The recurring request feature on your Dashboard is back in action! We’ve been working hard to get the recurring request feature up-and-running again, and we’re excited to tell you it's back. 

This feature is easy to use and saves you from having to re-enter tasks you find yourself requesting on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis! 

To set up a recurring request, click on the two arrows at the bottom of a new request. The arrows will turn green and a few options to choose from will become available. Once you have chosen how frequently you’d  like your request to recur, simply click ‘submit’. 

After a recurring request has been submitted you will receive email reminders before your request is set to recur. This allows you to proactively reschedule, skip the next cycle, or cancel the request completely. You’ll be able to go back and edit your preferences on your recurring requests with ease- just look for the requests marked with the green arrows. 

Need some inspiration? Check out these examples of daily, weekly and monthly recurring requests: 

Daily Recurring Requests: 

"Enter me in the Hamilton ticket lottery every day” 

“Call me at 7am for a wake up call every morning”

“Search for new houses listed on the market today”

Weekly Recurring Requests: 

“Make a dinner reservation for two” 

“Order my grocery list on PeaPod”

“Find this week’s top 10 downloaded songs”

Monthly recurring requests: 

“Schedule a monthly meeting for my team at the office”

“Follow up with this list of new clients from this month”

“Schedule my haircut”

Try out this time saving feature now- the time saved with this updated feature is limitless! Get started here: https://www.fancyhands.com/dashboard and find out for yourself just how simple it is to create a recurring request. 

"You spent how many hours on the phone with Comcast?!"- You, after checking out our Fancy Hands Year in Review: 2015.

Find out how many hours we spent on the phone with your least favorite cable company, plus tons of other stats and fun facts about what you delegated to us in 2015! 

You may have noticed a little tab that’s now showing up on your Dashboard. 

What is it? Great question: This tab leads you to a page full of Fancy Hands pro tips. If you click ‘See More’ you’ll be directed to a page that has tons of tips for making using Fancy Hands like a pro. 

This page will show you everything you need to know about getting started with Fancy Hands. You’ll find information such as what types of requests you can submit, what can be contained within a request, and what our assistants can do for you. 

Interested? Check it out! 

We’re extremely excited to announce the release of our updated app for iOS and Android!

The app now boasts our updated task list, and has a ton of new features to help make sending in requests a cinch.

Once you log into the app, you’ll be brought to your task list. It will look something like this:

That red circle at the bottom will help you create a request by typing or recording your voice. It will also enable you to start a text request and create a new action item on your To-do list.

Clicking on the three lines in the top left corner will show you the app menu. You’ll find things like your Archived tasks, your To-do List, and your app settings. You’ll also be able to search through your tasks or send an email to Support.

Our newest feature is the To-Do list, which will allow you to store short and long-term action items in the app. Simply click the field that says ‘Create a new to-do’ in order to create your new action item. Once you create the new item, you’ll see it appear in the list. If you’d like Fancy Hands to take care of one of these for you, you can click the arrow next to that item, and it’ll allow you to create a new request within the app.

You can edit any item on your To-do List by clicking the edit button. You’ll also be able to take items off of your To-do List by clicking the checkbox next to each item. You can clear all completed items by clicking those three dots in the corner on the right.

And that’s it...for now. Having trouble with anything? Feel free to let us know: [email protected].

If you haven’t noticed (which we hope you have) we’ve added a slick To-Do List to your Dashboard! Now you can store your to-do list on your Dashboard, and you can turn your “to-dos” into Fancy Hands requests with the click of a button. Literally. 

But how does it all work?

Click the text box to enter your action item. To save it, hit the ‘Enter’ key on your keyboard and you’re all set. You can double-click an item to make changes. Once you’ve completed that item, you can have the satisfaction of clicking the circle to the left of the action item, and you’ll see it checked off your list. 

If you want to convert your action item into a request, click the link that says ‘Convert to request’ and you’ll see a request pop-up. Hit ‘Submit’ and you’re on your way to productivity. 

Need to prioritize your To-Do List? Just click and drag your action items to order them in the way that works for you. 

And that's it! Who knew it could be this easy to be so organized?

Well, you did, because you're smart. 

Get started prioritizing now. 

Planning a summer move? Check out these very helpful moving tips from our friends at FlatRate Moving!

Everyone dreads moving in the winter because the thought of dealing with ice and snow on moving day is a nightmare. 

However, summer has its own challenges that often get overlooked. You don't want to wait until your big day to be aware of some of these obstacles that could put a speed bump in your plans.

