Building Mac Apps on a Baby Anchored Schedule

Two things in this email:

1. I built a Mac app. I'd love you to try it.
2. I've been building with anchors, not schedules — which works when you have a baby on board.

Anchors, Not Schedules

I've been trying a neurodivergent way of having structure and chaos. It's called anchors.

I used to wake up wanting to structure exercise and getting to work. Nothing would go to plan. And, I'd feel guilty when starting work late or skipping exercise.

The fix is to work on anchors not timings:

Anchor 1: Morning family and Coco time:

Anchor 2: Exercise.

Anchor 3: Hard rule: no work before exercise.

Some days I start working at 10am. Today was a 3pm start!*

This has removed any frustration and guilt around timings. I've seen a huge uptick in productivity. I'm getting more exercise. Family time is protected.

How does anyone produce good work, raise kids, and be in an office at 9am?

Oliver Burkeman calls it the efficiency trap — a paradox that the more efficiently you try to manage your time, the more demands rush in to fill it. Get faster at email, you get more email. Optimise your morning routine, you feel guilty about the afternoon. The system rewards you with more work, not more freedom.

*This is only possible because of Coco's amazing mum Bene.

What I Built on That Schedule

Last email, I said I wanted to build Figma for code. One week later, a beta MVP is shipped.

I used to be a product designer. I loved Figma's infinite canvas. See everything at once. Move fast. Try things.

When I started building in code, that layer vanished. So did the play.

So I built it back.

It takes your app and puts every screen on one board. You pan and zoom like Figma. But the frames are live code, not screenshots.

First time I saw all my screens together, the play was back.

I keep thinking about this: The barrier to building software collapsed. The barrier to building good software didn't. Speed is common now. Taste is still rare.

That's the gap.

If you want to try it: designcanvas.app

Distribution (Getting Users)

I'm aware this is my biggest problem. I'm also avoiding it. Creating apps is like playing the best computer game ever.

Today I shared it with the first person. And was rewarded even more than playing with building. They had a ‘wow’ moment when it opened and their running dev server was just there. It's totally inspired me!

*Thank you Peter — we had a feedback for feedback session — he's building Chief Charlie — “The AI partner for B2B founders going to market.” I really recommend checking it out!

So the next week I need to be held accountable for more people trying the app!

What the App Does

If you want to try the app, I'd love that.

A step further:

Hit reply — if you want to talk about how you structure your days, or just to say hi. Or to really help me — I'd love user testers for the app!

I love getting mail. The replies I've got have really brought a smile to my face and inspired the next edition.

This is email three. Previous emails: email two, email one.

Try the Design Canvas App: designcanvas.app