Functionable
A private, installable daily companion that helps people with ADHD and anxiety start important work, practice coping skills in the moment, and plan tomorrow the night before.
The problem
The client had learned useful coping skills in therapy but struggled to use them consistently during the workday. Notes lived in paper notepads that ended up scattered, so the skills were rarely at hand in the moment they were needed.
"I used to write everything in paper notepads that got left everywhere and I wasn't benefitting from the skills consistently. Now it's all in one place and the AI helps turn my raw brain dumps into structured actions!"The client, after the first weeks of daily use
What it does
Functionable is built around one idea from ADHD research: help has to arrive at the moment a decision is made. It turns a stream-of-consciousness brain dump into short actions with a concrete first step, shows only the next three things on the home screen, and makes time visible with a focus timer. Structured skills for worry and in-the-moment stress are a tap away, and past entries resurface when a similar worry comes back. Rewards credit starting and practicing over finishing, and the evening plan earns the largest reward, so each morning already has a path.
How it was designed
- The design draws on published research on ADHD and anxiety, including support at the point of performance, implementation intentions, immediate rewards, worry postponement, and self-compassion after setbacks.
- Rewards accumulate and never drop. The app avoids fragile streaks, which research shows can discourage people when they break.
- I built it in short build-and-try cycles, and each version was shaped by feedback from real daily use on a phone.
Privacy by design
Every entry is encrypted on the device with a key derived from the user's passphrase, and the app has no analytics or accounts. The one optional AI feature runs through a confidential computing provider, and the browser verifies the provider's hardware attestation before any text leaves the device.
Technology
- An installable progressive web app in plain HTML, CSS, and JavaScript modules, with no build step.
- AES-256-GCM encryption with PBKDF2 key derivation at 600,000 iterations, stored in IndexedDB.
- Optional AI organizing through Tinfoil, with enclave attestation checked in the browser.
- A strict Content Security Policy, offline support through a service worker, and unit tests on Node's built-in test runner.
Is there a routine that would work better if help arrived at the right moment?
Functionable started with one person describing what was not working. I build tools around how people actually behave, and I keep private information private.