Free tools

About this tool

Free tools: what it is and how to use it

Hacks Vitae's free tools are small apps for planning, deciding, thinking clearly, knowing yourself and keeping a journal. Every one is free, needs no sign-up and runs in your browser, so nothing you type is sent to us.

What "runs in your browser" means

Each tool does its work on your own device, inside the page you have open. What you type is not uploaded to us to be worked out somewhere else.

Tools that remember your entries, such as the habit tracker or the journal, keep them in your browser's local storage. The MDN Web Docs reference describes that data as saved across browser sessions, with no expiration time; data from a private or incognito window is cleared when the last private tab is closed. Clearing your browser data removes it too, and each of those tools has its own button that deletes what it has kept.

Many of the tools grow out of something we have written and link back to it: the bias and fallacy quiz to our logical fallacies cheat sheet, the Latin phrases to our famous Latin phrases article. The reading shows where an idea comes from and how sure the research is; the tool lets you try it.

How to use it

1. Pick a group from the bar at the top, or type a word into Find a tool.
2. Open a tool. Each page puts the tool first, with a short written guide underneath on what it is and where the idea comes from.
3. Use it as often as you like. Tools that keep your entries keep them only in this browser, on this device.
4. To start again, use the tool's own delete button, or clear your browser data.

An example

Say you have a crowded week and one big choice to make. Sort the week's tasks in the Eisenhower matrix, weigh the choice in the decision matrix, then picture it going wrong in the pre-mortem and note what you would change. All of it stays on your device, and each tool links to the reading behind it.