1DayLater

Steve Job's a good un'

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 13:55:00 +0100

Last week we launched the first of 1DayLater’s phone applications, this one for the i-phone.

Die hard 1DayLater users will know that this has been a long time coming; mostly because the ‘bigger boys’ at the iphone store have kept returning our latest builds for picky reasons. But we’ve now squirmed our way in - hoorah!

The first of many phone apps which we will be releasing

To build the app we enlisted the help of a local web development and design house; Twisted Studio, earlier this year.

We asked Twisted to create us something which was purely for input purposes, no fancy graphs or analysis. Just a simple way of logging your activities on the go, whether that’s time spent with a client or mileage travelled.

The data then gets whisked away to each user’s 1DayLater account where the magic happens.

The app can be found here on the apple store. What’s more the app is free and we would like to keep it that way to benefit all of our users. However if you do want to pay us back then a kind review on the app store about the 1DayLater service would be hugely appreciated.

Further apps will soon be available for Google Android, Nokia N-Series and Blackberry phones.

A chance to party in Gateshead new creative workspace 'The Shed' before its new tenants move in

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 13:44:00 +0100

‘The Shed’ is a former Bed Warehouse in the UK city of Gateshead. After it’s former occupiers met some unknown fate (bankruptcy perhaps) the building was scheduled for demolition in around two years time. So the council, rather cleverly, have decided to turn the place into an open-plan workspace for creative companies.

And what’s more, 1DayLater is going to be one of them! Being surrounded by a host of different interesting people will no doubt inspire us with new ideas, new drive and motivation (not that we really need it mind) - so we’re very excited.

Our soon-to-be neighbours will cover a myriad of different disciplines, comprising of artists, web designers, software companies and even a troupe of actors called Unfolding Theatre - I’m not sure whether they have an actual unfolding theatre or if it’s just a clever name but I can’t wait to find out.

The Shed space itself needs to be managed by the community, with everyone pitching in to help with fixtures and fittings etc. And some other enterprising tenants have already arranged a fundraising party in the empty space we will soon be occupying to help pay for all these things.

If you are local to the area I would urge you to come along. There will be live music and lots of interesting people to meet. Hope you can make it!

Creating a charity website in under 24 hours

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 17:10:16 +0100

It’s now just over 2 weeks until 1DayLater’s geeky charity event Webdurance. Although the idea to create charity websites overnight has been done before in the USA (see the overnight website challenge) we’re looking forward to adding some North East Flair to the concept.

And just to prove that it can be done we even created our own Webdurance website from scratch in just 21 hours - and that was just using our own technical guru David King. Imagine what we can do with 5 more of these per team!

Braaaaains….

At this point we’re pretty excited in 1DayLater HQ, and we’ve got high hopes for the future of this event. If the first Webdurance is successful we plan to make it an annual thing and help as many local charities online as possible over the coming years.

The countdown till Webdurance begins has already started!

Thanks for the enthusiasm from our volunteers so far, it really means a lot! As for now, I’ve got loads of preparation work to do so I must dash. After all there are only 15 days, 19 hours, 12 minutes and 4 seconds to go!

We're creating a team..

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 13:54:00 +0100

Are you a skilled web-developer? Have you graduated from a North East based university in the last 3 years? If so 1DayLater would like to hear from you.

With a new office on the horizon we are keen to expand and start branching into new areas. Particularly integrating 1DayLater popular web-based programs such as project management tool basecamp.

Ok so it’s not a full time role for now, as we will be using an internship program to subsidise wages. But there are plently of great reasons why you should want to join us.

Pro’s

We will probably want to keep you on if you are skilled enough

You will have access to our excellent network

You will be working alongside our CTO David King who can teach you all sorts of skills you never knew existed.

You will be part of an ambitious software company!

Con’s

You will inevitably have to serve your time as the ‘tea bitch’.

