Enter the pig
On June 1st, I had a dream. Not a Martin Luther King I have a dream dream, but a regular ol' snoozing dream, in which I built a website called Chore Pig. When I woke in the middle of the night, I couldn't quite remember what the app was supposed to do, but I frantically pulled up a domain search engine, and ended up the proud owner of https://chorepig.com.
I have a complicated relationship with to-do lists. Though I undoubtedly am better at juggling tasks and remembering what needs doing when I use a list, I also find that the design of many apps goads me into focusing on the process of checking items off the list rather than the substance of the list itself. Is this a priority 3 or a priority 4 task? What other task can I check off to hit my daily streak? This list is so messy - do I need more tags, more sections, more projects??
I'm not sure how widespread these feelings are, but given that one of the leading to-do apps has a "Vacation mode" which will retain your daily streak while you're away, I don't think I'm the only one. I want an app that helps me remember what to do, not one that pushes me into becoming a pig. A real chore pig.
Of course, there's already tons of apps out there that would work for me. So why build a new one? My phone's notes app would work, but syncing across devices is a bit tricky. There's about 4,213 Google task apps, but you never know if the one you choose is going to be shut down tomorrow. For a while I even sent myself emails with tasks, but... blech!
Ergo, Chore Pig. So what does it do?
Chore Pig is a website
but the data is stored locally on your device. No sign-up is required, just go to the site and start adding tasks to the hog log.
Chore Pig is also a Progressive Web App (PWA)
making it installable on your phone or tablet for easy access. You might have gotten a notification while browsing around the website to install the app, but you can also install it manually. There are a lot of explainers on the internet for how to do this — here's one from the (checks notes) United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention? Why not.
Chore Pig is offline-first
meaning that you can keep on adding and completing tasks, even when your network is spotty, or non-existent.
Chore Pig lets you sync across devices with an account
If you want to take your porcine commitment to the next level, you can sign up for an account for a one-time fee of $10. Sign in to the account on any device that you want to sync tasks between, and Chore Pig will automatically back up your tasks whenever you have an internet connection.
By creating an account, you'd also be giving me $10, which makes you just bully in my book. In turn, I will funnel around $5 of that straight to some hogs. And other animals, too – I will donate 50% of the profits from Chore Pig to The Humane League. Think of it as one big pig-money funneling operation.
Sebastian, Head Hog