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Start · DoppiNow feature

Start nudges

Start nudges are DoppiNow's help with the hardest part: beginning. Three to five times a day, between 9:00 and 21:00, while you're using Chrome and no focus session is running, a small notification asks "Ready to start something?". One click starts your last goal again, or opens DoppiNow so you can pick one. It never names your goal, and you can turn it off.

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Key facts

Category
Start
Where to find it
Settings → Time you can see → "Nudge me to start, 3–5 times a day" (on by default). "Not today" on a notification pauses them until tomorrow.
Availability
In the DoppiNow Chrome extension: free during early access. Desktop Chrome 120 or newer (other Chromium browsers such as Edge or Brave may also work).
Status
Available now.

How it works

  1. 3 to 5 a day

    Between 9:00 and 21:00, at least 75 minutes apart, at random times.

  2. Only at the right moment

    Chrome is in front, no session is running, and none ended in the last hour.

  3. “Ready to start something?”

    A small notification that never names your goal.

  4. One click to begin

    “Start my last goal” starts it again; “Not today” pauses the nudges until tomorrow.

All the details

  1. Each day DoppiNow plans 3 to 5 moments between 9:00 and 21:00, at least 75 minutes apart and at random times, so they never feel like an alarm clock.

  2. A nudge only comes when the moment is right: Chrome is in front and you're at the computer, no session is running, no session ended in the last hour, you're signed in, and it isn't one of your rest days or vacation days. If you're away or a session is on, it tries again 15 minutes later.

  3. The notification says "Ready to start something?" with one of three short lines, such as "One small thing, 25 minutes. DoppiNow keeps you company." When yesterday kept your streak going and today has no focus yet, it says "Your 4-day streak is waiting: 10 focused minutes keep it going." It never names your goal: anyone looking at your screen can read a notification.

  4. It has two buttons. "Start my last goal" starts your last goal with its last length ("Pick a goal" opens DoppiNow when there isn't one yet), and "Not today" stops the nudges until tomorrow. Clicking the notification itself opens DoppiNow.

Settings: Settings → Time you can see → "Nudge me to start, 3–5 times a day" (on by default). "Not today" on a notification pauses them until tomorrow.

Why it helps with ADHD

In 54 university students, inattention symptoms were linked to procrastination (Niermann & Scheres 2014). An adult ADHD programme, tested in an RCT with 88 adults, used the cue "If I am having trouble getting started (cue), then the first step is too big" (Solanto et al. 2010), which is why each nudge offers one small, ready-made start. The nudges themselves haven't been tested.

DoppiNow is a productivity tool, not a treatment for ADHD.

Sources

  1. Niermann & Scheres 2014 doi.org/10.1002/mpr.1440
  2. Solanto, M. V., Marks, D. J., Wasserstein, J., Mitchell, K., Abikoff, H., Alvir, J. M., & Kofman, M. D. (2010). Efficacy of meta-cognitive therapy for adult ADHD. American Journal of Psychiatry, 167(8), 958–968. doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2009.09081123

Start nudges: common questions

How often will DoppiNow nudge me?

Three to five times a day at most, between 9:00 and 21:00. Never during a session, never within an hour after one, and never on your rest days.

Does the notification show my goal?

No. Anyone looking at your screen can read a notification, so it only asks "Ready to start something?".

Can I turn it off?

Yes. "Not today" stops it until tomorrow, and Settings → Time you can see turns it off.

Keep reading

Try it free during early access

Free during early access. No blocking: just a gentle focus game in your browser.

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