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What I Built
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I built a productivity app for people who hate being productive. Proof of Work is a digital psychological experiment that turns simple task management into a high-stakes gamble.
The gimmick? You cannot "check off" a task. To complete anything (e.g., "Buy Milk"), you must first win a game of Minesweeper on an Expert-level grid (30x16 with 99 mines). If you hit a mine, the Hydra Engine triggers: your task isn't cleared—it duplicates 20 times. Now you have to buy milk 21 times. It is a functional implementation of a "short-circuit" for the human brain.
Demo
Code
MalikSohaibIqbal
/
Useless-To-Do-list
The ultimate anti-productivity suite. Compliant with HTCPCP/1.0 (RFC 2324). Requires Expert-level Minesweeper proof-of-work to complete any task. Built with React, Lovable, and the existential dread of Google Gemini.
🌪️ Proof of Work: The To-Do List of Infinite Regret
A Productivity App for People Who Hate Being Productive.
📌 Overview
Proof of Work is a digital psychological experiment disguised as a task manager. Built for the HTCPCP Challenge, this app solves the "problem" of having too much to do by making it statistically impossible to finish anything.
By merging the high-stakes logic of Minesweeper with the "I'm a Teapot" philosophy of Larry Masinter, we have created a "short-circuit" for human productivity. It is a Ferrari engine inside a unicycle—technically impressive, yet fundamentally useless.
🛠️ The "Pain" Features
1. The Minesweeper Gatekeeper
You cannot simply "check off" a task. Clicking the completion box triggers a full-screen Minesweeper Expert Grid ($30 \times 16$ with $99$ mines).
Victory: The task is cleared.
Failure: You hit a mine, and the Hydra Engine activates.
2. The Hydra Engine (The Punishment)
If…
How I Built It
This project was a "Dual-AI" collaboration:
Lovable: Acted as the Lead Architect, managing the complex React state required for the "Hydra" task duplication and the retro-brutalist UI.
Google Gemini: Served as the "Existential Consultant," curateing a library of 2,000+ unique demotivational quotes based on astrophysics and biology to remind users of their cosmic insignificance.
Tech Stack: React, Vite, Tailwind CSS, and localStorage to ensure your failures persist even after a browser refresh.
Prize Category
🤖 Best Google AI Usage
I leveraged Google Gemini to build the "Universal Entropy Engine." Every task is paired with an AI-generated reason why it doesn't matter (e.g., "The heat death of the universe renders 'Wash Dishes' mathematically irrelevant"). Gemini ensured the content was scientifically accurate, strictly neutral, and emotionally taxing.
🫖 Best Ode to Larry Masinter
This app is fully HTCPCP/1.0 (RFC 2324) compliant. If a user tries to close the Minesweeper modal or "cheat" the productivity trial, the app returns a hard 418 I'm a Teapot error. As a teapot, the software refuses to brew your productivity. We even injected the X-Brewing-Protocol header into the metadata as a tribute to Larry's legacy of intentional uselessness.
Built with ❤️ and a total lack of productivity.
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