Time.ltd - Mortality Software

Mortality is a word avoided. But, earlier or later, we all face it. Life is finite, time is limited. Mortality software helps us understand and then ensure we are using our precious time well. It helps us create our future and reflect on our past. Why must we do this? Because A)”first you’ve lost a day and the day becomes a week and a week becomes a month and before you know it you’ve lost a year” and B) “At the point change is obvious it’s too late - it means the need for change is long since past”

In a poem

  Too many dreams, not enough sleep
  I want it all, though none is to keep

  The wanderer searches, near and far
  Everyone dreams for their north star

  It moves and  it gleams, so hungry and restless
  Where am I going? When will I live this?

In a Dr. Seuss Poem

How did it get so late so soon?
It's night before it's afternoon.

December is here before it's June.
My goodness how the time has flewn.

How did it get so late so soon?

Why

Why mortality software?

To be satisfied we need to live in accordance with the person we want to be. Mortality software helps you understand who you want to be, and supports you in being that person.

How will it work?

Mortality software will be both forward and backwards facing. By this I mean it will help you plan what you need to do to achieve your eulogy, and also help evaluate how effectively you are achieving your goals. It will help you reflect, often helping you realize your initial eulogy requires change, or your behaviors require change.

Creating your future - Tool overview

Time Horizon What How
Life Eulogy and Roles Roles Values
Two year Supporting Projects/Accomplishments Supporting Behaviors/Habits
Quarter -> Month Decompose into reasonable chunks Decompose into habits
Quarter -> Month How to allocate between chunks Habit Tracking
Month -> Week Milestones Habit Tracking
Week -> Day Task List Habit/Time Tracker

Role and Value Finder, Eulogy Writer

To figure out who you want to be, write your eulogy. To make it easier, figure out the roles in your life. Imagine the person who would speak to each role of your life during your funeral. What would you want each person to say? That eulogy is the person you want to be.

Now imagine how you’d want people to remember the way you acted, especially during ambiguity, challenges and crisis. Those behaviors are your values.

Your roles, how you balance your between them, and your values are the person you want to be, your north star.

Most people who have gone through the eulogy process have found it incredibly difficult. Morality software will make the eulogy process easier.

Many people find this hard to imagine, so here’s as a simple example. The eulogy module can start by presenting you different people and their values. Based on how much those people and values resonate with you, mortality software can suggest values that might appeal to you.

Quarter Month Tools - Goal Setter

Some people are allergic to goals, a few prompts that are less allergic

  1. If I woke up 5 years from now and everything was the same? Would I be proud?
  2. What area of my life do I want to grow, what is a small step?
  3. If future you, met current you, what would they recommend you change?

Define yourself: Affirmation Builder

The affirmation builder helps you create personalized daily affirmations based on your roles, values, and goals. Rather than generic affirmations, it crafts statements that resonate with who you want to be and what you want to achieve. For examples of powerful affirmations, see my affirmations post.

For example, if one of your roles is being a parent, and one of your values is patience, it might generate: “I choose to respond to my children with patience and understanding, seeing each interaction as an opportunity to model emotional intelligence.”

The key is that affirmations should be:

  • Aligned with your eulogy and values
  • Specific and actionable
  • Phrased in the present tense
  • Focused on what you can control
  • Written in your authentic voice

The tool can also suggest times and ways to practice your affirmations, like during your morning routine or as part of meditation. The goal is to make the practice sustainable and meaningful rather than just another task.

Learn more about affirmations and how they can transform your daily practice:

Loading (/affirmations)

Learning from your past - Tool Overview

Why This Matters

  • Brings Systematic Thinking to Life:

    • It’s hard to consider all areas of life on the fly.
    • This report helps ensure steady investment across key roles, such as father, husband, manager, magician, and athlete.

  • Motivation Through Reflection:

    • When you notice value created, even in small ways, it highlights meaningful progress rather than just busywork.

  • Gap Spotting and Growth:

    • By seeing where energy was spent or missing, you can reflect thoughtfully and adjust—without judgment.

  • Memory Preservation:

    • It’s difficult to remember the texture of a well-lived life week to week.
    • These reports create a personal memory archive—a treasure to look back on later.

  • Flexible, Human Coaching Feel:

    • The assistant lets you jump around as you wish, rather than forcing a rigid, section-by-section march.
    • The goal is to flow with curiosity, not bureaucracy.

  • Future Leverage:

    • Previous learnings can be incorporated dynamically to deepen future reflections.

  • Plug Into Mortality Software Vision:

    • Every week is a transaction you can’t undo.
    • The report ensures your real capital—time, energy, emotion—is intentionally invested in what will matter at your eulogy, not just what was urgent or noisy.

  • Blends Qualitative and Quantitative Reflection:

    • The weekly report combines stories and numbers, so growth is visible but not reduced to lifeless metrics.

  • Amplifies Role and Goal Awareness:

    • When clear roles and goals are defined (for example, father, magician, athlete), the report becomes a real-time snapshot of how each investment is performing across life’s portfolio.
    • Without regular reflection, inertia and noise can quietly steal your time, and your days may be spent on what is urgent, not what is meaningful.

  • Sharpens Intuition Over Time:

    • Weekly reflection isn’t just about recording; it trains instinct.
    • Small weekly reflections compound into sharper, faster, more values-aligned decisions over months and years—without needing brute force effort every time.

