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diff --git a/README.markdown b/README.markdown new file mode 100644 index 000000000000..e4e8809056c0 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.markdown @@ -0,0 +1,91 @@ +# Gemma + +Gemma is a simple application to track *recurring* tasks, named after Gemma +Hartley who [wrote an article][] about task distribution issues in households. + +## Background + +(Skip this if you just want the technical bits) + +Gemma's article launched a discussion in my friend circle about what causes an +uneven distribution of household workload. I theorised that this is not so much +a gender issue, but mostly a discoverability issue. + +Usually one person in a household is aware of what needs to be done, but in many +cases the "overhead" of delegating the tasks would actually take more time than +simply doing the task. + +I theorise further that the person (or people) who do a smaller share of the +household work would often do the work if they had a convenient way to become +aware of what needs to be done. Many times the "household manager" has the +function of tracking non-obvious tasks like when bedsheets were last changed - +shouldn't it be possible to actually distribute this information somehow? + +## The Project + +This project is an initial attempt at sketching out a little application that +aids with reminding users of recurring tasks. Some basic ideas: + +* The system should be blame-free. +* There should be as little usage overhead as possible so that people actually + do use it. +* It should work mostly passively without much user interaction. + +I believe that the basic (*very* simple) idea behind Gemma solves these issues. +Unfortunately my previous relationship fell apart before I actually got to test +this out in a real-life situation involving multiple people, but feedback from +other potential test subjects would be welcome! :) + +## Overview + +Gemma is a Common Lisp application in which a list of recurring tasks is +declared, together with the *maximum interval* at which they should be completed +(in days). Example: + +```lisp +;; Bathroom tasks +(deftask bathroom/wipe-mirror 7) +(deftask bathroom/wipe-counter 7) + +;; Bedroom tasks +(deftask bedroom/change-sheets 7) +(deftask bedroom/vacuum 10) + +;; Kitchen tasks +(deftask kitchen/trash 3) +(deftask kitchen/wipe-counters 3) +(deftask kitchen/vacuum 5 "Kitchen has more crumbs and such!") + +;; Entire place +(deftask clean-windows 60) +``` + +These tasks are marked with their last completion time and tracked by Gemma. A +simple Elm-based frontend application displays the tasks sorted by their +"urgency" and features a button to mark a task as completed: + + + +Marking a task as completed resets its counter and moves it to the bottom of the +task list. + +In theory this *should be it*, the frontend is made available to household +members in some easily accessible place (e.g. an old phone glued to the fridge!) +and people should attempt to develop a habit of checking what needs to be done +occasionally. + +The "household manager" still exists as a role of the household because someone +is entering the tasks into the application, but if my theory about people not +actually being actively *unwilling* to do tasks is correct this could help a +lot. + +## Usage + +(*Note*: Gemma is alpha software so the below is clearly not the final goal) + +Right now using this is non-trivial, but I'll eventually make a better +distribution. Basically you need to know Common Lisp (in which case you'll know +how to get the backend running) and have `elm-reactor` installed to run the +development version of the frontend application. + +[wrote an article]: http://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/features/a12063822/emotional-labor-gender-equality/ |