Launch HN: Routine (YC W21) – Tasks, notes and calendar all in one product
94 comments
I've been looking for a combined task manager and calendar for a long time, and have often entertained building one for myself. Some feedback that is preventing adoption for me:
- Complex recurrence is key. I exercise 4 days per week. I only process my inbox (GTD-style) on weekdays. I triage bugs twice per week.
- Need to be able to view more than one day at a time on the calendar, and add tasks to specific days in that view — I plan out my weeks.
- Looking at future dates, it still shows my tasks scheduled for earlier dates. This makes planning difficult.
Ergonomic feedback
- Keyboard shortcuts (including arrow key navigation) does not work if you are focused on the name field of the task in the list. This means I can't really navigate, open, archive, reschdule tasks without using the mouse. Or at least I can't see how to. Might have to change hotkey scheme (use control or option?) as well, as command+A, for example, should probably still select all text in a field.
- I should be able to click out of the console — I keep trying to click or alt-tab out of it, like it’s spotlight, and it just hovers empty in front of my screen until I click to refocus on it and hit escape.
- When I've thought of building this myself, a key feature was adding tasks to the day's calendar (like, "I plan to work on X from 2-3:30pm").
Currently I use Asana for it's calendar view (note: this is not a calendar integration) and great keyboard shortcuts.
Anyway, congrats on the launch!
- Complex recurrence is key. I exercise 4 days per week. I only process my inbox (GTD-style) on weekdays. I triage bugs twice per week.
- Need to be able to view more than one day at a time on the calendar, and add tasks to specific days in that view — I plan out my weeks.
- Looking at future dates, it still shows my tasks scheduled for earlier dates. This makes planning difficult.
Ergonomic feedback
- Keyboard shortcuts (including arrow key navigation) does not work if you are focused on the name field of the task in the list. This means I can't really navigate, open, archive, reschdule tasks without using the mouse. Or at least I can't see how to. Might have to change hotkey scheme (use control or option?) as well, as command+A, for example, should probably still select all text in a field.
- I should be able to click out of the console — I keep trying to click or alt-tab out of it, like it’s spotlight, and it just hovers empty in front of my screen until I click to refocus on it and hit escape.
- When I've thought of building this myself, a key feature was adding tasks to the day's calendar (like, "I plan to work on X from 2-3:30pm").
Currently I use Asana for it's calendar view (note: this is not a calendar integration) and great keyboard shortcuts.
Anyway, congrats on the launch!
Thanks mful for your message.
Recurrence is something we will improve. But you have pretty specific ones :)
We will actually add a planning view with a full week. We are definitely aligned on that. Stay put.
For the future dates, yes indeed it's not ideal. We are in the process of fixing that. Well spotted.
For the navigation, again, need to improve you are right. You need to ESC to come back to arrow navigation for now.
Clicking out of the console is not easy to solve unfortunately. We are on it as well. What you can do is either focus on the console and press ESC. Or you can hit CTRL+SPACE once more and it will hide the console.
We do support "do something on DAY at TIME for DURATION" but it's still a bit buggy. We need to improve it :)
Thanks for all the feedback.
Recurrence is something we will improve. But you have pretty specific ones :)
We will actually add a planning view with a full week. We are definitely aligned on that. Stay put.
For the future dates, yes indeed it's not ideal. We are in the process of fixing that. Well spotted.
For the navigation, again, need to improve you are right. You need to ESC to come back to arrow navigation for now.
Clicking out of the console is not easy to solve unfortunately. We are on it as well. What you can do is either focus on the console and press ESC. Or you can hit CTRL+SPACE once more and it will hide the console.
We do support "do something on DAY at TIME for DURATION" but it's still a bit buggy. We need to improve it :)
Thanks for all the feedback.
If you're looking for something similar to this
(tasks, calendars, wiki), along with budgeting, recipe management and more, checkout Domestica: https://about.domestica.app. Works on web/android/iOS, can be self hosted, and google sign in is optional.
Hey Julien,
Congratulations on the launch. I quite like the simplicity which reminds me of Todoist. I've been using Todoist for the last 4 years and had improved my productivity a lot.
How's Routine different from Todoist?
P.S: In your jobs section you're missing the how to apply part. Ex: https://www.notion.so/Head-of-Marketing-03dc3a3a6f0d45989936...
How's Routine different from Todoist?
P.S: In your jobs section you're missing the how to apply part. Ex: https://www.notion.so/Head-of-Marketing-03dc3a3a6f0d45989936...
Hey Oras. I've added the Apply part. Thanks a lot for spotting that :) [email protected]
Regarding Todoist. It's obviously a great tool. But very generalist. Like Everynote for notes. We're taking more of a specialized direction for busy professionals: people who have a lot of meetings, want to capture non-actionable information (notes), have a lot of things going through their mind that they do not want to forget and a lot of tasks scattered everywhere, from email, chat (Slack/WhatsApp) and project management tools (Asana/Trello/Notion).
With Todoist, everything needs to be stored as a todo. We think this is too constraining. Some information is actionable (tasks), other not (notes). Both should be in a single tool.
Also, it's a productivity tool. It needs to be super fast. I don't want to have to switch to an app to capture something that is going through my mind. Or to copy/paste information from one tool to another. That's why Routine works through a keyboard shortcut that is available everywhere on your desktop. For now, you can only capture information, create recurring event, block time in your calendar etc.
