From a Thought to an Action What if you could turn a thought into something you can act on in seconds? That was the idea behind Audio Action. I’ve always felt that the hardest part of getting something done isn’t necessarily the task itself — it’s often capturing the thought before it disappears, especially when your mind is already juggling several things at once. Traditional to-do apps usually expect you to stop, type, organise and structure your thoughts before you can move forward. I wanted to explore a different approach: What if you could simply say what’s on your mind? That question became the starting point for Audio Action. #Finding the Direction The journey didn't begin with a polished product. It started with a simple idea and a lot of questions. I explored different names and concepts before landing on Audio Action. The name captured the direction I wanted to explore: Speak → Understand → Act. The first wireframe was rough and simple. But it gave the idea a place to exist outside my imagination. From there, the concept started evolving. I initially focused on the voice-first capture experience — tapping a button, speaking naturally, and seeing the words appear on screen as you talk. But I quickly realised that capturing a task was only one part of the experience. What happens after you capture it? That question led to the Dashboard, My Actions, History, and eventually Mindstream. I wanted Audio Action to be more than a voice input mechanism or another checklist. I wanted it to feel like an experience that helps you move from thought → action → progress → reflection. #Building the Experience As the product took shape, I started thinking about the experience across Apple devices rather than designing only for an iPhone. The app evolved to support iPhone and iPad, with different layouts taking advantage of the larger canvas. Dark Mode, themes, widgets and animations gradually became part of the experience. And then came Mindstream. Most to-do apps are designed around showing you what still needs to be done. I wanted to create a small moment where you could instead see everything you've already taken on and accomplished. Mindstream became that space — your actions gently moving across the screen, giving you an opportunity to pause, reflect and appreciate the journey. That was an important shift in how I thought about Audio Action. It wasn't only about getting things done. It was also about recognising that you are getting things done. #Meet Octodo Somewhere along this journey, Audio Action needed a personality. That's where Octodo came from. Octodo is pronounced “Oc-to-do” and spelled O-C-T-O-D-O. The name combines “Octo”, inspired by the octopus and its eight arms, with “Todo”, representing the everyday things we want to get done. An octopus has eight arms to handle many things at once. In a similar way, Octodo represents the many thoughts, ideas and actions we carry around in our heads. Octo + Todo = Octodo. But there’s a little more to the idea. Octodo represents the journey from thought to action. You speak what's on your mind, Audio Action helps make sense of it, and Octodo becomes the friendly little companion along the way. I wanted the character to give Audio Action a little warmth and personality — something that could make the experience feel less like using another productivity tool and more like having a small companion helping you along the way. Eight arms. One little companion. Helping turn thoughts into action. #From Product to Launch As the experience came together, the focus naturally shifted from building the core product to preparing it for the real world. That meant thinking about monetisation, creating the paywall experience, preparing the App Store experience, testing across devices, polishing interactions and eventually submitting the app for review. Each stage changed the product in some small way. What started as a simple idea about voice input gradually became a much broader experience — one designed around capturing thoughts naturally, turning them into actions, helping you see your progress and giving you a reason to pause along the way. And eventually, the moment arrived when something that had existed only in my head — and then in countless lines of code — was sitting on my iPhone and, ultimately, on the App Store. #Why I Built Audio Action At its heart, Audio Action came from a very simple observation: We have thoughts all day long. Not all of them should stay in our heads. Sometimes the distance between having an idea and actually doing something about it is simply the friction of capturing it. I wanted to reduce that friction. Instead of stopping to type, organise and structure your thoughts, just speak. Let Audio Action turn those thoughts into something actionable. And perhaps, once those actions start moving, take a moment to recognise how much you've already accomplished. Audio Action — Turn Your Thoughts Into Action in Seconds.

Audio Action

Audio Action — Turn your thoughts into action in seconds

Audio Action — Turn your thoughts into action in seconds