Your focus
Say it once. Every reflection follows.
“Focus on my health for a while.” Spoken like any other note – and the whole cascade turns its head.
Set your first focus – freeOne active focus on Free, three on Pro.
Fig. 3.0 – the focus, said mid-note
“…and honestly, focus on my health for a while, I think the sleep thing connects to everything…”
Fig. 3.1 – the cascade, following
Sleep came up in 5 of 9 notes this week – always after late screens, never after the evening walks you mentioned on Tuesday and Saturday. Worth noticing what Tuesday and Saturday had in common.
A focus is something you say, not something you set.
It opens a thread the cascade actually follows – visibly, every single time it acts.
Say it in-flow
“Focus on my health for a while.” Mid-ramble is fine. Notka catches it, confirms it on the note card – one tap to keep or dismiss – and the thread is open. Your note itself stays untouched.
Every reflection follows – visibly
Daily to yearly, each reflection shows the thread it’s following (“Following: health”) and cites what it actually found in your notes. Never a silent hand on the wheel.
Threads have endings
Retire one by saying so. Go quiet on a topic and Notka asks instead of assuming. When a thread closes, you get a retrospective of the whole arc – where it started, where it landed.
A focus points the flashlight – it doesn't change what's true. Ask Notka to watch anything; it still won't flatter you about it.
Your focus moves. Your tools don’t.
Quitting a job, training for a race, becoming a parent – and the reflections read the same. A tool that doesn't know what matters to you right now can only summarize. It can't accompany.
Some apps let you write standing instructions on a settings page. You fill the box, forget the box, and it silently seasons everything forever. That's not steering – that's stale config.
The moment you know what you need – “watch my sleep, I think it's connected to everything” – arrives mid-note, in flow. Not later, in a form.
Guarantees, not vibes.
Always visible
An active focus is shown in every reflection it shapes – in the app and in the email footer. If something is steering, you can see it.
Never a verdict
Your focus changes what Notka looks at, never what it concludes. “Only tell me good things” gets a warm no – and an offer to watch what’s underneath instead.
Endings built in
Three threads max, explicit retirement, an arc retrospective on close. No zombie instructions living in a settings page you forgot exists.
The part where you push back
Fair objections, answered straight.
Isn’t this just custom instructions?
Custom-instruction boxes are set-and-forget: invisible, permanent, applied to everything. A Notka focus is spoken in-flow, confirmed on the spot, visible every time it acts, and has a lifecycle – opened, followed, retired with a retrospective. It's a thread, not a config.
Why not just talk to ChatGPT?
Push vs pull: ChatGPT answers when you ask – Notka comes back to you, unprompted. Capture is a dump, not a conversation. And your focus shapes every reflection across your entire history, not one chat window. Honestly: a power user could rig up 80% of this. You're paying for the ritual that runs without discipline.
What if I steer it somewhere unhealthy?
Notka accepts the need and rejects the form. Ask it to confirm your worst fears daily and it will offer to watch the worry itself instead. Focus is yours to direct; honesty isn't negotiable.
How many threads can I run?
One on Free, up to three on Pro. When two collide, the newest wins – and Notka tells you so, never resolves it silently.
Does a focus rewrite my notes?
Never. The note you spoke stays exactly as you spoke it. Your focus only changes what future reflections pay attention to.
Your thoughts stay yours.
Your voice is transcribed, then deleted – there is no bucket of recordings. Your words never train anyone's models. Export is free, and leaving is allowed.
Read the privacy policy →Think out loud. The journal that writes back.
One active focus on Free, three on Pro.
Set your first focus – free– Notka.