Ask HN: Why do task apps fail at task initiation?

1•gbessoni•2h ago

I’ve noticed many task apps are good at planning, but still weak at helping people actually start.

I dug through Reddit threads on ADHD/executive dysfunction and kept seeing the same pattern: people don’t need more organization features — they need lower friction to begin the first step.

So I built a voice-first task app around that idea: - quick voice capture instead of typing - one-task-at-a-time flow - built-in timer to force a start

I’m curious from the HN crowd: 1. Why do you think most task apps fail at initiation? 2. What interaction patterns actually help you start? 3. What would you test first in a product like this?

If you want, I can share what patterns I extracted from Reddit and what I’m measuring now.

Comments

PaulHoule•2h ago

When I am finding tasks hard to complete I fall back to paper lists. These are privileged relative to all the things that live on a screen and compete with all the things I need to deal with to get the tasks done that... also live on a screen.

gbessoni•1h ago

Paper works because it's single-channel. No notifications, no tabs, no competing inputs. BrainDump is built on that same principle. You see one card. Not a list. Not a dashboard. One task, full screen. The only difference is the input is your voice instead of a pen, which matters when the executive function barrier is the act of writing things down in the first place.

apothegm•1h ago

Because task initiation has very little to do with tracking tasks. It’s far more internal than external, and apps can’t really fix that.

snowhale•1h ago

apothegm has it right. the deeper issue is that opening a task app IS a context switch, which is friction at the exact moment you're trying to overcome friction. paper works because you don't have to navigate anything -- you just look at it. voice capture helps for the same reason but you still have to open the app to do anything with the output.

V1.3.0 – MariaDB Support and Optional Null Exclusion in REST Responses

Earliest known writing dates back over 40k years

Show HN: I applied Markowitz port. theory to agent teams / proved it in a zkVM

Hegseth warns Anthropic to let the military use company's AI tech as it sees fit

When newspapers cut book coverage, communities lose more than reviews

Meta's Internal Research about harms of social media

Reddit fined more than £14M over age verification checks

GPT-5.3-Codex is now available for all developers

Anthropic's Existential Negotiations with The Pentagon

Show HN: Agently an AI Work OS that turns docs, chats, and tasks into execution

The sitting president is selling watches

Writing about Agentic Engineering Patterns

Show HN: Building to Remember Using AI to Wrangle My Daily Mess

Show HN: Srclight – Deep code indexing MCP server (FTS5 and Tree-sitter)

Show HN: Prompt → Schema → CRUD API and Admin UI (New Codehooks Template)

I built a tool that scores how replaceable you are in the AI economy

In a replay of 2019, Apple says a single Mac will be manufactured in the US

OpenMedicare – 10 years of Medicare physician data analyzed for fraud patterns

Minimalism

GridCalc: An RPN Spreadsheet for iOS

DJI Romo robovac had security so poor, man remotely accessed them

Laser irradiation method for additive manufacturing of WC–Co cemented carbide

words – my own personal dictionary

Show HN: Writher – offline voice assistant for Windows (Whisper and Ollama)

Show HN: Selfie bodyfat % scan (offline, no server upload)

Can Elon Musk run AI in space?

Show HN: Vis Pro – A Formula-Based Workout Program Editor

Revisiting the Steam Controller

Opus 4.6 completed the Blender Donut Tutorial by watching it on YouTube

Devin 2.2