Tools

Tools I couldn't find, so I built them

The alternatives were paid, or didn't exist. I made each of these for my own life first, and I still use them.

FreeNo plans, trials or ads.
Private by defaultWhere it can, your data stays in your browser. Each app below says exactly where it lives.
Open sourceCheck the claims against the code yourself. Yema's code opens up once it's out of development.
Planning

Composure

A calmer way through a crowded week

Some days there's too much in my head. Task apps let you dump it all, then leave you staring at one long, flat list.

Composure adds a method between the dump and the doing: empty your head, sort everything on an Eisenhower matrix, lock what matters into the week, then work through today in timed focus sessions.

  • Four screens, one flow: Dump, Sort, Plan, Today
  • Sort one thought at a time into Do, Schedule, Someone else's or Let go
  • Focus sessions with a live countdown that pauses when something comes up
  • Runs entirely from the keyboard
Where your data lives

In this browser's local storage. There's no account, and nothing is sent to a server. Export everything to a file whenever you like, and import it on another device.

Brainstorming

Ideas on Ideas

A brainstorming canvas you never need the mouse for

Judging an idea too early kills the ones that would have come after it.

Branch out one keystroke at a time, pull a provocation when you run dry, then come back later to rate, cut and keep the best. The design follows brainstorming research from Osborn, de Bono and Koestler.

  • One loop: grow, spark, prune, harvest
  • Sparks: provocations and random collisions for when you're stuck
  • Timed sprints that switch judging off until time is up
  • Map kinds for videos, articles, software, SCAMPER and more
Where your data lives

In this browser's local storage. There's no account and no server. Download any map as JSON and load it back in later.

Garden design

Draw Greenr

Garden and landscape planner

I couldn't find a free garden planner that let me use my own plants and artwork, so I built one.

Draw beds, paths and lawns to scale, drop in plants and furniture, or upload your own images. It stays smooth with a thousand objects on the page.

  • Beds, paths and lawns drawn to scale
  • A library of plants, trees and furniture
  • Your own plant photos and artwork as symbols
  • Copy, rotate, resize and undo from the keyboard
Where your data lives

On your computer only. Nothing is uploaded, including your own images. Save a plan as a file and open it again later.

Scheduling

SyncZone

Find a meeting time across time zones

Finding one hour that works across three time zones shouldn't take a week of messages.

Share a link and everyone paints when they're free in their own time. It ranks the windows where people overlap, then locks one in and hands you the calendar invite.

  • Everyone marks availability in their own time zone
  • Best times ranked for the length of meeting you need
  • Lock in a time for everyone and download the invite
  • Daylight saving changes handled for you
Where your data lives

On Cloudflare, because a shared calendar has to live somewhere everyone can reach. There are no accounts: each session sits behind an unguessable link, and anyone you give the link to can see and edit it. It stores initials, time zones and free times, nothing more.

Journal

Yema 野马

A journal of what led to what

Bad luck has a way of turning into the best thing that happened to you. I wanted somewhere to watch that happen.

Plot moments on a timeline of fortune and misfortune, thread causes to their effects, and keep how each one felt then beside how it looks now. The name comes from the old story of the farmer whose horse runs away.

  • Your life on one zoomable timeline
  • Threads from each moment to what it led to
  • Then and now: watch hindsight move a moment
  • Quiet reflection exercises that bring old moments back
Where your data lives

Yema is invite-only while it's in development. Moments are stored on Cloudflare: your password is turned into a key in your browser, so the server never sees it, and no other account, admins included, can see your moments. They aren't end-to-end encrypted yet; that's planned before Yema opens to everyone. The app makes no third-party requests, and you can export everything as JSON.