Purpose Drift
The confirm loop: purpose at open, check at close
Ever notice how easy it is to lose track of time without meaning to? This is the loop that catches it: say your purpose the moment you open something, then answer one honest question when you leave. Click through it yourself below. Every confirm feeds the same pattern shown on Today, broken down by app and time of day.
Simulate opening YouTube.
Pattern so far
Of 24 confirmed sessions, 12 were a clean yes and 8 were a no. YouTube is tagged drift most often here (2×). Every tag below feeds this.
That's the idea. Try it on your own browsing.
Get Purpose RatioSessions
YouTube · browser
Learn
"Watch a tutorial on sourdough shaping"
meant 10m, actual 47m
Instead: Ended up watching Shorts
Slack · browser
Connect
"Reply to design review thread"
meant 5m, actual 6m
Instagram · mobile
Connect
"Check a DM from a friend"
meant 2m, actual 24m
Instead: Scrolled the explore page
Google Docs · browser
Create
"Draft weekly status update"
meant 20m, actual 18m
Reddit · mobile
Learn
"Look up a product review"
meant 5m, actual 15m
Instead: Read a longer thread than planned
Maps · mobile
Maintain
"Get directions to dinner"
meant 3m, actual 3m
TikTok · mobile
Learn
"Watch one recipe video"
meant 3m, actual 0m
Slack · browser
Maintain
"Check calendar for next meeting"
meant 2m, actual 3m
YouTube · browser
Learn
"Watch a 5-minute cooking video"
meant 5m, actual 38m
Instead: Kept watching related videos
Reddit · mobile
Connect
"Reply to a comment"
meant 3m, actual 12m
Instead: Browsed the front page too
Instagram · mobile
Connect
"Check a story reply"
meant 2m, actual 0m
Google Docs · browser
Create
"Look up a reference for the doc"
meant 5m, actual 0m
Slack · browser
Create
"Pair on a bug fix"
meant 25m, actual 28m
Google Docs · browser
Create
"Write project proposal"
meant 30m, actual 35m
Google Docs · browser
Connect
"Review a teammate's doc"
meant 15m, actual 18m
Reddit · mobile
Connect
"Check a post someone linked"
meant 5m, actual 6m
Slack · browser
Connect
"Reply to a quick ping"
meant 3m, actual 4m
Instagram · mobile
Connect
"Check a notification"
meant 2m, actual 3m
Instead: Ended up scrolling reels
Reddit · mobile
Connect
"Check a reply"
meant 3m, actual 5m
Instead: Read a couple more threads
Reddit · mobile
Unwind
"Quick check"
meant 2m, actual 4m
Instead: Scrolled a bit more
Maps · mobile
Maintain
"Get directions to lunch"
meant 2m, actual 2m
Slack · browser
Connect
"Check a message"
meant 2m, actual 3m
Instead: Read other channels too
TikTok · mobile
Unwind
"Watch one video"
meant 3m, actual 9m
Instead: Watched several more
Google Docs · browser
Maintain
"Fix a typo"
meant 2m, actual 2m
Instagram · mobile
Connect
"Check a DM"
meant 2m, actual 6m
Instead: Browsed a bit more
Reddit · mobile
Unwind
"Quick look"
meant 3m, actual 5m
Instead: Kept scrolling
Maps · mobile
Maintain
"Check traffic"
meant 1m, actual 1m