MakeUseOf Directory » time

Asana: Time Management For Teams Of People

Dave LeClair — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 17:01:40 +0000

Trying to organize a large of team of people and keeping them on task can take as much as time as the task itself. The folks at Asana are hoping their team based task manager will solve those problems. Their task management program works on all kinds of platforms. You can use it on mobile platforms as well as right in your web browser on your computer. It makes keeping everyone on task easier.

Asana syncs with Google Calendar, Microsoft Outlook and Apple iCal, so your team can get the information no matter where they are. You can even have multiple teams stored, so you can keep your work tasks separated from your clubs and team tasks.

There are lots of keyboard shortcuts in the app, making it quick and easy to change things. Speaking of speed, everything is in real-time, so everyone will see the changes as they happen. You can also be notified when a change occurs to a project.

Features:

View the people in a task and assign tasks.
Syncs with Outlook, Google Calendar and iCal.
Works on computers and mobile devices.
Keyboard shortcuts.
Real time changes.
Follow and be notified of changes to a project.
Integrates with email for easy task creation.
Similar tools: DeskTime, TimePanther, CronSync, CronSync and Yast.com.
Also read related articles:

Find Asana @ www.asana.com

Timerrr: A Virtual Timer For Kitchen Use

MOin — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 19:01:13 +0000

While preparing dishes in the kitchen, we often need a timer. Such kitchen timers are sold separately and are quite handy. But you do not need to buy a physical kitchen timer, thanks to a web app called Timerrr.

Timerrr is a free to use web app that acts like a virtual kitchen timer. You are provided with a dial on which you can spin the handle to your desired time, exactly like a physical kitchen timer. You do this by clicking-and-dragging a green circle. You can select any time, in minutes, up till 59 minutes; your set time is shown to the right. The timer begins once you click on the green Start button.

You can set your browser to full screen to keep the timer in view. When the time is up, you are shown how much time has passed since your set time was over.

Features:

A user-friendly web service.
Acts like a virtual kitchen timer.
Lets you time back in minutes till 59 minutes.
Displays how much time has passed since your set time was over.
Similar tools: FocusBoosterLive, TimerTab, ClockEasy and CountDownTimer.
Also read related article: 10 Different Types Of Online Timers For Everyday Stuff.

Check out Timerrr @ www.timerrr.com (by MOin from Urban Savior)

ItsAlmo.st: Web Based Countdown Timer

abhijeet — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 21:01:16 +0000

If you are looking for a neat countdown tool that doesn’t lead you through annoying options just to set up a simple countdown then ItsAlmo.st is the one you need. It is a simple and elegant web based countdown timer that lets you create multiple countdowns and also share it with friends so that they too are aware of the time left to that big occasion.

Enter the name of the event or occasion in the box on the homepage, select the date and time, and hit “start countdown”. It’ll generate a URL that can be shared, and you can access all your countdowns under “My Countdowns” at the bottom.

The interface of the site is as clean as it can get. However, the date is shown in the American format (month/day) and that is something that might be a little annoying for the people who are accustomed to the day/month format. Overall, a pretty good tool to set up a countdown.

Features

Online countdown timer.
No registration required.
Set up multiple countdowns and share with friends.
Similar tools: Tickcounter, Timertab, CountDownTimer, EggWatchers, ClockEasy, AlarmTube, OnlineClock, Countdown2Zero, E.ggTimer, SleepFM, AlarmTube, MusicAlarm and Alarmd.

Check out ItsAlmo.st @ itsalmo.st/# (via TechCrunch By Abhijeet from GT Cool Stuff)

TickCounter: Create CountDown & CountUp Timers Online

TehseenBaweja — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 01:01:46 +0000

Keeping track of an event is not easy. TickCounter helps in focusing on an event by letting you create a web-based time counter. It can be a countdown timer, counting how much time is remaining to reach a particular event in the future. Or it can be a count up timer, counting the time that has passed since an event in the past.

Each timer can be customized by choosing the specific date and time, relevant timezone, assigning the counter a name, and getting a unique permanent URL for each counter. You can also have a random timer where you count down to a specific number of minutes, and even an adjusting counter that adds or subtracts a specified number of minutes after every specified interval. TickCounter also lets you create a stop watch.

Features:

Create several types of counters and timers online.
Choose relevant time zone and get a unique URL for each counter.
No registration required.

Visit TickCounter @ http://www.tickcounter.com

WorldTimeBuddy: Comparing Time Zones Made Easy

abhijeet — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 19:01:44 +0000

How many times have you paused for a moment trying to figure out the current time in Chicago in the US or Sydney in Australia? Despite knowing the difference in hours, it is not easy figuring out if it’s currently 1.00pm or 2.00pm in Chicago. That’s exactly why WorldTimeBuddy is really cool. Add as many time zones as you want by entering the country or the city, and it has a vertical slider to let you easily compare the clocks.

You’ll also find tiny icons beside the name of the city in each row that let you mark that specific location as the home location, move it up in the sequence or delete it. Overall, a simple and useful site.