Just imagine the team we could create…

*all new employees must have their own black van and smoke cigars

contact paul@1daylater.com if you’re interested in this position

Shall I compare thee to a 1DayLater timesheeting system....?

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 20:35:00 +0100

If I asked you to think of timesheets you would probably think of last thing on a Friday afternoon, loads of grief, wasted time and drab spreadsheets. A necessary evil.

Well no more! When local company and Centre for Digital Excellence, Codeworks recently asked us to help save them admin time and costs we went to it with a venguence. And now we’re making timesheets beeeautiful!

A work in progress…Part of the Codeworks <-> 1DayLater dashboard.

Data is fed in from Microsoft Outlook and then presented in an easy-to-read timeline, with different colours representing different projects / clients supported.

Our central dashdoard (shown above) then allows managers to observe, at a glance, what their collegues have been up to. Users can then see forecasted activities, generate timesheets or run a number of different reports.

And because data has already been inputted once into Outlook there is little need for organisational change, a major selling point for larger companies.

We will be getting some feedback from Codeworks staff using the system in the next few weeks. We are hoping that the result will be reduced admin time, admin costs and improved reporting in general.

Ps. although it is an awesome compliment it’s probably not a good idea to compare your missus / mister to a 1DayLater timesheeting system ;)

Tell tale signs that you have 'made it' in business or in life

Sat, 29 May 2010 14:13:00 +0100

I love human psychology and what makes people tick. I’m intrigued by what people consider to be the important milestones for having made it in business or in life.

Naturally this all depends on what drives you. For the financially driven there are things to aim for like…

Buying a yacht
Retiring at 40

For the sex-driven…

Well there’s being Hugh Hefner of course!

I laughed my ass off the other day when a friend of mine said “You’re no-one in business without a bannerstand, just a business shmuck” he said joking with a smile on his face.

Like two opposite forces, Davids face repels conference delegates while our lovely bannerstand draws them in ;)

Well as you can see we’ve already got a bannerstand - no shmucks here I can tell you! Just another cool little milestone we’ve passed in a series of milestones which lead to…well whatever they eventually lead to!

I have future goals of course, and I would suggest others to map theirs out too. They are a great way of motivating yourself to do bigger and better things. For example in 10 years time I want to have:

Started raising a family of my own
Funded my best friends first feature length movie
Travelled the world

But as far as success goes, I already feel like one! And I can attribute it to one lovely quote:-

“Success is a journey, not a destination.” Ben Sweetland

What a fantastic outlook on life! When I think of the journey we have made with 1DayLater and our achievements so far it’s hard not to smile.

So then…what drives our 4000+ 1DayLater users? I’d love to know

Happy Birthday - have some #tags!

Mon, 17 May 2010 05:46:25 +0100

Friday was my birthday, I’m now 26! Making me only a few million years from being a fossil, and I like the idea I’ll someday fuel the hovercars of the future… Awesome!

So in celebration we’ve battled illness and deadlines to add the long awaited tagging system to 1DayLater!!! Today is truly glorious :-)

To tags your entries, just bash the hash key and you can create tags as you go, or select from a list of all the tags you’ve added so far! So simple a drunken monkey could do it…

Your entry listing shows the tags like so. Clicking will do a search showing all the entries with that tag! Lovely.

We’re hoping this addition will give us the power to really get creative with how we can analyse your data - in fact, we’ve recently had a great brainstorming session and we’ve got some pretty exciting (and unusual) things on the chalkboard… watch this space.

Oh, and feedback? We love it!!

1DayLater phone apps are almost here!

Wed, 12 May 2010 18:20:00 +0100

Over this last month we have been waylaid slightly from our feature roadmap by a large corporate tender we recently won.

The result (which you might have noticed) has been less frequent tweaks and improvements to the site. But rest assured that we are still here working hard and that there are some very exciting new things to come out of our current development.

Despite our current corporate goings-on, the latest build of our 1DayLater phone app is finally almost release-worthy. We now just need to do some user-feedback testing and then get it out into the big wide world of the app stores.

