Project One: Daily Affirmations

I started with a big goal to finish 50 projects in 50 weeks. But a friend said, “How about doing 25 projects and spending two weeks on each? Work just 1-2 hours a day.” That idea made sense right away! With the help of an AI assistant, I made a webpage to track my progress:

https://25microsaas.com

The first project, Daily Affirmations (DA), came to life after I asked ChatGPT for simple ideas that could be finished in less than 15 hours:

https://daily-affirmation.today

The Idea:

I wanted to create a simple service that sends motivational messages every day. People could choose how to get them, like through email, text messages, or push notifications. They could also pick themes, like "Being Productive" or "Building Confidence." Then I thought about Momentum Dash, a Chrome extension, and decided to turn my idea into something like that instead.

How It Started:

In just 15 minutes, I made the first version. It showed a motivational quote and a clock on the screen. Then I spent 15 more minutes adding cool backgrounds using Unsplash and another 15 minutes integrating a weather widget with OpenWeather.

Later, I got the idea to make the widgets movable. This came after trying BeforeSunset, where you can switch between lists and calendar views. But with limited time, I saved that feature for later.

Building the Extension:

At first, I tried using Loveable Dev but switched to Cursor because it made testing easier. Building Chrome extensions isn’t that hard. You only need manifest V3 and Vanilla JS. Tools like React make things faster for big projects, but clear instructions or rules (like .cursorrules files) are essential for complex ones.

Even though it wasn’t always easy, building the extension was fun. You build something, test it, and it works! Seeing results so quickly is very satisfying.

What I Did in 2 Weeks:

• Built a simple extension with motivational messages, a clock, pretty backgrounds, and weather widgets.

• Added cool features for a premium version:
  • Custom messages: Write your own motivational quotes.

• Save and sync: Keep your data safe and access it on other devices.
• Favorites and focus mode: Save your favorite quotes and block distractions.

• Smart reminders: Get notifications at the perfect time.

• Shareable messages: Share quotes on social media or with friends.
• Custom backgrounds: Upload your own pictures or choose from presets.

• Designed a simple, clean interface.
• Got the extension ready to submit to the Chrome Web Store (it’s still under review).

What’s Next?

Starting something new is always a great idea. Even small projects teach you a lot and might grow into something big. I’m already working on my next idea. Let’s see where it takes me! :)