As anyone who knows me is well aware, I’ve always been focused (some might say fixated) on creating efficient systems to drive personal productivity. Much of this focus started for me in 2016 as the first time I left the corporate world and, for the first time that didn’t have the structure of parents, school, or a job to ostensibly provide a clear path forward.
The more I talk with people, the more I realize just how uncommon and often uncomforting that lack of structure can be for people. I know I felt it at first, though several subsequent stints away from corporate America have made me more comfortable with it.
Even so, the human desire for structure is strong, and since 2016 I’ve experimented with many approaches to bring the structure that work provides and merge it with all the good aspects of being self-directed.
Without chasing everyone away with too much of the philosophy, I’ll just say that the latest iteration of this has brought me to building a new app that, I believe, is the best way structure your time when you are working for yourself.
Welcome to Forward.
What is Forward?
Forward is a one-stop shop for anyone to manage the important things going on in their life.
Tactically, this breaks down into a few things:
Goals - the big things you want to achieve in the next year
Projects - the big, broad efforts that you are working on
Tasks - the steps you are taking to achieve these things
Habits - the things you do every day or every week to sustain and improve
Reminders - the monthly/quarterly/yearly things that you don’t want to lose track of
Most of life falls into one of these buckets, and if it does, it has a place in Forward. What’s more, you can get a single-pane view all in one place:
Beyond the home page, each section has its own dedicated page where you can completely manage each aspect.
And you can also zoom in on a specific life area or project by clicking on it to focus entirely on that part of your life. This is great if you want to focus on your career from 9-5pm and then shift back to the rest of your life after hours. For example, here is a zoom in on the “Career” life area from my demo account:
For years, it has struck me as crazy that there isn’t one app that does all these things well. Believe me, I’ve tried them! I’ve tried dozens of apps, built my own setups in Excel and Notion, and more. The fact is, most companies settle into a niche and consumers follow. Those apps become very good at what they do, and a local maxima is reached.
I believe Forward can be a jump higher for those willing to cross the uncanny valley with me. In an age of never-ending distraction we need to give people the best tools possible to fight for achievement. That is why I’ve built Forward, and why it will continue to be there for those who wish to move, well, forward.
To get a better sense of Forward, please check out this quick 5 minute video tour of Forward:
Core Tenants of Forward
To use any software, you should consider it’s core propositions and see if they align with your view of the world and what you are looking for.
With that in mind, Forward is designed with the following philosophies in mind:
Easy data entry
Single pane of glass
Focus on small, incremental steps
Statistics as Motivators
Let’s talk a bit about each:
Easy Data Entry
The first place a lot of apps go wrong (particularly task trackers with a focus on enterprise) is that data entry is slow and/or cumbersome.
With Forward, I’ve taken a starting point that the data entry should have as little friction as possible: one click, one text box that’s preselected for you, and a click or enter to confirm. Boom, the task is there!
For habits, it’s even easier: just click and type a number, or click and select yes or no. That’s it and that’s all!
Single Pane of Glass
One thing that has consistently been a challenge for me is that it’s hard to have a single spot where you can track habits, short- and long-term tasks, and broader goals all in the same place. No software that I’ve seen is really good at fitting all of these together.
Even with apps like Notion, which I am still a huge fan of, it is bulky and cumbersome to build something like this. Even when done, the interactions will take a bit more effort, the views not as clear, and it won’t be great on mobile.
So there is a clear need for a purpose-built application focused on this. The market is full of task trackers and habit trackers, but nothing that really brings them together well. While there are reasons to dig more specifically into habits or tasks that require a full experience, the Home Page is the complete summary of what you need to do. For me, if it isn’t on there, then I don’t need to worry about it yet.
Focus on Small, Incremental Steps
I’m sure we’ve all been there: a project sits on your back burner for weeks, which turn into months, all because it is a bit too large or ill-defined. I liken this to facing a tall mountain that you want to (or need to) climb.
While there is no panacea, Forward is designed around helping you to outline the small steps that end up adding up to big change. Within your full list of tasks, they are organized by project. Each project should be a broad area or effort that you are focused on.
Projects then can be used to organize your tasks and break the big effort into more manageable chunks. Similarly, goals can be set for projects which provide small, intermediate milestones to keep you focused on the next step and reward yourself when you reach it!
Statistics as Motivators
Last, but certainly not least, I’ve always been a believer in the power of statistics and semi-arbitrary numeric targets to help motivate. I initially found this, as many do, with running. While there isn’t any real meaning to running 98 miles in a month vs. 100 miles, having a nice round target is a powerful motivator. Saying “100 miles in a month” is just a lot more impressive.
Forward uses this approach both for habits, as well as for tasks and projects. For habits, you can set (and adjust) weekly targets for each of your habits. We then calculate your streak of consecutive weeks making (or missing) your target, and average up all your streaks into a single measure of your habit effectiveness.
Similarly, we help you track for your projects how many tasks you are completing per week, and how many weeks you’ve done at least one task for a given project. In the vein of “focus on small incremental steps”, the idea of “just do one thing each week” may not seem like much, but you’ll be surprised just how quickly progress can accumulate!
That sounds great, can I try Forward?
Great question, and the answer is “Yes, it’s just 4 clicks away”!
Go to: www.mumma.co/forward
Enter your e-mail and click “send magic sign-up link”
Click the magic link that is emailed to you.
Set a password, and then click “Get Started”
And you are in! Honestly, it’ll take you 30 seconds, so please give it a try!
Forward is free for the first month so that you can get a good sense of how much value you get from it.
After that, you’ll need to subscribe for the low price of $3 per month, or $29.99 per year (2 months free). This can be easily done from your profile page, and is a way to support the product and my continued work as this is my full-time goal at this point!
The first 250 subscribers can get a special introductory deal: only $1/mo or $12/yr using promo code: LAUNCHFORWARD.
I should add, this subscription is only used for Forward right now, but will include premium access to any other apps built by Mumma Labs. I don’t have too much to say about those apps yet, but there will be more to come!