I have a big problem when it comes to focus. Often times, when facing a task I need to accomplish, my mind will go in every direction except tackling the task. This can result in starting multiple things at once, half of them I am convinced will help me get my task completed faster now and in the future, and none of them actually completing the task. Most of the time, I end up frustrated, and realize that I just need to buckle down and finish the original task, which often ends up being completed a lot later than it should have. When it came to TaskQuerer though, it was yet another product of my mind trying its best to not focus. But this time, I made sure to run the idea down to completion.
I have in the past spent lots of time watching productivity videos, trying to find the ultimate life hack that will get my focus on track. Most of the time though, it was just an excuse that delayed my original task. I also lacked the discipline to keep to a strict schedule, so forcing myself to adhere to a productivity regiment is not something I am prepared to do. Especially if I am in a focused state, I do not believe that interruption is warranted. What I needed was a reminder that I should be focusing, and not something that would dictate when.
So, I got to coding. Which can be something quick and simple, until you decide to make something to share with the rest of the world. That's when all the little details come into play. Coding up the prototype was still the easy part. What I was not prepared for was everything else. What framework should I use to write the app? How to organize my styles to create coherent components for a theme? How to make the app behave on different platforms? Is it too early for a logo design? And even when TaskQuerer was done, there was still everything to learn about releasing the application, since I wanted to go that route. It has definitely been a journey in itself, that required quite a bit of focus.
The most important part of TaskQuerer that I wanted to persist, was the lack of interruption. No vibration nudge, no ding that you have completed your focus window. The app allows you to get lost in your task, but if your mind starts wondering, it's there to remind you that you still have work to be done. One neat use for the application that was introduced by a friend of mine, was setting times for those times that you know you spend too much time on. If I find that my mind is wondering too much, I bring in a distraction timer. It still lets me do the human things that are in my nature, while showing me that there is still time to take care of business before the day is over.
It's not every day that I need to use the app to keep on track, but I know that on the days that my mind is very active, it's there to help me keep focus. The app is convenient to try, and runs in the browser (TaskQuerer), and hopefully will be in the play store soon.