Help
Everything you need to get the most out of Zone In.
Getting started
Zone In organises your day into time blocks called Zones. Each zone holds the tasks you plan to do during that window. When a zone is active, you Zone In — entering a focused view of just that block.
First steps
- 1.Open Settings → Zones to define your day's time blocks (e.g. Morning 7:00–9:00, Deep Work 9:00–13:00, Afternoon 13:00–17:00).
- 2.Open Settings → Categories to name and colour your task types (e.g. Work, Personal, Health).
- 3.Add tasks to zones using the + button in any zone column.
- 4.When a zone's time arrives, tap the zone header to Zone In.
Collected tasks
Tasks not yet assigned to a zone live in the Collected drawer. Open it from the bottom bar (mobile) or side panel (desktop). Drag any collected task into a zone when you're ready to plan it.
Zones
Zones are the time blocks your day is divided into. You can have up to 6 zones.
Settings → Zones → + Add zone. New zones are added after the last one.
In the timeline bar, drag the left or right edge handle of a zone. Adjacent zones adjust automatically when they share a boundary.
Drag the body of a zone bar left or right along the timeline.
In the list below the timeline bar, click the zone's name field and type a new name. Press Enter or click away to save. Press Escape to cancel.
Click the ✕ next to a zone in the list. Requires at least 2 zones to be present.
Minimum zone duration is 30 minutes. Maximum 6 zones total.
Tasks and planning
Click + in any zone column. Type the task name and press Enter.
Tasks can be marked as big (large dot) or normal. Size affects spotlight priority and optional visual card width scaling.
Tap the colour dot on a task card to cycle through your categories, or use the category picker.
Long-press (mobile) or click-and-drag (desktop) to move a task to a different zone column or into Collected.
Tap the checkmark on a task card. Completed tasks are removed from the board.
Use the arrow button on a task card to send it back to Collected without completing it.
Holds all unplanned tasks. Drag from here into any zone to plan them. Tasks in Collected do not belong to any time block.
Drag tasks within a zone column to change their order.
Calendar integration
Outlook.com — personal, web
- Go to outlook.live.com and open Calendar.
- Click the gear icon and choose View all settings, then go to Calendar → Shared calendars.
- Alternatively: right-click any calendar in the left panel and choose Share → Publish calendar.
- Select a detail level and copy the ICS link.
Link format: https://outlook.live.com/owa/calendar/.../calendar.ics
Microsoft 365 / work Outlook web
- Right-click the calendar in the left panel and choose Sharing and permissions → Publish.
- Copy the ICS link that appears.
Note: this option may not be available on corporate accounts where the admin has restricted calendar sharing.
Outlook desktop — Windows
- Open the Calendar view.
- Right-click the calendar and choose Share Calendar.
- Look for Publish to Internet or a similar option and follow the prompts.
Note: steps vary between Outlook versions. If you don't see a publish option, check your organisation's settings or use Outlook on the web instead.
Outlook mobile
Outlook mobile does not support ICS export. Use the web version to get your calendar link.
Focus Mode
Focus settings live in Settings → Focus.
Spotlight
When enabled, one task in the active zone gently blinks when you Zone In — an invitation to begin. Choose which task is spotlit:
- ·Off — no spotlight
- ·First task in zone — always the top task
- ·Random task — random each time
- ·First big task — the first task marked as big
- ·Random big task — random among big tasks
Visual size
Scales task card width proportionally to task size — smaller tasks appear narrower, giving a quick visual sense of workload density.
Vibration
On supported mobile devices, the app vibrates on Zone In, task completion, and drag-and-drop. Toggle off if you prefer no feedback.
Themes
Choose a visual theme in Settings → Themes. The theme controls colours, typography, and corner radius across the entire app.
Warm, muted tones. Cormorant Garamond serif. Soft and calm.
Fresh blues and greens. Lora serif. Organic and airy.
Bold primaries on white. Barlow sans-serif. Sharp and graphic.
Dark background, neon accents. Monospace. High contrast.
Each theme also applies its own curated colour palette to the category and calendar colour pickers.
Zone In Plus
Plus unlocks extended limits and additional features.
Redeem a code
Profile → Promo Code → enter your code → Apply.
Calendar colours (Plus)
In Settings → Calendars, click the colour dot next to any calendar to assign it a custom colour. Events from that calendar appear in that colour on the board.
Troubleshooting
Calendar events not showing
- ·Check the calendar URL is a valid ICS link (webcal:// or https:// ending in .ics).
- ·Make sure the calendar is set to Active in Settings → Calendars.
- ·ICS feeds are fetched periodically — wait a minute and refresh.
- ·See How to get your calendar link.
Tasks disappeared after reload
- ·Completed tasks are removed permanently. Unplanned tasks move to Collected — check the drawer.
- ·If the board is empty after a reload, check your internet connection; the app requires a connection to load data.
Drag not working on mobile
- ·Long-press for ~400ms before moving. A brief vibration (if enabled) confirms drag activation.
- ·Make sure you're not accidentally tapping — hold still before dragging.
Vibration not working
- ·Check that vibration is enabled in Settings → Focus → Vibration.
- ·Some devices have a system-level vibration setting that can override app vibration.
Spotlight not blinking
- ·Spotlight requires at least one task in the zone.
- ·Check Settings → Focus → Spotlight task on Zone In is not set to Off.
Promo code not working
- ·Codes are case-sensitive — enter exactly as given.
- ·Each code can only be redeemed once per account.
- ·Codes have an expiry date. Contact hello@zonein.app if you believe your code is valid.