Projects & Goals · Ascend
Projects & Goals is Ascend’s free goal planner. You write down a big goal, break it into projects with a clear finish line, and break those into tasks small enough to do today. When you finish tasks, their project fills up, and when you finish projects, their goal fills up.
It is the one part of Ascend that earns no points. It is for planning, and the work you plan here earns its points where you do it: in your workouts, reading, focus sessions and weekly goals.
Free · In beta · Phone and PC · No download needed
Three levels, each on its own tab, each with a different time scale.
What you want your life to look like, with an optional category and target date. For example: get fit, speak a new language, land an internship.
One phase of a goal with a clear finish line, with start and due dates and a status: not started, in progress, on hold or completed.
The next small step, with a due date, a priority and optional subtasks. For example: run 3 km, list five products, move $50 to savings.
On the Goals tab, add what you are aiming for and, if you like, a target date and category.
From the goal, add the projects it needs. Turn on “projects in order” if one has to finish before the next starts.
Use the quick add box at the top of Tasks, or a full task with due date, priority and subtasks. Tasks without a project are fine too.
Filter by Due today, Overdue, Next 7 days, To do or Done, search, or filter by priority and project. Tick tasks as you go.
You never type a percentage for something that has parts. Ascend works it out from the bottom up and changes the status for you.
A project’s progress is the average of its tasks. A task with subtasks counts the share of subtasks done, so half a task shows as half.
A goal’s progress is the average of its projects, and a completed project counts as 100%.
A project completes itself when all its tasks are done, and a goal is achieved when all its projects are. Untick something and they reopen.
A project with no tasks, or a goal with no projects, has a progress you update by hand. A goal you abandon stays abandoned.
Ticking a task or finishing a project earns no points, and nothing here can cost points. A to-do list that paid per tick would reward splitting work into tiny pieces, which is the opposite of planning.
Points come from doing the work where Ascend can measure it. The timer button on a task’s row opens the focus timer with that task, and the session earns focus points (up to 10 points for a 90-minute session). Put this week’s part of a project into Weekly Goals and reaching it earns 5 points. Runs, pages and practice earn in Exercise, Reading and Skills.
Then add one project and one task you can do today.