About
About Diverge
Diverge is a support tool for getting one thing started when starting is the hard part. It is built for the week the novelty has worn off, which is the week every other tool was not built for.
The problem it was built around
Most tools in this category are designed for the enthusiasm of the first week. They are pleasant to set up, they reward you for using them, and they keep score. Then the interest fades — as interest does — and what's left is a record of everything you didn't do, waiting for you the next time you open it.
That record is the problem. It makes stopping expensive, so coming back is expensive, so the next tool starts from a lower baseline than the last one did. Diverge is built to break that particular loop, and most of the decisions in it only make sense in that light: no streaks to break, no counters to come back to, and a way to clear the pile that asks you for nothing.
What it actually does
You put something in — a task, a worry, a name — in a few seconds and in your own words. It works out where it belongs and what the first physical step is, and it shows you that one step, sized to the capacity you said you have today. When you're depleted, the product gets smaller instead of asking you to meet it.
There is no list view, no calendar to fall behind, and nothing that adds up into a score. The principles page sets out each of those rules and what enforces it.
What it is not
Diverge is not a medical device, and it does not give clinical advice.
It does not diagnose anything, it is not a treatment, and it is not a substitute for support from someone qualified to give it. If what you write reads as distress, the product stops trying to be useful and points you at people who can help instead.
How it's built
Everything works on your device, with no account. An account is optional and exists only to carry your data to a second device. Nothing is held back to make you sign up, and there is no advertising anywhere in it.
What is stored, where it goes and how long it stays is written out in full on the privacy page — including the one place text leaves your device, and the kind of text that never does.
Who makes it
Diverge is a small project rather than a large company. It is free to start, with no card; if it becomes something you rely on there will be a way to pay for it, and pausing or cancelling will stay a button in settings rather than an email you have to write.
Questions, disagreements and bug reports are all welcome at hello@mindsthatwander.com. If something in the product made you feel worse, that is the most useful message you could send us, and it will be read as a defect rather than as feedback.