But soon, you'll be able to join meetings, take meeting notes, glance at your upcoming events etc. all through one keyboard shortcut.
Regarding Todoist. It's obviously a great tool. But very generalist. Like Everynote for notes. We're taking more of a specialized direction for busy professionals: people who have a lot of meetings, want to capture non-actionable information (notes), have a lot of things going through their mind that they do not want to forget and a lot of tasks scattered everywhere, from email, chat (Slack/WhatsApp) and project management tools (Asana/Trello/Notion).
With Todoist, everything needs to be stored as a todo. We think this is too constraining. Some information is actionable (tasks), other not (notes). Both should be in a single tool.
Also, it's a productivity tool. It needs to be super fast. I don't want to have to switch to an app to capture something that is going through my mind. Or to copy/paste information from one tool to another. That's why Routine works through a keyboard shortcut that is available everywhere on your desktop. For now, you can only capture information, create recurring event, block time in your calendar etc.
But soon, you'll be able to join meetings, take meeting notes, glance at your upcoming events etc. all through one keyboard shortcut.
Warning - google accounts only.
What's the deal with all these google-only apps? And on the other hand the de-googling of everybody on HN.
It's super annoying, and basically forces you to use a throwaway google account.
Also, with the whole supplychain security, why not just also promote your webapp, instead of a bundled electron app?
###
In order for Routine to provide the value you are looking for, it needs access to some of the Google APIs, most specifically the following:
Google Account
Google Calendar
Google Tasks
Google Drive
Your data privacy is paramount to us. We will NEVER share, sell or use your data in any way that could violate your trust in Routine.
The reputation of the founders (Julien Quintard and Quentin Hocquet), the investors and its employees are on the line. We hold ourselves to the highest of standards
####
No it's not, as I have no idea who you are. Also, you might say you'll never share, but what about some misconfigured backend? The investors invest in your company and take no liability. That's the whole purpose of a limited liability company
Also, with the whole supplychain security, why not just also promote your webapp, instead of a bundled electron app?
###
In order for Routine to provide the value you are looking for, it needs access to some of the Google APIs, most specifically the following:
Google Account
Google Calendar
Google Tasks
Google Drive
Your data privacy is paramount to us. We will NEVER share, sell or use your data in any way that could violate your trust in Routine.
The reputation of the founders (Julien Quintard and Quentin Hocquet), the investors and its employees are on the line. We hold ourselves to the highest of standards
####
No it's not, as I have no idea who you are. Also, you might say you'll never share, but what about some misconfigured backend? The investors invest in your company and take no liability. That's the whole purpose of a limited liability company
We prefer to warn users instead of just using their Google Account.
As for why we use Google services. It's because most professionals do use Google Calendar. Some don't, we understand. We might serve them in the future but we have to start somewhere.
We advertise the desktop app (instead of the Web app) because Routine is intended to be used through a desktop-wide keyboard shortcut so you can capture thoughts and tasks from anywhere. A Web app requires that you switch to your browser, then find the right tab and click it to then be able to interact with the Web app. We believe it is too slow for a productivity tool. But some people do not have a choice (Windows) this is why we've answered them.
If you do not trust our service, we understand. We don't force you to use it. It's obviously your right.
But just to make things clear (which we explain in the Privacy section), all tasks are stored in your Google Tasks account. All events are stored in your Google Calendar. And all your notes are in your Google Drive. This means we store no data on our servers (for now at least).
As for why we use Google services. It's because most professionals do use Google Calendar. Some don't, we understand. We might serve them in the future but we have to start somewhere.
We advertise the desktop app (instead of the Web app) because Routine is intended to be used through a desktop-wide keyboard shortcut so you can capture thoughts and tasks from anywhere. A Web app requires that you switch to your browser, then find the right tab and click it to then be able to interact with the Web app. We believe it is too slow for a productivity tool. But some people do not have a choice (Windows) this is why we've answered them.
If you do not trust our service, we understand. We don't force you to use it. It's obviously your right.
But just to make things clear (which we explain in the Privacy section), all tasks are stored in your Google Tasks account. All events are stored in your Google Calendar. And all your notes are in your Google Drive. This means we store no data on our servers (for now at least).
Thank you for making clear how it works, as that was not directly clear. This is one of the problems with granting access tokens.. there's no way of knowing what'll happen with them.
Why not just release a macOS version on the appstore? Or, if you've created a swift version anyway, use that codebase for a universal app? There are also quite a number of apps that allow myself to 'convert' it to a 'native' app, with the exception of some features of course (such as global hotkeys).
Both desktop and webapp versions don't work for me (401 from google apps, not gmail), and show a blank screen. Login -> uncheck some checkboxes -> retry and check the boxes -> still blank.
Note: This could be create completely (afaict) using the built-in cal/task integration features of macOS/iOS, and would allow you use all supported calendar/task-services. For example, noteplan simply uses that, and will support dropbox as storage in later versions I think (it was removed from the beta version)
Why not just release a macOS version on the appstore? Or, if you've created a swift version anyway, use that codebase for a universal app? There are also quite a number of apps that allow myself to 'convert' it to a 'native' app, with the exception of some features of course (such as global hotkeys).
