Breakpoint

inspiration

this started from something pretty simple but annoying.

you sit down to work, open one tab, then somehow 10 minutes later you’re on youtube, linkedin, random stuff… and you don’t even remember how you got there.

i wanted to understand that moment, not just “distraction” but the transition into distraction.

so instead of blocking apps or tracking time like everything else, the idea was: what if we detect when you’re drifting in real time, and intervene exactly there?

like a breakpoint in code, but for your attention.

what i learned distraction isn’t random, it follows patterns (tab switches, new tabs, repeat checks, known distractors) most tools focus on outcomes (time wasted), not behavior leading up to it small signals, when combined, are actually enough to estimate “drift” building fast forces you to cut everything non-essential

also learned that demo > perfection. if it feels real, it works.

how i built it

i built a minimal system around a concept i call the drift score.

the idea is simple: we look at the last few browser events and assign points based on behaviors linked to distraction.

example:

multiple tab switches → context fragmentation opening new tabs → exploration / loss of focus visiting known distractors → high signal repeating the same check → low-value loop

all of this gets aggregated into a score.

when the score crosses a threshold → we trigger an intervention (like blocking or a visual interrupt).

so instead of:

“you spent 2h on youtube”

it becomes:

“you’re drifting right now → stop”

challenges defining “drift” without overcomplicating it keeping the system minimal enough to actually demo avoiding false positives (you don’t want to block someone who’s actually working) integrating real browser behavior fast enough for a live demo

also: time. everything here was built under pressure, so a lot of tradeoffs were intentional.

built with typescript tauri (desktop app layer) browser event tracking (custom logic) simple rule-based scoring system (drift engine) cursor / ai-assisted coding for speed

Built With

• chrome
• claude
• cursor
• tauri
• typescript