About Authentic Timer

In November 2024, I was enduring a sickness that limited my daily quality of life and forced me to manage my time carefully in the few hours a day I could focus in front of a screen. I started looking for a clean timer and task manager that felt safe and uncluttered, but I always ended up combining apps like Notion, Forest, and Todoist (which I love) instead of using just one tab in my browser as a 'productivity hub'. I thought about the hassle of always having to decide what background music to play or looking for inspiration when staring at the screen, wanting a calming desktop. That's when I came up with the concept of an 'authentic timer'—a clean timer with no fluff that would help me prepare my sessions, giving myself 25, 30, 45, or 50 minutes to read 50 pages of a book, clean my Gmail inbox, tackle some paperwork, and list everything I'd be working on.

Some books were an inspiration for this as well. 'Atomic Habits' by James Clear, of course, showed me the importance of getting things done just by showing up and doing 1% more than yesterday. 'Four Thousand Weeks' by Oliver Burkeman emphasizes the importance of not seeking perfection and not overwhelming yourself with an endless to-do list with no time-boxing and no preparation. Instead, gratify yourself with 'done' lists and reflect on the day's accomplishments.

I also thought hard about what kind of app I would have wanted during my university years, those days when I was studying Computer Science for 12 hours straight and just wanted a tab in my browser that could comfort me and keep me focused.

It took 8 months to finally publish an app I was proud to release. During this time, I collected feedback from the few people who reviewed early drafts of this product and read dozens of articles about productivity, the nervous system, and ADHD.

By June 2025, the software had finally shaped into something I could share with the world.

— Luis, solo developer and creator of Authentic Timer