growing relationships

Three years ago, I moved to Singapore. Starting fresh was exciting but tough. Making new friends and keeping old ones was hard. Life got busy, and I struggled to stay connected.

I tried many ways to fix this. I used apps, calendars, and planning. But nothing worked. They took too much effort and felt forced.

Last year, I made a pledge. I wanted to be better at building relationships. I wished to remember birthdays, care about friends’ lives, and be there for family.

Sadly, relationship building doesn’t come naturally to me. I knew I needed help. So, I made a list of what the perfect solution should have:

• Weekly plan: A list of people to talk to every week, keeping connections fresh and ongoing.
• Time zones: Easily stay in touch with people around the world.
• Custom pace: Change how often I talk to each person based on our connection.
• Simple: A tool that’s easy to use and doesn’t stress me out.
• Flexible: Adapting to unique relationships and individual preferences for catch-ups, whether it’s a long conversation, a text or a casual coffee.
• Delightful: Makes keeping in touch fun and enjoyable.
• 10x ROI: Helps me get better at connecting with others.

Over the holidays, I made the first prototype. It was simple, but it helped. I began talking to friends I hadn’t seen in years. I felt lighter, and my new friends noticed my effort. It was working!

The app isn’t perfect yet, and there’s still a lot to iterate. If you have the same problem and want to get better at building relationships, feel free to join the beta version and let’s fix this problem together.

If you want to follow the journey, find me on Twitter where I post updates regularly.