IWorkspace - The First Focus-First Agile Workspace

🏆 Solving the $48,000 Annual Productivity Loss from Context Switching

Enterprise Agile Management Without Sacrificing Individual Focus

💡 Inspiration

The breaking point came during a critical sprint deadline - 15 browser tabs open, three different project management tools running (Jira for tickets, Slack for updates, Linear for planning), and my focus completely shattered. But the final straw was spending 10 minutes in Jira trying to calculate my story point achievements across multiple sprints just to update my manager.

I watched my productivity crumble as I context-switched between my code editor and task boards dozens of times per hour, manually tracking deadlines and priorities that should be automated. Every productivity expert preaches deep work, but every enterprise tool forces you to abandon your flow state to perform basic project awareness tasks.

I realized the fundamental flaw: we're not suffering from poor task management - we're suffering from task invisibility. Enterprise teams spend billions on agile tools that actually destroy the focus they're meant to optimize.

What if your sprint tasks never disappeared? What if they floated persistently above your work, always visible, never requiring context switching? What if we could have enterprise-grade agile management without sacrificing individual productivity?

🚀 What it does

IWorkspace is the first focus-first agile workspace that solves the context-switching crisis plaguing modern teams. We've built a complete enterprise project management platform with revolutionary floating focus technology that keeps your tasks visible while you work.

🎯 Revolutionary Focus Mode

Floating Task Windows: Click focus mode to access a persistent floating window with Pomodoro timer, current task focus, and quick subtask creation (Desktop only)
Integrated Pomodoro Timer: Built-in focus timer with task completion tracking and productivity metrics
Mini Todo List: Compact floating window showing current sprint tasks and quick task creation - Alt+Tab proof and always accessible (Desktop only)
Subtask Creation: Quick subtask breakdown within the floating focus window without leaving your workflow (Desktop only)

📊 Enterprise-Grade Agile Features

Complete Sprint Management:

Sprint planning with story point allocation and deadline tracking
Real-time burndown charts and velocity analytics
Automatic spillover handling to product backlog
Sprint retrospective data and team performance insights

Advanced Team Analytics:

Instant Story Point Visibility: See your achieved story points immediately without complex Jira queries or manual calculation
Individual story point achievement tracking with real-time updates
Team member performance evaluation with support identification
Productivity heatmaps and completion rate analysis
Weekly progress visualization and efficiency metrics

Intelligent Task Management:

Automatic Priority Sorting: Tasks dynamically reorder based on deadline proximity
Smart Visual Indicators: Orange highlighting for urgent tasks (3 days to deadline), red for overdue
Dynamic Kanban Positioning: Critical tasks automatically move to top of columns
Deadline Intelligence: Never miss a deadline with proactive visual management

Dual-Mode Kanban System:

Personal projects with floating focus integration
Team projects with collaborative features and integrated team chat
Team collaboration through user invites
Advanced filtering and search capabilities

Note: Some features may have bugs, and cross-platform sync requires manual refresh on web to see latest data.

The platform delivers both web and desktop experiences, with floating focus features (Pomodoro, subtasks, mini todo) available on desktop.

🛠️ How we built it

Built solo in 7 days using cutting-edge technologies that deliver enterprise-grade performance:

Core Architecture:

Bolt.new Platform: Rapid development and deployment foundation
Next.js 15 + TypeScript: Type-safe, performant frontend with server-side rendering
Supabase: PostgreSQL database with real-time WebSocket connections and authentication
Electron: Cross-platform desktop app with advanced window management
TanStack Query: Optimistic updates and intelligent caching for smooth UX

Technical Achievements:

Floating Window Technology: Deep Electron API integration for persistent overlays across operating systems (desktop only)
Team Collaboration: Supabase-powered team workspaces with user invite system
Advanced Analytics Engine: Complex data aggregation for sprint metrics and team performance
Desktop-Web Integration: Seamless experience between desktop app and web interface
Responsive UI Updates: Smooth interactions while maintaining data consistency across team members

Performance Optimizations:

Intelligent request batching to handle Supabase rate limits
Renderer process isolation for security without sacrificing functionality
Complex drag-and-drop operations with real-time updates
Efficient state management across floating windows and main application

😤 Challenges we ran into

Bolt.new Token Consumption Crisis

The biggest unexpected challenge was Bolt.new's token consumption during development. Complex features like real-time collaboration and advanced analytics required extensive code generation, and I burned through tokens faster than expected. The lack of a refresh/reset mechanism meant I had to strategically plan every code generation request, often writing more code manually to conserve tokens. This forced me to become incredibly efficient with prompting and code optimization, turning a limitation into a skill-building exercise.

The Floating Window Nightmare

Creating persistent floating windows that work flawlessly across different operating systems while maintaining proper focus management was brutally complex. The window needed to stay on top without blocking other applications, handle multiple monitor setups, and survive system sleep/wake cycles. Days of debugging native OS APIs and Electron's window management edge cases nearly broke me.

