This page is meant as background data for the Decision Tree produced from the podcast episode LiveLab 01 (Parts One and Two) with Dr. Melanie Wilson.
Your Current OS
Apple
Currently, the following apps are iOS enabled: TimeHero, SkedPal, Sorted3, Futurenda and Flux-Speed Schedules.
Windows
Currently, the following apps are Windows enabled: TimeHero, SkedPal, Futurenda
Android
Currently, the following apps are Android enabled: TimeHero, SkedPal, Futurenda and Flux-Speed Schedules.
A Blend of OS’
The point of this question and the reason it appears so early in this decision-tree is that it’s probably not worth making a drastic change in devices or OS just in order to use a particular auto-scheduler. Understanding what’s available can dramatically limit your search.
Deciding Features in Rank Order
1. Task Pinning
This feature allows the user to convert a flexible task (which the app could schedule) into one with a fixed time/date. Now, the app won’t attempt to reschedule it.
Benefit: You don’t need to manually re-enter a task in your fixed calendar, saving you lots of time.
Apps: TimeHero, SkedPal, Sorted3, Focuster, Flux-Speed Schedules
2. Online Calendar Sync
Most auto-schedulers allow you to maintain a calendar of appointments in a popular online calendar by Google, Apple or Outlook. It works alongside your auto-scheduler, where you input your flexible tasks. This allows you to access a complete, synchronized calendar of tasks and appointments from multiple devices.
Benefit: All the features of these online calendars continue, especially sending, receiving and accepting calendar requests for meetings and appointments.
Apps: TimeHero, SkedPal, Sorted3, Focuster, Flux-Speed Schedules
3. Reschedule Button
A few auto-schedulers allow users to control the creation of a new schedule (and therefore the destruction of the old). A Reschedule Button operates like a pause button before the AI robot takes over.
Benefit: The user gets a chance to look over and interact with the current schedule: deleting, editing or moving them.
Apps: SkedPal, Sorted3
4. Active View
Some apps force users to give each and every task a due date, which means that some are real while others will be “made up”. The way around that is to create an “Active” View (or “Focus” View) which puts some tasks aside (i.e. non-scheduled) so they can be actively scheduled later.
Apps: SkedPal, Focuster, Flux-Speed Schedules
5. Task Time Zones
Each task has it’s own sweet spot – the best time to execute or complete it. Task Time Zones describe these times in broad strokes, such as “mornings”, “Thursdays before 12pm” or “Weekends”. These are allowed to overlap, and the app uses them to determine the optimal placement of each task.
Benefit: Your 4 mile jog won’t be scheduled for 10pm
Apps: SkedPal, Focuster
6. Time Report
How well are you using your auto-scheduler? A few apps give you the ability to analyze useful statistics with a view to making substantial improvements.
Apps: TimeHero, Futurenda
Benefits: You’ll be able to make precise behavior changes that make a big difference with the right data.
Other Interesting Features
While the following show some promise, we don’t consider these to be differentiators…yet. At best, they add a bit of convenience for now, but that’s likely to change as they become integrated with other features.
Tagging
The ability to add meta-data to a task.
Apps: SkedPal, Sorted3
Buffering
This feature allows you to slip in a fixed period of time between tasks.
Apps: SkedPal, Sorted3
Auto-Entry
Forwarding a piece of email directly to your auto-scheduler which converts it into a flexible task is a time saver.
Apps: TimeHero, SkedPal
Sequencing
Allowing tasks to be dependent on each other.
Apps: TimeHero, SkedPal
File Adding
Sometime it helps to store a file within your app, right where you can find it.
Apps: TimeHero
Zapier/IFTTT Integration
Can you use the app to link to external programs via these popular integrations (i.e. without resorting to the more challenging URL Scheme.)
Apps: TimeHero, SkedPal, Focuster
Making Your Final Decision
In the podcast, we made much of the difference between a preference of a Kanban layout (Type A) versus that of a detailed calendar (Type B). All the apps offer the latter but the number who offer the former is limited to TimeHero, SkedPal and Focuster. However, the differences between the two layouts are more a matter of individual preference, rather than a differentiator. In other words, someone wouldn’t pick one app over another on this basis, so I left it out of the final list.
Ultimately, the choice is yours. Although one of these apps is free, don’t expect that to last forever. Also, note that Sorted3 is available at a one time price more or less equal to the monthly price of the other apps. That’s a significant difference. The rest cost about the same (less than $20) which means the price shouldn’t be a factor at this time when choosing between them.
While we don’t think price should be a major factor, we recommend following our reasoning by sticking to the major points while appreciating the ones which have a lesser impact on your decision. They all carry learning curve that requires you to unlearn of habits and practices and pick up new ones.
As I mentioned in the podcast with Melanie, my decision to give SkedPal the highest rating at this time (December 2018) is hardly unbiased. I (Francis Wade) own a material stake in the app.
However, you be the judge of the information presented in the podcast, decision tree and side-by-side comparison table. Across the features I believe to be most important, SkedPal is the most comprehensive. Plus it features the most active user forum of all six apps…by far.
For help in making this transition to using an auto-scheduler, check out the program(s) at ScheduleU.org. If you aren’t ready for an auto-scheduler, consider buying Perfect Time-Based Productivity or taking the online training – MyTimeDesign Plus. They are all products of our work here at 2Time Labs.
Once again, thanks to Dr. Melanie Wilson for her hard work on this project. Click here to see the comparison table on a full page.