————A screenshot of the 1DayLater i-phone app————-

The 1DayLater phone app will make it easy to log snippets of information while on the move, whether that’s time spent with a client, miles travelled, or daily expenses accrued.

It will be available first on i-phone, and then on Blackberry, Google android and Nokia N-Series. We expect that this will make our service exponentially more useful for many users!

If you would like to be one of the first users to test the app, please drop me an email. We would very much value your feedback - feedback@1daylater.com

Paul

Codeworks DEV

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 13:21:00 +0100

DEV - (Digital Evaluation Vehicle)

The North East of England has long been at the cutting edge of science, from pioneering cancer breakthroughs to creating human sperm from embryonic stem cells - if you’re in the mood for a chuckle then hark back to our earlier Techcrunch video where David talks about high tech Geordie sperm!

And now there is something else very special happening in the North East. Our digital and technology sectors are fast becoming some of the best supported and most exciting places to be. For the enterprising start-up there are plenty of places to turn for a helping hand and there is money readily available thanks to JEREMIE FUNDS which have recently came into the region.

A large part of rise towards North East digital notoriety can be linked to Codeworks, the North East’s centre for digital excellence. They run countless local events, host the worldwide renowned Thinking Digital conference and have just now started an excellent software prototyping service, called the DEV project.

The idea behind DEV is to reduce the time, and lower the risk of starting a new software venture. This is possible by allowing companies to tap into Codeworks own expertise, and their extensive network of approved suppliers. Their skilled team is able to match each business with the most appropriate experts and then give ongoing support and feedback throughout the project.

This means that the viability of each project can be monitored constantly. If it looks like there may be insummountable barriers a project can be brought to a head early. Since an unstructured development process might have cost a company thousands more and a lot of extra time this ‘failure’ could really be seen as more of a successful outcome.

As well as ongoing project management, DEV also helps companies with all important market research and in protecting their Intellectual Property. It’s easy to see that the whole process is geared towards giving the client as much information as possible to make informed company decisions. Essentially, the client is always kept aware of how much risk they are facing and has an idea of the best direction to take things.

Thought your eyes might need a wee break as it’s been a wordy one! :)

So anyway where were we?

Oh yes..

1DayLater are one of three pilot programs on the DEV project and we are loving the experience so far. For us, the end result will be an exciting extension of the 1DayLater service. It will allow large companies to automate their internal timesheeting and report on staff activities and resources.

By automating timesheets we can help a company save thousands each year in freed up admin time. A fantastic market for 1DayLater to move into! - so thanks Codeworks for helping us to de-risk this next phase of our software development cycle.

If you think that the DEV project could be a good fit for your business, I suggest you get in touch. They are a great bunch of people and always happy to help!

Help us write some blurb!

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 19:02:00 +0100

One of the hardest things in business is finding the right punchy words to use in your blurb, whether it is advertising for your site or a press release! For 1DayLater’s summer charity event, Webdurance, it’s no different.

(For some background on this twenty-four hour event, where volunteers will battle sleep deprivation to create websites overnight - read our last blog post)

Now we need the friendly blurb writers of this world to help us sum up the benfits into some nice text for our bannerstands. I decided to go with a bit of a trainspotting-esque feel. Here’s our first draft…

Now we would love to hear any suggestions you have!

feedback@1daylater.com

Thanks guys :)

Paul

Webdurance is coming!

Thu, 22 Apr 2010 12:35:00 +0100

Ah the summer air on your face, the sun out once again. Wow, it really feels good doesn’t it!

It gets even better though! This summer 1DayLater will be hosting a new event called Webdurance, with the help of some of the finest web-developer talent here in the North East.

The Webdurance robot - isn’t he lovely….awww

The gallant teams, made up of local web-professionals, will be faced with the task of creating an online presence for local charities in under 24 hours. With a good supply of energy drinks, music, tea and coffee to keep them going, our six teams of six will have the chance to really show off their skills!

