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No product can solve the problem of self-discipline. The problems you're describing are an aspect of human nature. At some point, users will become particularly

No product can solve the problem of self-discipline. The problems you're describing are an aspect of human nature. At some point, users will become particularly busy with something for days or weeks. After which they will dread seeing an app full of missed reminders and unread items, and they'll avoid it like the plague. If you come up with a good enough solution, people will use it and you could be quite successful. But the day will always come when you have to declare Productivity App Bankruptcy

cookiengineer 6y ago
The issue that most productivity apps ignore is context. Lots of them don't account for real life events. Having to go to the doctor, going shopping, cleaning the household, spending time with your loved ones and doing sports aren't necessarily unproductive. Most productivity happens for me when I have an idea and am able to start working on it immediately while keeping the focus on it without external distractions... It would be amazing if a productivity app out there is able to "juggle around" all the necessities of the day while respecting external dependencies (like an appointment at the doctor) that cannot be rescheduled.
- radley 6y ago
  I'm working on something that. It's reactive instead of proactive (it asks what you did instead of what you're planning to do). Just jot something down for now and deal with your todo apps at the end of your day. It can do Pomodoro sessions, but I'm adding a couple of variant timers (alarms, actually) that are designed to eventually work around your schedule: https://radleymarx.com/2021/time-journal-wireframes-round-two https://radleymarx.com/2021/time-journal-wireframes-round-tw...
  - hooande 6y ago
    if I have to enter something into an app, I will eventually forget to do it. and if I miss entering too many appointments I'll eventually have to declare bankruptcy not trying to be negative about your idea. but the best app is one that will know automatically what's on my schedule, without me having to enter it explicitly. that way I can't forget. I have no idea how to do this, it doesn't really sound possible. Just trying to convey my experience with projects like you described
    - radley 6y ago
      You won't have to enter your schedule - there's APIs for Calendars. You'd just have to determine which calendars are considered "busy". As for upkeep, I found that the app is self-motivating. It's not measuring anything so if you miss an hour or a month it doesn't matter, there's no overwhelming guilt. The only thing you miss is being able to review what you worked on.
scottward 6y ago
This is an important observation. Most productivity apps don't end up "working" because they vastly underestimate the complexity of the problem they are trying to solve. We need to do a far better job of addressing the psychology of self-improvement, one of the most important aspects being how to deal with the inevitable "falling off the wagon". As you describe well, a naive approach to productivity tends to work at first, but then, as soon as you disengage for a time, they actively work _against_ re-engagement. I think there is a lot to be figured out in this area. One other related point is that although an app can't "solve the problem of self-discipline" it _can_ reduce the amount of energy required to "do the right thing" (e.g. by providing a easy to follow system). Since willpower requires energy which is a limited resource, this leaves more of it to apply towards continuing to work towards a goal instead of figuring out how to configure a goal achievement system.

cookiengineer 6y ago

The issue that most productivity apps ignore is context. Lots of them don't account for real life events. Having to go to the doctor, going shopping, cleaning the household, spending time with your loved ones and doing sports aren't necessarily unproductive. Most productivity happens for me when I have an idea and am able to start working on it immediately while keeping the focus on it without external distractions... It would be amazing if a productivity app out there is able to "juggle around" all the necessities of the day while respecting external dependencies (like an appointment at the doctor) that cannot be rescheduled.

radley 6y ago
I'm working on something that. It's reactive instead of proactive (it asks what you did instead of what you're planning to do). Just jot something down for now and deal with your todo apps at the end of your day. It can do Pomodoro sessions, but I'm adding a couple of variant timers (alarms, actually) that are designed to eventually work around your schedule: https://radleymarx.com/2021/time-journal-wireframes-round-two https://radleymarx.com/2021/time-journal-wireframes-round-tw...
- hooande 6y ago
  if I have to enter something into an app, I will eventually forget to do it. and if I miss entering too many appointments I'll eventually have to declare bankruptcy not trying to be negative about your idea. but the best app is one that will know automatically what's on my schedule, without me having to enter it explicitly. that way I can't forget. I have no idea how to do this, it doesn't really sound possible. Just trying to convey my experience with projects like you described
  - radley 6y ago
    You won't have to enter your schedule - there's APIs for Calendars. You'd just have to determine which calendars are considered "busy". As for upkeep, I found that the app is self-motivating. It's not measuring anything so if you miss an hour or a month it doesn't matter, there's no overwhelming guilt. The only thing you miss is being able to review what you worked on.

scottward 6y ago

This is an important observation. Most productivity apps don't end up "working" because they vastly underestimate the complexity of the problem they are trying to solve. We need to do a far better job of addressing the psychology of self-improvement, one of the most important aspects being how to deal with the inevitable "falling off the wagon". As you describe well, a naive approach to productivity tends to work at first, but then, as soon as you disengage for a time, they actively work _against_ re-engagement. I think there is a lot to be figured out in this area. One other related point is that although an app can't "solve the problem of self-discipline" it _can_ reduce the amount of energy required to "do the right thing" (e.g. by providing a easy to follow system). Since willpower requires energy which is a limited resource, this leaves more of it to apply towards continuing to work towards a goal instead of figuring out how to configure a goal achievement system.