Inspiration
Every human has a fundamental desire for positive reinforcement. Research shows positive reinforcement works best for building behaviors, so we built happytask, a to-do list website which makes its users happy upon completing a task.
What it does
happytask is hosted live with its own dedicated server. It is able to store users’ tasks for an entire week and greet them with a happy animation when the task is finished. Users are treated with a hit of dopamine, subconsciously reinforcing the user’s desire to get stuff done.
How we built it
We utilized the React framework for much of happytask. We also used Vite along with React, HTML, CSS for website styling. For the server hosting, we used DigitalOcean and a Linux Apache server. Express.js and Node.js were used for the backend.
Challenges we ran into
React is a complex and powerful framework used for web development. This was the first time any of us used React, so we had to figure a lot of this out on our own. We read countless pages of documentation and did countless hours of testing to see how React works, and learned the structure of the language. None of us knew how to use a state or a component, but we figured that out and now have multiple complex React parts in our program. Additionally, the server capability had to be upgraded multiple times to accommodate our development and large anticipated user base. happytask uses a deduced 4 virtual CPU server hosted on Linux. We were able to SSH into the server for powerful editing, and users are able to easily use happytask via happytask.tech.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
We began this project with a clear goal, provide a to-list app that makes the user feel proud of their accomplishments, we did just that. With a team out of practice with serving websites, we managed to learn a lot about Apache and React. None of us had ever worked with React and are very proud of what we accomplished with so little prior knowledge. Additionally, our teamwork through many challenges was impressive and we would not have gotten here without it.
What we learned
This was the first hackathon for the entire team and we learned how to tackle such a daunting event. We also learned basic React that will help us for an eternity. We perfected our use of serving websites through Apache, a very valuable skill. Finally, we learned a lot more about real-time collaboration using a Linux server, a tough task that was crucial to our success.
What's next for happytask
happytask sets out to be the premier to-list app with a lot of room for enhancement. We will add a location service that ensures you actually go to the necessary locations to complete your tasks, a next-level feature that forces productivity. There is also an iOS app in the future of our project and we plan on taking this website to the top. Everything we learned at MadHacks will be crucial to happytask's ability to become everything we want it to be.
Log in or sign up for Devpost to join the conversation.