• Schedule Movers Early - Lots of people just like you have purposely scheduled their move in the summer. This is a busy season, which means moving companies have full schedules. So, you may have a hard time finding a company with an opening. If possible, aim to move Monday through Thursday. Movers generally have a little more flexibility in their schedule on these days. If you’re short on time, you can enlist the help of Fancy Hands to research and book your move, making your experience as stress free as possible. 

• Pack Heat Sensitive Items Separately - If you are planning a summer move pack DVDs, video games, candles, photos, and other items that are super heat sensitive together in a few boxes to be transported in your car. If they can't go in your car, at least have the movers load them on the truck last, so they are the first to get moved into the home at the new location.

• Move Early or Late in the Day - When possible plan your move early in the morning or late in the afternoon. The heat of the day is usually most intense starting around noon and lasting till about 3 pm.

• Dress Appropriately - If you are standing around watching the movers then your wardrobe may not be such a big deal. If you are doing a self-move, you should wear light-colored, loose-fitting clothing. Dark fabrics attract the sun. Ideally, you will avoid cotton, as it stays soaked when you sweat, and can make you feel uncomfortable. Moisture-wicking athletic wear is ideal. A wide-brimmed hat will protect your face and ears, but if you just wear a ball cap or visor apply sunblock to your ears. It is also a good idea for everyone to wear gardening gloves. Sweaty hands make it hard to hold onto smooth surfaced furniture. The gloves will provide a bit of traction.

• Take Breaks - You may want to hurry and get everything done, but your body needs a break to cool off, so it can lower your core temperature. Encourage your movers to stop and rest for a few minutes periodically, as well.

•  Stay Hydrated - It is easy to become dehydrated quite quickly when you are sweating in the heat. Have plenty of bottled water handy for everyone. Avoid caffeinated and alcoholic beverages, as they dehydrate you faster.

• Cooling Cloths - You can buy cooling cloths online and in stores. You just pour cold water on one, and put it around the back of your neck. There are cooling bandanas available, too. Frogg Toggs is a popular brand with a full line of cooling products.

• Be Prepared for Bad Weather - High winds can be very dangerous and torrential downpours and hail can really make things soggy. Have a few rain tarps handy. If you hire movers they should have some, but if you move yourself pick a couple up wherever camping supplies are sold.

• Protect Kids and Pets - Ideally, kids will be with a sitter all day. Otherwise, they will need a place to stay cool in the shade. Pets will also need to be kept somewhere cool, and they will need water bowls available at all times. Never leave a pet in a parked car. Even if it is only in the 70s, the temperature inside a closed car can raise to over 100 degrees in less than 15 minutes. If you need a pet to stay in the car while movers are going in and out, park in the shade and leave it running with the air-conditioning on. Check on them frequently, just to make sure they haven't managed to turn the air off.

We are thrilled to announce that you can now text your requests to Fancy Hands! 

Yes, you read that right. 

Basic, Pro and Premier subscribers can text requests on-the-go and will be instantly connected to an assistant for real-time responses. 

How does it work?

Text your request to (646) 755-9298 and you’ll be connected to an assistant. Then you can text as you normally would with a friend. It’s that easy! Your assistant will be able to see your entire text request thread, as you would be able to with any text conversation. 

But wait...there’s more. Learn more about how texting is priced here.

Here’s an example of what a text request looks like:

A few things to know before getting started: 

You’ll want to make sure you’re texting from the number that’s connected to your Fancy Hands account. If you’re not sure which number is connected, you can view or change this here. 

We’d suggest saving (646) 755-9298 as ‘Fancy Hands’ or ‘Fancy Hands Text’ in your phone for easy access. It’s the same number you’d use to call in your requests. 

While we can access your calendar to schedule appointments, we can’t yet make payments on your behalf through text. Don’t worry -- we’re working on it! 

A good rule-of-thumb for sending in text requests: Anything that wouldn’t work in a text to a friend probably won’t work well in a text request to Fancy Hands. We’d suggest sticking to sending larger tasks through email, the mobile apps, or your web dashboard.

Here are some examples:

Any other questions? As always, feel free to email [email protected] for assistance with this or anything else Fancy Hands related. 

Happy texting!

It’s here again: The time when you can’t walk into your local Walgreens without being tempted to buy all of the candy (two 64-oz chocolate hearts for a $2.99? I NEED THAT) or being bombarded by oversized teddy bears that seemingly stare at you as you walk through the door. Yes, I’m talking about Valentine’s Day, and it’s only a few days away. For those of us who are procrastinators (hand raised) you might be thinking to yourself “I need to get a gift, but I don't know what to get!" Luckily for you, I’ve compiled a few ideas for great last-minute gifts that’ll show you care, and that you totally had this planned a while ago. You’re welcome. 

