Hi Lifetickers,

The correlation between journal keeping and success is universally well known. There is no shortage of statesmen and women who can attribute in part their ongoing motivation to succeed to the daily habit of maintaining a journal. Allowing time each day to collect one’s thoughts and put them into words not only serves as an effective check of one’s activities, progress, purpose and direction, it can also lead our minds to a deeper level of introspection of how we carried ourselves that day. Be they interactions with loved ones, colleagues or a random person on the street, when keeping a journal it is hard not to reflect on whether the world was a better place for having us in it today, which of course is a healthy thing to do.

But how do we make this happen? Journal keeping (like most things that require daily commitment) sounds good in practice, but can be a drag for most of us. Personally, I suffer from a severe case of inconsistency and therefore good intentions last a week at best. Nevertheless, there is always hope. I recently committed to a technique that I believe is already proving effective in getting my journal entries made on a more frequent basis. Quite simply, it is – Write one sentence per day.

When you think about it, one sentence a day is not hard at all. In fact, it is ridiculously easy. But is it useful? I would argue a heartfelt “yes”. Why? Because it is not the content that matters, but the act. We can’t all aspire to be Oscar Wilde, able to produce a worthy quote at will, but that doesn’t matter. Simply logging in and making the entry itself is the action that develops the necessary discipline and focus that can greatly benefit us. Furthermore, once you’ve logged it, it is almost impossible not to write more… and there of course is the complete benefit. But, if one begins with the very modest and honest objective of only writing one sentence, then it will ensure the goal remains achievable on a day-by-day basis and that is the key.

We are starting to notice in our stats a great rise in journal category usage in Lifetick. For those of you who are yet to try this functionality, it is most useful in recording daily activities you would like to measure or report on. For example, gym visits, calories eaten, books you’ve read and much more. Totally customisable, you can read more in the help tips when you edit the categories themselves in the journal.

Finally, we would like to sign off today with the announcement of some new features:

• Task notes (frequently requested) allow you to capture extra information on your goals
• Fortnightly (every other week) recurring tasks
• Interface improvements
  (including larger task and full screen reports windows)

Hi Lifetickers,

A question we often get at Meridian 86 is “Do we personally use Lifetick for GTD (i.e. Getting things done)?” Whilst I’m happy to answer this question specifically, I think the nature of the question itself is more to do with how effective Lifetick actually is in this space, but first things first. Here’s my response to the original question: Yes, then no and now yes again. I shall explain.

Lifetick was always intended as a goal setting application. Its entire design is around a philosophy of value driven activity and as such is eminently suited (we hope) to the achievement of goals be they short or long term. Therefore, we felt empowered to strip away a lot of the items people take for granted in a typical GTD app including due times, not just dates and subsequent reminders at various times throughout the day. Given the saturation of the GTD market, we have intentionally stayed away from what we believe is not at the core of our offering. We’d rather be a fantastic goal setting app, than a poor GTD app.

Having said all that, we are cognisant of that fact that many of our users find Lifetick to be an effective GTD tool, myself included. To elaborate on the question posed at the outset, I have used Lifetick quite successfully in the past to keep on top of my “To do” list. It did actually work reasonably well for me, but I stopped for one simple reason – aesthetics. I didn’t like the fact that my goals were interspersed and cluttered with daily chores etc. Therefore, I switched to a native iPhone app. Incidentally it was not working well for me at all, so I’ve only just gone back to using Lifetick. In the period that I stopped using Lifetick for GTD we’ve added a function which made it easier for me to go back to using it and that is the ability to delete completed goals. Now I have the freedom to remove the banal tasks from the history of my great achievements so to speak.

The way I do it is to group GTD into time periods. Therefore, one goal would be “August GTD”. Then whatever random tasks I had could be associated under that “goal”. Everything from buying a father’s day present, to dropping off dry cleaning, to fixing the broken door could be put in this time based goal. In terms of core values, I called one “Organisation” because let’s face it – anyone like us who wants to organise themselves to the point where they use software to do it probably values an organised life. This also means you can plan tasks into the future by adding new monthly GTD goals concurrently.

Quite simply, goals in Lifetick could also be projects. When it comes to your work, a client’s project could be organised under a specific goal, because no doubt you have a deadline for the overall project and that is what you would work towards in Lifetick with the due dates you set for the goal and its tasks. Maybe for random things you have a goal called “Office – Sep 09″ or “Errands – Sep 09″.

I think one of the aspects that can make Lifetick effective in the GTD space is its ability to simplify things. I believe humans by our very nature tend to over complicate things. It is our insatiable demand for features that ultimately leads an application to its destruction – a victim of its own success if you like. By reducing the to dos to uncluttered lists and layout, we are often in a better position to bother recording them in the first instance. After all, it is the act of “recording” that plays a significant role in getting to the “doing”. Observations of my own life lead me to believe that I can and will make an excuse out of anything. Therefore, no matter how amazing an application is, there will always be something about it that prohibits me from getting to the work itself. By overcoming this self-imposed limitation, I am actually one step closer to achieving something in my day. This of course is rooted in the concept of BE-DO-HAVE which we have written about in a previous post.

Nevertheless, we hope you have found this to be somewhat relevant and informative for your use of Lifetick and would welcome any comments that can add to or alter our opinion on the topic. We are happy to leave it open to our users to determine whether Lifetick is their preferred tool to get the day to day stuff done in an efficient manner.

Have a great week one and all.

P.S. We have recently added SSL security to our service… You can access it via these links: https://www.lifetick.com/app/ or on the iPhone at: https://www.lifetick.com/iPhone/

Please remember to update your bookmarks!
(Ensure you include the www in the address or you might get a security error.)

Hi Lifetickers and welcome to 2009.

