Creating a Travel App Without Subscription Hassles

I’ve decided on and am getting excited by the idea of writing a travel app. I’m working out the detail of what it should cover, but for now I’m leaning on a US centric focus. That way I can include some fun things such as quirky sites to visit and maybe some facts.

If I manage to get that working then I can always add other countries or areas next. It would even work as a paid feature. You pay for each area and you’d have unlimited use of that area. It’s hard because I know the best way to make money on the app store is through subscriptions, but as a user – I hate them. So I’m going to try to see what I can do to avoid a subscription version, but we will see what happens as I begin to create the app.

But, I held up my goal of starting my app today. While there are many smaller goals that need to happen, I am also focusing on the next goal of releasing the app to the world. My goal at this point is to have it out by the end of the month. I will know a bit more in the next week or so as I start to flesh out what the app should actually do and how it should look. But, at the end of the day I want to make sure the first release happens quickly enough that I don’t tie up months into something that won’t be successful. I’d rather get a working version out into the world and then add features as people begin to use it.

So, that’s where I’m at right now. The app exists only as a bit of research along with some written down notes. But, it is a start and gives me something to begin focusing on.

It’s been a while…

Well, I guess I have yet to post anything this year. Well, so much for following through with better marketing.

Since it’s been a while, I thought I’d at least put a few words in here to say how things are going. I’ve been updating apps throughout the year, but nothing super major. I was a bit disappointed in my latest release. I like the app and I use it daily, but it hasn’t really found an audience. So, alas it seems like it will end as a commercial failure. But, at least it is an app that I find useful.

I have been doing a video blog daily on Instagram. I’ve covered a lot of topics – many of them political. If you followed the news at all you would know Minnesota has been featured prominently over the last several months (huh, it’s been over 6 months now???). So, that has occupied a lot of my thoughts. I have started to bring my focus back to my apps, though and hopefully I’ll come up with a new project somewhat soon.

If you want to see the Instagram posts, here is the link: instagram.com/duckyplanet

Well, that wasn’t much but at least it’s something. I hope all is going well for everyone and hopefully I’ll keep up with this better than I have been.

More on Productivity

Keeping yourself productive is hard – especially when you work for yourself. Years ago I came up with a solution to help myself – I called it my “To Done List.” To do lists were great, but it was easy to write them and still not achieve anything. The To Done List was different – you had to actually do something before filling the list. Seeing the list was basically empty at any point forced me to step up and get something done – even if it was small. It snowballed from there. If you finished one task, the next one would be easier.

I used to fill various notebooks with lists of tasks I had done. They didn’t have to relate to anything in particular. They also didn’t have to be work related. I tracked everything I did that took some time out of my day – even if it was fun. I’d track work I’d done, household chores, meeting with friends, games with my kids – anything that seemed worth recording.

I’d look back at earlier days, weeks, and months through this list. It showed me just what I had been up to. Not only did it motivate me on any given day. It also made me feel better about what I had been doing. So, instead of feeling the dread at piling up to do lists, I can see that I was actually making use of my time.

A month or so ago, this idea came back up for me and I decided to write an app to help me track tasks. Thus was born TaDone. I want other people feel the same motivation that I felt. The app makes it easy to record tasks. It even makes it easier to record commonly used tasks. The app keeps a list of your most common tasks. You can simply click on one to add it.

So if you are interested in trying it out, here is a link.

TaDone - Done List Tracker
TaDone - Done List Tracker
  • TaDone - Done List Tracker Screenshot
  • TaDone - Done List Tracker Screenshot
  • TaDone - Done List Tracker Screenshot
  • TaDone - Done List Tracker Screenshot
  • TaDone - Done List Tracker Screenshot
  • TaDone - Done List Tracker Screenshot
  • TaDone - Done List Tracker Screenshot
  • TaDone - Done List Tracker Screenshot
  • TaDone - Done List Tracker Screenshot
  • TaDone - Done List Tracker Screenshot
  • TaDone - Done List Tracker Screenshot