Both desktop and webapp versions don't work for me (401 from google apps, not gmail), and show a blank screen. Login -> uncheck some checkboxes -> retry and check the boxes -> still blank.
Note: This could be create completely (afaict) using the built-in cal/task integration features of macOS/iOS, and would allow you use all supported calendar/task-services. For example, noteplan simply uses that, and will support dropbox as storage in later versions I think (it was removed from the beta version)
We could have released on the macOS App Store but there was no benefit at first. We want to control how many people use it at first to make sure that we fix the bugs as they come. We've been working on this for only a few months.
Let us check the problem regarding your 401 and come back to you. Sorry about that.
Let us check the problem regarding your 401 and come back to you. Sorry about that.
(for now at least)
That's why advertising the service around privacy is being criticized. It's a business. It will do business things. Saying it won't do those things is a distraction...like this conversation.
People who seriously care about privacy are not using Google to manage their information. They are not even your potential users, because they don't use Google.
Not storing data on your servers is a sound way to reduce your liability and attack surface. But that's an operational tradeoff that comes with a business dependency on Google's terms of service.
In B2B sales, not storing on your servers is a feature. But it's not really privacy. It's security.
That's why advertising the service around privacy is being criticized. It's a business. It will do business things. Saying it won't do those things is a distraction...like this conversation.
People who seriously care about privacy are not using Google to manage their information. They are not even your potential users, because they don't use Google.
Not storing data on your servers is a sound way to reduce your liability and attack surface. But that's an operational tradeoff that comes with a business dependency on Google's terms of service.
In B2B sales, not storing on your servers is a feature. But it's not really privacy. It's security.
We are not trying to say that Routine has been built around privacy like Protomail could say. We do not make such claims on our website.
But since we are asking users for their Google credentials, we thought it was more transparent to explain, for each service, why we needed it and what it meant. We prefer to be transparent than just ask for a bunch of permission without explanation as other services do.
And yes we are tight to Google because it was simpler for us to start this way. Again, most of the professionals we target use Google Workspace. In the future, the service could evolve and support other services like Outlook.
But since we are asking users for their Google credentials, we thought it was more transparent to explain, for each service, why we needed it and what it meant. We prefer to be transparent than just ask for a bunch of permission without explanation as other services do.
And yes we are tight to Google because it was simpler for us to start this way. Again, most of the professionals we target use Google Workspace. In the future, the service could evolve and support other services like Outlook.
My critique is this seems a distraction.
Just have standard terms of service.
A snowflake is always “for now.”
Placating people who don’t like your ToS is not connecting with people in your market segment.
Your market segment is people who don’t care. Your differentiation is treating them better than you can get away with.
Again I don’t have any issue with what you are doing.
I think privacy theater is a waste of your time and energy.
Just have standard terms of service.
A snowflake is always “for now.”
Placating people who don’t like your ToS is not connecting with people in your market segment.
Your market segment is people who don’t care. Your differentiation is treating them better than you can get away with.
Again I don’t have any issue with what you are doing.
I think privacy theater is a waste of your time and energy.
Probably a stupid question: why not CalDAV?
A Google Account integration is an easy and relevant MVP for your product. It allows you to get up and running quicker. You can always add other integrations and self-hosted user management later as you prove out your business model.
If Google Accounts, then >1 Google Accounts. Haven't looked yet, TBH.
This looks great! I have been on the lookout for something like this — Agenda (https://agenda.com/) looked like a good start, but it did not work for me. I couldn't quite put my finger on why.
I am curious to what your pricing plans are (I am a tad hesitant to move away from my current workflow just to find out that your price model might not work for me.
Any thoughts on this?
[Edited for formatting]
I am curious to what your pricing plans are (I am a tad hesitant to move away from my current workflow just to find out that your price model might not work for me.
Any thoughts on this?
[Edited for formatting]
Hi Raju. We'll definitely put a pricing plan in place at some point. It will likely be something around $10/month for professionals. But we will almost certainly keep a free plan. I can't guarantee it because we are still at the beginning but it is likely.
Really intrigued by the idea and anxious to try it out! After connecting my Gmail I can only get a white screen. How do I report the bug to y'all?
Best of luck, many commenters on HN seem to really undervalue the "it just works" aspect of things. It looks nice, seems to do something I am really anxious for help with, and not much more. I can see myself paying for this (potentially :) - need to get it working first!).
One perhaps funny anecdote for you - I am recently an engineer-turned-manager and this type of unified task/meeting management is one of the growth areas I've had to focus on most over the last year. Thought I'd let you in on a potential niche^2 market that might be a good fit for a blog post or something similar down the road.
Best of luck, many commenters on HN seem to really undervalue the "it just works" aspect of things. It looks nice, seems to do something I am really anxious for help with, and not much more. I can see myself paying for this (potentially :) - need to get it working first!).
One perhaps funny anecdote for you - I am recently an engineer-turned-manager and this type of unified task/meeting management is one of the growth areas I've had to focus on most over the last year. Thought I'd let you in on a potential niche^2 market that might be a good fit for a blog post or something similar down the road.
Thanks for your message. You're not the first one to report a blank screen. Very strange. We didn't see that before. You can send us an email at [email protected] and we'll try to dig deeper. Any help is greatly appreciated.
Relating to your last comment, I would be great to chat. I'd love to get your input: [email protected] if you want to reach out directly.
