Founder Log Week #3 – Redux, Refactors, and a Spa Reset

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🧠 Weekly Overview

This week was a mix of heads-down UI work and conscious slowdown. I wrapped up the Redux migration for the inventory screen, started the setup for recipe filtering, and kept momentum alive even during a spa retreat weekend.

The beginning of the week was intense — fixing long-standing bugs, implementing language selector logic, prepping Stella (AI prompt) for social automation. By Thursday, I was hitting mental fatigue from early wakeups and too many threads, so I shifted gears. Friday through Sunday was time with my wife at a spa. I still carved out time for Redux fixes and filter logic, but the focus was on recovery.

This was not a “high output” week in raw hours, but it was high leverage. Code quality improved. Bugs were fixed. My mind got a reset. I can live with that.

🗓 Daily Execution Summary

Monday – Apr 07

  • Posted first founder blog and social threads to go fully public.
  • Reviewed user feedback — found real bugs and valuable hints.
  • No coding due to sleep debt, short session.
  • Refocused on discipline: early sleep to reset routine.

Tuesday – Apr 08

  • Fixed camera permission bug, backend for newsletter consent.
  • Designed and implemented language selector in nav + profile.
  • Created new AI agent - Stella - who converts my daily reports into social media posts.

Wednesday – Apr 09

  • Fixed no-cookie blank screen bug and improved fallback UI.
  • Improved SEO with new CTA buttons.
  • Refined recipe screen requirements.
  • Started Redux refactor to connect inventory and recipe screens.
  • Realized this refactor is long overdue and worth the effort.

Thursday – Apr 10

  • Continued Redux integration for inventory and recipe screens.
  • Hit bugs and regressions — started debugging linking issues.
  • Felt tired due to family obligations and early wakeup.
  • Noted that AI-led refactoring isn’t plug-and-play — manual effort still needed.

Friday – Apr 11

  • Morning Redux cleanup: fixed image tagging logic in inventory.
  • Afternoon: more bug fixing and testing, left with one bug.
  • Noted slower progress due to spa retreat schedule — accepted that it’s temporary.
  • Reinforced mindset: patient execution still compounds.

Saturday – Apr 12

  • Fixed final Redux bugs for inventory, completed the migration.
  • Short focused session during spa trip.
  • Reflected on value of manual bug fixing vs AI guesses.
  • Felt small wins building confidence in UI work.

Sunday – Apr 13

  • Light session: started recipe filtering by user ingredients using Redux.
  • Implemented basic logic using Redux state, prepped for Monday continuation.
  • Priority today: recharge and wrap up the retreat.

🏆 Wins of the Week

  • Completed Redux migration for inventory, including tricky photo tagging flow.
  • Began recipe filtering feature based on “my ingredients” refactor.
  • Fixed multiple production bugs (cookie fallback, language selector, newsletter tracking).
  • Launched Stella — the AI agent to convert founder logs into social posts.
  • Published first blog posts and committed publicly to the founder journey.

✍️ Lessons & Reflections

  • Manual debugging is often faster than guiding AI through vague symptoms.
  • Going public is motivating — but only if I stay consistent.
  • Planning tomorrow the night before and waking up into a clear plan = faster flow state.
  • Code quality improves when I stop chasing perfection and just ship clean slices.
  • One solid hour per day still builds momentum if I stay intentional.

🎯 Plan for the next week

  • Finish the recipe filtering by “my ingredients” and add toggle UX.
  • Polish inventory and recipe UI post-Redux (edge cases, empty states).
  • Handle feedback from early users and iterate on the UI.
  • Start basic meal planning flow.