Quotations Improved

A timer is set to show a new quotation/author every N minutes, where N is defined in the Controls! tab. N is usually 1 or 5 minutes, but can be 15

However, now you have some control over the content. We've added two buttons to operate the quotations.

The "New" button will display another random quote from the Quotes sheet.

The "Save" button will move the quote/author in column B to column C. You would do this when you find one that speaks to you and you want to save it as a Quote of the Day.  Each Save wipes out what was in Column C and replaces it with what's in B.

Known limitation: these buttons work fine on laptop (MacBook Pro) but are inoperable on mobile device (iPhone).

Next: A favorite button, and a Delete button.

Simplifying, Minimizing, Cleaning

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler" 

Einstein

It's real easy to add stuff to a design, the work is in taking away stuff. But it's In taking away the unnecessary that reveals the underlying simplicity. The user "gets it" more readily. It looks easy, the user feels more comfortable.

That was the mission for the last day or so: consistent font sizes and colors, removal of emojis (which only serve to junk up the screen... it's just visual noise), hiding some activities that are no longer serving a need. 

I'm breathing more easily now, and I think the product is too.

Although I have been working for about 8 years with this concept of a checklist for the purpose of success in life and business, I am reminded that almost everything can benefit from "Beginner's Mind".  This is the Zen principle of Shoshin. Steve Jobs was a practitioner of this principle and his works reveal such thinking.

Daily Completion percent for overall activities

 The daily score is one way of looking at your performance each day, and it's easy to compare it with every other day.

But there is another metric that's helpful and that's the daily completion percent; of all the activities on your checklist, how many did you actually work on.

This is what my checklist is telling me. I may have some activities that are aspirational and I'm not really working on very much, or at all.  That's ok, I guess, it's better to have them on my checklist as a reminder to do something about them, but with that approach I'll never (rarely) ever get to 100%. This will take some working with this new metric to learn more about what it can tell me.

While I had the code open, I optimized the formulas in column A, and I can almost feel the checklist breathing more easily with less cruft in the formulas.

Version 12.8.8

Rebranding ez ✔

 For the longest time I've been using a product name like this: 

but lately, it just looks to clunky and long and I started playing around with some minimal approaches and have settled on 

Tough to make it any simpler.  Say it like this: "easy check". And write it like this: ez ✔.

ez ✔ is a claimed trademark of dblm.com and Michael McCafferty, first used January 10, 2025.

Updated the version to 12.8.7

A Friendly Reminder in version 12.8.6

There have been times, maybe once or twice a year, I will actually go a day without using my ez ✔. When I discover it, the next day, I am completely amazed that I could have gone an entire day and not checked in, but there it is, an entire row of blanks starting back at me. How is that possible?

If I can do it, anyone can, and especially new users. This is where a friendly reminder would come in handy before it's too late.

That's why the latest version, 12.8.6 has a built in reminder in the form of an email that gets sent no later than a couple of hours after you wake up. Simple and effective.

The User Guide has been updated, of course.

12.8.5 makes New Day process more robust

 Something I've wanted to do for years is to eliminate the "(end of data)" entry in column B at the bottom of the checklist. Never liked a dependency on the data to signify the end of data. Seems wrong. So now the NewDay function is optimized and clarified, so much easier to follow for the next programmer, and will not barf when a user inadvertently clobbers the  "(end of data)" entry.

For 99.99% of users, this will never be an issue, but I'll feel a lot better that it is being handled more professionally now.

EZchecklist charts updated, now available to publish to the web (12.8.4)

 Here's an example of the sort of charts that come standard with the EZchecklist Dashboard so that you have a visual representation of what you do with your time. Many other charts available. These visuals make it easy to improve. 

These charts are updated in real time, with about a 5 minute delay. My charts are available to anyone at this link, and includes charts that I use to track steps, sleep, daily EZscore, etc. 

Although publishing your charts is completely optional, by doing so your commitment is strengthened and your results will improve.

Always interested in your thoughts, suggestions, etc.