GTDJedi Podcast - EP049 - Sorting Things Out (A Dev Seg with the Team at Stay Sorted)

In this episode, Clay interviews the Jedi Masters behind the hyper scheduling sensation known as Sorted 3.

GTDJedi Show Notes

Episode #: 49

Date: 04/09/19

Hosts: Clay Russell & guests Harry Ng & Leo Tumwattana

The Dev Seg - Format

Guest: Harry Ng & Leo Tumwattana (Founder & Developer) of Sorted 3

Q: Tell us about your company and give us a little on it’s history.

A: Team Sorted has two core developers. It started as a personal project when Leo was an in-house consultant at Louis Vuitton.

He tried many task managers and to-do list apps and nothing stuck.

He later stumbled on the the idea that scheduling is super effective, if it can be done quickly. He thought that he could make an app for himself.

Leo: Sorted became an obsessive side project of mine and I eventually even got a patent on some of the gestures used in Sorted³ (mostly because I was curious about the process of getting one). Eventually people around me saw Sorted and wanted to try. Which lead to me releasing a slightly cleaned up version to the App Store as a market test.

Q: I want to talk about Sorted³. Can you share with us how this app has evolved over the years and what inspired the change?

A: Leo: The initial version (which we now refer as Sorted 2) had a deep learning curve. That’s because I built it for personal use and didn’t have to care about discoverability from the standpoint of a new user. But surprisingly, we still grew a very loyal (fanatical even?) user base. After talking with them and thinking through things more, we redesigned Sorted³ from the ground up for a proper release. Sorted³ has become a task management app designed around the idea of hyper-scheduling. Hyper-scheduling is a highly effective task/time management technique used by the world’s most productive people. It's actually not new, but has not been codified, named and made easy to include as part of everyone's routine.

Surprisingly, we found that we had an impact with people with ADHD. We helped them get organized with a simple, repeatable and effective routine that allowed them to focus and get things done. We’re also extremely popular with people juggling multiple aspects of life, people who’ve tried all other task management apps and routines, but failed at having them stick.

Q: How do you decide on what features you prioritize with each update?

A: It's a mix of a few things.

1. Things we've already planned and have been discussing already.

2. How many people have been requesting the feature or similar features.

3. Listening and discussing with our community of users. (Sometimes they inspire us to rethink ideas.)

4. How much effort it will take to implement.

5. Whether there is a natural order to the features (A before B, etc.)

Q: Who is this app for? What is the target demographic?

A: People who wants to get the “right” things done without spending all their time managing their task manager. It's a consumer app.

- How do you use this app in your daily life? What is your workflow?

The basic Hyper-Scheduling routine

1. Every day, schedule your events, tasks and the information you need together and work from that plan.

2. Your initial plan does not have to be perfect. A rough schedule will do. So don't over think and over plan it. You can fine tune as your day progresses.

3. You should update your schedule multiple times throughout the day to track progress. Adjust to any changes that invariably happens. Use these moments to maintain situational awareness and to fine tune your initial plan.

Q: What separates this app from the countless others of it’s type in the store?

A: Where most task management apps focuses on helping you make to-do lists, Sorted³ focuses on where you should spend your time through the routine of hyper-scheduling.

This means to consider time, duration, and details of each task.

Q: How are other people discovering your apps?

A: Mostly via App Store. We are honoured to be featured by App Store in many occassions, including Today's Stories App of the Day and Pro Tip. We also win the prize of 2018 Best of Year in China App Store.

Q: What methods have proven to be the most successful for getting your app discovered?

A: Focus on quality for UI, UX and feature set. Build initial core user group. Be responsive in terms of Customer Service.

Q: Is anything lacking in iOS, that is holding you back from any features in your current roadmap?

A: One major feature users are looking for: Multi-day View.

This may help users to plan ahead over a period of time. We will be looking at the details after releasing the macOS app, which is the biggest feature request by far.

Q: Can you enlighten us on what you have in store for the future of this app?

A: We are working deliberately on macOS app. This is the #1 request from our user community. We have released an early beta and users can participate in beta by signing up on our website.

How to Reach Us(where you can reach the GTDJedi Order)

Clay - @clayrussell 

Harry Ng - @harryworld

Leo Tumwattana - @imkulio

In Closing

Subscribe and review on iTunesor Google Play

Patreon (patreon.com/tekside)

Contact (@GTDJedi, [email protected])

The website, productivity tips, etc. tekside.net/gtdjedi

The rest of the network tekside.net

Closing

We thank you all for listening and remember, with a little training, anyone can be on their way to becoming a GTDJedi. Goodbye!