The charities themselves will benefit from a brand new website, and some good exposure in the process. And the best part is that it won’t cost them a thing, just a little of their time during the 24 hours to give some feedback.

This event is the brainchild of 1DayLater.com’s King Brothers but has been made possible with the help of our friends at Sunderland Software City, Codeworks Connect, Bond Solutions, Touchscape and many more. We aim to credit everyone one our site soon.

If you would like to get involved in any way as a volunteer, a sponsor or something entirely different please contact our lovely event manager Esther Laverick (Esther@webdurance.org) or register your interest on the Webdurance site

Webdurance

- 15th and 16th July,

- Newcastle’s Inex building

Get amongst it!

Paul :)

BAM! Get fit, smile and be productive

Fri, 16 Apr 2010 13:26:00 +0100

Even productivity guru’s such as the handsome King Brothers are subject to low morale every now and then - in my case lady-withdrawal symptoms, but this ain’t “Dear David”… So what’s a person to do? GET FIT!

Keeping healthy is one of the best ways to feel good about yourself, it will de-stress you, keep you motivated and even help your brain work harder! But some people find it hard to add new routines into their life - myself included. So what I’ve done is rounded up some of the simplest exercise routines about and created a tasty little spreadsheet to help you get started:

Click the buffness to download spreadsheet

Grab the file and do the initial tests - after that you just need to open the file EVERY DAY (before breakfast in my case) and get cracking, it’ll take up about 20 minutes of your time and you’re on the road to health, wealth* and happiness!

Sources:

*on account of being more productive innit?

Five ultimate tips to help businesses get ahead

Sat, 10 Apr 2010 20:23:00 +0100

These rules will help you maximize your productivity, motivation and success in business - the 1DayLater way.

1. “Tak it on”

Translates as - take it on!

(North East slang used for extra kick-up-the-ass effect)

Have you ever had a full on mind-battle with yourself - knowing that you have something totally arduous or unpleasant to do?

Have you ever then given yourself a mental kick in the face and told yourself to just “TAK IT ON”?

Well this is the 1DayLater way and we urge you to try it. The crappier the task, the more you will be ready to tak it on!

This state of mind will get you far young grasshopper. Soon you will be jumping out of bed every morning trying to take the world on….in time.

2. “Shy bairns get nowt”

translates as - If you don’t ask you’ll never get it

Particularly for start-ups to think about:

People want to help you!

It’s human nature to be kind and generous - most people are just waiting for you to ask for their help ;)

As proof, here are some things we’ve wrangled for nothing (or a friendly return favour) just by asking for them.

Tickets to conferences,

A 6 month intern

An astounding amount of advice, good will, introductions etc

A venue for our summer charity event,

Countless free PR,

A professional voice-over for 1DL,

Graphics,

Logo’s,

Software testers (and feedback)

The straight up approach is often best eg.

“So tell me Larry, what do I need to do to get some free widgets?” - don’t forget to throw a cheeky smile in there too!

You might need to barter like mad but you’ll get there in the end. If you’re a start-up you can barter with all sorts of things which aren’t cold hard cash - including:

Your time and expertise,

A kind mention of their services to your network,

Making introductions

Catalysing work opportunities,

A friendly write up on your blog,

Whatever you’re good at which costs nothing - erm within reason (i re-read this and it looked kinda wrong)

and naturally as a final bartering chip there are always your own services (for us this includes 1DL licences, web-development or SEO)

3. Blow your own trumpet

If you can’t shout about your achievements it’s unlikely anyone else is going to bother. Make sure you keep the world informed of your successes.

Had some notable PR?

Write about it on your blog

Tweet about it

Frame it and put it on your wall

Tell your bank manager!

Closed a big deal?

Tell your family, your friends, your network

And don’t forget your bank manager!

Celebrating your successes, however small, is also proven to have a very positive effect on motivation and your frame of mind. It is often easy to forget to celebrate your success when you’re caught up in a busy day.

