This cool widget lets you back plan a music release based off the street date of your album, figuring out all other relevant dates that depend on that date. Click checkboxes and buttons with your mouse (and if you’re fast enough), or navigate more quickly using your computer keyboard.
Each of the six milestones can be opened by pressing the corresponding key from 1-6 on your keyboard. You can then rapidly cycle through the various stages. Cycle through stages like Distribution or Music Lock until you find the right one without having to hunt around the panels. When there’s something critical blocking your way (i.e., your next task), press N to get it back onto your screen. It will highlight your first unchecked dependency, which tells you exactly what you should of focus on. To check for schedule pressure, press P to view all the milestones that need completion in the next two weeks, as well as those that is already past-due. If you want to model how a delay would spread, press D to do so using the current settings you’ve entered into the simulator section.
How to Use the Widget
From the dropdown menu, select your release format… I.e., if it’s an album or a single EP. To set the amount of lead time you’ll need before music lock, toggle the lead time accordingly. Next, use the date picker field to input your street date. That’s the last anchoring point for the whole timeline. Once you’ve done so, click Map the launch runway and the widget will fill the timeline with hard dates for each stage leading up to that street date.
Stress test your schedule by plugging in delays. Choose when during the project the delay occurs, then move the slider to add time (in days) for that delay. Click Project delay ripple to view how the slip affect downstream gates. If desired, click Return to committed dates to erase the simulation and return to the original schedule. This helps you create contingency plans while keeping your base plan.
Tap on any of the milestones in the timeline to pop open its task list. Tap on each task’s checkbox to mark it as done. As you do, the readiness bar at the bottom right will update accordingly. To find your next priority item, tap the surface critical task button. It’ll point you toward the most urgent uncompleted work. To find which milestones requires your closest attention, tap scan schedule pressure. It will flag those with low confidence gates or other areas that need further proof. To compile a summary of your readiness status, tap compile launch brief. It’ll spit out a list of what you’ve got done and highlight any low confidence gates requiring more proof.
Additionally, for each of your milestones, you have the ability to choose an approval confidence and gate owner. For the owner dropdown, you can tag the person accountable for that step. For the confidence slider, it shows you how confident you are about that approval. If it’s low, it becomes a risk to your launch listed out in your launch brief.
To start over with a fresh run through the widget or begin a new round of reviews, hit Repack on every milestone. It will clear all the checkboxes and reset you back to zero. To free up some space, hit the Fullscreen button to enlarge the widget. It’s distraction-free, letting you focus better on your long list of tasks.
The How to play panel is a handy guide of keyboard shortcuts and other widget controls. If you’re new to the workflow, leave it open as you go. Map out a close deadline and then test your level of slack. Run the delay simulator so that you can visualize what happens if you’re late delivering your masters. And continue using the pressure scan to manage upcoming deadlines before they become issues. Fix the weak parts of your confidence gates before refining them later on. That way, you know you’ve got something solid to promote, without wasting effort marketing something sloppy.
Create a plan of attack… Map out your runway (aka set a realistic street date) and then go from there, one milestone at a time. Check things off as you accomplish them. Use the keyboard shortcuts to zip around your checklist. Planning backwards helps you keep your release on track and reduce stress.