Deepak Vijayan

Frontend developer → indie builder
Building a workout + wellness tracking app
Learning product, UX & shipping in public

[Deepak Vijayan @deepakbuilds_]

@ManraiSingh Looks like you’ve got something going!

Shipping the app itself is a big achievement. I’m still working towards getting mine out there.

Maybe I should pick a dream car too 😂
First, I need to ship the app!

[Deepak Vijayan @deepakbuilds_]

@Caffe_dell Congratulations on your first paying user! 🎉

Getting an app onto the App Store is a big achievement in itself.

I’m also working towards reaching this point, so it’s really inspiring to see.

Hope FocusPause keeps growing! 🚀

[Deepak Vijayan @deepakbuilds_]

When you start building an app, everything feels like it's working exactly as you imagined.

But the more you use it, the more small but important pain points start appearing.

Some of the hardest UX problems only reveal themselves through daily use.

[Deepak Vijayan @deepakbuilds_]

Like a lot of developers, I often get the urge to build an app.

You imagine it helping someone someday. Maybe you can look back and say, "I built that."

But the motivation fades when nobody needs it yet.

I'm building my app for myself first.

And that changed everything.

[Deepak Vijayan @deepakbuilds_]

I first started building this app with a lot of assumptions.

But since I was a real user from day one, those assumptions kept breaking one after another.

Every week I found something that looked good on paper but didn't work in practice.

Real usage changes everything.

[Deepak Vijayan @deepakbuilds_]

One decision I made early while building my app:

I initially wanted to perfect the UI before building the features.

But I realized a beautiful app means very little if it doesn’t work well.

So I focused on functionality first.

Design can always be improved later.

[Deepak Vijayan @deepakbuilds_]

I was redesigning my home page when I realized something.

A home page should reflect the user's journey.

It's not just a place to show everything an app can do.

At a glance, users should understand where they are and what matters next.

[Deepak Vijayan @deepakbuilds_]

When I first started building this app, it was basically a “remind me to work out” app.

I wanted something that would stop me from overdoing workouts on high-energy days and reduce the crash cycle that followed.

Now it’s become much more than a reminder app.

[Deepak Vijayan @deepakbuilds_]

@fabgaliano I understand what you mean.

I'm seeking that same feeling—the one you get when you can be of help to someone.

[Deepak Vijayan @deepakbuilds_]

One product decision I changed while building my app:

I originally wanted users to create their own wellness levels.

But I realized most people would stick with the defaults.

So I standardized everything to five levels.

Less flexible. Much simpler.

[Deepak Vijayan @deepakbuilds_]

After using the app for a while, I noticed something.

People rarely add just one exercise to a workout.

So instead of making them repeat the same flow multiple times, I added multi-select to the exercise picker.

Much less friction.

[Deepak Vijayan @deepakbuilds_]

I started building this app because I couldn’t understand what was happening to my body.

I’d keep crashing, but I never knew what was causing it.

Then it clicked.

I didn’t need more motivation.

I needed more awareness.

That’s how this app began.

[Deepak Vijayan @deepakbuilds_]

After using the app for a while, I noticed something.

Most workouts don't change much from session to session.

The exercises, reps, and weights usually stay the same for weeks.

So I started prefilling the previous workout values.

Logging became much faster.

[Deepak Vijayan @deepakbuilds_]

After using the app for a while, I noticed something.

Users rarely add new exercises.

Most workouts are built from the same set of exercises over and over.

So I added a “Recent Exercises” section to the picker.

It made logging much faster.

[Deepak Vijayan @deepakbuilds_]

I originally planned to build scheduled workouts first.

But using the app changed my mind.

People don’t always plan their workouts.

So I made free-form sessions the foundation and decided to build planned workouts on top of that later.

[Deepak Vijayan @deepakbuilds_]

@thesammykins That’s interesting.

I guess if it happens automatically, even a small improvement is worth having. I’d probably skip the evals too 😅

[Deepak Vijayan @deepakbuilds_]

@KegelMorseHero Love the idea 😄

Everyone starts somewhere, and the early supporters are the ones who make the journey memorable.

[Deepak Vijayan @deepakbuilds_]

@thesammykins I've been there more times than I can count.

The only thing keeping me going this time is a simple "What if?"

What if I actually see it through for once?

Even if it doesn't work out, I think I'd finally have closure knowing I gave it my best.

[Deepak Vijayan @deepakbuilds_]

Another UX realization while building my app:

Knowing what deserves its own screen and what works better as a modal is more important than I expected.

Modals reduce navigation and make quick actions faster.

But it's a balance. Too many modals can feel overwhelming.