The smart nudge: a reminder that knows where you are

Every reminder you’ve ever set was about time. 9 am. Thursday. In two weeks. Time is easy for software and useless for most of the things we save — because the right moment to try a cafe isn’t a date, it’s being near it with nothing to do.

The reminder that interrupts vs. the nudge that helps

A time reminder for “try Blue Tokai” fires on Thursday at 9 am, while you’re in a meeting in Noida. You dismiss it. It has now made the cafe slightly less likely to happen, because you associated it with an interruption.

A nudge fires when you’re walking past Hauz Khas on a Saturday afternoon: “You’re 400 m from Blue Tokai. Saved 12 days ago — quiet upstairs room, plugs at every table.” Same cafe, opposite effect. You go.

What makes a nudge smart

We use three signals, and never more than one nudge a day:

• Where you are. A saved place within walking distance, when your location says you’re out, not at home.
• When you’re free. Friday evening for weekend plans; the morning of a day you planned something.
• When it’s worth it. The month a trek is best. A price that dropped on something you saved. A restaurant that other people on Wanna Try keep saving this week.

The reason this works is that a nudge is specific. It doesn’t say “you have 24 saved items.” It says one thing, with the one detail that helps you decide, and a way to act on it right there.

You’re in control of it

Turn nudges on from Me → Nudge me. Tell it whether you’re a morning or an evening person and it picks the run that suits you. Turn on location and “near you” lights up on Explore too — everything you saved, and the places other people saved, sorted by how far you are.

Reminders you set are a chore. Nudges you get are a favour. We’re trying to build the second one.