Projects take you about 41 days to finish.
Averaged from start to completion across finished projects.
Further down, “By scope” and “By type” rank where your projects live and what kind they are. Before there is anything to count, Insights reads “Nothing here yet”.
Project Settings, in the same ⋯ menu, sets the limit Capacity reads, which sections the list shows, and what a card carries: the milestone count (“M 2/5”), the event type badge, and an event’s countdown.
Tips
- Set the "Active project limit" in Project Settings. Insights flags when you run more active projects than that.
- "Show relative countdown" in Project Settings, on by default, puts "In 25 days" on event cards. Turn it off and an event shows its date alone. Standard and trip cards always count down.
- Completing a trip with "Fulfill linked Desires" on marks the desires tied to the places you visited as fulfilled.
- Add the "Projects" card to Today to see how many projects are active and when the next one is due.
Questions
About Projects day to day.
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What's the difference between Standard, Trip and Event?
A Standard project runs to a target date. A Trip has departure and return dates, a destination, and an itinerary of days and places. An Event has one date and a type, such as Social or Life event, and counts down to it.
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How is a project's progress worked out?
It is the share of its tasks that are done: 6 of 10 reads 60%. Milestones are counted on their own, as "M 2/5" on the project's page.
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What happens when I complete a project?
It is marked completed and archived. If you choose, it goes on your Life Timeline, as an achievement or, for a trip, a place, and on your Highlights as a win or moment, when you have written a note. "Mark remaining milestones as reached" closes any still pending.
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Can I finish a trip before every task is done?
Yes. A standard project or event can be completed once all its tasks are done, but a trip can be completed any time it is active.
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How many projects should I run at once?
That is up to you. "Active project limit" in Project Settings, 5 unless you change it and anywhere from 1 to 12, is the number Insights checks your active projects against.
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What does "stalled" mean in Insights?
An active project with no activity on it, its tasks or its milestones for 30 days or more.
Works with
Where Projects hands off to the rest of HourLife.
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Goals
Link a project to a goal when you create it, and the project's page reads "Serves Goal" with that goal's name.
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Tasks
Tasks added from a project belong to it, and any new task can be linked to a project with "Link to Project".
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Waiting
When a project task is waiting on someone, the blocker shows on the task row and you can resolve it from the project.
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Timeline
"Add to Life Timeline" on completion records the project as an achievement, or a trip as a place.
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Highlights
"Add to Highlights" on completion saves your completion note as a win, or as a moment for a trip.
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Desires
Completing a trip can fulfill the desires linked to the places on its itinerary.
Read and try
Books from the library that Projects puts into practice, and something to try on paper or in the browser.
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Finish Jon Acuff Acuff on why work stalls near the end, and on cutting the goal so it gets done. A milestone is a smaller finish.
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Scrum Jeff Sutherland Sutherland's short sprints toward a fixed finish line, the shape of milestones with tasks under them.
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The Dip Seth Godin Godin on when to push through and when to quit, worth reading before a project's next milestone.
Already have HourLife?
Projects is under Productivity in the module list. The ⋯ menu on the Projects page holds "Insights", "Paused", "Archived" and "Settings".
Projects is in the Library, under Productivity. If it isn’t there, turn it on in Settings → Look & Feel → Modules.
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