Upcoming new feature: Subgoals
We’ve been working on a new feature which allows you to break down a larger goal into subgoals. The purpose of this feature is to help you create action plans for goals that may seem too general, or too far away in future. Here is the quick peek of how it looks like when it’s available.
An important feature for this is that when you complete tasks that have made progress on your subgoals, the parent goal progress is automatically updated.
Also because of structural changes introduced by subgoals, we feel necessary to add a function that user can choose which goals to show on dashboard. That way, for any subgoals that you’re not actively working on, you can hide them on dashboard.
We’re in the process of final testing on subgoal features and it will be launched by the end of this week.
Calendar Tool Launched!
We’ve just recently launched a new feature on GoalsOnTrack which allows you to schedule and manage tasks for your goals through a calendar tool. It’s accessible as the “Calendar” tab on the main navigation bar.
Currently there are two “views” on the calendar interface, weekly and monthly views. You can switch between the two views by clicking on the small gray buttons on the top right corner on the calendar.
To add a new task to your goal via calendar, just click on any blank date. If that date already has tasks, simply click on the blank area not covered by those tasks. To edit or complete a task, click on the task itself.
To schedule your tasks, simply drag and drop a task to any other date you want. This is probably easiest way to schedule a task with GoalsonTrack.
You can also view only those tasks that belong to a certain goal, by selecting from the dropdown list at the top of the calendar. Please note that at the moment, the calendar displays only active (uncompleted) tasks. For completed tasks, you can see them on the goal’s page.
I hope the new calendar tool is helpful to you. If you have any feedback, please don’t hesitate to let me know, either by leaving comments here, or sending me email through the contact us form.
Habit Tracker Launched!
I am excited to tell you that we’ve launched a new habit tracker feature in GoalsOnTrack. There is now a new tab called “Habits” on the main navigation bar. On “Habits” page, you can now add new habits, and track them by placing checkmarks on the weekly calendar. The small icon before the habit name indicates how strong that habit is, based on the number of checks you’ve marked so far.
To form a new habit, that is, to see it showing 100% strength, you will need to mark 21 consecutive checks within the last 21 days for a daily habit. This is based on a theory that we tend to form a new habit by doing it for 21 days in a row.
Your habit doesn’t have to be a daily one, it could be twice a week, or maybe once a week. The same formula applies. Instead of 21 days, the new habit forming period could be extended to the number of times per week multiplied by 21. Once a habit is formed, you can mark them as “Formed” and continue to work another one.
Forming good habits and keeping them followed is a great way to get you to do things that are required to achieve your goals. Please give it a try and let me know how it works for you, or simply what you think.
If you’re interested in learning more about building habits and how to get motivated, etc., please check out Zen Habit’s recent post, 20 Key Questions on Motivation and Habits, Answered. It has some great ideas from how Leo built his own habits.
GoalsOnTrack New Feature: Vision Board
We’ve just launched another feature for GoalsOnTrack, the Vision Board. It helps you visualize your goals by flashing a series of goal pictures you have uploaded or set for your goals. To see how it works, just go to your “Goals” page, and then click on “Vision Board” button at the top. Remember that only your active goals’ pictures will be shown on Vision Board.
Below are two samples of vision board running for 4 active goals.
What are we working on?
Just a quick update on what we have been working on lately.
Our main development effort has been focused on implementing iCalendar integration. Once that’s completed, you should be able to import tasks from your Calendar program that supports iCalendar format(ICS), such as Google Calendar, Mac’s iCal, Outlook Calendar, etc. You will also be able to export your tasks in ICS format, to be imported to your calendar software.
We are also working on a few smaller improvements such as, function to delete tasks from dashboard, set completion date when marking a task as done.
As always, we’re open to all suggestions or ideas that you think that may be useful to you. We will try to implement them in the system as best as we could.
Stay tuned, until next post.
Harry
New Feature to Import Tasks from Outlook
I’m glad to tell you about a new feature we recently launched. Now you are able to import tasks from Outlook. To do this, just go to “Settings” page, and click “Import tasks” menu item from the right.
