How parenthood led me to build my own app
The beginning
For the past year I have been building an app called Journella.
I did not start building it because I wanted to make another productivity app. I started because my own system stopped working when life got harder.
When everything changed
When my baby was born everything changed. Life became fuller and more meaningful but also more fragmented. I was tired all the time. My days were broken up into small urgent moments. I was trying to remember important things while fulfilling other responsibilities at home and work.
That is when note taking started to fail me.
When note taking stopped helping
I did not have time to write long detailed notes. I would quickly save a few words just so I would not lose the thought. But when I came back later I often had no idea what I had called the note. I could not remember the exact words I used. Search was not helping me find what I needed.
And it had real consequences.
I missed doctor appointments. I forgot follow ups. I struggled to keep track of my baby’s changing needs and routines. It felt like I was constantly trying to catch up with my own life.
What that made me realize
That experience stayed with me.
It made me realize that a lot of productivity tools seem to assume you have time, energy and mental clarity. But some seasons of life do not give you those things. Sometimes you just need something that helps you capture a rough thought and still makes it useful later.
Why I built Journella
That is what pushed me to build Journella.
I have been working on it for a year now. The idea is simple. Notes, tasks, events, search and planning in one place with a more human feel. Something that helps when life is busy and your thoughts are incomplete.
I am building the tool I wish I had when I needed it most.
It is getting close now and I am hoping to release it soon.
I would love to hear from you
Would love to hear if anyone else has gone through something similar after becoming a parent or during a chaotic season of life.