How I Built a Web App to Scratch My Own Itch
A reflection on why and how I created Race To-do List
In the book Rework, there is a chapter entitled of “Scratch Your Own Itch”. The very first sentence goes like this, and I quote, “The easiest, most straightforward way to create a great product or service is to make something you want to use.”
For two years I’ve been thinking of web app ideas which I’ll soon make as a product and build a business on. In 2011 I started building a debate website and also a quiz-type website. I didn’t finish those for some reasons. One big problem with those projects is that they really don’t solve problems I directly have. They’re just something I wanted but not need.
My latest project, which I managed to continue until now, thanks to the help of a small team, is TechTrabaho.com (a job portal for Filipino IT Professionals). This site is something I love and would continue to do even though it’s not something that I really needed. Despite my love for it, I’m still face with the problem of not scratching my own itch.
Parents of the Itch
Back in 2011, while I was working for a company in Cebu City, I’ve learned one very important time and task management technique. It’s the to-do list. Our project manager gave us an excel file which lists the tasks that need to be completed within the week and who they were assigned to.
So I looked at my tasks and started doing them one-by-one. Each time I finish one, I would write the word “Done” on “cell” on the right. Each time I finished a task, I felt a sense of accomplishment and made me more excited to complete the other tasks. I really thought to myself, “Wow, this technique is really effective.”
In the mornings, before I go to work (since my duty is from 1pm to 9pm), I’d work on my personal projects. And without hesitation, I used the same technique I’ve learned from my project manager. And it really was so helpful to me. I got to finish tasks more quickly and became more organized.
When I became a full-time freelance web developer in 2012, it wasn’t surprising that I used the same technique. But even though it was helpful, there were still problems I faced with my productivity. One of them is procrastination. Though I kept a list, I still have a problem focusing. So after some disappointments with myself, I began researching. I came across several articles but this article on time chunking hit me hard.
I started doing time chunking (Pomodoro Technique) and seen results on my level of focus. I became addicted to it. It’s seldom that I’d work without using a timer for each task. I fell in love with the technique.
Realization of the Itch
I’m not much of a “Pen and Paper” guy. I use software to write things down including my to-do lists. I downloaded a sticky note desktop application and wrote my tasks there. And for each task, I used a timer. I used to use my cellphone’s countdown timer and would set it to mostly 30mins but sometimes 10mins depending on the difficulty of the task.
I also tried using to-do web apps. There was one I really liked because of it’s simplicity. I kept looking for an app (preferably web-based since I’m a bit lazy to install desktop software ) that is a to-do list and has a countdown timer for each task. Unfortunately, I didn’t find one that scratches my itch. I found one but it was really far from what I wanted.
So, I just continued using two different tools for some time, one is a to-do list app and the other is a countdown timer.
Decision to Scratch the Itch
Wanting to build the app myself was at the back of my head but I didn’t really have a sense of urgency. I was working on TechTrabaho for some time and was so focused on it. Only on early December of 2013 did I think of really building it.
I was talking to a friend of mine about web development and startup topics. I raised the topic of building a startup together. Something that both of us can do on the side. Something that is both useful and will not require a lot of time to build. I suggested an idea and he agreed. We didn’t end up doing it. Then one time, something dawned on me. “Why not build the to-do list with a countdown timer app?” I thought to myself that it was really perfect! It solves a problem I was having and it was simple to build.
I informed my friend that we’re going to do it and I’m going to do the first version so we can release quickly. He agreed and was also excited about the idea since he thinks it’s going to be useful.
Building the Itch Scratcher
One night, I messaged my friend that we’re going to start working. We just communicated through Facebook since we’re two cities away from each other. I worked on the initial UI which I coded directly in HTML and CSS and he worked on the landing page template. We worked for about two hours on that night.
The following days, I got busy finishing a different project which I needed to present in Manila. I worked on that and was going for about a week. I got home on the 20th of December 2013. I rested for two days and started working on the to-do list app on the 23rd. Here are some early screenshots while I was building it.
On the 27th, I finished both the UI and the most important functionalities. Here is the screenshot of the finished product.
We did some furnishing and launched on January 2, 2014. We named it Race To-do List and is free to use. I invite you to try it out and see how more productive you’ll become. It’s something I built for my own use, first of all, and I would like to share it with others who have the problem of organizing and focusing on their tasks.
It’s basically a to-do list web application with a very straightforward user-interface with drag-and-drop functionality. It also has a built-in countdown timer for each task which will help you fight against procrastination.
Itchy Summary
After trying to build things that didn’t directly solve problems I have, I came to a decision that I would build something I would love to use. That’s why I built Race To-do List and I’m glad I did. I’m going to constantly improve it and hope to make it useful for you.