The steps involved in importing tasks from Outlook are very simple. All you need to do is:
1. First export your tasks from Outlook to a CSV file
2. Then upload that file to GoalsOnTrack.
3. Choose which goal you want to import to, and which tasks you want to import.
These are the fields that will be recognized and imported from your Outlook tasks:
- Subject
- Due Date
- Date Completed
- Status
- Priority
- Notes
You may choose to import tasks daily or weekly, depending on how intensive you are using Outlook to manage your tasks.
We’re working on another feature to allow you to export tasks from GoalsOnTrack. The default format is still CSV format, as that is most common format that can be imported by most of the task management software or applications.
But let me know if you prefer a format that may suit your needs better.
Upcoming release for performance improvement
I’ve been working on a new release which aims to improve the overall site load speed (particularly for adding/updating tasks) and also fix a few minor issues.
As I mentioned earlier, all free accounts will be removed from the system so that they will no longer slow down the site for paying members.
I’m also planning on adding a few new features, which include:
1. Add a “Daily To-do List” section to dashboard so that you can add those tasks that you do every day, but they may not belong to any of your goals.
2. The ability to selectively display which goals to show on dashboard.
3. Multi-user support (still finalizing the details)
Please let me know what you think about these new features, and if there are anything else you’d like to see in the site.
-Harry
New Pricing Plans
Today we are officially closing the beta version of GoalsOnTrack and annouce a new version with new pricing plans. The transition from the beta to the new version is transparent and your accounts will not be affected in any way.
Currently we offer two types of accounts, “Free” and “Standard”. The differences between the two are listed below. For any users who signed up but haven’t upgraded(or paid), you will be under the “Standard Trial” plan, which expires in 30 days and will be automatically downgraded to “Free” plan.
If you wish to continue using the site after 30-day evaluation period, please upgrade your account from the “Settings” -> “Pricing Plans” page, to avoid interruption of the service.
We offer two options of payment. You may pay either through PayPal, or with a credit card. You will receive email receipts of your payment, and your account will be automatically upgraded once your payment goes through.
Even though we’ve closed beta version, that doesn’t mean we are no longer improving and adding new features to the site. There is still ongoing development work being done daily to make the site better. Therefore, you continued support and feedback are always welcome.
If you have any questions regarding the new pricing plans or about upgrading your account, please let me know.
Thanks,
Harry
End of Beta Soon
The beta period for the GoalsOnTrack website will be over soon. We launched the first release about six months ago in 2008, and have been working hard to fix bugs and glitches and to enhance the application by adding important features and improving the user experience. I’d like to thank you for your many suggestions and great feedback during this period. We’ve done our best to address a lot of your requests, and will be continuing to do so in the future.
In the coming release (planned to go live on Mar 1), GoalsOnTrack will be offered under two different types of plans, Free and Standard. All new accounts will have full access as Standard accounts for 30 days. Afterwards, you may choose to stay as a Standard account by paying a $9.95 fee per month, or to have your account automatically downgraded to Free account, which will have only limited access to features and functionality.
For users who signed up before Mar 1, you will be treated as new signups and you may continue to use and evaluate the site for another 30 days for free.
We are trying our best to make the site as useful as possible for all users. And there will be continued development and improvement to the site, even after the beta. We have plans to offer more advanced and powerful features for some power users in the coming months. Therefore, your suggestions and feedback are always welcome.
Let me know if you have any comment on this or have any questions.
Cheers,
Harry
New version launched!
GoalsOnTrack’s new version has been officially launched today.
You should be able to login and use the site using your current login and password. All data you have entered in the old version persists in the new version, though the layout and look-and-feel are different now.
If you can’t login or access your data in the new version, please let me know immediately and I will make sure it’s fixed asap.
Please test around and give the new version a try. Let me know if you have found any bugs or have any suggestions.
Thanks and Happy New Year to You All!
