You can use buttons to simplify the setting of the drop down date selector. Just put code like this anywhere on your page.
<div layout="column" layout-gt-sm="row" layout-align="end center">
<div layout>
<md-button class="md-raised md-accent md-hue-3" ng-click="dateBar.preset ='DAY_SO_FAR'">
TODAY
</md-button>
<md-button class="md-raised md-accent md-hue-3" ng-click="dateBar.preset ='MONTH_SO_FAR'">
THIS MONTH
</md-button>
<md-button class="md-raised md-accent md-hue-3" ng-click="dateBar.preset ='PREVIOUS_MONTH'">
LAST MONTH
</md-button>
<md-button class="md-raised md-accent md-hue-3" ng-click="dateBar.preset ='YEAR_SO_FAR'">
YEAR
</md-button>
</div>
</div>