Oh, and for those of you who are more into Anna Howard Shaw Day or Galentine’s Day (ovaries before brovaries!) I’ve got some ideas for you as well. 

Singing Telegram: 

What better way to show your loved one you care than sending a talented stranger to lovingly embarrass them through the gift of song? Singing telegrams are a fun and unique way to sing “I care for you.” If you're not into the idea of a telegram, why not hire someone to write and perform a song for your main squeeze? Either way, it’s sure to be a gift that will be remembered for years to come. 

Personal Chef: 

Since you’re likely not going to get a dinner reservation for Valentine’s Day at this point, you might as well have the restaurant come to you. A personal chef will be able to cook a meal designed by you and you’ll be able to have a romantic dinner without having to leave the house. Fancy, fresh and delicious food without having to put on pants? Sign me up. 

Customized Jewelry: 

Contrary to popular belief, it’s OK if you don’t go to Jared. Why not work with someone to have a special piece of jewelry made for your loved one? It could be a customized watch or a necklace that symbolizes an inside joke. Whatever it is, it will be one-of-a-kind and will be sure to bring a smile to their face. 

Scrapbook: 

It’s like a Facebook album, but tangible. This will be an enjoyable gift for you as well as you decide which pictures to add to your scrapbook. You’ll have a fun trip down memory lane together, and a thoughtful and fun book to look through in the future!

Spa Day: 

This can work for Valentine’s Day, Anna Howard Shaw Day or Galentine’s Day. You can treat yo’self (and maybe your loved one) to a spa day that will get you pampered and looking and feeling fresh. 

Recipe In A Jar: 

This is geared towards you, Galentines, but could work for any of the above holidays. Get a mason jar, fill it with the dry ingredients to your favorite waffle (or other baked good) mix, decorate the jar and voila! You have a memorable and edible gift. There’s no better way to show you care than giving someone food, IMHO. 

Anna Howard Shaw: The Work of Woman Suffrage: 

Ok, I guess this could be a useful gift for anyone, in general. Read up on “the most outstanding woman suffrage orator of her time” and prepare to drop knowledge on all those who haven’t read this book. Knowledge is power, y’all. 

Flowers & Chocolate: 

This is a classic and is sure to be a hit. *Please note that this is always a great gift and should be given in excess year-round. 

Well, there you go Valentines. Get out there and have the best February 13th and/or 14th ever! In the meantime, I’ll be anxiously awaiting one/all of the above from you. 

PS: If you need help finding any of the above, feel free to use Fancy Hands to get the job done. 

Yeah, redesign! Yeah!

Welcome to the newly improved dashboard.  Some changes here will be obvious while others are but a single note in a large orchestra. We’ve dug in deep to examine and improve all aspects of the user experience and while we still have a healthy list of improvements and features we want to roll out, we now have a solid base to build upon — and most importantly, a structure to make web and mobile experiences identical. 

“How?” you say? CARD UI!

Much has been said about card UI (here, here, here, here and here to start with) but the reason everyone is talking about it is because it answers a problem we (designers) all have with the ever changing nature of web browsing. Cards allow you to unify your product with a design that transcends any singular viewing format. They can easily be restructured to display information beautifully no matter what device you’re using.  The dashboard was only phase 1 of this overhaul (I’m looking at you iPhone and android apps!).

My personal theory on the benefits of using a card based UI is that these smaller, self-contained morsels of information are easier to take in than an infinitely growing email-like list. They clear up clutter visually and mentally. When I open my email and see a wall of text demanding my attention, it just feels like work and that’s the opposite of what someone has come here to do.

Some unsung heroes that deserve a shoutout in our new UI: the new color palette and redesigned icons (now with consistent line weights!) that make up a simple color coding system to match the type of task you’ve placed (coral: Call, turquoise: Schedule, blue: New Request, gray: Research, green: Purchase… of course). We’ve (well, I really) pined over spacing and the relationships of elements to help bring the focus of your attention where it needs to be giving more weight to important items and less to secondary items. Simplicity and straightforward-ness were my top priorities for this redesign.

Speaking of straightforward-ness — a seemingly small but important tweak to our new navigation is making a more visible, general purpose “New Request” button that stands out front and center. We’ve kept the 4 other quick links to the request categories since these have proved to be successful in speeding up response times and assistant replies, but sometimes you just want to get something down and our of your brain without having to tackle the new problem of mulling over where to file your request. After all we’re aiming to simplify your life.

