one of the things i really struggle with is time blindness; i can't usually estimate how much time has elapsed since the last temporal milestone. if i open instagram, or start reading a book or work on something, i can't really tell if it's been 10 minutes or 4 hours. (with work, it is a bit easier because sometimes i can tell how much time has passed roughly, based on the amount of work done, but that's not always feasible.)
the inability to "feel" the passage of time can result in days wasted with nothing achieved because i thought i only spent an hour or so executing a task, only to realise when i check the clock that 4 hours have actually passed and that the day is almost over with 80% of my todo list still unchecked. and it's really infuriating to realize that the day has gone to waste with no ability to get it back.
that's why i built an app to help me with that. the app, which i called 'tins', for temporal pins, is just a simple one — trivial even. when the app is open, i can tap a button and put a 'pin' on that very moment. i can add a description to help distinguish it too. the app will then keep track of that moment, and i can later check how much time has elapsed since then.
technologically, there's nothing impressive here. it's basically a less performant stopwatch. the difference is mere aesthetic: in a stopwatch, the emphasis is how much time has elapsed, but with tins, the main information is when the pin was dropped.
you can also think of it as "reverse todo app". in a classic todo app, you mark the date/time of when you will to do something (or at least plan to do it). with tins, you mark when you did it — keyword: past tense.
this is the first day that i started using the app and feel like it helped me a little locate myself in the uninterrupted flux of time.
as this is the very first version, it is as simple as it can be. i'm thinking about adding offline support as it's built as a webapp. what would be really cool is if i can add an app shortcut to quickly add a new "tin" without having to open the app. but before i can commit to that i need to make sure first that the app does really help me and the mechanics of its optimal usage are pinned down.
from experience though, what i'm sure of is that i will try to keep this app as simple as possible and avoid feature creep like the plague. any extra feature that's not core to the main functionality might become a burden and discourage me over time from using the app in the first place.
overall, i'm very pleased with the app but also with the fact that i took the time to build a solution to a very particular problem that i have. hopefully this won't be the last time as there are many such little pains that i want to extinguish with simple solutions.
see you tomorrow.