Alternatives
Products that do what I built an online productivity tools website does
I’ve always liked fast online tools for jotting notes or organizing thoughts — but most “productivity” sites either save data to the cloud, require sign-ups, or are full of distractions. So I built an online productivity tools website, a small collection of browser-based tools. It includes an online notepad where you can write and save notes right in your browser, a cornell notes tool available in more than 20 languages, and more coming soon like a pomodoro timer and a simple blank page for focused writing. Everything works entirely in-browser using localStorage — no accounts, no cloud sync,…
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- 6YP
Care to share a screenshot and the 'killer feature' of any of your personal, self-built productivity tools? eg. I made my own calendar and money-tracker last year - there are no other users, it makes no money, I have no plans to make it public, but it holds my life together :) http://i.imgur.com/h2keJDg.png GREAT BECAUSE... it tells me how much I'm going to get paid this month. Absolutely no ulterior motive here (ie. I'm not canvassing opinions for a productivity app startup or anything), just interested.
2013
- 7GC
I just launched a new project aimed at helping people to do something fun and creative every day by giving them daily challenges. The goal is to promote habitual creativity by reducing the barrier to content creation and reminding users to keep at it. Everyone can see everyone else's creations and give them some encouragement with a like. When designing Get Creative, I wanted something with a mobile sensibility: badged notifications reminding users to return, a very simple interface, even a predefined viewing size. But I didn't want to dive full in to iOS or Android where testing would be…
2012
- 8IP
Hey hackers, Like many of you, I'm always trying to optimize my productivity, and I have tried a lot of apps out there to do so. I didn't find the exact one that I could use, so I built one for myself. Check it out and let me know if you have any thoughts!
2024 · focusmax.io
- 9AM
I made this tiny notepad website, to write things down in your browser. The Features - Just saves to your browser's localstorage (no cloud or login) - Export to TXT file - Formatting keyboard shortcuts - Works offline - Super fast The Tech - Single HTML file - 20 lines of JS + service worker (for offline usage) - Using pure CSS for modals - Github pages hosting - Basically it's just a "contenteditable div" with some extra features - Source -> https://github.com/benwinding/localnotes.page It's been done before, but I couldn't find a version I liked, that worked offline…
2022 · localnotes.page
- 10VN
I got the idea of [mindmap.so](http://mindmap.so/) out of my own frustration of managing my personal notes in Notion and Miro in parallel. I have built it 3 months back on top of excalidraw, posted it in Reddit a couple of times, and never looked back (was using it only for personal use). Little did I know that the small and nimble tool that I created has crossed 2000+ users (was so surprised when I saw the dashboard last week). It was all organic and word of mouth . Having 2000+ users trusting a product is no easy feat. That’s when I thought may be I should put some more…
2024 · mindmap.so
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I’m specifically looking for a tool a user shared on here that facilitated writing for content by scrolling up and disappearing text as new text was inputted. I believe it was a HTML/JSS only solution - a small personal project. I’ve done a lot of focused searches, but haven’t been able to find this comment. That said, I love these sorts of projects. I know they’re a self-indulgence and often a distraction. I’m celebrating that for a moment, personally. Please share your favorites writing tools, the smaller and more personal the better.
2021
- 12WN
I've built an app that serves simple purpose of quickly collaborating on ideas and creating action items during meetings without barrier of signup and onboarding overload.
2023 · subito.so
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Since I went remote(working) last year, I found it hard to track my work/focus hours. To begin with, I started with my mobile stopwatch but found it to be inefficient and distracting. I then tried some time management tools online but they were geared towards enterprises than individuals. Plus, had too many features. So, last weekend I created https://www.timemygrind.com/ - a simple focus time tracking tool that requires no login, no internet and has no ads. Once you finish your work, it shows the times in the table below. I usually pause when I take a break or go out for…
2024 · timemygrind.com
- 14IB
Hi everyone, I built this project to solve a problem I personally struggled with — using too many tools and losing focus. The idea is simple: Instead of adding more tools, reduce them and focus on what actually matters. This is still early, and I’d love your feedback. https://toolrelief.com/
Apr 2026
- 15OI
I'm trying to get the motivation up to actually finish building out a "real" product, and I found myself needing a "win" to keep my momentum up. So, I hacked out a little one sentence journal app last night. I experimented with a few UI things (e.g.., the autosaving of the sentence for today and so on), so it was a good learning experience also. You can check it out at: http://osod.im
2012
- 16PO
Hey Hacker News, We've been working on ways to save people time at work and we've got something for you to try that we think can do just that. Pensieve lets you search across silos from one safe, convenient place, and save and retrieve notes without disturbing your workflow. Check it out at https://www.pensieve.ai, or on Youtube at https://youtu.be/-lQLmVSRI6Q.
