Spent the past few months building a focus timer (icestudy.app) and the deeper I got, the more it bothered me that every existing one in this category leans on the same playbook: streaks, badges, push notifications nudging you to "keep your streak alive," guilt-tripped retention.
The category has decided that the way to keep people focused is to make them feel bad when they're not.
I'm not convinced that's right, and not because I have proof, but because the people I know who actually do deep work the most consistently aren't doing it because an app is shaming them. They've just made peace with the rhythm of focus and rest. Streaks would probably make their lives worse, not better.
So I built mine without any of it. No notifications during a session, no streak guilt, no "you missed a day" badges. The only feedback the app gives you is a real cup of ice that slowly melts in real time as you work. Quiet, ambient, present but never reminding you of yesterday.
