Hi, I’m Jon. I’m building APPA - The Anti-Productivity Productivity App. It encourages a values-centered approach to productivity. Instead of doing more, we want to help you do what matters. Here I plan to regularly share the insights from my own usage of APPA.

Reflection Streak Broken

I mentioned last month that I didn’t miss a single day of logging my reflections. While beneficial, I wondered aloud if it would turn into pressure to maintain the perfect record like some apps are wont to do.

Calendar for August 2026 showing a few days of missed reflections on August 10, 17 and 30.

(A blue dot indicates priorities were logged on those days, and a red dot indicates a reflection was logged.)

While I did track most days, there were a few I missed on August 10, 17, and 30. So to my concern of any feelings of guilt about a broken streak—turns out there were none! APPA has no task counters or reflection streaks to maintain, and it truly felt ok to just leave those days empty.

A Negative Stretch

Affect trends for August 2026 showing a stretch in the back half of the month where negative feelings spiked above positive feelings.

The back half of August shows a stretch where negative feelings spiked, exceeding positive feelings. The chart definitely mirrors how I’ve been feeling through this period, primarily dealing with care for a pet who’s run into a spot of health trouble.

I’ve been actively wondering if it’s actually helpful to see the negative feelings captured in this way. Research on emotional granularity suggests that naming feelings more precisely can help us respond in ways that better fit the situation. And combined with the written reflections, I’ve found I’m able to name the feelings and identify where they’re coming from. I’ve then used that awareness to shift expectations for some of my days—changing what I prioritize and how I want to approach them.

Updated Values

And so it was during this time that I realized the situation was calling for a different value to come to the forefront. I didn’t update my Compass Values in the app through July, but it felt right to swap in Nurturing (caring for the growth, safety, and wellbeing of another) to help guide my actions through this period.

Value energy for August 2026 showing Nurturing with both On and Off energy elevated compared to the other Compass Values.

Adding it has made me a lot more conscious about how I want to approach my days. While it doesn’t necessarily get rid of the negative feelings, I do think it’s kept me balanced. And in my end-of-day reflections, I do remember feeling more consistenly value-aligned about some of the actions I’d taken.

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