I’m curious if anyone else has this problem with mission-based alarm apps.
They usually work really well for me at first. Having to solve something, scan something, type something, or do some kind of task definitely helps more than a normal alarm.
But after a while, I feel like my brain starts learning the pattern.
The mission becomes part of the routine, and eventually I can turn the alarm off while I’m still half asleep. Sometimes I wake up later and barely remember doing it.
That made me wonder if the issue isn’t just “make the alarm harder,” but “make the wake-up process less predictable.”
I’ve been experimenting with this idea in a small alarm app (alarmble.app) I’m building for myself. Instead of relying on one or two missions, I added a bunch of different wake-up tasks and started rotating between them so each morning feels a little less automatic.
So far, that has helped me more than using the same mission every day.
For people who use mission-based alarms:
What kind of mission actually keeps working for you long-term?
And have you noticed that some missions stop working once your brain gets used to them?
Try setting your phone across the room instead
I like the ones that don’t shut off until I’ve found and reported a good-for-nothing spammer.
Yup. I just get better at doing shit in my sleep, including scanning the QR code on my coffee maker.
That’s right!!! That’s why it’s a problem from an app developer’s perspective… I’m currently thinking about what kind of missions should be created to wake people up effectively. I plan to keep updating the mission alarm app I’ve created, so please give it a try :)
I downloaded this and now my phone is bricked what the hell
My alarm app has a setting where you have to solve math equations to make the alarm turn off or even use the snooze feature. You could even set it to increase in difficulty. I got pissed off at it and stopped using it after about a week.
I can’t imagine a better way to get one star review bombed than this
My mission is to press the “cancel alarm” button. It’s still working, even after years of completing the mission many times a week.
Scanning the QR code in my bathroom has been 99% effective so far. 🤷
“Remember to poop”
Oh, as expected, making things move is effective. There are various missions in the alarm app I created (https://alarmble.app/), so please give it a try. I plan to keep updating the missions.
Oh you’re here to advertise your app. Goody. I just said I’m happy with my setup.