Real-Time Synchronization Challenges

Managing updates while ensuring data consistency across multiple users editing the same sprint was complex. When User A moves a task while User B updates story points, proper conflict resolution needed to be implemented. Building a robust collaboration system with Supabase while handling network interruptions and reconnection scenarios pushed my debugging skills to the limit. Currently supports team collaboration through invites, with manual refresh needed for cross-platform sync.

Development Workflow Without Safety Nets

Bolt.new's absence of a traditional refresh or rollback mechanism made every major change feel like walking a tightrope. When implementing complex features like the floating window system, a single mistake could set me back hours without an easy way to revert. This taught me to be incredibly methodical and to test extensively before committing to major architectural changes.

Performance Under Pressure

Complex drag-and-drop Kanban operations with real-time updates across team members created performance bottlenecks. Maintaining 60fps interactions while synchronizing data, updating analytics, and managing floating window state required aggressive optimization and creative architectural solutions.

Enterprise-Scale Architecture in Hackathon Time

Building features that rival Jira and Linear - sprint management, team analytics, performance tracking, advanced filtering - while maintaining code quality and user experience in just seven days seemed impossible. There were 3 AM moments when I questioned if one person could deliver enterprise software in a week.

🏆 Accomplishments that we're proud of

I built a functional agile project management platform in one week, solo. The core features are working: team collaboration through invites, Kanban interactions, sprint management, team analytics, desktop app with floating windows, and web interface.

Technical Achievements:

Agile Implementation: Full sprint management with story points, burndown charts, team performance tracking, and sprint history
Desktop Innovation: Created floating window technology that maintains task visibility across applications (desktop only)
Team Collaboration: Multi-user workspace with invite system
Cross-Platform Development: Working web interface and desktop app with unique floating features

Personal Breakthrough

Beyond the technical achievement, I solved multiple daily frustrations that destroy developer productivity. In Jira, checking my story point progress requires complex queries across multiple sprints - a 5-minute context-switching nightmare. IWorkspace shows my achievements instantly.

The automatic priority sorting means I never waste time deciding what to work on next - urgent tasks (orange at 3 days) and overdue tasks (red) automatically surface to the top. The floating window keeping my sprint tasks visible while I code, design, and research has genuinely improved my workflow.

I didn't just build a product - I built something that fundamentally changes how I work. I used IWorkspace to manage IWorkspace's development - the ultimate validation that this solves real problems.

Market Disruption

I've proven that enterprise agile management and individual productivity aren't mutually exclusive. Teams no longer have to choose between comprehensive project management and maintaining focus.

🧠 What we learned

This project fundamentally transformed my understanding of what's possible with modern development tools and AI assistance:

Technical Revelations:

Bolt.new's Power: Rapid prototyping and deployment capabilities that accelerate development exponentially
Supabase's Real-Time Magic: When properly architected, real-time collaboration becomes almost trivial to implement
Electron's Desktop Potential: The complexity taught me to appreciate native development while showing the power of web-to-desktop bridges

AI-Accelerated Development

Having AI assistance (Cursor) as a pair programmer transformed my workflow - debugging complex Electron issues, suggesting architectural improvements, generating optimized boilerplate, and solving integration challenges. This project wouldn't have been possible without AI augmentation.

Focus Compounds

The biggest revelation was experiential - consistent, focused daily progress beats sporadic intense sessions. Using my own floating focus window to build the floating focus window created a productivity feedback loop that amazed me.

Solo Capability Redefinition

I genuinely can't believe I built enterprise-grade software with genuine innovation in seven days. This project completely redefined what I think I'm capable of as a developer.

🔮 What's next for IWorkspace

The foundation is enterprise-ready - now it's time to scale and expand the floating workspace concept:

Immediate Roadmap:

Performance Optimization: Stress testing with large enterprise teams and massive datasets
Integration Ecosystem: Slack notifications, GitHub PR tracking, Google Calendar sync, Notion-style collaborative editing
Advanced Analytics: Predictive sprint planning, AI-powered task prioritization, team efficiency recommendations

Floating Workspace Evolution:

The floating focus concept has targeted expansion potential:

Enhanced Pomodoro Integration: Advanced focus tracking with productivity analytics
Smart Subtask Management: AI-powered task breakdown and estimation
Floating Calendar: Persistent schedule awareness for deadline management
Integrated Team Chat: Contextual communication within the main application (not floating to preserve focus)

AI-Powered Intelligence:

Smart Sprint Planning: AI analysis of team velocity and task complexity
Predictive Analytics: Early identification of sprint risks and bottlenecks
Automated Performance Insights: Intelligent recommendations for team improvement

Long-Term Vision

IWorkspace becomes a focus-first productivity platform where task management, team collaboration, and individual focus enhancement work together seamlessly. The floating windows remain dedicated to pure focus activities (Pomodoro, current tasks, subtasks) while team communication and collaboration happen within the main application to preserve the focus state.

Enterprise Expansion

Mobile companion apps, enterprise SSO integration, advanced security features, and API ecosystem for custom integrations.

🔗 Try IWorkspace

🚀 Experience the Revolution
Visit i-workspace-landing-page-gecs.vercel.app to download the Desktop App and experience the future of focus-first agile management.