Tiny update. I've worked on turning all sheets, like the rule one, into full-screen pages. A component I noticed in some apps that I love. This enables a smooth transition, sliding a sheet up and closing it by dragging or pulling it out.
I'm working on a fourth kind of rule: time limits.
I might release it end of August, early September.
You can set the number of minutes you want to spend on one or many websites/apps, and when they're spent, the shield comes down until the next day.
One tricky thing that I've yet to figure out is how to reliably count minutes with the iOS Screen Time integration. It's limited.
I always wanted to find meaningful quotes to ask users to confirm, words that wouldn't feel empty. I made up a couple of quotes while working on the rest of the app, and now it feels like they need attention.
The quotes are now borrowed from authors I respect, around the topic of attention, silence and the present moment. Words from Woolf, Thoreau, Pascal, Weil, Marcus Aurelius, Dillard, and Rilke. Each one is credited under the line as you type.
I received an email from Benjamin, a recent user of Cactus, asking for "an option for a stricter mode".
So I've added a toggle called Set in stone. I might rename it, but it essentially removes the ability to delete a rule.
I've added some words of caution when it's turned on, so you know that enabling this mode stops you from editing, deleting or removing any apps/websites from the rule.
The only way out is to delete Cactus.
One thing I found frustrating was not being able to quickly add a website to be blocked by a rule. You're browsing and figure out in the moment that this website is sucking way too much of your attention.
Instead of having to open Cactus, find the rule, add the website and save the changes, you can add a website to a rule straight from Safari.
I've started to build a new mode. I haven't found the right name for it yet, something like "Emergency mode" or "Moment". I'm unsure.
I built it so you can block almost everything except a few apps you choose ahead of time, from a single tap. Sometimes you need a quick break from everything, and it's the perfect feature for that.
I've been dogfooding Cactus quite a bit, and I noticed that taking the first break feels different from taking the second, third, and so on.
The first break is sometimes just a quick unlock to check on something important, so I've adjusted the friction around rule breaking a bit. The first break is friction-free, the second asks you for a short quote confirmation, and the following ones all ask for a longer one.
The logic resets the next day at midnight.
My friend Nicolas is building a sleep habits app and integrated some of the Screen Time features. For the blocking overlay, he used a "frosted" glass effect.
I thought that was neat and implemented a similar one for Cactus. Now you can see the app or website you're blocking right there behind the shield.
I was going on a trip to the Adirondacks and wanted to shut off some distractions only for that trip. So I built the ability to set an end date on a rule.
When the trip or limit is over, the rule turns inactive and the blocking stops.
Rules used to only allow scheduled hours and days. Now you can set them to always on and block distractions without a break.
I've changed the way the first rule is created a bit. I started with a regular rule sheet, the same one we use for all rules.
When I tested Cactus with less-savvy users, they found it overwhelming.
With the latest update, the first rule creation is a completely different flow. Each step has a dedicated screen, and I've added a bit of storytelling around it to teach users what to expect and how it works.
Among the things that I discovered while working with Apple's Screen Time feature, the most annoying one is that you can't block an app or website for under 15 minutes.
You can choose from three icons for Cactus. My favourite is the original one, the Spark. Eventually, I want to create a suite of icons. That could be really fun.
Now scheduled rule cards count up or down depending on their status, with a small ticking animation.
Cactus is a pretty simple app, but some concepts need an explanation. My take for Cactus was to avoid or delay a help section as long as possible and rely on educating users after positive moments, a rule created, a break stopped...
The screen time app I've been prototyping has a name now: Cactus.
I hesitated between Zen, Quiet and Calm, but I found those names a bit corny. While I was hesitating between those, I thought I'd try to create the logo for the app and landed on a spark.
A spark that resembles the shock you might experience when touching something you shouldn't, a cactus or a screen time rule.
I've fixed a major loophole in the app. If you were to reboot your phone, all rules and shields would be cleared, and unless you opened Cactus, nothing would be blocked.
Now Cactus checks on launch whether a rule should be active and puts the shields back itself.