Thanks
Relating to your last comment, I would be great to chat. I'd love to get your input: [email protected] if you want to reach out directly.
Thanks
Nice app! I remember that an extremely similar product was Sunrise. It was a well crafted product and it was bought by Microsoft. The development has been since then discontinued, and functions were integrated into Outlook. Hope this won't happen to Routine. Nice work!
This looks great. Though it is a shame I can't use it as it's Mac only. I switch between OS's a lot, to have a web app version of your product would really make the difference.
Do you have any plans towards building Routine in that direction?
Do you have any plans towards building Routine in that direction?
We do have a Web version but it is true that we do not advertize it very much because the desktop experience is what we want to push for. Feel free to give it a try: https://bit.ly/3rhkYLt
I use NotePlan[1], which is a similar app, and it's a joy. The downside of NotePlan is that is available only for Apple devices.
1. https://noteplan.co/
1. https://noteplan.co/
Looked at Noteplan, and no pricing details are anywhere (webstore nor App store listing). Apparently requires a subscription and there is no free functionality. Hard pass.
I would even say that it shouldn't exist as a free app on the App store.
I would even say that it shouldn't exist as a free app on the App store.
Been using it on/off since v1 or even before. Super fast and feature rich. I'm only on Apple, so it's fine for me.
Congrats on the launch! +100 for keeping notes and tasks together. I think it's an under explored area.
I really like the design, and how minimal you've kept it. I've been working in this space with Amna [https://getamna.com] and I know how hard it is to get the design right. It's soo easy to keep building UI for everything.
One thing I found frustrating was closing out of the "console" when I was clicking out of it. Since it was invoked with a mouse, my hands weren't on the keyboard.
I'm looking forward to where this is going!
I really like the design, and how minimal you've kept it. I've been working in this space with Amna [https://getamna.com] and I know how hard it is to get the design right. It's soo easy to keep building UI for everything.
One thing I found frustrating was closing out of the "console" when I was clicking out of it. Since it was invoked with a mouse, my hands weren't on the keyboard.
I'm looking forward to where this is going!
Thanks. Regarding the console, we know it's far from perfect.
For now, you can hide the console by re-hitting CTRL+SPACE.
For now, you can hide the console by re-hitting CTRL+SPACE.
I've been an early user of Routine and have been surprised by how much it sticked.
I like seeing my calendar, notes and tasks in the same place. I think that going forward contacts should also be part of the app. If I take notes during a meeting, they should be linked to my Routine
Main thing I use in the app is the calendar to join meetings in a click
I like seeing my calendar, notes and tasks in the same place. I think that going forward contacts should also be part of the app. If I take notes during a meeting, they should be linked to my Routine
Main thing I use in the app is the calendar to join meetings in a click
Hi, I'm just trying it out.
Few comments: - Can the Desktop/Mobile tasks/events/agendas sync, or is this currently being worked on?
- I want to be able to add a calendar event and be able to view it as an agenda (on the daily agenda), viewing an event or a task on the side seems to be counter-intuitive.
Few comments: - Can the Desktop/Mobile tasks/events/agendas sync, or is this currently being worked on?
- I want to be able to add a calendar event and be able to view it as an agenda (on the daily agenda), viewing an event or a task on the side seems to be counter-intuitive.
Hi. Indeed, it's far from perfect. We haven't had time to work on the offline/sync yet. You need to reload to get the new state. It's on the roadmap. Will be done soon.
First of all - congratulations on the launch. Your produce looks beautiful!
I'm curious, and mean no offense when I ask: when you and other startups cite usage at Telsa/Stripe/etc. do you sell directly to those organizations or is there some other threshold that makes you comfortable mentioning them.
I've seen similar on a lot of sites (sometimes direct competitors claiming use by the same large organization) and I often wonder if the company knows anything about it or if it's more a case of a handful of individuals (that happen to work at one of those companies) using the product of their own volition.
I'd be interested in anyone's thoughts here.
Best of luck with the launch and all future endeavors!
I'm curious, and mean no offense when I ask: when you and other startups cite usage at Telsa/Stripe/etc. do you sell directly to those organizations or is there some other threshold that makes you comfortable mentioning them.
I've seen similar on a lot of sites (sometimes direct competitors claiming use by the same large organization) and I often wonder if the company knows anything about it or if it's more a case of a handful of individuals (that happen to work at one of those companies) using the product of their own volition.
I'd be interested in anyone's thoughts here.
Best of luck with the launch and all future endeavors!
From what I’ve seen, people use these when they notice anyone with an @company.com email address pop up in their Users table.
Another app that aims to "fix" workday tasks? It's hard to see why this is better and choosing Electron is a red flag. Reminds me of the email client wars from years ago.
Half an app, barely a business. Why did YC back this?
Half an app, barely a business. Why did YC back this?
> Why did YC back this?
This comes up a lot on Launch HN posts. The answer is always "YC backs teams, not ideas". They liked the founders and think the founders have potential.
If this is how the founders choose to use that potential, then so be it. Maybe they will make a success, maybe they will pivot. YC will back them up and help them either way.
This comes up a lot on Launch HN posts. The answer is always "YC backs teams, not ideas". They liked the founders and think the founders have potential.
