6 ms·

Show HN: Timely – Scheduling and Time Tracking, Simultaneously

62 points by matmik 12y ago

michaelraven 12y ago
Awesome app, really clean and simple!
- matmik 12y ago
  Thanks a bunch!
SportyApp 12y ago
Great for logging hours, love the new mobile app!
- matmik 12y ago
  Thank you!
rayiner 12y ago
Have you considered a locally-hosted version? Cloud is a no-go for certain markets. Otherwise, looks phenomenal. I've looked hard for an app that integrates time budgeting, scheduling, and calendaring, but never found anything good.
- matmik 12y ago
  You can actually use the iPhone app without creating an account, so that should be work. But you won't be able to use the desktop web app without creating one.
  - rayiner 12y ago
    Sweet!
darrelld 12y ago
Love it. I wanted to build something just like this in my spare time for personal use. I only made it to the timing portion. Any plans for Android in the future?
- matmik 12y ago
  Thank you so much! :) Absolutely! Started on the design, but we haven't done any programming just yet.
  - mikestew 12y ago
    Going to need to change the Android app name, too. :-) http://www.bitspin.ch http://www.bitspin.ch
acutelyobtuse 12y ago
Looks really promising...but without an API you are missing one of the best parts of the what makes Cloud (SaaS) so great.
- matmik 12y ago
  We're almost there! The API is currently in beta: http://blog.timelyapp.com/post/86357933852/help-us-beta-test-the-upcoming-timely-api http://blog.timelyapp.com/post/86357933852/help-us-beta-test...
  - acutelyobtuse 12y ago
    Awesome stuff! I did look and found some of your roadmap, but missed this. Can't wait to give it a go.
    - matmik 12y ago
      We're looking forward to having you test it! Email mathias@timelyapp.com, and I'll invite you to the beta if you want.
- markhirsch 12y ago
  If you're looking to integrate with an automatic time capture platform with a RESTful API, checkout CreativeWorx TimeTracker. www.creativeworx.com
expose 12y ago
Is this basically Trello (w/ Plus for Trello) on a calendar-based grid?
- mikeg8 12y ago
  did you even watch the video? Trello uses lists (to mimic SCRUM), this uses days (to mimic a calendar). Not that similar.
  - matmik 12y ago
    Thanks for clarifying for us :)
  - expose 12y ago
    No, hence my question.
- matmik 12y ago
  Nah, this is pretty far from what you would use Trello for.
ShonM 12y ago
I'd love to see a $5/mo "me and my SO" type plan for this. Could use something nice for home
- Walkman 12y ago
  I have this same exact problem with it. Unfortunately they don't respond to support emails...
  - matmik 12y ago
    Crazy days with this and TechCrunch article going on. Lots of things to respond to – so sorry about that!
- matmik 12y ago
  Were you thinking of a $5/mo for two users type of plan?
  - ShonM 12y ago
    That is exactly it
alexkennedy 12y ago
Looks fantastic! Amazing job Mathias!
- matmik 12y ago
  Thanks so much! Appreciate it :)
hunvreus 12y ago
matmik, not sure you remember but we met in SF. I'm still amazed at the level of polish your product has. Lots of subtle animations and transitions. What tools did you use to produce the video?
- matmik 12y ago
  I remember! Mr. France! :) Really appreciate your comment, thanks a bunch! We put a lot of time into the polish, so glad to hear people take notice. I screen recorded everything on a Retina Macbook Pro. iPhone simulator and just a regular chrome browser for the web app. Then I add the clips into after effects and create the 3d movements with Element3D. I'll export all the clips from there and do the final edits in Final Cut Pro X. Hope that helps :)
d_k_f 12y ago
Preface: I really like the overall look and feel, so consider these points really small nitpicks: - Your "About" page is missing an "a" in the first line, right before "tiny". - You could style the <select> tags on your registration form to match the other inputs, right now it looks a tad unfinished. See http://stackoverflow.com/questions/5912791 http://stackoverflow.com/questions/5912791 for example.
- matmik 12y ago
  We love nitpicks! Thank you, will most definitively get these fixed.
leak 12y ago
This looks really great! Does this tool have any desktop apps for logging hours? I can't seem to find it on the website. This is the only must-have feature that's missing for me. Logging hours only from the website is not suitable for my workflow.
- matmik 12y ago
  Thank you! We don't have a desktop app right now, but we want to get it done in the future. We are however working on some pretty cool integrations stuff with the web app and the native iPhone app, so stay tuned for that!
  - scastillo 12y ago