Finally, lets talk about sorting. Although the ability to sort out archived and recurring tasks isn’t brand new, we’ve improved visibility ofthese features and given them a more prominent home. For those who haven’t seen it, the “archive” function will allow you to tuck away old requests to keep your focus on newer requests. You can do this by either swiping right on a request or by clicking the floating archive button inside a request. We’ve also pulled your recurring list out of the menu drawer and into this tab structure.

And thus concludes my brief design overview of dashboard changes. Enjoy them and be on the lookout for more to come!

Good day.

Let Fancy Hands help you take a stand for Net Neutrality! We'll call your local representative on your behalf and ask them to vote NO on the amendment to H.R. 5016 that strips away FCC authority to enact meaningful net neutrality rules. (eff.org) 

Click here to take a stand against Net Neutrality. 

No susbcription necessary. Just fill out your name and address and we'll take care of the rest. We'll help you tell Congress that the future of the Internet matters to you! 

Kick off your 4th of July weekend with a discount from Fancy Hands!

Get 15% off of your first month of service, or an additional 15% off of our already discounted annual subscriptions. Just use the code 'fancyfourth' when signing up, and you'll see the discount applied before you submit your payment. Click here to take advantage of this discount, now through the end of the weekend.* 

From all of us here at Fancy Hands, have a happy and safe 4th of July! 

*Discount good through 11:59 PDT on 7/6/14. Only applicable to new subscriptions. 

After a not-so-brief hiatus, we’re pleased to announce that Fancy Hands can now make payments on your behalf again!

We’ve rolled out a smoother payment process that will give you the ability to pay for the items you need through Fancy Hands, and increased the limit per purchase to $200.

How It Works:

Whether it’s flowers or a new gadget, let us know what you’re looking for and we’ll find you the best price on what you want to purchase.

Once we’ve found the item, we’ll ask you to approve the payment. 

You can approve the payment from your email:

Or from your Dashboard:

After you’ve clicked the ‘Approve Payment’ button, your assistant will be able to pay for the item on your behalf. 

What’s New:

We’ve revamped the payment process, which means there have been a few changes. We’ve doubled the payment limit, so we can now make payments on items up to $200. There will also now be a $0.99 transaction charge on every payment to cover Fancy Hands transaction costs. This will be rolled into the final total you see when approving the payment. 

What’s the Same:

We’ll continue to search for the best price on each item we purchase. We’ll also continue making high quality, secure payments on your behalf. There is absolutely no credit card information required when making your payment, and each payment will be charged to the card you have on file. 

Sit back, relax and let Fancy Hands make a payment for you today! 

We’re excited to announce our launch of recurring requests!

Whether it’s a haircut, monthly expenses, or combing through all your new twitter followers, you can now create a task once and have it repeat on a weekly or monthly basis.

It’s super easy to do -- just click on the recurring request icon before sending your request.

You’ll then be able to choose how often you’d like the request to repeat on a weekly or monthly basis.

Once you’ve scheduled how often you’d like your request to repeat, click ‘Confirm’ and then ‘Send Request’ -- that’s it!

You’ll see that all of your recurring requests are marked with the recurring request icon, and you’ll also be able to see the next time the request will automatically send. You will also receive an email reminder before your task is set to recur, allowing you to reschedule.

If you want to stop the recurring request or skip the next cycle, you can click on your task and choose the option to skip or cancel the recurring request. This will not cancel the current request.

You can start scheduling your recurring requests now on your fancy new Dashboard. 

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Just in time for July 4, we're proud to announce the launch of our Android App!

If you're a new customer, coupon code "next-web-android" will give you 50% off your first month on monthly plans, this week only! 

We're happy to announce a new feature - task searching! 

In the upper right hand of your dashboard screen (www.fancyhands.com/dashboard), you'll see a "Search your requests" box. 

You can type a word that you remember was in the subject - or you can even search for a word that was in the body of your request. 

When you want to clear your search and review all of your tasks, click on the "x" in the search box. 

We hope this will make it easier for you  to find the answers you're looking for in your archives.

Enjoy! 

We're happy to announce a new integration with Trello, a project management system that keeps you organized even better than your Trapper Keeper did. Remember those? 

When you synch your Trello account to your Fancy Hands account, you can assign items from your Trello to-do list to your Fancy Hands assistants, freeing up time in your day to keep working on the important things you need to do. 

Or, maybe you can use the free time to hit the gym. 

More fun, even - free up time for happy hour! 

Well done, Old Sport!

Interested in becoming a new Trello user? Find out more about them here. 

Lifehacker wrote about them here and Techcrunch has the behind-the-scenes dish here.

Already a Trello client? Connect your account to your Fancy Hands account right here. 

Find out about all of the platforms that Fancy Hands integrates with and other cool bells and whistles here.

