FacileThings

December 2021: Here is where we are at

AUTHOR: Francisco Sáez
Newsletter Mobile App Project Management Analytics

Hello everyone!

In the last two months we have been working on internal projects that are not visible to the naked eye from the outside, but that will have an impact on the user experience in the near future:

  • Creation of content that will serve to help users who are in different stages of learning to better understand both the GTD methodology and the use of the FacileThings application.
  • Creation of new databases to store behavioral events that will allow a user to be helped in the future, through artificial intelligence algorithms, to carry out a more effective personal management.
  • Planning objectives and priorities for 2022. I will let you know more details in a future post.

The next improvements that are on the way are:

  • A new Analytics section, with a new design, which, in addition to quantitative data, will allow you to make a real follow-up of what feeling you are having when implementing GTD every day.
  • A new mobile version that, in addition to some small improvements, will bring a much more complete project management.

That’s it for now, Happy 2022!

Francisco Sáez
@franciscojsaez

Francisco is the founder and CEO of FacileThings. He is also a Software Engineer who is passionate about personal productivity and the GTD philosophy as a means to a better life.

The 5 steps that will put your life and work in order

Download the ebook The GTD® Workflow FOR FREE!

21 comments

Commented over a year ago Bertrand

Hello,

Good job, stay the course !
My biggest expectations are a better Project Management: with among others things a template section to not have to recreate all the time the structure of sporadic/recurring similar projects. I use pre-formated emails for now.
Also a better general UI: The place to write notes appears sometimes "tight" when we wish to write a big section of text or copy paste something.

I hope you understand those as constructive criticisms. I like FT very much. (and English is not my main lang).

Rmq: I also hope one day it will be possible to sync with iCloud calendar and I'll can finally get rid of evilgoogle that I keep just for that. But I know this problem is not within your means ;-)

Happy new Year !

Bertrand

Hello,

Good job, stay the course !
My biggest expectations are a better Project Management: with among others things a template section to not have to recreate all the time the structure of sporadic/recurring similar projects. I use pre-formated emails for now.
Also a better general UI: The place to write notes appears sometimes "tight" when we wish to write a big section of text or copy paste something.

I hope you understand those as constructive criticisms. I like FT very much. (and English is not my main lang).

Rmq: I also hope one day it will be possible to sync with iCloud calendar and I'll can finally get rid of evilgoogle that I keep just for that. But I know this problem is not within your means ;-)

Happy new Year !

Commented over a year ago Ivan

Thanks Francisco, very excited to see what is coming. The mobile app has come a long way so excited to see what else it can do! One suggestion that would be huge.... I have an Apple Watch as well as iphone. I often just hit the siri button and ask it to "remind me at 10 am to add something to my next action list" when I cannot type. Have you thought about implementing siri integration? Woould be amazing to voice capture via siri

Ivan

Thanks Francisco, very excited to see what is coming. The mobile app has come a long way so excited to see what else it can do! One suggestion that would be huge.... I have an Apple Watch as well as iphone. I often just hit the siri button and ask it to "remind me at 10 am to add something to my next action list" when I cannot type. Have you thought about implementing siri integration? Woould be amazing to voice capture via siri

Commented over a year ago Cyrus

Great progress. It's the small steps that lead to big accomplishments. Looking forward to what 2022 brings us all. Keep up the great work!

Cyrus

Great progress. It's the small steps that lead to big accomplishments. Looking forward to what 2022 brings us all. Keep up the great work!

Commented over a year ago Francisco Sáez

Hi Bertrand,

Project templates will undoubtedly be one of the big improvements planned for 2022. We also plan to improve the experience in the notes section.

Synchronization with the iCloud calendar is a bit complicated at the moment, as there is no access API, but we will investigate later.

Thanks for the suggestions and the cheering!

Francisco Sáez

Hi Bertrand,

Project templates will undoubtedly be one of the big improvements planned for 2022. We also plan to improve the experience in the notes section.

Synchronization with the iCloud calendar is a bit complicated at the moment, as there is no access API, but we will investigate later.

Thanks for the suggestions and the cheering!

Commented over a year ago Francisco Sáez

Hi Ivan,

The possibility of creating a mini-app for Apple Watch that allows you to capture things and see/execute the actions of the day is on our radar, although we want to improve the mobile app before dedicating to it.

Thank you!

Francisco Sáez

Hi Ivan,

The possibility of creating a mini-app for Apple Watch that allows you to capture things and see/execute the actions of the day is on our radar, although we want to improve the mobile app before dedicating to it.

Thank you!

Commented over a year ago Francisco Sáez

Hi Cyrus,

Thanks for the cheering and Happy New Year! :)

Francisco Sáez

Hi Cyrus,

Thanks for the cheering and Happy New Year! :)

Commented over a year ago Cameron

Great developments, and great ideas for improvement. I have also been hoping for some sort of voice interaction. Even some sort of capture widget, for Android too, would be nice.