We wanted to say a big thank you for your support during our first year of operation and we look forward to expanding the product even more in 2009. Obviously, the new year brings with it a swag of resolutions, mostly useless and doomed, but nevertheless, that won’t stop us from adding our two cents worth to the ever expanding opinion on achieving more in life.

Firstly, most of you are on the right path because you chose to sign up to an online goal setting app – in our case Lifetick – and you did it during the calendar year, which means that you didn’t need the motivation of a new year to pull the proverbial finger out. Therefore, this would suggest one of two things happened in your life in the last 12 months: inspiration or desperation. Regardless of which, if you are using the product consistently then you will be achieving more, so congratulations on that.

A second key point that should not be underestimated is the financial investment some of you have made for the full version of Lifetick. This is important because people feel more committed toward something and value it higher if they have had to pay for it. This is for two reasons: cynically we presume that something free isn’t worth anything and more interestingly, by investing in something we feel the need to get our money’s worth out of it.

But the reality is, none of this will really get you over the line in terms of getting more out of life. In fact, if you are relying on a new year’s resolution to make for a better life then you are sadly deluded. Sure you can pay for an online goal setting app to make yourself feel better, but how many times in life do we buy a bicycle or pay for a gym membership only to see it rust or go to waste. It is a classic case of HAVE-DO-BE. If I just HAVE this then I’ll DO more and I’ll BE happy. Where we need to be focused in our endeavours is the complete opposite: BE-DO-HAVE.

What is BE-DO-HAVE? Firstly, it’s a philosophy. A way of life. If I BE this person and I DO these things then I will HAVE abundance. Effectively, it is putting the horse in front of the cart where it belongs. It is easy to make excuses for ourselves, but if we haven’t got the wiring correct at the outset, then surely, we are doomed to fail.

Therefore, what advice can be given based on this? I’ll break it down to a small list:

1. Re-wire your brain. BE-DO-HAVE. Take responsibility for where you are in life and use that as your starting point. Doesn’t matter if it’s a long way back, at least your compass will be correct.
2. Sit down and think about what you want to be different in your life. Write these things down.
3. Apply the S.M.A.R.T. goal setting methodology. If something doesn’t add up then scrap it. Ever noticed how many NY resolutions are vague and therefore don’t fit the S.M.A.R.T. methodology? You can forget about achieving a single one of your resolutions if they are in any way, shape or form vague.
4. Cast your eye over your goals. If you are having doubts about one, scrap it. Isn’t that giving up? No. The reality is that goal setting really helps work out what we REALLY want in life. The truth is that most things in life we don’t REALLY want. Sure, they’d be nice to have if there was no effort involved, but life is not like that. Otherwise, we’d all win the lotto. Make your list count. If you really want something, it will be a goal.
5. Now the hard part. Daily inspiration. Find it any way you can. This is what will make or break you. Some ideas:
   a) Read a famous quote every morning when you get out of bed e.g. What the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.
   b) Put pictures and reminders of your heroes on your walls, computer screen, as bookmarks, on notepaper.
   c) Get in rhythm. Listen to music that inspires you. Make a compilation of the songs that make you feel better about yourself and keep you motivated when you need it.
   d) Use an affirmation. Not for all, but some swear by them. Worth trying.
   e) Share your dreams with someone you can trust. No, not a random on the Internet. Someone who will take them seriously and believe in you. You should ask this person to follow up with you every one to two weeks to check your progress. If he (or she) is a true friend, he will care and it won’t be an effort for him.
   f) Start a good habit, by breaking a bad habit. If you can start one good habit then you can start a hundred. Find the easiest one and give it 21 days. Prove to yourself you have it within you.
   g) Read biographies of inspirational people every 2-3 months. You’ll soon feel the effects of their lives wear off on yours.
6. Finally, let go. That’s right. Let it happen. Find time each day to pray, meditate, contemplate or just be still. Whatever it is that works for you. Life is about balance, so if you’re too busy achieving you may not be enjoying the fruits of your labour. Find your own balance.

Tools like Lifetick will certainly help you with organisation, reminders and motivation here and there, but your drive will come from within. Find a way to tap into that. It is different for everyone, so beware those who promise the world with their wares.

Good luck and we wish you a successful 2009. We hope to serve you well throughout.

Hi Lifetickers,

In the time we’ve been operating we’ve had some interesting feedback and questions regarding Core Values. It can be quite inspiring to hear how users are re-evaluating their priorities in life, simply based on the fact that Lifetick forces them to consider what their Core Values are exactly.

During the months of development and testing, we had the opportunity to refine the product again and again. However, we also found ourselves refining our core values again and again. Sometimes it was easy to name something important in our lives, like “Family”. Other times it was not so easy. In fact, one of the reasons for it being difficult is that our values can change over time. It’s also common to enter values that don’t necessarily feature heavily in our lives on a day to day basis. There is nothing wrong with this, providing it is where we want our lives to be. One such example is “Adventure” (one of my own core values). Although I’m very much a part of the 9-5 crowd (and some), having the Adventure core value reminds me of an important aspect of my life that I am always striving to achieve, even if it is only once a year.

So with all this being said, we wanted to give you some feedback on what the most popular core values are that you’ve created, so you can see what it is that people value. Here are the Top Ten:

Probably not too many surprises there. In fact, Lifetick now has over 100 different core value names from our users, so here are some of the ones we found inspiring: Charity, Peace, Love, Kindness, Compassion, Honesty, Freedom, Trust and Integrity. Nice to see such a blend of values with virtues.

Finally, we wanted to quickly mention that we’ve now added a “Print Tasks by Core Value” feature (originally requested by Christy). Simply click on the Print button in the Navigate or Life screens and you’ll see it added to the available list.

We hope it provides another useful perspective on your personal journey.