Once I get into something, I tend to forget about myself. There can be a glass of water right beside me, and I still forget to drink it. I don’t notice my shoulders getting stiff, either. By the time I look up, two or three hours have passed.
I can lose track of the work itself, too. Which part took some effort? Which part came easily? When I’m done, I’m often left with little more than “That was a busy day.”
That’s one of the reasons I’m building Peilo. I want a quiet companion that can keep a record of small things while I’m absorbed in my work. I can make sense of them later, when I’m ready.
A record now, time to reflect later
When I’m halfway through writing something, a notification is the last thing I want. Once it breaks my train of thought, it can take a few minutes to find my way back.
I want Peilo to fit around that. I put my phone beside me, the little dragon keeps me company, and I get on with what I’m doing. The record is there when I want to look at it.
I don’t need to check every moment as it happens. The things I haven’t had time to notice can wait.
Something to put alongside my memories
After a stretch of work, I look back at the times Peilo observed me at my desk and the drinking, yawning, or stretching it recorded. Then I think about what I was doing and how it felt.
Sometimes I didn’t even stop for water, and I remember being caught up in an idea. Other times, I stretched several times and remember struggling to get somewhere.
That gives me more to go on than “I was busy.” But I still need my own memories: not drinking doesn’t necessarily mean I was engaged, and stretching doesn’t necessarily mean I was stuck. Peilo gives me observations. I work out how they relate to what I was doing.
Thinking about the next stretch of work
Looking back helps me think more clearly about how I arrange my work. I have something to put alongside my sense of which parts were demanding and which went smoothly.
Maybe tomorrow I’ll try doing the hardest part in the morning, when I feel more up to it. Maybe I’ll start with a smaller change. Finding what suits me takes time and experience.
That’s what I want from Peilo: a little company while I work, something to return to afterward, and room to decide what comes next.
See what you can look back on in the phone app. For help getting started, read the guide or join the early access list.