Commitment is hard. Experience tells us we will likely not succeed, so we make excuses — I don’t have the gear for running; I’m too busy to call Mom this week; where can I find the time to read? — and eventually fall back to our old routines. Most of us set up resolutions each year, yet very few of us will stick to them. While the odds are not in our favor, there’s good news: scheduling activities increases the chances of completing your goals.

We designed Goals to help you schedule time for what matters in your life, working around unexpected changes in plans, while learning from your routine and preferences. Machine learning — our algorithms figure out the best time for you to perform certain activities, learning over time — and illustration work together to help you stay on track and guide you through the process.

Illustration as a tool for discovery & action

The five canvases — Exercise, Build a skill, Friends & family, Me time, Organize my life — created for us by illustrator Owen Davey, inspire people to visualize themselves working towards their goals. His artwork fosters discovery, helping users explore the variety of goals we curated in the app, from getting healthier, to dealing with chores, and staying in touch with people who matter in your life. Imagery acts as a bridge between aspirations and the content you see in Calendar, making goals more tangible and actionable — seeing a woman running with her dog for example, might get me off the couch and to the park for an evening run.