34 karma · joined March 6, 2024
Right now, we have timers and music as our first tools but our future plans include an entire toolbox of tools specific to task initiation and executive dysfunction.
Our ultimate goal is an AI utilizing your specific 'user manual' with effective strategies and systems for you and then giving you tools specific to those strategies when you need them. I.E. A timer may work for one task, but it then loses its novelty, but website blockers and classical music work effectively for the next so it applies those tools without the extra micro-steps of setting up that infrastructure yourself.
> I imagine people with ADHD are more likely to be excited by tools that help and they can often mistake the initial excitement with the tool actually helping manage their executive dysfunction.
This is a critical point I've been thinking about because I've done this many times with tools where I try it once, think it's going to solve my executive dysfunction, buy it impulsively, then proceed to stop using it, and then keep getting billed because I don't cancel it (ouch).
We have a long way to go, but your support is super valuable
We'll definitely fix the web UI and we're working on a mobile app, but we're focusing our resources on iterating the main concept right now so it's not our main priority.
So like you see a text like "Hey, I know you need to send that email out. Here's a question: X. Here are some suggested responses: A, B, C" so it's emulating the chat interface but it begins with SMS or even a Discord message. Thoughts on that?
People with ADHD operate on an “interest-based nervous system” so they’re motivated by urgency, novelty, competition, and interest. ADHD also impairs executive functioning skills. This can make task paralysis really common, especially for unstimulating tasks.
We’re a team of 3 undergraduate students who have received 50k as finalists in the Microsoft Imagine Cup. We’re being flown out to seattle for Microsoft Build to showcase our tool.
Our tool is in a very early stage right now, but we’re partnering with the world’s ADHD coaching academy to improve and make a tool specifically designed for people with ADHD. We’d love people to test it out and give us any feedback (positive or negative)
However, shouldn't the aim be towards empowering an individual towards the human condition that they desire? Of course, within the constraints of the allocated resources that society can provide. That search to enable self-actualization and purpose for people can inherently come with tasks that are... well boring.
Sending an email that is critical to fostering an important business connection can sometimes be a chore. But it's important. People with ADHD especially struggle with this, as they thrive on brains that crave stimulation. Many live very unsatisfying lives (higher rates of unemployment, depression, divorce) as a result of this.
In many cases, it can feel as if you're a prisoner to your mind. You don't feel like you have the agency to live the life you want. And why? Because of some executive function deficits? Why not use technology as a way to externalize these cognitive management malfunctions?
I enjoy Gena Gorlin's idea of the Builder's Mindset that explores this viewpoint in more detail: https://builders.genagorlin.com/p/a-different-and-better-way...
I believe we should attempt to ruthlessly search for a life that aligns with our desired human condition.
I'd like to know your thoughts!