Executives are employed for their unique skillset. If you're their boss, you're paying them for their expertise. If you're the executive, you're being paid to perform and deliver based on your expertise. 

However, often times, executives find that half of their day has been spent mired in the muck of administrative work. 

With Fancy Hands' "TeamWork" plan, an entire company can reap the rewards of having a team of assistants handle the pile of mundane, assistant-level work that must be done; for a discounted price - a fraction of the cost it would require to staff the office with full-time assistants.

This allows executives to stop getting tied down with silly stuff and focus on what they're good at. 

Check out what some of our TeamWork clients are saying: 

• Fancy Hands enables me to get more work done every day. TeamWork allows me to give that power to my entire team. It’s really incredible. - Tony Halle of Chartbeat

• Fancy Hands has fundamentally changed the way I think about getting things done. In other words, they really changed my way of life. - Gabriel Weinberg of Duck Duck Go

• The line between what's possible and impossible, feasible and inefficient, changes substantially in our favor when we use Fancy Hands. - Marshall Kirkpatrick of Little Bird 

As this New York Times article points out, providing an employee with a perk that helps alleviate some of their stress at home is becoming a more and more popular practice.

If, as a boss, you give your employee, Carl, a Fancy Hands membership, and he's able to delegate things like calling his cable company, scheduling a plumber to fix his guest room sink, and ordering his wife flowers, Carl will be less distracted with personal matters at work. And Carl's wife won't be nagging him that he never gets anything done. 

Of course, Carl's Fancy Hands assistants will also be helping him get actual work-related tasks done, like scheduling, conference calling, and research. 

With Fancy Hands, Carl is transformed into a productivity machine! 

Get started here now, and your entire company can be working smarter before everyone leaves the office today. 

The update to our iPhone app is out! It fixes login issues, location services, and there are some other goodies in store for you.

One of our clients' favorite requests to ask of their Fancy Hands assistants? 

"Make this phone call that I've been dreading." 

Frequently, the calls will have something to do with a service account of some kind, like a cable or phone company. 

We can handle those calls in two ways. 

Example #1 - Patching You In: 

Dear Fancy Hands,

Can you call Time Warner Cable and tell them that I've been without my HD channels for two weeks now?

Please schedule an appointment for a technician to come fix it - anytime next week on a weekday morning is fine.

And please negotiate a credit for my lost service as well.

I'm around all day and I'll look out for your call - please patch me in on my cell phone and I'll verify my permission for you to speak on my behalf. 

The important things to remember when requesting a patch-in are: 

• Please give your assistant a window of time that you'll be available for the call. 
• Remember to answer an incoming call from a number that you don't recognize. 
• Specify which phone number on your account (if you have more than one entered) you'd like them to call. 
• Specify, if you'd like your assistant to make a service appointment, a few times that work for you. If you have your Google calendar linked to your account, they'll drop the appointment in for you once it's confirmed. 

Your assistant will call the company, hold until they get a real person on the line, then patch you in so that you can give the customer service representative your account information, and let them know that you authorize your assistant to speak on your behalf. 

Then you can hang up and be on your way while your assistant handles the call for you. 

Example #2 - Including Your Information:

Dear Fancy Hands,

Can you call Time Warner Cable and tell them that I've been without my HD channels for two weeks now?

Please schedule an appointment for a technician to come fix it - anytime next week on a weekday morning is fine.

And please negotiate a credit for my lost service as well.

My account number is 876-50843 and my security password is 4531. The address and phone and name on the account are all mine that you already have in your system but I am around on my cell phone today; you can patch me in if there are any further qeustions. 

We may still try to patch you in if there's a hiccup (Did you forget that the account is actually in your wife's name? They don't have any appointments next week, is the week after acceptable for you? etc.), so if you let us know in your request that you're available for a patch-in, that will help us expedite your job. Otherwise, you'll receive an email detailing the outcome of the assistant's call and they can call the company back once they've received an email answer from you. 

Whichever way you prefer to have your assistants place these kinds of calls for you, we can eliminate that nagging "man, I still haven't called the cable company" thought that comes to you in the middle of the night. 

Our team has been working towards this day for a long time...

We are thrilled to announce the official launch of the Fancy Hands iPhone app! 

You can download it for free here, and if you're new to Fancy Hands, find more information about our service here.

Ta-da!!!

The dashboard screen: 

The task screen: 

You can hold the "new request" button down and speak your request directly into your phone.

You can type out your request if you want to, but no typing is needed! 

You'll be able to refer to all of your previous tasks right on your phone. Anytime you need the information, there it is: 

Our assistants are celebrating like this: 

And our app developers are taking a little break.