    Definitively +1 on the desktop app. And more that just bc that fits better on some workflows is bc the kind of features that a desktop app leave you to implement. Currently my team is using timedoctor, i hate its ui/ux but they have this feature: "track keyboard activity" that lone is not impressive but their desktop app using this feature after a configurable period of time can alert me to ask if im still working on the selected task and if i don't answer he fallback to a "time break" activity. That is great bc right now with timely i can forget about a timer and let it grow for ever and later will be hard to remember when did I really ended doing that. Great ui/ux I'm on trial now.. and i love what you got... but w/o this feature my team will keep using ugly timedoctor, nothing personal btw ;)
  - chatmasta 12y ago
    If you haven't seen it, I would recommend checking out Aaron Shell [1], the cross-platform desktop JS runtime environment that Github uses for Atom editor. If your app is mostly frontend JS with an API, porting it should be easy. If the backend is in node.js, porting it will be even easier. [1] https://github.com/atom/atom-shell https://github.com/atom/atom-shell
- markhirsch 12y ago
  If you're looking for a comprehensive time tracking alternative, CreativeWorx TimeTracker has a desktop application in addition to a browser version. There's a new desktop application being released in about a week, and it's killer! Check it out: www.creativeworx.com
lancewiggs 12y ago
Seems to overlap with, err, Timely, which has been around for a while now. I'll let them know (I'm an investor) http://www.gettimely.com http://www.gettimely.com
- swah 12y ago
  Also the name of an alarm app with 1M+ downloads https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ch.bitspin.timely&hl=en https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ch.bitspin.tim...
  - matmik 12y ago
    Yeah, really annoying that one. I launched a product called Timely ages before those guys, but have since changed and restarted the whole thing into what you now see.
- matmik 12y ago
  Actually, long story short, I launched a product called Timely long before gettimely.com. It has however been changed and restarted, and since ended up into this. I have already talked about this with the founder of your company ages ago :)
  - chatmasta 12y ago
    And he was okay with it? That seems surprising since your businesses are about as close in scope as you can get without actually overlapping. If I heard about Timely from a friend, and searched for a scheduling app called "timely" on the App Store or the internet, I would just assume the first one I landed on was the correct one. And if it was wrong, then I would see it doesn't do what I want, and leave. Seems like the naming conflict could canmobalize sales for both of your companies. Why wouldn't you change the name? Especially if you knew so far ahead of time??
- bcasper 12y ago
  Not to mention the name and logo look a lot like these guys too: http://time.ly/ http://time.ly/ Doesn't anyone check these things first?
bronson 12y ago
I find it so weird that they look like a calendar, but they only keep track of durations. They explicitly reject start and stop times. For me, that makes scheduling hard, and reconciling my time & efficiency at the end of the month near impossible. I'm disappointed since everything else looks excellent.
- matmik 12y ago
  As you probably understood, we do this on purpose. We believe it doesn't matter if you work late in the evening or early in the morning, but that the important thing is that you're going to work on something, and that the task has a certain value, in this case how much time it will take. Then later on, you can worry about when exactly in the day to do it. We don't want people to stop using their calendars, so we would encourage you to integrate it with Timely instead. Appreciate the feedback though, really.
- markhirsch 12y ago
  If you want automatic time tracking with durations, see if CreativeWorx TimeTracker fills the bill. It automatically activities within applications (Office, Adobe Creative Suite, Apple productivity, browsers) plus your calendar events. www.creativeworx.com
habosa 12y ago
Very small compliment (I like other things, but commenting about this one): I love that your call to action button says "Watch the 1-min video". I NEVER click on product videos because I am afraid it will be 6-10 minutes of founders in the studio talking about how great the app is. With the specific detail of "1-min" I immediately watched the video and found out more about the app that I would have from reading the home page for 5-10 minutes.
batoure 12y ago
I am guessing you probably have some bade trademark news coming your way... cool app though http://www.bitspin.ch/ http://www.bitspin.ch/ (aka timely the clock app aquired by google)
- andreash 12y ago
  If I were Google, I would've continued shopping, and acquired @matmik and Timelyapp.com as well:)

62 points by matmik 12y ago

michaelraven 12y ago

Awesome app, really clean and simple!

matmik 12y ago
Thanks a bunch!

