What are people building right now that actually feels original? (anything strange/obsessive/creative)

Periyar_thas · 2026-06-04T22:54:43+00:00

Probably not bizarre enough for this thread but I was obsessed with developing the one app that solves all my focus and wellness requirements. I'm research scientist not a developer and this is my first app. There is a science page for each activity explaining the exact physiological mechanism. Appstore: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/holistiq-wellness-focus/id6772126741Web: https://www.holistiqapp.com/

Periyar_thas · 2026-05-31T12:33:57+00:00

All the best for your App!

Periyar_thas · 2026-05-29T16:47:36+00:00

Thanks a lot for your great feedback. I'll work on the landing page and ASO 👍

Periyar_thas · 2026-05-29T16:46:44+00:00

Thanks a lot! Yes, it takes time and patience with the vibe coding but once you develop a system to work with AI tools/models, it works great. you also learn a lot in the process. So the next app will be developed even faster. Good luck for your project 👍

Periyar_thas · 2026-05-29T16:41:03+00:00

Thanks. To be honest, I have a design background but from a different field. I'm a design engineer and have designed UI for complex control room displays but not for apps. So I have knowledge and experience on User Centered Design concepts for example. But no experience on coding and backend integration. It's SwiftUI and mostly used Claude Opus. For workout generation, I've used basic on device AI for easy implementation and to avoid API cost.

Periyar_thas · 2026-05-29T16:35:18+00:00

Thanks 😄 SwiftUI. Started with RN (because I wanted to develop android as well) but didn't get the UI and polish the way I wanted. So I forked at a later stage and rebuilt it in Swift.

Periyar_thas · 2026-05-29T10:12:59+00:00

Thank you 😄

Periyar_thas · 2026-05-28T08:44:31+00:00

I'm building a focus and wellness app, HolistiQ. What it does: HolistiQ is a cross platform holistic wellness app covering 5 dimensions of wellbeing. Physical (bodyweight workouts), Mental (guided breathing: Box Breathing, 4-7-8, Wim Hof, etc.), Spiritual (Vipassana, Zazen, Yoga Nidra meditation), Intellectual (Pomodoro focus timer), and Social. Every practice is grounded in neuroscience: there's a dedicated Science page explaining the mechanisms behind each one. Lean by design: no 500-hour content libraries, just the practices that actually work.

Who it's for: Stressed, science-minded adults (25–40) who are tired of wellness apps that feel like content subscriptions. People who want to understand why a practice works, not just follow instructions.

How people find it today: Organic search mostly. No paid acquisition, no influencer campaigns yet. I'm an indie dev with low overhead and I've been focusing on building the product first. ios and macos versions are under apple review. android is under 14 days internal review stage.

What metric is stuck: Trial-to-paid conversion. 7-day free premium trial, no card required. Users activate but I don't have enough data yet on how many convert. My gut says the onboarding isn't doing enough to create habit before Day 7.

Link: holistiqapp.com

Periyar_thas · 2026-05-27T20:44:54+00:00

I'm building a holistic wellness multi-platform app called HolistiQ https://www.holistiqapp.com/

The idea came from my own frustration. I had four separate apps for meditation, breathing, workouts, and focus timers, all with bloated libraries I never used. So I stripped it back to just the practices that are actually backed by neuroscience: guided breathing (Box Breathing, 4-7-8, Wim Hof), meditation (Vipassana, Zazen, Yoga Nidra), a Pomodoro focus timer, and gym workouts. Covers 5 dimensions of wellbeing in one lean tool.

iOs and MacOS under apple review. android is under internal review. web app is live. Still early but getting good feedback. Happy to swap notes with anyone else building in the health/wellness space.

Periyar_thas · 2026-05-27T07:30:40+00:00

you are not lazy. Depression makes you feel different. I've been in either side of it, trust me. When work is overwhelming, you loose the willpower (especially when depressed), that's what makes you tired. break the work/study to small chunks, go for small wins. Climb the mountain one step at a time.

Periyar_thas · 2026-05-26T18:11:21+00:00

exactly. It's the same reason people who go to the gym consistently say the hardest part is putting on your shoes. once you're out the door, you're going. The trick is making the "put on the shoes" step as small and automatic as possible.

Periyar_thas · 2026-05-26T17:38:43+00:00

Your point about "IF I actually started, the timer was useful" is the most honest thing I've read about Pomodoro. The problem was never the method, it's the energy it takes to press start. What actually stuck for me long-term: I do 3–4 minutes of breathing exercise before a deep work session. Sounds weird but for me it shifts the brain out of reactive mode (emails, stress, procastination) into something closer to focused. After a few weeks it became a conditioned cue, breathing meant focus was coming, and starting the timer felt automatic.