If this is how the founders choose to use that potential, then so be it. Maybe they will make a success, maybe they will pivot. YC will back them up and help them either way.
Does Routine have realtime collaboration? Currently using input.com for notes+tasks but still waiting for them to add better sharing model (they have rt collab but you have to send an invite for each doc, not ideal).
No not yet. Definitely something we want to do but to be honest it won't be before 6 months at least.
Installed it on my work machine now. We use Google Calendar at work and I much more rather look it using your App :)
It would be nice if I could connect my Apple-calendar with it as that's what I'm using personally.
Ctrl+space short key is nice but canceling it with esc doesn't work for me at least but I have to open the app to get it closed.
Also - I'd use it so much rather if it would be more independent from google. I switched off from Gmail this year so commiting to Google ecosystem this way isn't so nice.
Anyways, all the best for you. Let's see if this will be actually useful for me.
It would be nice if I could connect my Apple-calendar with it as that's what I'm using personally.
Ctrl+space short key is nice but canceling it with esc doesn't work for me at least but I have to open the app to get it closed.
Also - I'd use it so much rather if it would be more independent from google. I switched off from Gmail this year so commiting to Google ecosystem this way isn't so nice.
Anyways, all the best for you. Let's see if this will be actually useful for me.
Thanks for the kind words.
Apple Calendar is something we are obviously considering.
As for console which is hard to exit, we get that feedback all the time. Unfortunately, even though it looks trivial, it is actually not super simple to do. I suggest you re-hit CTRL+SPACE to hide it, it is the easiest way. Otherwise, you need to reput focus in the console and hit CTRL+ESC.
As for the dependence on the Google ecosystem, we understand but, as discussed through other comments on this post, we had to start somewhere. We will expand later but it just made sense to start on Google given that we are going after professionals and that there are 400M Google Workspace accounts.
Apple Calendar is something we are obviously considering.
As for console which is hard to exit, we get that feedback all the time. Unfortunately, even though it looks trivial, it is actually not super simple to do. I suggest you re-hit CTRL+SPACE to hide it, it is the easiest way. Otherwise, you need to reput focus in the console and hit CTRL+ESC.
As for the dependence on the Google ecosystem, we understand but, as discussed through other comments on this post, we had to start somewhere. We will expand later but it just made sense to start on Google given that we are going after professionals and that there are 400M Google Workspace accounts.
Rehitting CTRL+space just opens Routine app (if I'm pressing ctrl+space while it's closed) on my computer. It would be okay flow if it would just close it with the same short-cut and I could continue where I was before. But I can believe this isn't as trivial to do as it sounds.
Awesome to see more people work on integrated productivity spaces! I work on something very similar at Life (https://life.so).
Since you decided to include notes into your bundling as well (which I did not so far) I am curious: How do you expect people to switch their note-writing habits from Notion, Roam, etc. to your project? It seemed to me that the notes market is extremely competitive already.
The design looks clean and beautiful. Congratulations to your launch and I will try to sign up for early access later.
Since you decided to include notes into your bundling as well (which I did not so far) I am curious: How do you expect people to switch their note-writing habits from Notion, Roam, etc. to your project? It seemed to me that the notes market is extremely competitive already.
The design looks clean and beautiful. Congratulations to your launch and I will try to sign up for early access later.
Thanks.
Notes taking app tend to be very generic. You can type text, create bullet points and checkboxes. But they it is for you to manually move stuff from one page or section to another to "represent" another day, time or topic.
In Routine, every note (being a page or a task description) can contain text, bullet points, media etc. But every checkbox turns out to be a full-fledged task that can be scheduled, opened to enhance with a description (which in turn can contain subtasks) etc.
We've basically closed the loop. Every note can contain tasks. And every task can be enhanced with a note. And then we tight those notes and tasks to what is happening in your life.
If you are in a meeting, you can take notes that will be linked to this meeting and its participants. If you create a checkbox (action item) in such a note, it becomes a task that you can postpone for later or schedule right away.
Notion is best for teams and does not have this notion of task, nor is it well integrated with your calendar. Likewise for Roam which is more for people who love to take tons of notes: researchers, journalists etc.
Notes taking app tend to be very generic. You can type text, create bullet points and checkboxes. But they it is for you to manually move stuff from one page or section to another to "represent" another day, time or topic.
In Routine, every note (being a page or a task description) can contain text, bullet points, media etc. But every checkbox turns out to be a full-fledged task that can be scheduled, opened to enhance with a description (which in turn can contain subtasks) etc.
We've basically closed the loop. Every note can contain tasks. And every task can be enhanced with a note. And then we tight those notes and tasks to what is happening in your life.
If you are in a meeting, you can take notes that will be linked to this meeting and its participants. If you create a checkbox (action item) in such a note, it becomes a task that you can postpone for later or schedule right away.
Notion is best for teams and does not have this notion of task, nor is it well integrated with your calendar. Likewise for Roam which is more for people who love to take tons of notes: researchers, journalists etc.
Thank you for the explanation! I'm looking forward to trying it out in practice
Life.so looks very interesting. It does one thing I wish all task managements did: integrate calendar so that you can schedule tasks on your calendar. This, to me, is key to actually getting things done.
I would love to also have notes built into it - that way I won't be context switching and could (presumably) add tasks from within notes.
I've signed up for your app - looking forward to seeing it!
