The Why of Saent
#20 The Why of Saent
This series is about what I’m learning, observing and experiencing while building my startup Saent (pronounce “Saint”). The good, the bad and especially the ugly, each time in under 500 words.
This “Why Saent?” screenshot is not specifically designed for this article, but actually a secret preview of our upcoming new website (don’t tell anyone!).
I recently traveled to my home country. Besides meeting family, friends and our seed investor, I presented Saent to journalists and companies. One question kept returning:
Why did you come up with this product?
This inquiry is not about each individual feature. The Why of Saent is more about the question each entrepreneur should answer: what problem do you see in the world that you’re trying to solve?
In Saent’s case, the answer seems obvious: “make people less distracted and more productive.” But there are more aspects to it…
1. Pragmatism: too busy to improve
There are plenty of existing productivity products: books, apps, trainings. All these rely heavily on two “resources:”
- Time. Paradoxically, you need to invest time to become less busy (read books, implement a new system, attend a training).
- Willpower. Most methods and tools put the burden on you to have the self-discipline to improve your behavior.
While developing Saent, we’ve instead asked ourselves: can we create something which doesn’t require a large upfront investment of time, nor puts all the burden on your willpower?
We looked for the most pragmatic, yet most effective productivity hacks out there. Tricks which work instantly (like the Pomodoro Technique®), without the need to read a book. And we’ve aimed to make technology work for you, not against you.
“Fight fire with fire.”
- Shakespeare and Henry Tappan
2. Focus
When you dissect how things get done, one key factor you’ll find is focus. Regardless of your credentials, apps or workflow, if you can’t concentrate for extended periods of time, you won’t get anything done.
“To be able to concentrate for a considerable time is essential to difficult achievement.”*\
- Bertrand Russell*
Focus is to Saent, what steps are to health trackers: the key metric to track, analyze and encourage the right behavior. As long as you work in undisturbed blocks, we’re pretty sure you’re getting more (and better) work done.
Saent goes well with coffee and mice.
3. Fun
Let’s face it: most productivity stuff out there is boring:
- It’s corporate.
- It’s nerds-only.
- It’s a pile of reports.
- It’s complicated.
- It’s hard to read.
- It’s hard to use.
- It’s ugly.
We think it doesn’t have to be that way.
Doing great work can be awesome. And productivity doesn’t only have to be about doing more. It can also mean finishing earlier. Or feeling better because you didn’t go through your day like a schizophrenic task-juggler.
That’s why we’ve also added a gamification element to Saent. Through challenges and points you set goals for yourself, measure your progress and judge whether you had a good or a bad day. And if you wish, you can compare and compete with friends and colleagues, for extra motivation and fun.
It’s a wrap!
There you have it, the three underlying principles of Saent:
- Saves you time and willpower.
- Encourages focus.
- Makes productivity fun.
Learn more on http://saent.com.
Ready to give Saent a try?
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