Cameron

Great developments, and great ideas for improvement. I have also been hoping for some sort of voice interaction. Even some sort of capture widget, for Android too, would be nice.

Commented over a year ago xinghe

Thanks Francisco, I've been looking forward to supporting Chinese search and recommending FT to Chinese GTD users.

xinghe

Thanks Francisco, I've been looking forward to supporting Chinese search and recommending FT to Chinese GTD users.

Commented over a year ago Francisco Sáez

Hi Cameron,

Developing a capture widget is in our backlog. In the meantime I'd recommend you to integrate FacileThings with Braintoss, an app that allows you to easily capture voice memos and other stuff. You can see the info in the FacileThings website (How it works -> Advanced Tutorials -> Integration with Braintoss)

Thanks for the suggestion!

Francisco Sáez

Hi Cameron,

Developing a capture widget is in our backlog. In the meantime I'd recommend you to integrate FacileThings with Braintoss, an app that allows you to easily capture voice memos and other stuff. You can see the info in the FacileThings website (How it works -> Advanced Tutorials -> Integration with Braintoss)

Thanks for the suggestion!

Commented over a year ago Francisco Sáez

Hi Xinghe,

It would be great to have FacileThings translated to Chinese to help implement GTD to Chinese users. Unfortunately, we can't dedicate ourselves to it right now -- but I hope we can do it in the medium term.

Thank you!

Francisco Sáez

Hi Xinghe,

It would be great to have FacileThings translated to Chinese to help implement GTD to Chinese users. Unfortunately, we can't dedicate ourselves to it right now -- but I hope we can do it in the medium term.

Thank you!

Commented over a year ago xinghe

Hi,Francisco.
Actually, I'm talking about this Bug that can't be searched in Chinese.
Ticket #12775
At the same time, I'd be happy to help you translate the Chinese version in the future.

xinghe

Hi,Francisco.
Actually, I'm talking about this Bug that can't be searched in Chinese.
Ticket #12775
At the same time, I'd be happy to help you translate the Chinese version in the future.

Commented over a year ago Francisco Sáez

Sorry Xinghe, I totally forgot about that issue. We'll investigate if Chinese characters can be supported well in the current search option. When we know something we'll notify you through the support ticket.

Thanks for your support!

Francisco Sáez

Sorry Xinghe, I totally forgot about that issue. We'll investigate if Chinese characters can be supported well in the current search option. When we know something we'll notify you through the support ticket.

Thanks for your support!

Commented over a year ago Nikki CM

I really like the simplistic format. For me it’s straight to the point. As you update, will the theme of simplicity be kept or at least options to turn certain things off? I am enjoying the experience and worry things will become too much.

Nikki CM

I really like the simplistic format. For me it’s straight to the point. As you update, will the theme of simplicity be kept or at least options to turn certain things off? I am enjoying the experience and worry things will become too much.

Commented over a year ago Francisco Sáez

Hi Nikki,

We always try to simplify stuff: design, processes, etc. The famous Einstein quote "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler" is my motto as a software designer. :)

Thanks for your feedback!

Francisco Sáez

Hi Nikki,

We always try to simplify stuff: design, processes, etc. The famous Einstein quote "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler" is my motto as a software designer. :)

Thanks for your feedback!

Commented over a year ago Cyrus

While I am pleased with the direction the app is taking, improvement needs to be made in bringing the iOS application up to date. For example, why don’t I have the ability to long push to add to my inbox? Why don’t I have offline support?

FacileThings has always been the best at supporting GTD, but continues to be behind the competition when it comes to technology. I hope “catching up” is in the roadmap.

Cyrus

While I am pleased with the direction the app is taking, improvement needs to be made in bringing the iOS application up to date. For example, why don’t I have the ability to long push to add to my inbox? Why don’t I have offline support?

FacileThings has always been the best at supporting GTD, but continues to be behind the competition when it comes to technology. I hope “catching up” is in the roadmap.

Commented over a year ago Francisco Sáez

Hi Cyrus,

Of course, catching up with the mobile app, both in GTD functionality and in technology, is on our roadmap -- although first we are prioritizing the GTD functionality. When the app is more complete in this regard, we will focus on technological improvements.

Francisco Sáez

Hi Cyrus,

Of course, catching up with the mobile app, both in GTD functionality and in technology, is on our roadmap -- although first we are prioritizing the GTD functionality. When the app is more complete in this regard, we will focus on technological improvements.

Commented over a year ago Paolo Santucci

Great news, I'm looking forward for the new Analytics section, I'd like to see something like projects I'm neglecting or tags I'm non using as filters, to tune up my system. I'd like to have the option to customize what's sent in the daily and weekly reports.

I agree with Cyrus: the mobile app needs more integration with the OS. On the GTD side of things it's enough for me (I use the web app on iPad for more complex things, like projects handling). I'd like an improvement in the task note section: currently I can't copy the text from an email or open a link in a note (for example I save links to reference material on DEVONthink or project templates on Drafts).