SportyApp 12y ago

Great for logging hours, love the new mobile app!

matmik 12y ago
Thank you!

rayiner 12y ago

Have you considered a locally-hosted version? Cloud is a no-go for certain markets. Otherwise, looks phenomenal. I've looked hard for an app that integrates time budgeting, scheduling, and calendaring, but never found anything good.

matmik 12y ago
You can actually use the iPhone app without creating an account, so that should be work. But you won't be able to use the desktop web app without creating one.
- rayiner 12y ago
  Sweet!

darrelld 12y ago

Love it. I wanted to build something just like this in my spare time for personal use. I only made it to the timing portion. Any plans for Android in the future?

matmik 12y ago
Thank you so much! :) Absolutely! Started on the design, but we haven't done any programming just yet.
- mikestew 12y ago
  Going to need to change the Android app name, too. :-) http://www.bitspin.ch http://www.bitspin.ch

acutelyobtuse 12y ago

Looks really promising...but without an API you are missing one of the best parts of the what makes Cloud (SaaS) so great.

matmik 12y ago
We're almost there! The API is currently in beta: http://blog.timelyapp.com/post/86357933852/help-us-beta-test-the-upcoming-timely-api http://blog.timelyapp.com/post/86357933852/help-us-beta-test...
- acutelyobtuse 12y ago
  Awesome stuff! I did look and found some of your roadmap, but missed this. Can't wait to give it a go.
  - matmik 12y ago
    We're looking forward to having you test it! Email mathias@timelyapp.com, and I'll invite you to the beta if you want.
markhirsch 12y ago
If you're looking to integrate with an automatic time capture platform with a RESTful API, checkout CreativeWorx TimeTracker. www.creativeworx.com

expose 12y ago

Is this basically Trello (w/ Plus for Trello) on a calendar-based grid?

mikeg8 12y ago
did you even watch the video? Trello uses lists (to mimic SCRUM), this uses days (to mimic a calendar). Not that similar.
- matmik 12y ago
  Thanks for clarifying for us :)
- expose 12y ago
  No, hence my question.
matmik 12y ago
Nah, this is pretty far from what you would use Trello for.

ShonM 12y ago

I'd love to see a $5/mo "me and my SO" type plan for this. Could use something nice for home

Walkman 12y ago
I have this same exact problem with it. Unfortunately they don't respond to support emails...
- matmik 12y ago
  Crazy days with this and TechCrunch article going on. Lots of things to respond to – so sorry about that!
matmik 12y ago
Were you thinking of a $5/mo for two users type of plan?
- ShonM 12y ago
  That is exactly it

alexkennedy 12y ago

Looks fantastic! Amazing job Mathias!

matmik 12y ago
Thanks so much! Appreciate it :)

hunvreus 12y ago

matmik, not sure you remember but we met in SF. I'm still amazed at the level of polish your product has. Lots of subtle animations and transitions. What tools did you use to produce the video?

matmik 12y ago
I remember! Mr. France! :) Really appreciate your comment, thanks a bunch! We put a lot of time into the polish, so glad to hear people take notice. I screen recorded everything on a Retina Macbook Pro. iPhone simulator and just a regular chrome browser for the web app. Then I add the clips into after effects and create the 3d movements with Element3D. I'll export all the clips from there and do the final edits in Final Cut Pro X. Hope that helps :)

d_k_f 12y ago

Preface: I really like the overall look and feel, so consider these points really small nitpicks: - Your "About" page is missing an "a" in the first line, right before "tiny". - You could style the <select> tags on your registration form to match the other inputs, right now it looks a tad unfinished. See http://stackoverflow.com/questions/5912791 http://stackoverflow.com/questions/5912791 for example.

matmik 12y ago
We love nitpicks! Thank you, will most definitively get these fixed.

leak 12y ago

This looks really great! Does this tool have any desktop apps for logging hours? I can't seem to find it on the website. This is the only must-have feature that's missing for me. Logging hours only from the website is not suitable for my workflow.

