From Overload to Order: ClarityBot

June 2025 | by Indu Arimilli

The Problem: My brain was louder than my apartment

I love living with people — until our shared anxiety overlaps like bad Wi-Fi signals. Mid-summer, I was juggling projects, calls, and a roommate who could sense my stress like a sixth sense and make it worse.

One night, I thought: “What if an AI could help me track my cognitive clutter the same way I track my steps?”

And that’s how ClarityBot was born — my AI roommate who doesn’t split rent but does split emotional load.

User Research

User interviews = roommate therapy sessions.

I asked three friends, “When do you realize your brain’s too full?”Their answers:

• “When I can’t decide what to eat.”

• “When I open 27 tabs for one task.”

• “When I realize I have been sitting on my computer all day”

After reading an MIT Tech Review article on “ambient intelligence” (devices that passively sense user mental states), I realized the opportunity: to design a low-friction reflection assistant that works like a background app for your brain.

MVP — ClarityBot

Core Idea:A desktop widget that uses your typing pace, calendar density, and tab activity to gauge cognitive overload — and gently nudge you to pause before your brain does a factory reset.

Features List:

1. Focus load index — tracks active tabs, meeting frequency, and typing bursts.

2. Micro-break reminders — “Hey, stretch your brain for 2 minutes?”

3. Ambient reset suggestions — picks music, meditation, or movement based on stress signal.

4. Weekly cognitive map — visualizes when and why you felt mentally jammed.

User Stories:

• As a student, I want my device to sense when I’m overloaded so I can reset early.

• As a PM, I want data on my focus patterns to improve my work rhythm.

The Prompt

“Build a Python desktop widget that monitors keyboard activity (speed + pauses), open window count, and meeting frequency from Google Calendar API. Use a threshold model to suggest short resets when ‘cognitive load score’ exceeds baseline. Display results on a simple circular UI with calm visual cues.”

Visual Concept:

This is what the widget will look like at the corner of your computer/browser screen.

✨ Step 5: Lessons Learned

• Ambient design > active tracking. People don’t want to “track mindfulness.” They want clarity without friction.

• Self-care ≠ notification spam. One gentle nudge > five “drink water!” reminders.

• PM insight: Emotional UX matters more than feature count.

My real roommate loved it. “Finally,” she said, “a roommate who tells you to chill before I have to.”