Introducing Havee
We are opening up early sign ups for an iOS app dedicated to helping you focus called Havee.
Say hello to Havee.
During a recent trip to New Zealand, I was met with lush views of unbelievable coastlines, impossible rock structures, plunging waterfalls, and seas that stretched into infinity. Met with these indescribable visions, I often pulled out my phone to take a picture... and instead of doing so, I got caught up in an app notification, or the thought of a fact I'd like to look up on Wikipedia, or the bottomless pit of whatever app happened to be open.
I was with my favorite person (my wife), in a place I don't know if I will ever return to, seeing sites that seemed unreal. But my ability to engage with them all was hampered by the thought that, wait, wasn't Family Matters a spin off from Perfect Strangers1?
We've all done this, I'm sure, in our own New Zealands. In my own case, it makes me a little guilty, a little regretful, and a little reflective. I used to have control over my attention; now it belongs to my phone. And my phone is not a sympathetic master.
Upon return to the United States, I built a small app-and-website-blocking app called Havee. With a little configuration and the push of the button, the app will prevent you from using selected apps. Additionally, I built in NFC functionality: the user can enroll a special NFC card and use that card to tap themselves into a focus session. They can also configure the app to only turn off a blocking session only with the presence of this card.
This app isn't particularly original or creative; but it does a thing I think we all feel we want. More freedom from our phones and engagement with our lives and loved ones. It's my own take on the concept, to help myself, and hopefully others.
Havee will be released in the coming weeks. If you've like to be notified, please sign up below. The first 25 who sign up will get a free Havee Card mailed to them to use with the app. Take care of yourselves.