SUMMARY

• Tiimo can be used in many different ways and the right way to use Tiimo is the way that best supports you
• Make sure to set aside time for getting to know the app
• Use pre-made activities and routines, then tweak them to your liking
• Create two or three personalized routines for faster scheduling
• Schedule daily and weekly planning time into your calendar
• Get to know other helpful features, like flexible activities & calendar import
• Set reasonable expectations for the time it takes to plan and integrate a new tool like Tiimo

Incorporating a new tool into your life can be daunting and we know this is especially true for those who struggle with task initiation. We have put together this guide with some concrete tips for when you’re getting started with Tiimo.

Part of the beauty of Tiimo lies in its flexibility. The app is extremely customizable and can be used in a whole variety of ways for different kinds of support. Some users’ schedules are incredibly detailed. Others rely on Tiimo for weekly or monthly events that disrupt their usual routines. Whatever you find in this guide, remember that the right way to use Tiimo is the way that works for you!

Before you start: Set aside time for planning

It’s annoying advice, but it’s crucial. Plan to spend some time getting to know the app and practice creating a few activities and routines. Schedule more time than you think you’ll need for this process; we would suggest at least an hour initially. Giving yourself enough time can turn the initial set-up process from something that’s frustrating to something more manageable (and maybe even fun!). As you’re getting to know the app, try and keep in mind that it takes time to integrate Tiimo into your life, no matter how powerful of a tool it may be for you eventually.

Activities & Routines

The Tiimo Visual Schedule consists of activities and routines. An activity is a discrete block of time to carry out a task, such as eating breakfast or travelling to work. A routine is a collection of activities in a particular order during a longer time period, such as a morning routine. While you could have a daily schedule just comprised of activities, organising and saving them into routines will help you save time in scheduling. It also has the long-term benefit of helping you to recognise the pattern and order of doing certain activities together.

Use pre-made content

One great way to save time right when you’re getting started is by using pre-made content in your schedule. Pre-made content consists of both activities and routines that are created here at Tiimo or by one of our amazing partners. It will give you a good example of how activities interact with each other to become a routine, as well as mean that you don’t have an intimidating blank schedule staring back at you. Some examples of pre-made activities include: Wake Up, Brush Teeth, and Take medication. Examples of routines include: Morning Routine, Evening Routine, and School Day Routine.

Once added to your schedule, you can tweak and personalize the activities that constitute pre-made routines so they fit you and your needs best!

How to add pre-made content

1. Tap on ‘My Day’
2. Press the dark grey button with a white rectangle in the lower right-hand corner.
3. Choose Activities or Routines.
4. Choose ‘Tiimo activities’ or ‘Tiimo routines’.
5. Add the activities and/or routines to the days you want them along with start times.
6. Once the premade content is in your schedule, hold down on a particular activity then press ‘Edit’ to make changes.

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Deleting or Editing Activities

Just swipe left on an activity and you will see options to delete or edit it. This will remove it from your daily schedule, but you will still be able to access it from your activity library.

Checklists

Checklists are a great way to add some extra detail into your activities, such as remembering items linked to your activity (for example a leaving the house checklist of items to remember to take with you, or a shopping list) or if the activity has a list of steps that you need to walk through in a particular order. However, for those who are getting started with Tiimo, they can also really help you to get used to thinking about which activities make up your routine without having to create each one of these as a separate standalone activity. Instead, you can create a block of time and then set up all the activities that you need to do as a checklist. So for example you could create a block activity called ‘Afternoon’ that lasts from 12 until 4, and an attached checklist with items such as eat lunch, do washing, shop, write emails.

Personalizing your activities

Once you feel more comfortable with which activities are a part of your schedule, you can start personalizing them. Tiimo is a visual daily planner, so the more that you can make the activities feel like your own, the more likely you are to use your schedule. For each activity, you are able to select from over 3000 icons (including custom designed images), or add in your own pictures from your camera or camera roll. You can also select which colors you would like to use, which can be helpful if you want to group your activities. You can do all of this when creating your activity or update your activity later.

Calendar Import (iOS)

You can also import your existing appointments into Tiimo from iCal. If you have other calendar systems like Google Calendar or Outlook, you will need to sync these with iCal first before being able to import them into Tiimo. How to import from iCal:

1. Go to Me
2. Calendar Import
3. Enable Calendar import
4. Pick your calendars

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Plan in daily and weekly planning time

We recommend putting a ‘planning’ activity right into your schedule from the start. For many people, it’s powerful to have one longer period (of approximately one hour) set aside at the beginning of each week to plan out your weekly schedule.

Having fifteen minutes (or whatever works for you!) each morning to review your daily schedule - potentially mid-way through your morning routine! - can also help give yourself an overview of the day and make any changes or additions to your schedule you’d like.

These morning planning overviews are also a great opportunity to add in any flexible activities to your schedule (currently available on iOS). Flexible activities are activities without a fixed start-time that you can start at any point in the day, pause, re-start, and work on simultaneously to other flexible activities. You can read our blogpost here to understand more about them and how to add them into your schedule.

A note on expectations

For most people, it does just take some time to incorporate Tiimo into daily life. This can mean a few days, but it can also be a few weeks or even a few months. If it takes a little time to get started or you’re having trouble sustaining motivation, you might find it useful to read the blogpost on Time Blocking, created by ADHD Coach Maaya Hitomi to give you some inspiration or another strategy to try.

If you still have questions about using Tiimo or want to make a suggestion for a future improvement, please feel free to reach out to customer support hello@tiimo.dk. We take all user feedback into account in design decisions and our app is updated often - make sure to stay updated on what’s coming soon on Instagram or Twitter. You can also find how to videos for how to get started with activities in our Instagram story highlights 💖

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