Patent ID: 9021376
Filing Date: 2015-04-28
Classification: G06F,G06Q,H04N

Abstract:
1. A computer-implemented method of aiding a user with time management before a future event, the computer-implemented method comprising: receiving an event alert, for a future event, at a computer, wherein the computer comprises a display having a user interface; displaying the event alert on the user interface; in response to receiving the event alert, automatically generating and displaying an irremovable countdown icon on the user interface, wherein the irremovable countdown icon visually represents an amount of time remaining before the future event, and wherein the irremovable countdown icon cannot be removed from the user interface until after the future event has started; associating a prerequisite task with the future event, wherein the prerequisite task has been predetermined to be required to be completed by a participant of the future event, wherein the prerequisite task comprises multiple subtasks, wherein a current subtask of the prerequisite task is presented in a current window in a task application user interface; prioritizing subtasks of the prerequisite task to identify a low priority subtask and a high priority subtask from the prerequisite task, wherein the low priority subtask has been predetermined to be less critical to the future event than the high priority subtask; associating prioritized subtasks of the prerequisite task with time subunits depicted by the irremovable countdown icon; retrieving historic data for a particular user, wherein the particular user is the participant of the future event, and wherein the historic data describes how long the particular user has taken to complete each of the multiple subtasks during past projects; determining, by one or more processors, whether sufficient time for completing all subtasks of the prerequisite tasks exists according to the historic data for the particular user; in response to determining that sufficient time for completing all subtasks of the prerequisite task does not exist, generating a recommendation to modify the prerequisite task by eliminating the low priority subtask from the prerequisite task; receiving a signal accepting the recommendation to modify the prerequisite task; in response to receiving the signal accepting the recommendation to modify the prerequisite task, waiting until the current subtask from the prerequisite task is completed; in response to determining that the current subtask is complete, automatically replacing, in the task application user interface, the current subtask with a suggested next subtask from the prerequisite task; in response to determining that the current subtask has been automatically replaced with the suggested next subtask, populating the current window in the task application user interface with a generic solution for the suggested next subtask; detecting a cursor hovering over the irremovable countdown icon; and in response to detecting the cursor hovering over the irremovable countdown icon, displaying a pop-up window of information describing and related to the future event, wherein the future event is a teleconference meeting, and wherein the information describing the future event comprises a subject of the teleconference meeting, prerequisite tasks that have been predetermined as being required to be complete before the teleconference meeting, and participants scheduled to participate in the teleconference meeting.