Transforming Events Into Blocks

In the next version (TimeTune 3.0), Events will be renamed as Blocks:

However, it’s not just a change in name. Blocks will bring with it an important improvement: you will be able to add tags to blocks.

Let’s see why this change is important for the future of the app.

ADDING TAGS TO BLOCKS

Our mission in TimeTune is to help you improve your distribution of time, so you can be more productive.

To achieve that, we need a way to analyze how time is spent. That’s where tags come into play.

So far, you could only add tags to activities in your routines. Those tags allowed to show statistics about your day, but only regarding routines. If you created an event, it wouldn’t participate in the statistics.

With blocks, that’s different. You can create a block, add tags to it, and see how it affects the statistics of the day 📈

This contributes directly to the main purpose of the app and it makes the new blocks more coherent with the blocks we use in routines (the activities).

TITLES IN BLOCKS ARE OPTIONAL

In contrast to Events, titles in Blocks are optional:

This means you will be able to create a block only with tags so it appears in the statistics, but you won’t be forced to write a title for each and every block.

Why did we add this possibility? Because Blocks are more than just Events.

Previously, we created an event only when we needed a calendar event (for example, ‘Visit to the doctor’). But now you will be able to create blocks to indicate how you are using your time too (for example, with the tag ‘Work’ and no title).

Again, this is more coherent with the main purpose of the app, while preserving the previous functionality as well.

COLORS AND ICONS

Some people will miss the buttons to choose a specific color and icon for their events:

In blocks, this is achieved through tags:

Just select which tag you want to associate with your block, or create a new tag with the icon and color you like.

The added bonus is that now tags indicate how you are using your time as well.

WHY CHANGE THE NAME?

As we pointed before, Blocks are more than just Events. We needed a way to make the difference clear, and the word ‘Blocks’ conveys the proper meaning: we are dealing with blocks of time, not just calendar events.

Apart from that, remember that TimeTune was never intended to substitute your calendar, but to complement it. However, the term ‘Events’ was misleading and some users thought we were going to evolve into a full calendar.

Dealing with ‘Blocks’ instead of ‘Events’ will make that distinction clearer too.

THE FUTURE

Blocks are just one more step towards our mission. But there are more things we need to do before we can say we achieved our purpose.

Like for example:

• Properly showing overlaps in your schedule.
• Allowing one-off modifications in your schedule.
• Improving statistics.
• Restructuring routines and the programmer to make them more flexible.

So stay tuned for more updates! 😉

(Top illustration by @stories, on Freepik)