Every now and then you come across an app that does one very specific thing very well. Timestory is one such app: it lets you quickly visualize a timeline. This can be useful for looking at history in context, making it a great learning tool if you’re studying history, for example. But Timestory is also useful for general planning. You can use it to visualize all the steps needed for a longer-term project, and even fit multiple proposals into the same timeline.

Timestory is created by a single developer, Aaron Trickey, and lovingly designed for the Mac and iPad. The software isn’t exactly cheap: the Mac version is currently $40 (up front – there’s no ongoing subscription), while the iPad version is the same, with the option to purchase a yearly subscription for $15. There’s a one-week free trial for the Mac version and a two-week trial for the iPad version, meaning that regardless of which version you use, you can try out the application before deciding whether to pay for it. But if you do, I think you’ll find it’s worth it.

Creating a timeline can be tricky to get started with, but it usually involves adding events. These can be ongoing "spans" with a start and end date, or "Points" that occur on a specific date.

You can create an event by clicking on the timeline or by using the “Quick Entry” button, which I personally find a little more precise. You can set custom colors and icons for each entry. You can also add an image to each entry on the timeline, so you can add some visual context.