MY PERSONAL BEST

For two years from the beginning of 2022, I put all of my indie eggs in a single basket. This was a mistake. Since the start of the New Year, I’ve been determined to make this time up. This required a fundamental change in mindset. One that prioritises focus. This facilitates speed. Who knew? Not me.

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In late February, I was messing around in Figma on an idea that I’ve had for several years. A couple months passed before I set myself the challenge to build a prototype in a single day. It took slightly longer to complete, but in the end it was a personal best turnaround. There was a simple explanation behind how: the app did just one thing. This was a genuine first. It really takes courage to ignore the voice in your head that keeps repeating:

“Is that it? Is that really all it does? And you’re actually asking for money? Good luck with that!”

There was an equally simple reason why I was okay to proceed. I knew exactly who I was building for. Yes, it was for me. But not just me generally speaking. Me the parent.

And like any parent, I snap photos of my kids all the time. They capture many things, but miss one: their brains opening up. During the moments in between, when the phone’s in your pocket. And they are just being themselves.

When my kids say anything memorable (every day!), I was jotting it down somewhere random. Without an app designed for this job, I was sporadically deviating between email, Notion and Notes to fill the gap. Or — much worse — didn’t bother because it was inconvenient. The moment permanently slipped.

That’s why I built uSaid. It’s a journal for parents. To record your kids in their words. A story worth documenting. Check it out.

Monday, May 20, 2024