2018
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Hey hey! This is a tool I've worked on for a while, and it's reached the point I'm quite happy with the results! Comments and suggestions are appreciated :) Enjoy your day!
2023 · github.com
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Hey! I just launched TimeSlate.app — a completely free web app to help students stay focused and organized with zero friction. No accounts, no ads, no subscription What it does: - Pomodoro Timer - Task Manager – Tag tasks by subject, assign priorities, track progress. - Subjects - Revision Timetable – Block out your day visually with subject-based time blocks. - Dashboard – See time spent, tasks completed, Pomodoros per subject/day. It’s built for students, self-learners, or really anyone trying to structure deep work time without distractions. Why I made this: Every productivity app I…
2025 · timeslate.app
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Over the past three months, I’ve been working with my dad on this app as a way to learn Cursor, shadcn/ui, and Next.js. I’m currently studying UX design at the University of Michigan, and I’ve been really impressed by how much vibe-coding tools have advanced over the last six months. This work journal includes private AI-generated insights with scheduled summaries that can be shared with your team or manager. You can also choose to make a summary public—like I’ve done here for my work on this web app: https://www.workjourney.ai/summary/mkblt2zt-hn2kdbus If anyone has…
Jan 2026 · workjourney.ai
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I really struggle to keep my notes organised, and often can't make any sense of hand written notes after meetings. I did some experiments with Claude and ChatGPT where I blast random thoughts at them during a meeting or brainstorming session and then have them output a nice document that pulls it all together at the end. It worked incredibly well but it was a bit cumbersome to keep sending messages to the chat and telling the ai each time what to do. So I took the idea and built a tool, it makes it easy to throw random notes and voice recordings (images and document support on the way) and…
2025 · scatternote.com
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Hey there, I'm a solo dev behind KewlTools. So I'm one of those people who like to build their own tools/utilities whenever they a) want to get something done, or b) want to learn something. c) don't want to spend ages finding a utilty and going through walls of ads. I gradually built 66 tools, all free, fast, ad-free, and zero login. I (and my family/friends) use these daily, so thought some of you will find it useful! Any suggestions, improving current tools or adding new ones, please let me know.
2025 · kewltools.com
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Hi, the maker here. Like most developers, I stare at my work screen for many hours a day, completely forgetting that my eyes need rest. Yes, in an ideal world you need to go for a walk, do eye exercises, and also sleep well, etc. I tried different techniques and reminders, but it only lasted me for a couple of days. So I decided to make a browser extension that contains exercises and a timer to switch from routine tasks to short exercises, this allows you to switch tasks and really helps relieve stress. In development, I used scientific articles with an evidence base and chose exercises for…
2023 · chrome.google.com
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Hi all, Sooo ive spent years and years battling ADHD behind a desk, and still, I haven't found that 'one' tool to keep me focused. I'm pretty sure I've sampled a galaxy of productivity tools, and yet, not a single one seems to be designed for an ADHD brain like mine. Here's the loop I find myself in: 1. Realize I've done nothing at work and feel overwhelmed and stressed. 2. Hit Google: "Top ADHD productivity tools," "Best ADHD time-management…." you name it. 3. Sign up for EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. 4. Feel like I'm drowning in a sea of features, but still used it. 5. Few days later, forget the…
2023
- 24AA
I built this app in less than 4 hours over a busy and noisy weekend to help me stay focused while studying, during my college days. Since then I have been maintaining this open source project. Its been quite a fruitful and enjoyable ride. Hope you all like it :)
2023 · github.com
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