Plan your weeks and stay focused
Once your classes are in First Six, you can build a week you can actually work from — not just a list of when things happen, but a plan for getting things done between them. This guide joins the pieces together: your timetable, your tasks, your phone calendar, the focus timer, and the reminders that keep deadlines from sneaking up.
Take it a step at a time. Each piece is useful on its own, and they get more useful as you add the next one.
Import your timetable, add a few tasks with due dates, and turn on reminders. That alone catches the classic first-weeks miss — a deadline that was real but lived somewhere you never looked. The focus timer and calendar sync are there when you want them.
Walk through it
- Import your timetable
Your timetable is the backbone of the Today view. Paste your classes, add them by hand, or subscribe to a calendar feed — the importer shows you every class before saving. Full walkthrough in importing from your university.
- Add tasks linked to your classes
The Workspace is your private task board. Add a task with a title, a due date, a priority, and tags. A tag per subject tends to be more useful than vague tags like "important", because you can pull up everything for one class at once. Break a big assignment into subtasks so it becomes a list of small, startable pieces. See tasks and your timetable.
- Sync to your phone calendar
Subscribe once and your classes, events, and task deadlines show up in Apple, Google, or Outlook calendars — and stay current on their own. Your calendar link is private to you, so do not share it. See syncing your calendar.
- Use the focus timer
When it is time to actually do the work, start the focus timer on a task. It runs as a small pill in the corner and keeps going even if you move around the app. You can only run one at a time, which keeps you on a single thing. See the focus timer.
- Set reminders so nothing slips
Turn on notifications and you will get a nudge before a task is due, plus a heads-up when staff reply to a help request. They are opt-in and you can switch them off any time — see notifications and reminders.
A task with no due date stays private to the Workspace. Add a date and it rides along on your calendar feed, so your assignments sit next to your classes in one place.
Quick checklist
- Import your timetable
- Add tasks with due dates and a tag per subject
- Break one big task into subtasks
- Subscribe to your calendar feed on your phone
- Run a focus session on one task
- Turn on task reminders
Common questions
Is importing my timetable the same as syncing my calendar?
No. Importing brings your classes into First Six. Syncing sends First Six out to your phone's calendar, so they show up alongside everything else. Many people do both.
Can I run a focus timer on two tasks at once?
No — one at a time, on purpose. If you start a second timer, the app asks whether to stop and save the first. Your first session is never lost.
Can I get reminders without turning on notifications?
The app always shows your tasks and timetable when you open it. Reminders that reach you while the app is closed need notifications on.
Related
The fastest answer is usually one question away.