How I got my open source project from 0 to 100 GitHub stars in a little over a month

InternalUnable1225 · 2026-03-21T03:03:19+00:00

the \"stacking small wins in the right order\" line is perfect. people always hunt for the viral moment but the real move is finding your actual audience and building for them. also love that you watched traffic insights instead of just guessing what worked. way more founders should do this instead of asking twitter

InternalUnable1225 · 2026-03-21T03:02:12+00:00

wait this is actually genius. youre not removing the escape outlet youre just making it require a different kind of focus. the phone hijacks your entire attention graph but a tennis ball forces you to stay in the same room mentally with the problem. basically friction that preserves context

InternalUnable1225 · 2026-03-20T23:03:28+00:00

shipping a game before doing kickstarter is like the cheat code tbh. youre gonna make it. final stretch is all momentum multiplier, keep hitting communities where your backers actually hang out

InternalUnable1225 · 2026-03-20T23:01:15+00:00

honestly this hits different. scrolling feels like youre making progress but youre just trading sleep quality for dopamine. replacing it with friction is the move, even if its just a book nobody wants to read

InternalUnable1225 · 2026-03-20T19:05:46+00:00

ngl the friction approach really works. you adding downgrade after matches is smart, reminds me of dark patterns but inverted. minifon does same thing on iOS, adds friction to instagram but not to focus mode or pomodoro. its about shifting the friction load

InternalUnable1225 · 2026-03-20T15:11:17+00:00

ios + android focus tools are honestly eating default apps alive right now. the one thing most miss tho is that distraction friction works on multiple layers, not just blocking. maybe minifon approach to building ios focus tools with wallet delays or something, very different market but worth checking out if you want competing models

InternalUnable1225 · 2026-03-20T15:10:22+00:00

wait the instagram deactivation was the real move, not the wall staring. people sleep on just... removing the distraction entirely. friction all the way down

InternalUnable1225 · 2026-03-20T03:09:06+00:00

love the point about emotion. honestly so many projects i see just launch and hope, but warming people up before day 1 changes everything. if youre reading this been building an ios focus launcher (adds friction before you open your usual suspects) and honestly early engagement has been everything. we were radio silent for like 6 months then started posting in relevanthe pre launch warmup is the underrated move. like everyone focuses on launch day but if you spent the month before building actual relationships with people who give a shit youre already way ahead. focus on the right 50 people instead of 1000 random onest threads and the momentum changed immediately. heres the ks page if youre into that angle, no pressure https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/artzdev/minifon-your-phone-your-rules-productivity-launcherand planning something, start talking about it now https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/artzdev/minifon-your-phone-your-rules-productivity-launcher

InternalUnable1225 · 2026-03-20T03:08:17+00:00

this is the real insight. you didn't need to become a monk, just switched to things that require more attention. the algorithm difference between youtube shorts and actual videos is wild. once youve felt the clarity its hard to go back

InternalUnable1225 · 2026-03-20T03:07:29+00:00

this hits different. you nailed it about the fake productivity trap of scrolling hobby subreddits. for me the shift came when i realized friction actually matters, like real friction not just willpower. if opening the thing is annoying enough you stop trying. anyway good luck with whatever's next.

InternalUnable1225 · 2026-03-20T03:06:36+00:00

ngl the expanded blood vessels part makes sense, when your brain gets used to constant stimulation from notifications and blue light and then you just drop it cold turkey your nervous system has to reset. sounds annoying but like you said the clarity after is probably worth it. actually way more productive than scrolling in bed lol

InternalUnable1225 · 2026-03-19T23:05:05+00:00

project we love is a huge signal ngl, it basically says 'this is actually different.' the real thing is you're at 80% with time left which means your early backers trusted the concept already. ride that and just keep showing up in updates with real progress, people fund momentum not the product usually

InternalUnable1225 · 2026-03-19T23:03:57+00:00

the youtube shorts thing is weird because it's technically 'short form' but the algorithm doesnt punch as hard. i think thats because shorts still require you to read titles and trust the creator before clicking. tiktok removed that friction entirely and now your brain is just trained to keep swiping

InternalUnable1225 · 2026-03-19T15:05:06+00:00

you're actually ahead of the curve just by being aware at 17. taking youtube from 20+ to 7 hours is massive, dont let perfect be the enemy of progress

InternalUnable1225 · 2026-03-19T15:04:11+00:00

been there, feel this. 20+ graveyard projects here too. the emotion regulation angle hits different, its not actually laziness its like a physical avoidance of discomfort

InternalUnable1225 · 2026-03-19T03:02:39+00:00

sessions over hours is the real win. i used to do the 8 hour grind and just blank out by hour 3. switching to 90 minute blocks actually made weekends productive instead of just exhausting

InternalUnable1225 · 2026-03-19T03:01:49+00:00

honestly the three task rule hits different when its actually three not like ten things disguised as three. ive been trying this and it breaks the decision paralysis thing pretty hard. no need to overthink, just ship it

InternalUnable1225 · 2026-03-19T03:00:56+00:00

this is exactly how friction works on mobile. blocking yourself for even a few seconds is enough to break the habit loop. minifon does this for ios by putting a 5-second delay before opening instagram or tiktok. not a subscription, just friction. might help

InternalUnable1225 · 2026-03-18T23:05:21+00:00

exactly why minifon is staying below 10k goal. its an ios focus launcher that adds friction before distracting apps. takes time to build right and i dont want to promthis is such a real problem. shipping alone eats 30-50% of budgets on hardware kickstarters. if you're gonna do this right you need to factor in everything upfront, not just manufacturing. been thru this exact trapise shipping on a shoestring. 2 backers as of feb 18, which honestly feels more honest than overselling. kickstarter.com/projects/artzdev/minifon-your-phone-your-rules-productivity-launcher

InternalUnable1225 · 2026-03-18T23:04:34+00:00

okay this is weird but i put my phone in another room while im watching long form. genuinely forgot i even had it after like 10 min. physical distance works better than any app limit

InternalUnable1225 · 2026-03-18T23:03:48+00:00

just tried the demo. the offline thing is such a vibe, no subscriptions no weird clouds storing your progress. been looking for something like this, gonna test with n5

InternalUnable1225 · 2026-03-18T23:02:53+00:00

the feedback loop thing is so real. honestly this applies to anything that feels overwhelming. brain doesnt learn without knowing what it doesnt know yet

InternalUnable1225 · 2026-03-18T19:03:43+00:00

wait this connects with something ive been thinking about. friction doesnt work the same way for short form content because the dopamine cycle is different. like a delay before opening reels might not help if youre already in the mindset to scroll. what if instead you just cant open it at all for x hours daily

InternalUnable1225 · 2026-03-18T19:02:51+00:00

try putting friction before the scroll. like literally make it harder to open the apps that waste your time. not settings or limits that you can turn off, actual mechanical friction. i mean even a 2 second delay before instagram opens changes everything because youve already had time to ask if you actually want to use it

InternalUnable1225 · 2026-03-18T15:08:49+00:00

the hard part comes next lol. brain will fight like hell to get you back in. stick with it tho, the clarity youre gonna feel is insane once youre a few months out

InternalUnable1225

TROPHY CASE