Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by elevenapril 163 days ago
I hear you. It sounds like you have a good internal clock! For people with severe time blindness (like the friend I built this for), the problem is the opposite: time disappears completely. If she doesn't look, she assumes she has hours left when she only has minutes. The visual countdown acts as a prosthetic for that missing sense of time. But yes, if you don't struggle with that specific issue, checking the phone would definitely be annoying. A custom fade-in alarm sounds like a great idea for a different app.
1 comments

I do have that problem, which is why I appreciate the warning chimes of my Pomodoro app. But I prefer my warnings to be in the audio mode, especially because I don't have to remember to pick up the phone to see what I'm forgetting.
It’s funny how different brains work. For her, any sound feels like an interruption or a 'demand' from the phone. She prefers the visual cue because it lets her check the time on her terms, rather than the phone interrupting her flow. But you're right—for 'eyes-free' awareness, you really can't beat audio.