What I'd like to see next:
- improved checklists (I'd like to store in FT all my lists like "Books to read", "Movies to watch", "Restaurants to try", "Next time I'm in...")
- Recurring projects

Paolo Santucci

Great news, I'm looking forward for the new Analytics section, I'd like to see something like projects I'm neglecting or tags I'm non using as filters, to tune up my system. I'd like to have the option to customize what's sent in the daily and weekly reports.

I agree with Cyrus: the mobile app needs more integration with the OS. On the GTD side of things it's enough for me (I use the web app on iPad for more complex things, like projects handling). I'd like an improvement in the task note section: currently I can't copy the text from an email or open a link in a note (for example I save links to reference material on DEVONthink or project templates on Drafts).

What I'd like to see next:
- improved checklists (I'd like to store in FT all my lists like "Books to read", "Movies to watch", "Restaurants to try", "Next time I'm in...")
- Recurring projects

Commented over a year ago Francisco Sáez

Hi Paolo,

Thanks for your suggestions. I've written them all down to review later (tags not used, reports customization, etc.)

Also, I've passed the UI issues you mention on the task note section to our mobile devs, so they can fix it in the next release. Copy/paste and links should work in there.

Project Templates will be one of the major improvements this year. You'll be able to work easily with recurring projects.

Not sure that you need checklists for the lists you mention ("books to read", "movies to watch", etc.). I think they should be just items in the Someday/Maybe, each one with the right tag (#book, #movie, etc.)

Thank you so much for your support and feedback!

Francisco Sáez

Hi Paolo,

Thanks for your suggestions. I've written them all down to review later (tags not used, reports customization, etc.)

Also, I've passed the UI issues you mention on the task note section to our mobile devs, so they can fix it in the next release. Copy/paste and links should work in there.

Project Templates will be one of the major improvements this year. You'll be able to work easily with recurring projects.

Not sure that you need checklists for the lists you mention ("books to read", "movies to watch", etc.). I think they should be just items in the Someday/Maybe, each one with the right tag (#book, #movie, etc.)

Thank you so much for your support and feedback!

Commented over a year ago Paolo Santucci

Hi Francisco,

thanks for you answer. About the mobile issue with links: regular URL to websites are opened without problem, tapping on a markdown link to an application URL schemas (for example x-devonthink-item://0006B262-068B-45D6-A460-CA6C482896FF to open a DEVONthink document) doesn't do anything.

Application URL schemas are commonly usend on iOS and iPadOS, you have just to open them in Safari to fix the problem. I can open a support ticket and help you test the issue if you want.

About the checklists: I don't like to use Someday/Maybe for those things because I can't sort the items and I can't just check them as completed, they goes to Inbox and there I've to delete them. Anyway, I understand that it's a matter of personal choices and you can't implement every request of every user. Currently I'm keeping them on another app, as I keep my reference material on another app, and everything works just fine! :-)

Paolo Santucci

Hi Francisco,

thanks for you answer. About the mobile issue with links: regular URL to websites are opened without problem, tapping on a markdown link to an application URL schemas (for example x-devonthink-item://0006B262-068B-45D6-A460-CA6C482896FF to open a DEVONthink document) doesn't do anything.

Application URL schemas are commonly usend on iOS and iPadOS, you have just to open them in Safari to fix the problem. I can open a support ticket and help you test the issue if you want.

About the checklists: I don't like to use Someday/Maybe for those things because I can't sort the items and I can't just check them as completed, they goes to Inbox and there I've to delete them. Anyway, I understand that it's a matter of personal choices and you can't implement every request of every user. Currently I'm keeping them on another app, as I keep my reference material on another app, and everything works just fine! :-)

Commented over a year ago Paolo Santucci

I forgot to ask this before:

- adding offline support to both mobile and web app is in your roadmap (or in your Someday/Maybe, at least)?

- I'd really love to have the same style of the report emails in the Print function of the web app.

Paolo Santucci

I forgot to ask this before:

- adding offline support to both mobile and web app is in your roadmap (or in your Someday/Maybe, at least)?

- I'd really love to have the same style of the report emails in the Print function of the web app.

Commented over a year ago Francisco Sáez

Hi Paolo,

Please, open a support ticket for the DEVONlink issue. It's hard to track specific issue in the blog comments.

Offline support is totally in our roadmap. Not in the short-term goals though.

We'll provide this year a nicer print option (PDF reports).

Thank you!

Francisco Sáez

Hi Paolo,

Please, open a support ticket for the DEVONlink issue. It's hard to track specific issue in the blog comments.

Offline support is totally in our roadmap. Not in the short-term goals though.

We'll provide this year a nicer print option (PDF reports).

Thank you!

Posts are closed to new comments after 30 days.

Try FacileThings FREE for 30 DAYS and start living at your own pace

No credit card required for the free trial. Cancel anytime with one click.