Have you ever struggled to remember when you last performed a certain task? Most of us find it hard to keep track of mundane tasks that we perform on a regular basis. Even though you might keep a schedule, calendar, or to do list, once something’s finished you usually forget it right away.
Time Flies is a new app to help you combat this problem by keeping track of when you last did something specific. As an example, say you want to change the oil in your car. After you’re done, enter the task into the app and then a few weeks later you’ll be able to go back and see exactly when you last changed your oil.
Let’s look at how Time Flies works and see if this is the app you need to start remembering tasks better.
Getting Started
Time Flies is very simple to use. Just tap the first line to add a new event and enter the event info into the New Event screen. You’ll notice the time is set to automatically show Today for the date and Now for the time, so if you just recently did a task you’ll only need to enter what you did and press Save.
Quickly add events and tasks you've completed
Tap the date and time fields to enter when you did the task; you can even enter a time in the future to remember something you’re planning on doing. You can also tap the bookmark ribbon on the right to add a bookmark to an event and make it easier to find. Press save when you’re finished. Now your Time Flies main screen will show all the events and task that have happened, along with how recently they took place. Press the plus button in the top right corner to add new tasks you’ve done, or press refresh to update the time.
Enter the date, add a bookmark, then save and see all your events
As you add more things you’ve done, your list will start getting fuller. There are two ways you can still quickly find the task or event you need. First, remember to add bookmarks to the tasks you’ll need to find most often. Then just tap the bookmark button on the bottom to see all bookmarked items. Alternatively, you can search for the task from the top search box.
View bookmarked items or search for a previous event
Viewing Event History
In addition to entering tasks when you do them, you can also update them when you do them again. Many of the tasks we do are performed on a regular basis. When you do one of these, just search for the task and tap to edit it. Then press the refresh button under the bookmark to update it to today’s date, or enter the time you most recently did that task and save.
You can now look at the history of that task. In the edit screen, tap History to open a list of all the times you’ve completed that task. The history screen makes it very easy to see when you last did the task and how much time passed between each interval. This is a great way to stay on top of how often you perform various actions.
Add other times you've done a task, then view its history
But I already have a to-do list app…
Many of us already have many apps to keep up with things we need to do, so at first glance it might not seem like you need Time Flies. In reality, this app is the exact opposite of most to-do list apps. To-do list apps are great for keeping up with things you need to do, but once you’ve done them, they disappear in the logbook or history. Time Flies, on the other hand, is designed solely to keep up with the things you’ve already done.
If you’ve ever wondered how long it’s been since you changed the oil in the car or got your hair cut, you could just look up the last time you’ve done this in Time Flies and know in seconds. This is a great way to stay on top of routine things that can be hard to remember when you last did them. Don’t think of it as a to-do list app; instead, it’s a way to see a glimpse of your personal history.
Pros and Cons
Overall, Time Flies works great and is quick to use. There’s only a few quirks we encountered, all of which are minor. First, as you may have noticed in a screenshot above, the date selector sometime interacts oddly with the History bar when editing an event. This is only a visual defect, but still would be nice to see it fixed. Also, accessing event history is somewhat awkward, since you have to open the event editor then tap History to see it. Otherwise, though, Time Files is great; just add your event and quickly get back to what you’re doing.
Conclusion
Time Flies is a brilliant way to keep up with what you’ve done. After using it, I’m amazed that no one had thought of this before. With a simple way to keep up with the last time you’ve done all of your most important activities, there’s no reason to forget when you last did something. Now, when you’re thinking it seems like the grass is growing faster than normal, you’ll be able to see exactly how long it’s been since you cut it!
Leave a comment below and let us know what you think of Time Flies. Do you think it’s a much needed spin on the traditional todo app?