96 Squares

Blog

  • Development Log #3: Liquid Glass

    Last week was mostly a family vacation, so not a ton of development happened. That said, I did spend some time playing around with a beta build of iOS 26 to get a feel for the new design language—and how it might apply to 96 Squares.

    As many folks have already noted, Liquid Glass isn’t exactly a clear step forward in UI design. While I really like some of the new controls, there are definitely moments where legibility takes a hit. But honestly, whether I like the change or not doesn’t matter much—it’s coming. Soon. So the real decision is whether I update my apps to embrace it or stick with the old style and risk looking instantly dated. And that second option doesn’t feel like an option at all.

    So yes: 96 Squares will adopt Liquid Glass controls throughout.

    What I haven’t yet decided is whether iOS 26 will be a requirement. As of now, there’s nothing in the app that absolutely needs iOS 26—aside from the visual updates. Whether I support older versions will depend on how complex it is to integrate Liquid Glass without fully dropping backward compatibility. I’ll need to do some deeper exploration before making that call.

  • Choosing Time Categories: A Surprisingly Personal Dilemma

    One of the first questions users face when launching 96 Squares is deceptively simple: How should I categorize my time?

    It turns out, this can be a surprisingly personal and surprisingly tricky decision. The categories you choose shape how useful the app will be — not just for tracking time, but for practicing mindfulness, reflecting on your days, and recognizing patterns in your behavior.

    Choose categories that are too broad, and your entries won’t tell you much. Too narrow, and logging your time quickly becomes a chore. And let’s face it — no one wants to be asked to type out a dozen custom labels the first time they open the app.

    The Solution: Predefined “Category Packets”

    To make onboarding easier and less overwhelming, I plan to offer a few simple “category packets” — predefined sets of categories that new users can choose from.

    The idea is to start small and grow from there. Right now, I’m thinking of offering three levels of depth:

    1. Minimalist: Mindful vs. Mindless

    At its core, 96 Squares is about increasing mindfulness. So why not start with the most fundamental distinction?

    • Mindful
    • Mindless

    ⠀This approach isn’t about judgment — it’s about awareness. Over time, you might begin to notice when you’re acting with intention and when you’re drifting. It’s perfect for people who want to keep things simple and focus on the bigger picture.

    2. Balanced: Broad Life Categories

    For those who want more detail without too much overhead, a balanced set of categories could look like this:

    • Sleep
    • Work
    • Relationships
    • Personal
    • Chores
    • Leisure
    • Waste

    This lets you see where your time is going across the major areas of life. It’s a great middle ground between mindfulness and practical time analysis.

    3. Detailed: With Subcategories

    And for those who really want to dig in, you can go further with subcategories. For example:

    • Rest
      • Sleep
      • Meditation
    • Work
      • Deep work
      • Meetings
      • Emails/admin
    • Relationships
      • Family
      • Friends
    • Personal
      • Exercise
      • Hobbies
      • Learning
    • Chores
      • Cleaning
      • Errands
    • Leisure
      • TV/YouTube
      • Gaming
      • Social media

    ⠀This approach offers rich insights — at the cost of a little extra effort in tracking.

    Start Where You Are

    The beauty of 96 Squares is that it doesn’t lock you into one system. You can start simple, reflect, and adjust. What matters most is not perfect categorization — it’s building awareness of where your time goes and whether that aligns with how you want to live.

    I’ll continue testing and refining these starter sets. But however you choose to track your day, I hope 96 Squares helps you pause, notice, and realign — one square at a time.

  • Development Log #2: Staying Focused

    In my first development log I said that I was trying to adhere to a MVP philosophy: focus on publishing the minimum viable product. So, naturally, I spent last week fretting about whether a button should be round or square.

    …OK, maybe i didn’t spend all week on it, but I spent a lot more time than I intended fretting about it. And the correct button shape is….I still don’t know. Here are two draft screens showing the options.

    prototype screen: round category button
    prototype screen: square category button

    Milestones

    Other work this last week:

    • A lot of work on the settings screen
    • Notifications, notifications, and more notifications
    • Work on alternate icons, color schemes, and light/dark mode siwtching

    WWDC

    Of course, the big event this week is WWDC, which kicked off yesterday. It’ll take some time for everyone to digest all the announcements, of course. But, from the perspective of 96 Squares, at least, I think the big announcements are going to be the switch to the “Liquid Glass” design language and the addition of an API for accessing Apple’s on device LLM. I’m excited to see what the app looks like with the revised design. And, while there’s not an obvious need for an LLM, I’m excited to play with the new API.

    What’s Next?

    I still plan to work on and share a feature roadmap in a future post. Right now I’ve just got a bit TODO list and I decide on what to work on by whatever strikes my fancy / whatever is bugging me the most. So, I don’t know how closely I’ll be able to adhere to whatever roadmap I come up with. But, just like with mindfulness more broadly, you gotta first notice, then you can react.

  • The Problem with Most Time Tracking Apps

    Time tracking apps promise to make me more productive. They show off dashboards, timers, billable hours, project labels, even AI-powered insights. And yet… I’ve tried a bunch, and most of them just end up gathering digital dust.

    Why?

    Because most of these apps aren’t really built for people like me. They’re built for projects. Or worse — for managers, clients, or accountants1. They assume my reason for using the app is that I’m billing hours or putting together neat little reports for some end-of-quarter review.

