Oh, what a Kinandrum
So many ideas...so many things to do. What I've started, I need to finish...and what I want to start, I need to plan.
Oh, what a Kinandrum!
Like conundrum -- Kinandrum is a self challenge that I need to work thru and design for. These show up in my daily life, in the form of a problem that I need to solve for, a commitment that I need to complete, or a project that I need to take action on. How might I sift through the noise, and recognize, diagnose, and work through the challenges set before me?
My Current Focus
In this current Summer season, I've taken on a few projects - most of which have seen iterative progress throughout the year. Each feeds into the other - and in practice they all inform my creative process. This involves getting my ideas out and in front of me. Once they're realized into fruition, I can then filter thru and choose which ideas have the most potential for growth - in order to cultivate and refine. From there, I'm adding ideas into my rotation of focus. I call these ideas - WRKs.
WRK, as a label, is simply a creative spin on work. Labeling it this way helps me separate the idea from normal job related tasks - so it doesn't feel like "work". It helps me tune in to the freedom of the idea - without constraints or the pressures of a common '9-5' framing of work.
Clock Out
I do this thing where I feel I need to craft the tools necessary for my own success. On one side of the coin, this can be perceived as "reinventing the wheel". In my youth, whenever I shared an idea - it was sometimes met with "well, that sounds alot like [insert the thing that's already been done before]". I'd investigate what that thing is and would crumble in frustration for being late to the party. In maturity, I've come to realize that ideas are floating around in what I like to envision - a well of creative output spiraling like a tornado. I made a song a few years ago called The Spins that summates how I feel when I tap in & pull inspiration from this well.
Now on the flipside of that coin - by committing to better understand my needs, my faults, and my opportunities for growth, I carve out a path for self-design. Additionally, I'm also setting a course for potential innovation. At minimum, the process of building tools for my own success can be such an immersive and rewarding experience. And so, this brings me to the following tool, a WRK in progress I've called Clock Out.
Clock Out App
Interactive Demo & Wireframe (w/ Claude Code)
Framing the Kinandrum:
How do we honor spontaneous creativity while respecting real-world commitments?
My thinking with a tool called Clock Out is centered around getting out ideas, thoughts, and melodies that come up suddenly. Often, I find myself in the midst of mundane or routine tasks and then poof - I hum up some catchy tune that I can't get rid of, or there's an insight that I feel urge to write down or record. I'm too old and stuck in my ways to see this as some form of ADHD and if so, I certainly look for ways to manage this. This is especially important when I have tasks that need to be done based on commitments that have an expected time of delivery.
Below is a quick whiteboard sketch of the UI I'm envisioning. I'm imagining an app where I can easily set a time block that helps me shift my focus and act on an idea.
Idea Sketch
In the sketch above, the elements that are present include the label "Clock Out", circles of time meant to represent small windows of opportunity based on what I may have going on, and a Start button that initiates a 'flow & focus' state.
Exploration with Claude
I worked with Claude to realize some of my thinking. As a part of my prompt, I described what I wanted in a mobile/web app that helps me "Clock Out" of my normal work tasks to focus on my passion projects. I explained that I have spurts of flow and I could use some help blocking time to focus on these moments. I described the UI to show a cool-gradient covered background, with a timer that defaults to 15 minutes of focus and an ability to add more.
UI Exploration in Figma
I worked with Claude to realize some of my thinking. As a part of my prompt, I described what I wanted in a mobile/web app that helps me "Clock Out" of my normal work tasks to focus on my passion projects. I explained that I have spurts of flow and I could use some help blocking time to focus on these moments. I described the UI to show a cool-gradient covered background, with a timer that defaults to 15 minutes of focus and an ability to add more.
Gradient Goals
I put together a few gradients I'd like to potentially see show up during a Focus session.
What's Next?
After playing with this a bit, I like where its headed. It certainly has potential. I'm also thinking of what happens when focus is done. How might I document and record process. Maybe some kind of journaling feature follows a session. Perhaps it'd be optional and triggered by questions from an embedded AI.
Reflection
Alan Watts is quoted as saying "Stop measuring days by degree of productivity and start experiencing them by degree of presence."
Creativity gives no regard to clocks or calendars. When the spark of an idea strikes or when the burning desire to create arises, action must follow. The tool above is my attempt to design a feature that allows me to act on that impulse, and provide a healthy boundary for when I need to focus on other commitments.
How much time do we really have to make an impact on the world? I often find myself reflecting on this question, and depending on the day, it can either motivate me or make me anxious. But I've learned that action is the antidote to the fear of running out of time.
Cultivating discipline—rooted in consistency and dedication—is no easy feat. How do we move past distractions? How do we show up for the people who depend on and love us? All while staying true to our own needs and dreams, that which is rooted in our purpose?
What's Next for Kinandrum
This writing series will document these design experiments as they unfold. Expect entries on:
- Creative Systems: How I'm building sustainable practices & tools for balancing my explorations in music, design, writing, and collaboration
- Travel Insights: Design lessons from my time abroad; Seattle exploits; Atlanta town surfing; Reflecting on Germany, and more
- Tool for Mindfulness: Building Clock Out and other solutions for creative challenges
- Life Design: Applying UX methodology & design thinking to personal and professional decisions
Journal Entries
thoughts, tools, and creative therapy