Through years of personal development, I’ve realised that routine is the cornerstone of long-term success. Whether it’s mastering a skill, maintaining health, or building a career — consistency is everything. But what I also discovered is this: rigid schedules don't work in the real world - simply because we are all humans.
The Problem
Traditional planners and digital calendars often assume a fixed, linear routine. But in reality, life is fluid — time zones shift, plans get interrupted, and energy levels vary. This is especially true for people like traders, freelancers, or global collaborators.
Design Question
How might we design a personalised yet structured scheduling system that adapts to real-world complexity, rather than ignoring it?
I designed Smart Scheduler with my friend — a professional global trader — in mind. His lifestyle perfectly encapsulated the challenge:
・ Trades across Asia, Europe, and US markets
・ Constantly impacted by time zone differences and seasonal time shifts (DST, BST)
・ Needs to plan sleep, focus sessions, and personal time around highly dynamic market hours
・ Uses printed schedules to stay grounded and consistent each day
Primary Goals of the User
・ Automatically generate a tailored day schedule for any given date
・ Clearly visualise when global markets open and close
・ Build habits around fixed (e.g., trading), dependent (e.g., rest), and flexible (e.g., reading) activities
・ Print-friendly layout to stick on physical workspace
Core Concept: "Routine Grouping"
Each day starts with selecting a schedule group, which encapsulates the time-based context (e.g., "Winter — US Opens Early"). This group determines:
・ Fixed Activities: Unchangeable events like market open/close or school run
・ Dependent Activities: Adjust based on fixed timings (e.g., rest after trading, dinner after work)
・ Flexible Activities: Optional blocks for personal goals (e.g., drawing, reading, language practice)
This approach can be easily adapted to different scenarios. One common use case is a working parent, where there are combinations of: parent at work / on leave, and kids at school / holiday. With this grouping model, parents can easily:
・ Pre-plan their day based on school term calendar
・ Add spontaneous flexible activities like baking or relaxing walks
・ Export printouts for daily fridge-posting or family sharing
・ Well prepared for the "peak chaos" - Parent on Leave + Kid on Holiday 😂
Discovery:
Problem framing, inspiration from real-life scheduling pain points
Definition:
Target persona creation, feature prioritisation
Ideation:
Concept sketches, grouping model, activity classification
Prototyping:
Low-fidelity logic modelling → Development + Build
UI Design (in progress):
Building clean, focused interface for visual clarity & print optimisation
Frontend:
TypeScript, Vite, Tailwind CSS
State Management:
Lightweight React state + custom hooks
Storage:
Local memory for prototype; Drizzle ORM planned for persistent user data
Environment:
Replit (initial dev), Docker (local test), Nginx (staging)
Version Control:
Git
Smart Scheduler isn’t about time management — it’s about self-management in a changing world
It’s a tool born out of empathy, shaped by real-life complexity, and designed for people who need both freedom and structure to thrive. Whether you’re a trader, parent, creator, or dream-chaser — your routine should work for you, not the other way around.