But you need to celebrate successes as they happen to get the full psychological benefit. For me and my brother celebrations range from:

a hug

a high-five

a trip down the pub

A full on blow out!

(those last two are obviously exceptions to the “as they happen” rule - before you think we’re sitting down the pub with our laptops).
If the success is big, make sure the celebration is big enough to match it.

Also, take time to blow your friends and collegues trumpets too. Celebrate their successes like your own. Give their trumpets a wipe first though - metaphorical hygeine is important guys ;)

4. Keep track

Track your daily work activities like a crazy man!

Apart from the obvious ones which include your:

time,

income and expenses

mileage

(all useful for billing, improving productivity etc) also try to keep track of any PR your business gets.

Here’s how to do it:

Check your website analytics once a day

If there is a surge of traffic from a particular link - check it out

Log any notable links into your 1DayLater using “PRESS” in the value field and “YOUR COMPANY NAME” in the Project/client field.

You can now easily search for past press using the search option.

Why you do it?

The benefit of doing this is that the next time you send out a press release, or approach someone for some PR - you can refer editors to past-press to save them time.

And if you’re approaching potential customers refering them to past-press can also be a great way of showing your credibility
Remember what I said about blowing your own trumpet and self-promotion. Well that was it in action!

5. Everything stops for tea

No kind of clever metaphor here. Just offer to make the tea every so often. And leave it to brew for a while, don’t be hasty :) Everything stops for tea

Stimulating Software Innovation

Wed, 07 Apr 2010 13:50:00 +0100

Attention all North-East developers, dreamers and entreprenuers

Here’s a quick heads up about another fine event hosted by our good friends at Sunderland Software City. We would urge anyone with the seed of a software idea or simply wanting to break into the software scene to check this out.

Dates: Friday 23^rd April & Wednesday 2^nd June
Venue: North East BIC, Sunderland
Cost: Free

The Blurb

Stimulating Software Innovation is a ONE day, fully funded programme designed to give an up to the minute view of the software industry and the potential of future developments.

This interactive session is ideal for anyone wishing to explore the software world in more detail as it not only looks at current trends but also provides a valuable insight into the constantly developing nature of software.

An excellent vehicle for continuous professional development, this session is a must for anyone looking to break into the software industry.

The event is part of Sunderland Software City, an initiative to support and develop the software industry in North East England.

To apply for a place or for more information contact Sam Fairless on 0191 516 6087 or email Samantha.fairless@ne-bic.co.uk (quote ref: SSI-F).

/End Blurb

Seriously though with a price of absolutely nothing and the chance to make all sorts of great connections in the region, what more could you ask for. Get those dates in your diary!

Paul

EDIT: ps. updates to come on 1DayLater phone development very shortly

PCmag's 'best free software of 2010'

Fri, 02 Apr 2010 10:00:00 +0100

I was just a gleam in my parents eyes when PCmag started up in 1982. For anyone who hasn’t heard of these guys, they are a well respected online computer magazine who were published monthly both in print and online till January 2009.

Now the magazine just has an online version, but still features reviews and previews of the latest hardware and software for the IT pro. Every year they run an article with the best free software of that year - and you can see what’s coming right?

Ah you guessed it, our own 1DayLater made the cut! And let me tell you it’s a proud day when we are featured alongside the likes of Picassa, Evernote and Dropbox (who we wrote about last year)

So a big thanks to everyone who helped us into this list - and for providing us with a great moment.

Help me find a word!

Wed, 31 Mar 2010 10:00:00 +0100

I need your help!

Part and parcel of being a programmer is that good naming conventions are important to us, hell, we often get riled up about it! Which is why I really need you to help me find the right term, right now… lest I die from madness

So, we’re working with Codeworks to create a custom reporting system to help them better explain how their time and resources are spent on their various clients. One of the things we realised is that there is a massive difference between the man-hours dedicated to a client and the amount of time the client actually receives.

