Getting Started

There are only five things you need to know, to get started:

  1. Events have fixed times, just like in a calendar.
  2. Task have a duration. When you create a new task, the default duration is 30 minutes but you can adjust that (and we suggest that you do so).  SmartTime uses this information to integrate your tasks into the free time between your Events.
  3. Create anything with one tap – just tap on the “+” icon.  If you’re in a hurry, you can do the rest later. This is great for stream-of-consciousness adding new items on the fly.
  4. You can create categories to assign your tasks and events to.  SmartTime comes with two default categories, Work and Family.  To create a new category, just go to Settings.
  5. Connect with your iPhone calendar.  You’ll probably want to do this right away, so that you can bring in your existing calendars and appointments. Just go to Settings -> Synchronization, then tap the ‘Sync Now’ button. This will bring all your existing calendars into SmartTime. For more details on synchronization, see our Simple Sync guide.
That’s it!  Now, here’s some more information that you can view at any time.

New in SmartTime 6:

SmartTime combines your iPhone’s two most important productivity tools – Calendar and Reminders – into one app. You also have an option to create your tasks in SmartTime, then sync them directly to your iPhone calendar

New in SmartTime 5:

Tap the “eye” icon on the  bottom left of the screen, to show or hide individual Categories (this applies to both Tasks and Events and is global to all views).

Views

There are three main views and you can switch between them by tapping on the bottom menu:  Calendar, Smart, and Focus. Each of these views shows the same information, but in different ways. Try them out and use which one you like best.
Smart
SmartView is a unique scrollable list-style view that shows all of your tasks and events in the order that they occur.  Wide ones are Events, smaller ones are tasks. You can drag the tasks up and down to change their priority.  Note that if you try to drag a task into the past, SmartTime won’t let you!  SmartView also features a floating “dynamic day line” that shows what you can get done today, and tomorrow.  Notice what happens when you drag tasks above and below these lines.  For more detail see “about Smart View” below.
Calendar
This is a traditional calendar view, but it also shows your tasks integrated right into the calendar.  Note: if you drag a task in Calendar view, SmartTime will assume that you want to assign a specific time to the task. It will automatically be converted into an Event, with a specific time.  Sweet!  You can always convert it back into a Task, just double-tap to edit, then select “Task” from the toggle switch on top.
Focus
This exactly as the name suggests: a list that shows only what you need to know for today. It’s an Agenda that shows all of your tasks and events. Each time you mark a task as ‘done’, it moves down to the “done” section. And when time passes the end of an Event, that too moves to the “done” section. This is an excellent way to keep track of your progress during the day.
You can also flip your iPhone sideways to see a full 7-day Week view.  Tap on any day to enlarge it. Tap again to edit the content. Tap on the name of the month at the top, and you can see an entire Month (with an editable day on the side).  SmartTime was the first organizer for iPhone to have these unique landscape views.
Tap this screen shot to show full-size in your browser:

About “Smart View”

SmartView is truly unique – it may appear simple,but never before has it been possible to see so much information in one tiny screen.

Location Contexts

SmartTime looks at the free time between your Events, and finds time for them based upon the durations and priorities of each of your Tasks. It also looks at the contexts of two other pieces of information: Where you do your work, and when you want to do it.  You can set these in Settings. There are two main Contexts: Work and Home.  You can set the default working hours for each. For example, you are at Work from 9-5 and you are at Home (and available for doing stuff) from 7-10.  You can also set your contexts for Weekends.  Maybe you want to allot 4 hours on Saturdays for doing “Work” stuff, and you want to allot 6 hours on Sundays for doing “Home” stuff.  You can also set when your weekend starts (because not everyone works Monday-Friday).
Super cool: When you create a new Task or Event, regardless of the Category that you have chosen for it, you can also choose a Location Context, Work or Home.  This helps tell SmartTime when to schedule your tasks.  It also acts as a handy filter (tap on the “filter” icon on the lower right of any view).  You can easily see which items belong to which Context; “Home” items have a little house icon on the left side, and “Work” items have a little briefcase icon on them.

Tips & Best Practices

Snooze Alerts
These are a great way to be reminded – and reminded – and reminded – until you get something done.  Most times, an alert is something that goes off (or pops up), then you click “OK”, then you’ve forgotten about it.  That’s not very handy. With Snooze alerts, you can set a default snooze duration in Settings, then the alert will keep reminding you until you tap “ok.”