ZEI by Timeular is a beautifully designed 8-sided device that makes time tracking a tangible process. It’s a cool looking octagon that tracks your day-to-day activities in the hopes of making you more efficient. ZEI’s wireless connectivity allows its users to integrate with leading time-tracking software solutions (Toggl, Harvest, Basecamp, etc.). The best part about this digital polygon device: It’s fun to use and it provides weekly feedback on time management. With a simple flip you change from one task to the other and at the end of week, you’re provided a detailed snapshot breaking down time spent on e-mails, conferences, social media, you name it.
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Estimated to save its users close to $3,500 a year by learning how to allocate time more efficiently throughout the day, ZEI tracks work flow seamlessly. In other words, users can control time tracking within seconds and can add entries immediately without losing focus by having to open an application.
ZEI is customizable allowing its user to either write or place stickers on each one of its eight sides. This clearly identifies the user’s projects. Through Timeular’s software, users can immediately start tracking time just by positioning the polygon face up on the corresponding project. For example, if you are about to head into a manager’s meeting, just flip your “meeting” side face up to start tracking time. When you return and get back to attacking e-mails, just flip ZEI to the e-mail side. This is how ZEI keeps track of your day-to-day activities. At the end of the week, you’ll get a report showing you how much time you spent on e-mails and meetings.
I know what’s your thinking: Am I going to remember to turn this device off or forget to switch it to the appropriate side? Since ZEI has a mobile app listing your daily projects, you can easily stop the clock as well as edit tasks on the go. Oh, by the way, ZEI is an object on your desk not a cloud-based app. It has a physical presence ensuring that your client is billed that one hour of Skype time.
Cliché alert: time is money and as the Founders of Timeular so eloquently put it, “Time is the most valuable thing we have.” ZEI is a device that not only works with the majority of time tracking solutions (Android and iOS compatible); but more importantly, its pro version analyzes your weekly data and offers suggestions on how to better manage your time. The pro version is free for the 1st year and only $3 per month thereafter. Well worth the upgrade. From personal weekly productivity reports to personal productivity recommendations, ZEI provides a detailed but simple summary so you can bill your clients accordingly.
How difficult is set up? According to Timeular, all you need to get started is the device, a pen, a set of stickers, and the apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android and Linux. Outside of the applications, it sounds like set up is as easy as a 7th grade home economics project. Through Timeular’s proprietary software, you’ll be able to assign a project to each face of the polygon, and immediately being tracking how much time you’re spending on a task. This is something we could all use. ZEI is ideal for the multi-tasker and the person who needs a physical reminder to move onto the next task.
Timeular has created a truly innovative product that is beneficial to the masses. Who doesn’t need help with time management? In this attention-challenged world where digital distractions are everywhere, this product can only be described as revolutionary. With an initial crowdfunding pledge goal of $84K there is no wonder ZEI’s backing has reached $177K.
The positive review from above is most certainly written by someone working for Timeular or from a commission. I was very excited to see this product, but frankly, it’s a failure of execution and way, way, way too earlier to have been taken to market.
Pro’s:
– none.
Con’s:
– you cannot have it linked to *both* your laptop and your phone. You have to chose one of the other. Fail.
– the instruction in the box are weak. you have to go online. Fail.
– once online, the instructions are a mess of old instructions that no longer apply, and a new instructions… but there’s no way to know which are which. Fail.
– when i received the correct instructions, there was a link that said to click on “this very important” information. That link went to a dead web page. Fail.
– moving on. i tried to pair with my phone. The pairing function did not work.
– (Failures now include: set-up instructions, online instructions, links within online instructions, pairing to your phone).
– moving on, i tried to pair with my laptop. rinse and repeat of the phone process. pairing failed.
– (Failures now also include: pairing to your laptop).
– I should note that i somehow had the product working for one day… until i left the room with my phone and the connection stopped.
– in that time window, it was a positive experience, but some additional caveats including….
– the free version only allows 8 tasks… and no downloading.
– the return policy is 14-days… but the set-up is *anything* but plug-and-play… so it may take more than 14-days to get it to work. Fail.
– the help desk and company is out of Germany (I think), so no real-time support. You can only reply to one email per day if you’re in the US. (Fail).
– and the help is only via email. there is not a chat or live support (fail).
– having more than 8-tasks requires an upgrade.
This amounts to a *significant* buyer beware product. It is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too early to be at market. They need to solve the following issues:
– software on the phone
– software on the laptop
– help desk
– online insturctions
– hardware on the cube.
An elegant design and super ideal solution…. that’s hopelessly bogged down by every single other things.
A better solution is to just buy an 8-sided ‘Dungeons and Dragons’ die and just be disciplined writing down the time as you go. I hope they’re able to solve these issues… but I seriously doubt that they’ll survive as a result of poor execution.
Questions… contact me at [email protected] for my candid responses.
-Mark
The positive review from above is most certainly written by someone working for Timeular or from a commission. I was very excited to see this product, but frankly, it’s a failure of execution and way, way, way too earlier to have been taken to