Imagine you’re a company being assisted by Codeworks and you have a 4 hour “session” with their team. Fred, Jimmy and Ian are present for different parts of the session, like so:

While there are 7 man-hours put into the session, the session is only 4 hours long. This “session” is what I’m having a hard time naming - it needs to be abstract enough to apply to many scenarios (meeting, conference, hackathon etc)… so far I’m calling this overlap time but I know it’s not right!!! If anyone can help me I will be forever grateful.

*sigh*

Music and Motivation - the coder

Mon, 29 Mar 2010 15:24:42 +0100

As a follow up to Paul’s managerial music article, I want to discuss how music affects me when I’m “getting ma code on”. Now, I’m a bit of a music mentalist - I love everything, and I think a lot about how different music can change the way you focus and the way they make you think.

Problem solving

Sure, all programming is problem solving, what I mean here is those big ideas that need to be worked out. Maybe you need to crunch a complex algorithm or grok a rather complex system, for this I recommend…

TOTAL SILENCE

Yup, you need every part of your brain for these things, so music is a bad idea. Best thing is to walk away from the desk, grab a fellow nerd and discuss the problem at hand.

The big crunch

Probably my favorite working period, you know what needs to be done, it’s a mammoth undertaking and you know you’re best off doing it in one sitting. For this I love amazing amounts of adrenaline, so it’s out with the tea & coffee, in with the Redbull & on comes the “hard” music.

Heavy Metal, Hard Dance, Drum & Bass, hell, even Gabba comes into play… in order of “listenability”:

Ministry - Filth Pig (1996)

Black Sun Empire - Cruel and Unusual (2005)

Combichrist - Today We are All Demons (2009)

Noisia - Split the Atom (err, unreleased)

Pyongyang Hardcore Resistance - Corea (?)

Venetian Snares - Rossz Csillag Alatt Született (2005)

Grinding

A lot like the big crunch, but a lot less complex, your goals are very well defined, and you have a comfortable understanding of what’s going on. Time to relax! Listen to ANYTHING and enjoy it. This week has been a good one for me:

Eskimo - Take A Look Out There (2004)

Mott the Hoople - All the Young Dudes (1972)

Kay Starr - Losers, Weepers (1960)

Xploding Plastix - Amateur Girlfriends Go Proskirt Agents (2001)

Millencolin - Pennybridge Pioneers (2000)

Jimmie’s Chicken Shack - Bring Your Own Stereo (1999)

Teamwork

So you need to lots of chitter-chatter as you code together, so you need “easy listening” (no, not the genre). I always pick low-tempo, agreeable, and preferably “nice” lyrics music. I’m not just talking classical here, you can really branch out:

Classical, Rhythm & Blues, Americana, Folk, Psytrance, Psychedelic Rock, Pop

Frédéric Chopin (1810 - 1849)

Hybrid - I Choose Noise (2006)

Corinne Bailey Rae - Self titled (2007)

Vampire Weekend - Contra (2010)

Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited (1965)

Boards of Canada - Music Has the Right to Children (1998)

To finish

One of the most interesting things about programming is that while we often work in teams for a common goal, coding is mostly done alone. We’re free to use whatever means necessary to help us focus, it’s lovely!

The pie's the limit

Wed, 24 Mar 2010 17:09:00 +0000

Our new 1DayLater pie charts are almost cooked!

Imagine a pie…now imagine how it’s curvatious pastry dough shell covers a filling of various sweet or savoury ingredients. Picture the pie in a variety of sizes, ranging from bite-size to family feast…mmm pie.

Ok, so that’s a good description of an actual pie and I’m starting to get hungry. But our new 1DayLater pie-charts are set to be no different, they’re just filled with yummy sweet user information instead!

They will automatically grow or shrink to represent the total time logged each month, and have a nifty roll-over feature, much like the current 1DayLater graphs which our users are familiar with.

Individual months can even be drilled into and we are considering a print out option for the near future.