I would love to also have notes built into it - that way I won't be context switching and could (presumably) add tasks from within notes.
I've signed up for your app - looking forward to seeing it!
Definitely agree. Looks like what you are describing is Routine (http://routine.co) :)
Yes but sadly I'm on Exchange - so it won't work for me right now. Otherwise I'd already be playing with it!
I built and app called Life Tracker[0] a while back, it's aim was to track your mood and have everything in one place. My blue sky goal was to reach something like life.so.
It's good to see people working in this space, though I feel as if sometimes the scope can be wayy to big. Everyone has different types of workflows, so I guess for a product to be used by a lot of people, it has to allow for as many possible custom workflows. Though at the same time keeping a simple design and easy-to-use interface.
It's hard for me to tell, is life.so Mac only?
[0] https://alexandar.me/lifetracker
It's good to see people working in this space, though I feel as if sometimes the scope can be wayy to big. Everyone has different types of workflows, so I guess for a product to be used by a lot of people, it has to allow for as many possible custom workflows. Though at the same time keeping a simple design and easy-to-use interface.
It's hard for me to tell, is life.so Mac only?
[0] https://alexandar.me/lifetracker
Hey Alex, very cool project! What made you pause working on it?
You are making a great point. There is an inherent trade-off between customisability and simplicity. That is not necessarily a problem though because I think there are different target groups depending on where your product is on this scale. I like to think of productivity software as a pair of shoes where everyone has their preferred size and fit. That also allows different tools to successfully co-exist.
The desktop application is Electron-based, so porting it to Windows will be relatively easy. For mobile we go native though and that's why a native Android application will take some longer.
You are making a great point. There is an inherent trade-off between customisability and simplicity. That is not necessarily a problem though because I think there are different target groups depending on where your product is on this scale. I like to think of productivity software as a pair of shoes where everyone has their preferred size and fit. That also allows different tools to successfully co-exist.
The desktop application is Electron-based, so porting it to Windows will be relatively easy. For mobile we go native though and that's why a native Android application will take some longer.
I like that analogy. Works nicely with having multiple products that do the same thing.
> What made you pause working on it?
I lost interest in building it, I still use it everyday but now I'm just waiting (hoping) that I'll eventually get back to it.
I've signed up to the beta, definitely keep me updated :)
> What made you pause working on it?
I lost interest in building it, I still use it everyday but now I'm just waiting (hoping) that I'll eventually get back to it.
I've signed up to the beta, definitely keep me updated :)
Are you happy with how the application looks and behaves on the Mac?
Apple is clearly moving to having iOS apps work on the Mac. Do you think the iOS Routine app would work on the Mac?
Apple is clearly moving to having iOS apps work on the Mac. Do you think the iOS Routine app would work on the Mac?
That's a very good point. Definitely Apple's direction.
I think it will take quite some time to reunite both world. But maybe indeed, eventually, we'll have only the iOS app that will run on both iPhones and macs.
Note thought that there will always be a big difference in experience. On desktop, we want the experience to be center-ed around the keyboard shortcut, the console and natural language.
On iOS (at least for most people), it's faster to use a well-crafter UI/UX than typing natural language. Though again, in the future, we might go in the direction of voice.
Time will tell :)
I think it will take quite some time to reunite both world. But maybe indeed, eventually, we'll have only the iOS app that will run on both iPhones and macs.
Note thought that there will always be a big difference in experience. On desktop, we want the experience to be center-ed around the keyboard shortcut, the console and natural language.
On iOS (at least for most people), it's faster to use a well-crafter UI/UX than typing natural language. Though again, in the future, we might go in the direction of voice.
Time will tell :)
> On iOS (at least for most people)
Are you assuming a phone here or including the 12" iPad Pro with a keyboard?
Are you assuming a phone here or including the 12" iPad Pro with a keyboard?
Hi criddell,
I'm the iOS dev for Routine. As of now, the iOS application is restricted for iPhone only. Regarding the iPad with keyboard it is definitely something we need to think about, as the usage is closer to a desktop than a phone.
As of now, if we authorized the iPhone version to be used on iPad it would lack the main desktop feature : the console.
If you did decide to support an iPad with keyboard, I wonder what the experience on the Mac would be compared to the Electron app?
You can probably tell Electron isn't my favorite way to make Mac apps.
You can probably tell Electron isn't my favorite way to make Mac apps.
Surely if we were to have the console on iPad (and all the features that are not developped on iOS as of now), we probably could release a native MacOS app along.
But realistically it will not be in the near future, as the iOS app is lagging a fair amount behind the electron app.
As of now, we're focusing on iOS on the simplest and most used functionalities as well as features that works well with touch UI.
[deleted]
Reading all the negative sentiment on HN about Electron beforehand I was a bit concerned about picking it for the desktop app but now I am positively surprised to be honest.
I totally understand that Electron's memory footprint is not acceptable for very small apps that only serve as a utility. For Life though, which is supposed to replace 2-3 other apps, a memory footprint of ~300mb seems fine to me. In-app performance is also good.
I cannot say anything about the iOS Routine app because I have not tried it yet.
I totally understand that Electron's memory footprint is not acceptable for very small apps that only serve as a utility. For Life though, which is supposed to replace 2-3 other apps, a memory footprint of ~300mb seems fine to me. In-app performance is also good.
