Time Management Software – Getting Started

For 30 years, I have studied and practiced every time management method there is. I have bought countless software programs to help manage my time. I have consumed tons of information on time management, including by Franklin Covey Co., David Allen (Getting Things Done), and Ryder Carroll (Bullet Journaling). However, I have yet to find a software system that works the way I want it to work. To solve this problem, I am going to build the software myself. I hope that along the way, I can share with you what I learn and discuss technology concepts as I progress.

My ambition to build my own app with the features I want reminded me of an episode of The Simpsons, where Homer meets a previously unknown sibling. The super smart brother is the head of a major car company. He needs inspiration for a new car design and turns to Homer to get advice on what a regular car user wants in a new car. Homer leads the design team to create a vehicle with 22 cup holders and a horn playing La Cucaracha.

I hope my ideas for designing personal time management software are not that bad, but I know some of the features I want would never make a commercial product. For example, I want:

• All Holidays – including the fun ones. National Margarita Day!
• Astronomical info:  sunrise and sunset, moonrise and moonset.
• Reminders of all family birthdays, anniversaries, and events.
• Reminders of great dates in history.
• Sleep pattern tracker.
• The ability to map exercise, water consumption, medication usage, sick days, stretch breaks, etc.
• And I want 23 cup holders! (Just seeing if you were paying attention.)

What features would you like to see in the new time management software? Please leave a comment letting me know what features you would like to see me include in this brand new, and quite possibly revolutionary, personal time management system.

The first step

To get the basics down for my new app, I started with an Excel file. I found a cool Excel planner page. Vertex makes some incredible templates for Microsoft Office products. Its calendar in the Excel file uses only formulas (no macros), which is incredibly impressive.

Once I had a working calendar, I added and augmented the file to include other things I wanted to track and created printable pages for my notebook.

This Excel file uses some of the Vertex code in it, so I cannot share the file. The code is marked Private Use (not for distribution or resale.) It did give me a clear idea of how I want the software to look.

The next step

In the next blog post, I will start tackling concepts around good software writing, object-oriented coding, UML diagrams, and more. In future blog posts, I will discuss how I’ll make the database cloud-enabled so it can be accessed from anywhere on any device (at any resolution and aspect ratio), connecting the program with Microsoft Outlook, and more.

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