Process journal

Reflection 1:

I kicked off my personal project by choosing something meaningful—creating a tool to help with gaming addiction. Since this is something I’ve personally dealt with, I felt strongly about turning that experience into a solution others could use too. I spent time thinking through how to combine my interest in coding with a purpose-driven idea, and eventually mapped out what I wanted the program and blog to do. Having a clear starting vision helped me stay motivated.

Reflection 2: 

One of the first problems I ran into was getting the app to detect .exe files correctly. I tried different things on my own but kept running into bugs. I set up a meeting with my uncle and realized that I wasn’t explaining my problem clearly enough. I took a step back and broke the explanation into simpler parts, which made it easier for him to help. Once we were on the same page, we fixed it quickly. This taught me how important it is to explain technical issues clearly—something I’ll carry forward.

Reflection 3:

During my research phase, I came across a lot of insightful resources like Cam Adair’s Game Quitters community and Reddit discussions. I didn’t just skim—I read carefully, compared points, and made sure the advice I included in my blog came from reliable and relevant sources. Talking to moderators in the Discord gave me real stories that shaped how I structured the blog and even what features to include in the app. Their input pushed me to think more critically about what people actually need.

Reflection 4:

Staying on track wasn’t easy with everything else going on. I had school, extracurriculars, and this project, so I created a weekly schedule with time blocks for coding, writing, and testing. There were still times when I felt overwhelmed, but setting smaller goals made the project feel more manageable. I noticed that I worked best when I had realistic goals for each session and took short breaks to reset my focus.

Reflection 5:

I gave my program and blog to a friend who’s also struggled with gaming, and his feedback was super useful. He liked the app’s time extensions but said the design felt a bit outdated and the blog wasn’t very engaging to read. I didn’t take it as criticism—I saw it as a chance to improve. I tweaked the program for better performance, but because of time, I couldn’t completely redesign the blog. Still, hearing directly from someone in my target audience gave me a fresh perspective.