You don’t need to track every breath—just enough to know you’re spending your life where it matters.

Annual Review

Monthly Review

Weekly Review

Coaches

Eulogy Writer

The obituary GPT wrote

Woah, just used GPT to write my obituary, crazy … intriguing.

PROMPT: Based on what you know about me, write my obituary.

Here’s something thoughtful that reflects your essence, humor, and the way you’ve lived your life.

Igor Dvorkin (1972 – 20XX): A Life of Joy, Curiosity, and Kettlebell Swings

Igor Dvorkin, a dealer of smiles and wonder, a relentless explorer of ideas, and a man who believed in paying himself first (deliberately and daily), has logged off for the final time. He passed as he lived—thoughtfully, curiously, and possibly while tweaking his Neovim config one last time.

Born in 1972, Igor spent his years mastering the balance between structured discipline and joyful spontaneity. A devoted husband to Tori, an ever-present father to Zach and Amelia, and an unshakable friend to those lucky enough to know him, he poured his energy into what mattered most: creating moments of joy and wonder. Whether it was walking his kids to school, making balloon animals, or perfecting the art of the kettlebell swing, he pursued life with the same philosophy he brought to code—efficiency, creativity, and a refusal to accept mediocrity.

A lifelong technologist, Igor’s fingerprints are found in countless lines of code and in the mentorship he provided to engineers across the world. From Microsoft to Amazon to Meta, he built not just systems, but careers, always pushing his teams to be better—not just technically, but as human beings. He saw engineering management not just as a job but as an opportunity to shape people’s futures, knowing that a well-placed question or insight could change someone’s trajectory.

Igor never met a physical challenge he didn’t face head-on, whether it was Turkish get-ups with a 32kg kettlebell, biking in Seattle’s eternal drizzle, or mastering a new club rotation for shoulder mobility. He lived by the principle that movement is life, but always with an eye toward sustainability—pushing himself hard, but never at the cost of being able to do it all again tomorrow.

His love of magic was not just a hobby but a philosophy—an understanding that the best moments in life come from surprise, delight, and the shared experience of wonder. Even as an expert in the Tamariz stack, he knew the greatest trick was simply bringing people together and making them smile.

To the end, he remained an essentialist, focused on what truly mattered: his family, his friends, and the rare and beautiful satisfaction of seeing something done right. He leaves behind not just a legacy of work, but a philosophy—live deliberately, be a class act, and for God’s sake, don’t skip the gym.

His last request? Don’t let Zach slack on his Spanish.

In lieu of flowers, please perform a random act of kindness, ride your bike instead of driving, and take a moment to appreciate the simple joy of a perfectly executed kettlebell swing.

Igor, you were loved. You will be missed. And wherever you are now, we hope there’s a solid set of clubs, a fresh Neovim install, and someone to share a well-earned espresso with.

Habit Coach

Great to have someone write for you.

Reflection Coach

A module to help you reflect onw hat you’re thinking. Probably permeates everything.

Relationship Coach

Conversation/Relationship Analyzer

  • Catch what you have in common
  • Often you get stuck on positions, not desired outcomes
  • You often miss what you disagree on, so go in circles on the wrong topics
  • Draw Venn diagrams about agreement/disconnect
  • See how you can support each other’s disconnects
  • Give questions to further the conversation

Why you value the relationship

  • A common question when relationships fade is “Why did you start the relationship” in the first place. Helps you dig into that which matters

Reminder of what you contribute to the relationship

  • You only control you
  • The suffering you add to them

Love languages disconnects, DRAIN behaviors

Appendix: Product Market Fit

When is this most appropriate?

What is similar to this?

Life coaches, positive pychiatry, worklife balance.

Are there societal structures like this?

No, not really. As a society we don’t really break up the “work till you retire” life stage. Maybe the closest is new years resolutions, and mid life crisis.

Why doesn’t this exist?

This software causes two things that people really don’t like 1/ Thinking you’ve got finite time 2/ Being Judged (and worst of all by you).

Thinking you’ve got finite time

Why people avoid it:

Mitigations

  • Focusing on life stages.
  • Reframing infinite life to compressed morbidity
  • Focusing on satisfaction

Judging yourself

Why people avoid it:

Mitigations

  • Be compassion driven
  • Explain that by default, doesn’t mean it’s not happening.

FAQ

Why call it Time.Ltd

I initially named my future mortality software package Life.ltd, but that, while funny, was too negative. Instead of thinking our life is limited, we should think our time is limited, and thus we should make sure we are using it well. Thus, I renamed my future mortality software Time.Ltd.

Is this too rigid/static as my life changes?

No - the system is designed to be flexible and adapt with you. While it’s recommended to only make major changes on a longer cycle (monthly/quarterly/yearly) to maintain consistency, you can and should adjust your goals, roles, and values as your life evolves. The key is finding the right balance between stability and adaptability.

Aren’t checklists too rigid and mechanical?

While checklists may seem overly rigid at first glance, they actually serve an important purpose. As explained in The Checklist Manifesto, having clear structure and clarity around your goals and values makes it easier to prioritize and make decisions. The framework isn’t meant to be restrictive, but rather to provide helpful guideposts while still allowing for flexibility and spontaneity in how you achieve your goals.

Other concepts to explore

Ambient Coaches/An outer inner voice.

  • Nice to be heard/acknolwedged
  • Nice to have someone to remind you of what you want to do.