matmik 12y ago
Thank you! We don't have a desktop app right now, but we want to get it done in the future. We are however working on some pretty cool integrations stuff with the web app and the native iPhone app, so stay tuned for that!
- scastillo 12y ago
  Definitively +1 on the desktop app. And more that just bc that fits better on some workflows is bc the kind of features that a desktop app leave you to implement. Currently my team is using timedoctor, i hate its ui/ux but they have this feature: "track keyboard activity" that lone is not impressive but their desktop app using this feature after a configurable period of time can alert me to ask if im still working on the selected task and if i don't answer he fallback to a "time break" activity. That is great bc right now with timely i can forget about a timer and let it grow for ever and later will be hard to remember when did I really ended doing that. Great ui/ux I'm on trial now.. and i love what you got... but w/o this feature my team will keep using ugly timedoctor, nothing personal btw ;)
- chatmasta 12y ago
  If you haven't seen it, I would recommend checking out Aaron Shell [1], the cross-platform desktop JS runtime environment that Github uses for Atom editor. If your app is mostly frontend JS with an API, porting it should be easy. If the backend is in node.js, porting it will be even easier. [1] https://github.com/atom/atom-shell https://github.com/atom/atom-shell
markhirsch 12y ago
If you're looking for a comprehensive time tracking alternative, CreativeWorx TimeTracker has a desktop application in addition to a browser version. There's a new desktop application being released in about a week, and it's killer! Check it out: www.creativeworx.com

lancewiggs 12y ago

Seems to overlap with, err, Timely, which has been around for a while now. I'll let them know (I'm an investor) http://www.gettimely.com http://www.gettimely.com

swah 12y ago
Also the name of an alarm app with 1M+ downloads https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ch.bitspin.timely&hl=en https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ch.bitspin.tim...
- matmik 12y ago
  Yeah, really annoying that one. I launched a product called Timely ages before those guys, but have since changed and restarted the whole thing into what you now see.
matmik 12y ago
Actually, long story short, I launched a product called Timely long before gettimely.com. It has however been changed and restarted, and since ended up into this. I have already talked about this with the founder of your company ages ago :)
- chatmasta 12y ago
  And he was okay with it? That seems surprising since your businesses are about as close in scope as you can get without actually overlapping. If I heard about Timely from a friend, and searched for a scheduling app called "timely" on the App Store or the internet, I would just assume the first one I landed on was the correct one. And if it was wrong, then I would see it doesn't do what I want, and leave. Seems like the naming conflict could canmobalize sales for both of your companies. Why wouldn't you change the name? Especially if you knew so far ahead of time??
bcasper 12y ago
Not to mention the name and logo look a lot like these guys too: http://time.ly/ http://time.ly/ Doesn't anyone check these things first?

bronson 12y ago

I find it so weird that they look like a calendar, but they only keep track of durations. They explicitly reject start and stop times. For me, that makes scheduling hard, and reconciling my time & efficiency at the end of the month near impossible. I'm disappointed since everything else looks excellent.

matmik 12y ago
As you probably understood, we do this on purpose. We believe it doesn't matter if you work late in the evening or early in the morning, but that the important thing is that you're going to work on something, and that the task has a certain value, in this case how much time it will take. Then later on, you can worry about when exactly in the day to do it. We don't want people to stop using their calendars, so we would encourage you to integrate it with Timely instead. Appreciate the feedback though, really.
markhirsch 12y ago
If you want automatic time tracking with durations, see if CreativeWorx TimeTracker fills the bill. It automatically activities within applications (Office, Adobe Creative Suite, Apple productivity, browsers) plus your calendar events. www.creativeworx.com

habosa 12y ago

Very small compliment (I like other things, but commenting about this one): I love that your call to action button says "Watch the 1-min video". I NEVER click on product videos because I am afraid it will be 6-10 minutes of founders in the studio talking about how great the app is. With the specific detail of "1-min" I immediately watched the video and found out more about the app that I would have from reading the home page for 5-10 minutes.

batoure 12y ago

I am guessing you probably have some bade trademark news coming your way... cool app though http://www.bitspin.ch/ http://www.bitspin.ch/ (aka timely the clock app aquired by google)

andreash 12y ago
If I were Google, I would've continued shopping, and acquired @matmik and Timelyapp.com as well:)