Changelog
New
Added total estimated time to the past for comparison in the timeline (beta)
Blog
2022
Changelog
Improved
Projects in the new timeline are now sorted by activity (beta)
Journal
Estimated workloads in the schedule timeline
After visualizing tracked time, I jumped from the past and into the future to visualize estimated workloads.
Changelog
Fixed
Fixed invoice list coloring when an invoice is overdue (thanks, Brian!)
Changelog
New
Workloads in the Schedule timeline (beta)
Changelog
Fixed
Fixed timezone issue in the timeline beta with tracked time in the evening (beta)
Journal
Total tracked time in the schedule timeline
Now that Cushion can visualize tracked time, the next step is to combine tracked time and highlight when you overworked yourself.
Changelog
New
Added total tracked time visual to the schedule timeline with highlighting for when you overworked yourself (beta)
Added tooltips for tracked time
Fixed
Fixed date pickers to respect week start day preference
Changelog
New
Added “Date Paid” to paid invoice template
Journal
Lazy loading tracked time in the schedule timeline
After being close to launching tracked time in the schedule timeline beta, I decide to spend an extra week adding lazy loading.
Changelog
New
Tracked time visualized in Schedule timeline (beta)
Journal
Visualizing tracked time in the schedule timeline
Straying from the plan to bring the timeline to 1:1 feature parity with the existing timeline, I visualize tracked time.
Journal
Duplicating an invoice
I take a short break from the timeline beta to launch the ability to duplicate an invoice. No big deal.
Changelog
New
Added budget and track sections to project form in Schedule timeline (beta)
Changelog
New
Added the ability to duplicate invoices
Changelog
Fixed
Fixed budget graph nav for users with a custom fiscal year to load correct initial year (thanks, Jake!)
Changelog
Improved
Project actions in the Schedule timeline for “Start”, “Finish”, and “Cancel” now show an auto-populated form with the current date, relevant list to move to, and the option to archive (beta)
Journal
Grouping and archiving projects in the schedule timeline
On the new path of pursuing a list-based layout, I group the projects by list and add an archive filter.
Changelog
New
Added archive filter to Schedule timeline (beta)
Added archiving to project menu in the Schedule timeline (beta)
Improved
Group projects by list in Schedule timeline (beta)
Fixed
Fixed setting a project color for the first time in the Schedule timeline (beta)
Changelog
New
Added view filter to schedule timeline for showing all, active, or archived projects (beta)
Improved
Redesigned schedule timeline to include project list (beta)
Journal
One step back, two steps forward
Foreseeing a problematic future with the stacking layout, I rethink the direction and end up down a better path.
Changelog
Fixed
Fixed clicking zoom options in Firefox in Schedule timeline (beta)
Fixed clicking labels sometimes dragging in Firefox in Schedule timeline (beta)
Fixed vertical alignment of axis in Firefox in Schedule timeline (beta)
Journal
Project actions in the Schedule timeline beta
After adding the ability to add and edit projects in the Schedule timeline, I implement more detailed interactions with project actions.
Changelog
New
Added project actions for starting, finishing, and canceling projects in the new Schedule timeline (beta)
Changelog
Improved
Default a new project’s color to the client color in the new Schedule timeline (beta)
Fixed
Fixed client & list dropdowns to auto-select project’s client & list when editing in the new Schedule timeline (beta)
Fixed client dropdown when project’s client is archived in the new Schedule timeline (beta)
Changelog
New
Creating and editing projects in the Schedule timeline (beta)
Journal
Creating a project via form in the schedule timeline
Back to working on the app, I take the leap into creating projects, but via form first instead of click & drag.
Journal
New year, new homepage
I spend my holiday break bringing more fun to the Cushion homepage with a new design, full of illustrations and animations.
Changelog
Improved
Improved Schedule timeline performance in Safari (beta)
Fixed
Fixed Schedule timeline sizing in Safari (beta)
2021
Journal
Quick launches after a big launch
After launching the Schedule timeline beta, I’m able to easily launch a handful of smaller releases to keep progress going.
Changelog
New
Added touch support to Schedule timeline (beta)
Improved
Rule labels in Schedule timeline are now sticky (beta)
Improved “Today” marker design in Schedule timeline (beta)
Changelog
New
Added week start day preference to the Schedule timeline (beta)
Improved
Project dates are now centered in the Schedule timeline (beta)
Fixed
Fixed several edge-cases with projects in the Schedule timeline (beta)
Journal
The new Schedule timeline is in beta!
To get folks to start testing the new Schedule timeline early, I released the initial beta this weekend.
Changelog
New
Launched the Schedule timeline (beta)
Journal
Zooming into the schedule timeline
With the schedule timeline nearing a beta launch, I take a couple more weeks to sneak zooming into the feature set.
Journal
Flipping the schedule timeline
In an unexpected moment, I decide to try vertically flipping the new schedule timeline, so projects stack from the top.
Journal
Handling timeline labels
Determined to always display labels on the new schedule timeline, I detail all the edge cases I’ve gotten myself into.
Journal
Visualizing projects in the new schedule timeline
Now that I have a canvas for the new schedule timeline, I need to fill it with projects.
Journal
A freeform scrolling timeline
After thinking through a modern schedule timeline, I start by enlarging the timeline to full-page and adding freeform scrolling.
Changelog
New
Added workday settings to project form
Journal
Exploring a modern schedule timeline
Taking a break from the Clients section, I get a burst of inspiration thinking about scheduling.
Journal
Revisiting the UX for client notes
Continuing work on the new Clients section, I revisit client notes, but with a few UX improvements.