I cannot say anything about the iOS Routine app because I have not tried it yet.
Routine's iOS app is written in native Swift.
I was curious about your product so I signed up. I was dismayed to find that I was just baited into providing my e-mail to an "product not ready yet" situation, and you want me to spend 5 minutes on a survey, just to be considered for access.
I would have appreciated a "We're not ready yet, sign up to be on our waiting list". I immediately unsubscribed.
I would have appreciated a "We're not ready yet, sign up to be on our waiting list". I immediately unsubscribed.
Just a heads up.
My Google account only has a first name so when I tried signing up got this error
{"reason":"invalid JSON OAuth response: missing required field family_name","method":"GET"}
My Google account only has a first name so when I tried signing up got this error
{"reason":"invalid JSON OAuth response: missing required field family_name","method":"GET"}
Congratulations on the launch. I can’t find a link to the iOS version on your “/hn” landing page, is it already available?
Also, maybe it’s just the logo, but the design looks really similar to sorted3.
Also, maybe it’s just the logo, but the design looks really similar to sorted3.
No inspiration from sorted3 but similarities with the circle on the logo indeed. The same could probably be said of many other productivity tools, like Sunrise :)
Regarding iOS, you can find it here: https://apple.co/399lDrW
Regarding iOS, you can find it here: https://apple.co/399lDrW
Hi zcoops,
Here's the app store link for you https://apple.co/399lDrW
Beware that the iOS app is meant to be used with the MacOS app as it still miss a lot of the desktop features
> Switching to your browser to then click on the Google Calendar tab to be able to look at your next meeting is just too much work.
Is this really that big of a problem? This is the second YC startup in this batch that is trying to fix this. I’m usually already in the browser, and if not I can cmd-tab into there in seconds. From there it takes me literally less than 2 seconds to type “cal” + enter to look at my Google calendar.
Is this really that big of a problem? This is the second YC startup in this batch that is trying to fix this. I’m usually already in the browser, and if not I can cmd-tab into there in seconds. From there it takes me literally less than 2 seconds to type “cal” + enter to look at my Google calendar.
Bug: If "Tasks" is turned off for a Google WorkSpace domain, it shows as an error. The error dialogue is persistent too and I've no option to close it.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/2xxcvc7r54mrnua/Screen%20Shot%2020...
https://www.dropbox.com/s/2xxcvc7r54mrnua/Screen%20Shot%2020...
Hi Brajeshwar. Indeed, we need access to Google Tasks because all the tasks created in Routine are stored in a specific list in your Google Tasks account. We do not store the tasks on our server.
I need this on Windows/Web
And on Linux/Android ;)
Edit: works pretty well as an app added inside of https://wavebox.io/
Edit: works pretty well as an app added inside of https://wavebox.io/
Hey Jonas. Our team is too small for us to go after all the platforms right now unfortunately. But we do have a Web app: https://bit.ly/3rhkYLt
Ack! Why isn't the web app featured prominently on your homepage? I bounced when I saw the Mac-only requirement, and almost abandoned checking out your product any further until I found your comment/link at the bottom of this thread.
Thanks lenova. Duly noted, we'll improve that as it's not the first time we get the feedback here.
Windows needs a good G/Mail/Calendar app, like Mimestream on OS X, which uses the API.
I'm forever flummoxed that Outlook on Mac handles Gmail and Google Calendar just fine, as does Windows Mail, but not Outlook for Windows.
I'm forever flummoxed that Outlook on Mac handles Gmail and Google Calendar just fine, as does Windows Mail, but not Outlook for Windows.
So you're trying to compete with Google? And with a note-taking app (which is the developer equivalent of making an ashtray in pottery class)?
And YC are backing this? wassa matter? afraid to miss out on the next Slack?
And YC are backing this? wassa matter? afraid to miss out on the next Slack?
You made me laugh :) Thank you. Means a lot!
Feature request:
- Section: Agenda-view
- Feature: in the "free time" blocks where no event are scheduled, have the option (+) to create a new event in that free block of time.
- Source: viewed on web app
Hopefully that makes sense!
- Section: Agenda-view
- Feature: in the "free time" blocks where no event are scheduled, have the option (+) to create a new event in that free block of time.
- Source: viewed on web app
Hopefully that makes sense!
The ability to add tasks and events in the Agenda view is in the roadmap indeed :) Along with drag/dropping a task onto this view.
Thanks. Very clear.
Thanks. Very clear.
I've been looking for something like that.
How do I change the Ctrl + Space hotkey? It's my language switch. So, I'd like to keep it and change Routine's.
How do I change the Ctrl + Space hotkey? It's my language switch. So, I'd like to keep it and change Routine's.
It's not configurable from the Settings screen yet, but you can set the "dashboard-shortcut" key in ~/Library/Application Support/Routine/config.json. In can be any electron accelerator (https://www.electronjs.org/docs/api/accelerator).
Is this a native Swift app or Electron based app?
The iOS app is native Swift. The desktop app is in Electron.
But we've taken another approach for the Electron app not to become as slow as Slack or Notion. We know many people complain about that.
To give just one example. The parser in our console has not been written manually in Javascript. Instead we wrote it in Ocaml (https://ocaml.org/) and we generate the Javascript. This allows us to have a code that is more reliable, maintainable and faster.