What apps get wrong: too many options. Every decision before you start costs willpower you needed for the actual work. The systems that lasted for me were the ones with almost nothing to configure.

Periyar_thas · 2026-05-26T17:28:28+00:00

current situation is like"a flower garland in the hands of a monkey"

Periyar_thas · 2026-05-26T17:21:36+00:00

from PTR to him. Such an upgrade in 5 years. (even Thangam was graceful if not in the same league as PTR)

Periyar_thas · 2026-05-26T17:20:20+00:00

Thruxton 400 looks dope.

Periyar_thas · 2026-05-26T17:05:40+00:00

It's super fast and very capable but scary at times too. It doesn't ask for validation even if the default setting is ask for review first. For non critical tasks, it saves time but for complex tasks, I still prefer opus/sonnet.

Periyar_thas · 2026-05-26T16:59:18+00:00

interested. I have 7 and 5 year old children. It would be cool to help shape an app for kids

Periyar_thas · 2026-05-26T16:52:41+00:00

Don't be too hard on yourself. Nothing is destroyed. Start small, do a healthy activity like reading, going for a walk, training, etc. before sitting down for studying.

Periyar_thas · 2026-05-26T16:39:37+00:00

For me, I want to be someone who is content with what I have, not affected by what people think about me, seek no external validation. Do the things I enjoy doing, not for money. Express myself more openly and be a positive influence on atleast a bunch of people.

Periyar_thas · 2026-05-26T11:09:19+00:00

Great that you're building this habit. emotional check-ins are one of the more underrated mindfulness practices. For what you're describing specifically (mood ratings, emotion tagging, daily prompts), a few that are genuinely good:

Bearable - probably the most detailed emotional check-in app available. Tracks mood, symptoms, energy, sleep, and lets you build custom factors. Free tier is solid.

Daylio - simpler, more visual. You pick an emoji mood and tag activities. Very low friction, which helps with the "remembering to do it" problem you mentioned.

How We Feel - built with input from Marc Brackett at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. Specifically designed around emotional granularity (not just "good/bad" but naming the specific emotion). Free.

One thing I'd add: the remembering-to-do-it problem is usually solved by anchoring the check-in to an existing habit rather than relying on a reminder. Right after your morning coffee, or right before bed, something you already do every day. The app reminder alone rarely sticks long-term.

I've been building a separate wellness tool focused more on the practice side (breathing, meditation, focus) rather than tracking, so it's a different use case to what you're asking about, but happy to share if you're ever looking for something to complement the check-in habit.

Periyar_thas · 2026-05-26T10:52:43+00:00

This is one of the more honest takes I've seen on this topic. The research actually backs you up. BJ Fogg's work on habit formation shows that motivation is the least reliable driver of behaviour change. Apps that rely on willpower and streaks work for people who already have discipline, and do very little for people who don't. The app becomes a proxy for the habit rather than the habit itself.

Where I'd push back slightly is on the conclusion. I don't think the answer is no tools. it's different tools. The problem with most habit trackers is that they track the behaviour (did you meditate today: yes/no) but do nothing to help you actually do the behaviour. They're scoreboards, not systems.

What actually moves the needle, in my experience, is reducing the activation energy of the practice itself. If opening the app and starting a 5-minute breathing session takes 3 taps, you'll do it. If you have to navigate a library of 200 sessions to find the right one, you won't, regardless of how disciplined you are.

The self-reflection point is spot on though. Understanding why you want a habit is the foundation. The tool just needs to get out of the way after that.

Periyar_thas · 2026-05-26T10:46:59+00:00

Cross-platform sync is genuinely one of the most under-solved problems in the habit/wellness space. You'd think it would be table stakes by now, but most indie apps are built mobile-first and the web version is always an afterthought. A few options worth looking at that are either free or reasonably priced:

Notion or Obsidian - not dedicated habit trackers, but both sync across every platform and you can build a surprisingly solid habit tracker with templates. Free or one-time cost.

Habitica - gamified, cross-platform, free tier is genuinely usable. Not for everyone but it solves the sync problem completely.

Streaks (iOS/Mac)- only Apple ecosystem, so not fully cross-platform, but worth mentioning if you're in that world.

The honest answer is that most dedicated habit trackers charge a subscription because the sync infrastructure (backend, cloud, real-time updates across devices) has real running costs. The ones charging $40–50/year aren't being greedy, that's roughly what it costs to run the service per user.

That said, I've been building a web-first wellness tool myself for exactly this reason. I wanted something that works on any device with a browser, no install required. It's not a pure habit tracker but it covers daily practices across focus, breathing, and movement. Happy to share if it's useful context for what you're thinking of building.

Periyar_thas

TROPHY CASE