Changelog
Improved
The “Period” field in the Clients section now has “This fiscal year” and “Last fiscal year” options, using the fiscal start date preference (beta)
Table columns in the Clients section can now be clicked to sort by column (beta)
Journal
Overflow shadows using the Intersection Observer API
Improving a upon the overflow shadows in Cushion, I replace scroll events with the Intersection Observer API.
Changelog
Improved
Added hover states to buttons (beta)
Improved input placeholder style (beta)
Auto-focus client name input when creating a new client (beta)
The escape key now unfocuses input fields and closes modals (beta)
Improved random color button to include icon (beta)
Fixed
Fixed order of clients and projects in workload form to sort alphabetically
Journal
Addressing beta feedback for the new Clients section
After rolling out the new Client section to a few dozen beta users, I start applying their feedback.
Changelog
Improved
Reduced height of rows in Clients section (beta)
Removed vertical lines in Clients section table (beta)
Clients table is now horizontally scrollable on narrow screens in Clients section (beta)
Journal
Upgrading to Vue 3
While making forward progress with the new Clients section, I take a break to upgrade the new codebase to Vue 3.
Journal
A Safari performance issue and other stresses
An already stressful time is made even more stressful by a Safari performance issue with nested grids.
Changelog
Improved
Separated totals by currency when multiple currencies exist in the Clients section (Thanks, Tommy!)
Fixed
Fixed a performance issue with nested grids in the Clients section (Thanks, Tommy!)
Changelog
Fixed
Fixed sidebar nav to collapse on mobile (Thanks, Manu!)
Journal
Time period filter and totals for the Clients section
With the Clients section beta up and running, I launch my first incremental update.
Journal
A video call with a friend about marking projects as paid
A video call with a friend provides some interesting insight into a potential direction for restructuring the app.
Journal
The new Clients section is now in private beta
After a heads-down week, I managed to reach the first milestone in releasing the new Clients section—private beta.
Changelog
Improved
Greatly improved load times of schedule view (Thanks for testing, Daryl!)
Changelog
Fixed
Fixed chat button to open messages instead of start a new message each time (Thanks, Evan!)
Fixed “Invoices” link on the invoice page (Thanks, Chris!)
Journal
Stabilizing PostgreSQL memory issues with pgbouncer
In an update of the database memory saga, I discover pgbouncer, which puts a stop to the constantly climbing memory woes.
Changelog
Improved
Database memory improvements
Changelog
Improved
Improved overall navigation, including a wider sidebar and subsections listed in the sidebar nav
Journal
A top-level “Clients” section
With the sidebar navigation ready to deploy this weekend, I get an early start on the top-level “Clients” section.
Journal
Improving the sidebar nav
After regretting, but living with, the skinny sidebar nav of obscure icons, I finally set a course to improve its UX.
Journal
Sending blog posts as emails - Part 2
Following up on the initial proof of concept, I build the complete system to send journal posts as emails.
Journal
Sending blog posts as emails
In an effort to grow readership, while also prototyping an idea, I start building a system to email my posts.
Journal
Sticky line item totals
Putting the final touches on the invoice form, I apply a sticky behavior to the line item totals.
Journal
Little details: Overflow shadows
I spend extra time getting a little detail right by tying shadows to whether the underlying content has overflow.
Journal
Redesigning the flow for importing tracked time into invoices
With the last remaining to-do on my list for the new invoice form, I tackle the flow for importing tracked time.
Journal
A week of cleanup
With the inline forms behind me, I spend a week cleaning up the codebase with a focus on Cushion’s form states.
Journal
Building the inline form system
After detailing how I planned to build inline forms in Cushion, I went ahead and built the first one for creating clients inline.
Journal
Inline forms and the weight of the next big task
In between big tasks, I distract myself with smaller tasks until I’m ready to finally face it—inline forms.
Journal
Designing a breadcrumbs component
Chopping away at the new invoice form, I designed and built a new component for breadcrumbs.
Changelog
Fixed
Fixed availability badge to be 1:1 with schedule availability (Thanks, Shane!)
Journal
Thinking about a “test mode”
Aggravated by people signing up with no real intention to use Cushion leads me to consider a “test mode” where they can try the app without signing up.
Journal
Redesigning the invoice line item footer
While redesigning the invoice form, I share the decision-making behind the design of the new line item footer.
Journal
Migrating CI to GitHub Actions
Frustrated with Heroku, I start migrating away from it, beginning with continuous integration.
Journal
Troubleshooting the database upgrade
Upgrading Cushion’s database leads to a week of troubleshooting performance issues.
Changelog
Improved
Fine-tuned database queries across scheduling and invoicing, resulting in a 10x speed improvement in some areas
Journal
Upgrading the production database
After receiving an email from Heroku to upgrade Cushion’s database, I upgrade Cushion’s database.
Changelog
Improved
Upgraded database
Changelog
Fixed
Printed invoices and PDF invoices now avoid page breaks within the total amount (thanks, Huynh+Black!)
Journal
7 years old
With Cushion reaching the 7-year mark, I reflect on its life and plot a course for its future.
Journal
Thinking through a new invoice form
At the fork in the road, I choose the invoice form as the next step in renovating Cushion, including a long-awaited list of improvements.
Journal
The calm after the sprint
With a couple big launches behind me, I think about what to tackle next or whether I need to pick a direction just yet.
Changelog
Improved
Numbered lists and bulleted lists are now supported in invoice detail Markdown
Fixed
Fixed invoice page’s detail Markdown styling
Journal
The new account page is live
After launching Cushion’s new invoice page last week, I launch the new account page this week with a ton of other goodies.
Changelog
Fixed
- Re-added sign out button to Account page
Changelog
Improved
Rebuilt the Account section from scratch using Cushion’s new component system
Subscriptions and billing are now fully managed by Stripe, which brings support for 2-factor payment methods and Apple Pay
Upgraded web server and other infrastructure improvements