We do the same for many other parts of the product exactly for that same reason.
But we've taken another approach for the Electron app not to become as slow as Slack or Notion. We know many people complain about that.
To give just one example. The parser in our console has not been written manually in Javascript. Instead we wrote it in Ocaml (https://ocaml.org/) and we generate the Javascript. This allows us to have a code that is more reliable, maintainable and faster.
We do the same for many other parts of the product exactly for that same reason.
Speed is not the problem with JS and Electron, it's the broken UX and expected behavior from a native app.
I've installed it and before moving it to my app folder, I tried to run it (I always do this with new apps). A popup appeared with the title "A JavaScript error occurred in the main process" (weird behavior), I didn't read the content at first, so I closed it and reopened the app again (fast fingers reached cmd-q). Later I read the message asking to move to the App folder first.
I've installed it and before moving it to my app folder, I tried to run it (I always do this with new apps). A popup appeared with the title "A JavaScript error occurred in the main process" (weird behavior), I didn't read the content at first, so I closed it and reopened the app again (fast fingers reached cmd-q). Later I read the message asking to move to the App folder first.
As an aside, JS does definitely make things feel slower than native in some instances. Regardless, how does generating JS from OCaml make things faster, I wonder?
I think our app is as reactive as a native app despite javascript; if you see any lack of responsiveness I'd be interested in knowing where so I can improve it. I do however agree that it "feels" different on OSX, since you don't have the native animations and look & feel, but I don't think it's related to speed.
Regarding OCaml, using such a strongly typed language enables heavy abstractions without a runtime performance tradeoff, leverages the static optimizer of the OCaml toolchain and outputs optimized javascript (asm like). This is, I would argue, hardly achievable by writing directly plain javascript. Note however that there are other tools that target javascript with similar benefits.
Regarding OCaml, using such a strongly typed language enables heavy abstractions without a runtime performance tradeoff, leverages the static optimizer of the OCaml toolchain and outputs optimized javascript (asm like). This is, I would argue, hardly achievable by writing directly plain javascript. Note however that there are other tools that target javascript with similar benefits.
Please, use the browser for auth. I don't use apps, which asks me to enter my Google passwords in them!
one thing well, ever heard of it?
bundling is another philosophy, like notion are doing. It works well because you don't have to context-switch as much.
unbundled (calendar/task/notes) applications are still available if that's your preference.
unbundled (calendar/task/notes) applications are still available if that's your preference.
I became an entrepreneur in 2010 and struggled to maintain control of my work environment which quickly became very chaotic with many email/chats to answer, a ton of meetings to schedule and attend, time to find to focus on important tasks and hundreds of thoughts going through my head that I needed to write down somewhere not to forget.
Over the years I improved my own workflow, from sending myself emails, to todo apps, to GTD, to programming my own small tools with keyboard shortcuts.
Talking with many busy professionals (entrepreneurs, investors, managers etc.) we quickly discovered that everybody had the same problems: they cannot stay in control of their time, they rely on manual "hacks" based on a single product (e.g Gmail, Google Calendar, Notion or else) to do almost everything and they hate context switching between apps.
Given how many people are unhappy with their workflow, we decided to build Routine to become a productivity operating system (so to speak) and solve these problems.
In particular, we find it super annoying to be forced to switch between todo and notes taking apps. We believe some information is actionable (tasks) while others are not (notes). We see no reason why they should not be stored in the same system. This is why we decided to include notes (daily notes, meeting notes, topic-based pages etc,) and tightly-bound them to tasks. In Routine, tasks can be enhanced with a media-rich description (i.e a note) but notes can also embed checkboxes which are full-fledged tasks that can be scheduled, delegated and more.
Another problem with existing tools is that they do not take into account your work preferences. Maybe you prefer to concentrate in the morning and take meetings in the afternoon. Or maybe the opposite. Routine allows you to define such time preferences when it comes to deep work, internal and external meetings, administrative work etc. Routine will then take those into account whenever you want to schedule a meeting or block time in your calendar in order to work on an important task. Think of it as Calendly for all the activities in your life (not just meetings).
We also think that existing workflows are just too slow. Switching to your browser to then click on the Google Calendar tab to be able to look at your next meeting is just too much work. Likewise when it comes to taking meeting notes or writing down a task to perform later. Such actions should not take more than 3 seconds, in particular since you perform them several times a day. This is why we've made Routine controllable through a single keyboard shortcut. Just invoke CTRL+SPACE anywhere on your desktop to pop up Routine's console which can be used to capture a thought, create a calendar event, glance at your calendar, take notes and more. This way you do not need to switch apps and lose focus!
By combining these concepts, you can for example turn an email into a task and secure time in your calendar to make sure it gets done; just invoke the console over Gmail and type "... for 1h in Focus" (with Focus being the name of one of your pre-defined time slots).
The app is still in heavy development. For now we've been focusing on having a strong backbone with tasks, notes and calendar. Some of the features above will be shipped in the next release. We have the core concepts but we need time and your feedback to help us find the right direction. So if you feel information is spread between too many tools and that you are constantly wasting time switching between apps, let us know what you think, ideas you have and recurring problems you face.
Feel free to give it a try (note that we are in the process of rebranding and the app is not up to date yet!): http://routine.co/hn
Thanks.