Notes from building Duqo
What we’re learning about reminders, timing, and getting things done.
ProductivityWhy can't I follow through on tasks? 6 real reasons
You're not lazy. "Why can't I follow through" has six different answers, from sleep and ADHD to goals you don't actually want. How to tell which is yours.
Guides7 apps that help you start tasks with ADHD
Seven tools for seven different reasons you might be stuck: unclear tasks, distractions, weak reminders, or needing someone else there.
ProductReminders that won't go away until you do them
Most reminder apps stop the moment you swipe. Here's how a reminder can keep coming back until the task is actually done, without buzzing every 15 minutes.
ProductWhat an AI accountability partner app should actually do
Most AI accountability partner apps add pressure: blocking, tracking, guilt. Why that model fails most people, and what a softer kind of accountability looks like.
ProductivityWhy you keep ignoring your to-do list
If you keep ignoring your to-do list, the list isn't the problem. Reminders fire at times you picked days ago, under different conditions. Here's the fix.
ProductivityWhat is a context-aware reminder app?
Most "context-aware" reminder apps just mean location alerts. The four kinds of context that matter (time, calendar, behavior, intent) and how a reminder app should use them.
ProductivityWhy reminders don't work for ADHD (and what does)
Why ADHD can make fixed-time reminders easy to miss—and how working-memory support, better timing, and gentle follow-up can make reminders more usable.
CultureA Task Manager for People Who Hate Task Managers
I bounced off Todoist, Things, Notion, and a dozen more. So I built a task manager for people who hate task managers. Here's what it does differently.
ProductWhy your task manager doesn't work (and what to do instead)
To-do apps are great at capturing tasks and bad at getting you to do them. Why fixed-time reminders fail, and what a reminder should check before it fires.
ProductivityWhy you ignore reminders: the science of timing
Reminders keep arriving when you can’t act on them. What research on attention cycles and the 23-minute interruption cost says about when a reminder actually works.
EngineeringNotification fatigue: building an AI that knows when to shut up
Every AI tool can generate more notifications. We spent a year making Duqo send fewer. The two-stage filter, the 15-minute cooldown, and what we cut.
GuidesHow to build a morning routine that sticks (even with ADHD)
Morning routine advice assumes discipline you don't have at 7 AM. A guide for ADHD and inconsistent brains: one habit, tiny starts, anchors that hold.