Features

Compare time zones around the world.
Easily add different cities.
A vertical slider lets you compare the time zones.
Similar tools GMTSlider, Localti.me, TimeZoneCheck, FindZone and TimeAndDate.

Check out WorldTimeBuddy @ http://www.worldtimebuddy.com (By Abhijeet from GT Mobiles)

GMTSlider: Easily Compare Time Zones Around The World

abhijeet — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 23:01:17 +0000

GMTSlider is a nifty tool that lets you quickly compare time zones around the world by adding multiple sliders for each time zone and then using it to see how changing the time in one slider affects the other. The default slider will show your current time. You can select the time zone from the drop down menus, and click the ‘+’ sign to add new sliders.

There’s an export link option to generate a link for the page for sharing purposes. You can select the 12 hour or 24 hour time format for the sliders.

The problem however is that currently, there’s a lag of 30 minutes in its calculations. For example, my time zone is GMT+5:30 but it will only show GMT+5. I think this is something which the developer should rectify. The site also has a Twitter profile and you can send direct messages to it to instantly know what the current time is in any city. Details on how to send the message are given on the site.

Demo video:

Features

Quickly check and compare time zones world wide.
No registration needed. Just add sliders and get started.
Use the Twitter profile too to get current time in various cities.
Similar tools: Localti.me, TimeZoneCheck, FindZone and TimeAndDate.

Check out GMT Slider @ www.gmtslider.com (By Abhijeet from GT Mobiles)

Sundial-Damia: Make Vertical Sundial In Seconds

Israel Nicolas — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 23:01:51 +0000

Before mechanical clocks were built, people relied on devices like sundials to tell the time using the sun’s shadow. While we fortunately do not have to use that anymore, it still qualifies as a cool thing to do. Damnia.net has a great resource that lets you create your own vertical sundial based on your location.

To create your own sundial, start by typing your address or just your city into the text field. This will bring you to your exact location in Google Maps. Then select the face of the building where you intend to place the sundial. The coordinates and the wall declination will mark where you should put the sundial exactly so that it can accurately tell the time.

Finish it off by selecting a banner, checking the DST option if necessary, and choosing your time zone. You now have a cool PDF sundial that you can print-out and assemble. This tool is a great way to rediscover how people told the time during ancient times.

Features:

Google Maps mashup lets you create a printable sundial based on your location.
Custom sundial printed from PDF.
Cool resource to learn how sundials work.

Check out Damia’s Create your vertical sundial @ www.sundial.damia.net/vertical/sundial.php

Big Stretch Reminder: Free Break Reminder Program

Israel Nicolas — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 03:01:14 +0000

Are you the type who just can’t get off your computer once you start working? Perhaps, you’re just too OCD that you want to finish your tasks in one sitting? Perhaps you are just too indulged with what you are doing that you tend to forget about taking a break and getting off the PC.

In these cases, you might be needing the help of the break reminder program Big Stretch Reminder.

Big Stretch Reminder is a desktop notification tool that reminds the user to take regular breaks. You can also be reminded of your coffee break schedules. This simple program helps prevent symptoms of RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury).

This tool sits in your system tray and will alert you when it is time to get out of your chair. It also offers either RSI tips or any message that you chose. Users can also choose which alert mode they want – either intrusive or not. You can also choose to have a micro-break displayed on your computer screen if you want.

Big Stretch Reminder is a free download for Windows only.

Other features:

Get take a break reminders while working.
It requires a small memory of 450KB.
It allows enabling and disabling alerts if the computer is in idle mode.
Customized alerts.
Similar Tools: Alarm Clock and ReminderFeed.

Check out Big Stretch Reminder @ www.monkeymatt.com/bigstretch (Via guidingtech)

Localti.me: Find Out Current Local Time Around The World

Kaly — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 22:30:49 +0000

Here is another website where you can quickly find out the current local time for any spot around the world. Search for the city name and the site will show the time for that location and additionally get details like current weather, related Wikipedia articles and images from Flickr and Ponaramio.

More specific information like local language, currency, electrical sockets, driving side and important news headlines are included as well.

Features:

Quickly find out local time for anywhere.
Also see local weather, language, currency, electrical sockets, driving side, Wikipedia entry, images from Flickr etc.
Clean and user friendly interface.
Similar sites: TimeZoneCheck, FindZone and TimeAndDate.

Check out Localti.me @ www.localti.me

TimeZoneCheck: Local Time Map Of The World

azim — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 04:55:29 +0000

TimeZoneCheck is a local time map which lets you instantly check current local time in different geographical time zones. You can view local time in popular world destinations or hover with your mouse over a geographic area on a map to view the corresponding local time in that time zone.

It automatically detects your time zone and displays your current local time at the top left.

You can also look up a local time in any city or region by typing its name into a search field below. If there are multiple locations with the same name it will list them all on a map along with their local times.

Features:

View current local time in different geographical time zones.
Look up your own current local time.
Instantly look up the local time in any city or region by typing its name into a search field.
Similar tools: FindZone and TimeZoneConverter.

Check out TimeZoneCheck @ www.timezonecheck.com