    But what if I’m just trying to be more mindful about how I spend my day?

    That’s where these apps fall short.

    1. Too Much Overhead

    A lot of apps expect me to start and stop timers, label every task, assign it to a category or client, and fill out forms every time I shift my focus. It’s a chore. And the irony is, managing the app starts to take up time I could actually be living.

    If I’m trying to be more mindful, that friction becomes a problem. I don’t want to micromanage my day — I just want to notice it.

    2. They’re Designed for Work, Not Life

    Most tracking tools focus on work hours — not the full picture. They don’t really care that I took a nap, listened to a podcast, or accidentally lost an hour scrolling Reddit.

    But that’s where my time actually goes. And if an app can’t help me see that, it’s not going to help me change it.

    3. No Room for Reflection

    For me, time tracking isn’t just about accountability. It’s about awareness.

    How do I feel when I look back on my day? Did I spend my time in a way that matches my values? Did I mean to spend an hour on email, or did I just drift into it?

    Most tools don’t prompt those kinds of questions. They’re built for numbers, not for insight. And they leave little room for reflection — which is where real change tends to start.

    A Better Way?

    That’s the idea behind 96 Squares. I wanted something simpler. More intentional. More human.

    Instead of treating my day like a spreadsheet, it treats it like a canvas: 96 blocks, each one 15 minutes long. A space to record what I did — or what I meant to do. A little moment to check in, take a breath, and gently ask,

    “What am I doing right now?”

    No timers. No pressure. Just mindfulness, in practice.

    Because time tracking should help me live my life — not just log it.

    1. In my day job I’m a manager, so only minor shade being thrown here. ↩︎

  • Development Log #1: Getting 96 Squares Off the Ground

    Welcome to the first development blog entry for 96 Squares — a mindfulness-based time tracking app that breaks the day into 96 fifteen-minute blocks. This post offers a quick overview of where things currently stand in development, what’s working, and what’s still in progress.

    What’s Working

    The core functionality is live and humming along:

    • 🟩 Users can select a time category (work, sleep, recreation, etc.) and assign it to a block (or “square”) of their day.
    • 💾 Data is saved locally and synced to iCloud, so it’s accessible across devices.
    • 📊 There are basic summary graphs to help users visualize how their time is spent.
    • 🧘‍♂️ A settings sheet lets users tweak interface preferences and schedule a few simple mindfulness reminders.
    • 📱 The overall UI now exposes all of the core features in a way that’s minimal but usable.

    ⠀In short: it’s functional … basically. But there’s still plenty of work ahead. Everything above pretty much works but none of it works great.

    What’s Next

    Right now, I’m in the thick of refinement. I’m sticking (more or less) to the MVP philosophy — Minimal Viable Product — but that always raises the age-old question: what exactly counts as viable?

    Do I need that slick animated transition between views? Probably not. But will that bit of polish be the difference between an app that feels delightful and one that just feels … clunky? Maybe. That’s the balance I’m trying to strike.

    There’s also the question of how deep to go with each feature. Is it enough for the summary graphs to exist, or should they be interactive and beautiful? Should the onboarding be bare-bones or carefully crafted to make people want to stick with the app?

    Coming Up

    I’ll be sharing the feature roadmap in a future post, which should provide a clearer view of what’s still ahead — both in terms of major additions and small usability touches.

    For now, though, the groundwork is in place. It’s a functional app that tracks time and supports mindfulness — and that’s no small thing.

  • Welcome to 96 Squares

    Hello and welcome! This is the very first post for 96 Squares—a mindfulness-focused time tracking app currently in development here at Cottage Path Studio.

    The idea behind 96 Squares is simple but powerful: make time tracking easy and turn it into a tool for daily mindfulness. At its core, the app is built to help users pause and ask themselves a deceptively simple question:

    “What am I doing right now?”

    By encouraging users to record their primary activity throughout the day—and reflect on those choices—96 Squares aims to increase awareness, reduce autopilot behavior, and help people use their time more intentionally.

    The name comes from the structure of the day: 96 blocks of 15 minutes each. Every square represents a window of time—a chance to be present, to make a choice, to gently reflect.

    Why I’m Building This

    The inspiration for this app came from my own struggles with mindfulness. Like many of us, I often found myself slipping into time-wasting habits—mindless web browsing, doom scrolling, bouncing between apps with no real purpose. There’s nothing inherently wrong with checking the news or exploring the internet, of course. But I noticed that I was doing it without intention.

    I’d sit down to work and, almost unconsciously, end up skimming headlines on the New York Times. An hour later, I’d emerge from a blur of article tabs wondering where the time went. It wasn’t just about losing productivity—it was about losing presence.

    96 Squares is my attempt to counter that drift. It’s a tool I’m designing first and foremost for myself—but I suspect I’m not the only one who could use a little more structure, clarity, and mindfulness in their day.

    What’s Next?

    Over the coming weeks, I’ll be sharing more about how the app works, the design philosophy behind it, and what the development process looks like—warts and all. Whether you’re curious about mindfulness, interested in time tracking, or just like following indie app development, I hope you’ll find something useful (or at least relatable) here.

    You can also follow along on Mastodon: @cottagepath@mastodon.social or Bluesky: @cottagepath.bsky.social‬. I’d love to hear your thoughts, feedback, or your own experiences with time and mindfulness.

    Thanks for reading. Let’s build something intentional.