Needs Bars

Are there things you need to remember to do regularly, that don’t make sense in a to-do list or as calendar events? Needs Bars can give you a visual cue for when you have gone too long without doing something.

Needs Bars is useful for things which you know are important, but don’t have a way of feeling it until it’s too late. It’s like the hunger bar in video games, but for anything you like. I know for this developer, todos and reminders don’t work because you miss the notification or they pile up. Some things don’t need to be done at an exact time, you just need to do them fairly regularly.

Needs Bars can be helpful for different people in different ways. Some things that others take for granted and can just feel, are things that you would benefit having an external reminder for. For example, maybe you become very focused and would like something that reminds you to eat. The same concept can apply to short and long periods of time. Other examples include:

• Staying in touch with family and friends
• Self-care like reading, face masks, playing games
• Musical instrument practice
• Taking a vacation from work
• Trying a new recipe

At the moment, Needs Bars is a free and basic proof of concept. It already includes:

• Syncing between devices
• Dark mode
• Home screen and lock screen widgets so you can always see your bars

If Needs Bars is popular enough I will add paid subscription features to support development:

• Custom bar colors
• Color changing as the bar gets low
• More than 6 bars
• Apple Watch app
• Slider for editing bar fullness
• IFTTT integration for depleting and filling bars
• Quick actions from bars like contacts or opening Books app