At this stage it’s not clear whether these new visuals will join our free, premium or corporate feature set. But wherever they eventually land we expect them to be a worthy addition, making month-by-month analysis a breeze.

We’ll keep you updated on any roll outs, including our soon-to-be-released phone and desktop applications! Can’t wait to share more news on those

Speak soon

Paul

Music and Motivation - manager

Sun, 21 Mar 2010 14:04:00 +0000

This one’s specifically for any managers out there, while my brother will be blogging the same topic soon for the coders amongst you!

1) The everyday grind

If you freelance or run a small business you will be faced with common tasks which need to be tended to a regular basis! It could be doing your bookkeeping, writing a proposal, or replying to a customers email query. Having some music to listen to can make all the difference to your mood and productivity while taking these things on.

It’s important not to listen to any old thing mind. Priority no. 1 should be finding something that’s not distracting. Songs with too many lyrics for example are no good, as they take your focus alway from what you’re doing too often. You need to be able to just float along with the music, serene and calm.

Which is why, when deep inside the underbelly of the business beast, I like to listen to some modern mellow trance, post-rock or some very downbeat drum n bass. Keep it at a volume which isn’t too high so your attention doesn’t shift from your work, but high enough to be able to bop along to happily.

Albums of choice: Tiesto - In search of Sunrise (1-7), Above and Beyond - anything, Commix - Fabriclive 44

2) Writing Tenders

When competing for a large software contract the usual thing is to go through a tendering process. 1DayLater have just been through this with local Quango (Quasi-autonomous non-governmental organization) Codeworks who need a timesheet solution and a way of tracking their ERDF funding requirements from local funding body OneNorthEast.

Writing a tender is pretty similar to writing a business plan. In both cases you disect an activity to its individual components, which helps identify potential problems, skill gaps and ultimately its feasability. When there’s a deadline looming it can also be fairly stressful, which is why some chilled music is best!

Album of choice - Bonobo - Days to Come

3) Missing your weekend

A start-up company like ours needs to be prepared to put in a lot of hours. Work-life balance can become a distant memory if not careful. I like this article in the Texas start-up blog which illustrates the amount of time entrepreneurs need to be prepared to give up.

Ultimately missing a weekend to plough on with work can be tough, but when you love your work like I do, it’s not so bad. I’m fairly sure my brother shares a similar outlook!

Getting some bouncy happy music on the go at weekends is therefore a must. If you’re going to spend the weekend caning work, some uplifting music and an open window will at least provide a happy illusion. I like to use weekends writing our blog, and working on activities which fit our long term vision and goals for 1DayLater

Albums of choice: Billy Talent - Billy Talent 2, Zebrahead - MFZB

In part 2 (coming soon) - music and motivation for coders

Two simple steps to 1DayLater

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 21:07:00 +0000

The field of time tracking is probably the most crowded online software market. There I said it out loud. Phew nice to get off my chest

Ok so I’m no statistician but a few rudimentary google searches of popular software types says so, so hey it must be true ;)

‘Time tracking software’ - 32 million results

‘CRM software’ - 11 million results

‘e-commerce software’ - 11 million results

These figures explain why the crown of time-tracking-number-1 in a google search is one of the most heavily fought for. Although it’s more of a silent battle than tridents and grenades!

And with such jolly good competition comes a mutual respect. A sort of ‘oh so you chaps are vying for number one too huh? - well best of luck lads!’

Which is why it’s reassuring that you can get from a ‘time tracking’ search in google to 1DayLater in just 2 simple steps! Wowy even we’re impressed :)

Step 1

Step 2

Pretty cool huh! Just goes to show how powerful a good testimonial from a well respected website like Lifehacker can be.

Ps. we’ll soon be updating users about the recent launch of our paid-for services. Right now we’re gathering feedback on price, usefulness, and the balance of free vs premium features. Hopefully we will be able to present these back to you guys soon!

Paul