Sustained attention has become increasingly difficult in modern digital environments designed to maximize stimulation rather than focus. We were inspired by our own struggles with distraction and procrastination, and by research in cognitive psychology suggesting that attention is not something humans have lost, but something that is constantly pulled away by their environment. This led us to ask how technology could be redesigned to support attention rather than fragment it.
Fyx is an app designed to help users improve their attention span by creating calm, intentional moments of focus. Instead of relying on aggressive notifications or gamification, the app emphasizes minimalism, clarity, and engagement aware design. Every interaction is intentional, aiming to reduce cognitive load and support sustained attention rather than compete for it.
We built Fyx using a lightweight, frontend focused architecture that allowed us to iterate quickly while maintaining a distraction free experience. Design and engineering decisions were closely aligned, with simplicity treated as a core technical requirement rather than a visual afterthought.
Throughout development, we faced challenges in balancing functionality with calm. It was difficult to define meaningful ways to support attention without introducing features that could undermine it. We also joined the hackathon late and worked remotely across different locations, which required rapid coordination and clear communication under time constraints.
From this process, we learned that improving attention is less about control and more about environment. Research reinforced that engagement plays a critical role in focus, and that modern systems train the brain toward fast, comfortable stimulation over meaningful effort. We also learned the importance of restraint in design and engineering, as well as the value of strong teamwork and adaptability when building under pressure.
Built With
- chrome.alarms
- chrome.offscreen
- chrome.scripting
- chrome.tabs
- css-chrome-extension-(manifest-v3)-ai-model/api:-gemini-3-flash-via-google-ai-studio-(generative-language-api)-backend:-cloudflare-workers-(agent/quiz-endpoints
- facedetector
- getusermedia
- html
- javascript
- mediapipe
- with-fallback-behavior)-browser-apis:-chrome.storage
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