Hit WakaTime rank 20 this week, shipped a new app in 3 days, and learned that sometimes the best code is the code you DELETE. Week 50 was wild. 🔥
Hey folks! 👋 This week felt different - spent more time planning and thinking than actually typing code. But you know what? Sometimes that's exactly what you need. Let me walk you through the rollercoaster!
📊 WakaTime Rollercoaster 🎢
Started at rank 48, peaked at 20 (hell yeah! 🔥), ended at 73.
The drops? Not from slacking - more like strategizing, fixing bugs users reported, and asking myself the tough questions: "What should I build next? How do I fix this? What update makes sense?"
📱 Day 1 - Rank: 29 (↑ from 48)
Project Code: One
Big update day with some tough choices:
✅ What got shipped:
- Integrated Pangle SDK + Unity Ads (gotta pay the bills somehow 💰)
- Added app recommendations feature
- Redesigned everything to be closer to Material 3
- Added dynamic color seeds
❌ What got killed:
- Stories feature - Retention data showed nobody cared. This one hurt. Spent days building it, but the analytics don't lie: 0.3% engagement rate. Sometimes you gotta be ruthless! 🪓
You know that feeling when you delete code you worked hard on? Yeah, that. But dead weight is dead weight. If users don't care, neither should I.
New Project Alert: Project Code: HijriDate
Had an idea Tuesday morning: what if there was a simple, beautiful widget for Muslims to track Hijri dates and Islamic events? No bloat, no internet required, just works.
Started building:
- Initial Android Studio setup
- Core feature: Local offline Hijri date
- Languages: English, Arabic, Indonesian
- Widget-based (APO approach)
Tomorrow's plan: Islamic event reminders, better UX, dynamic Material 3 seeds
🕌 Day 2 - Rank: 23
Project Code: HijriDate - Full Steam Ahead
This thing is coming together FAST:
✅ Progress:
- App + widget running smooth
- Notifications working perfectly
- Islamic event reminders implemented
- UI looking way cleaner
Status: Like 80-85% ready to ship! Just need the JKS and icon.
🚀 Day 3 - Rank: 20 (Peak!)
SHIPPED: "Hijri Today" to Play Store 📲
From idea to published in 3 days. This is what indie dev is about! 🎯
When I hit "Publish" and saw it go live, not gonna lie - felt pretty damn good. Hitting rank 20 on WakaTime the same day? Chef's kiss. 👨🍳💋
Hijri Today - A beautiful lightweight Android widget showing current Hijri (Islamic) date + important events
🎨 Features:
- 🌍 Available in: English, Indonesian, Arabic
- 🔔 Muslim event notifications
- 📴 Fully offline (no internet needed!)
- 🤖 Supports Android 6.0+ (API 23+)
- 💜 Built with love for the Muslim Ummah
Hit rank 20 globally on WakaTime today. When you're in the zone, you're IN THE ZONE! 🔥
🔧 Day 4 - Backend & Setup Work
Project 246 API
✅ Added: Notification image support to the API
Project Code: Brochure App
Started integrating my own Flutter plugins:
-
api_client_plus fastlogcrash_reporter
Just laying the foundation for future magic ✨
💰 Day 5 - Rank: 65
Project Code: Brochure - Major Update
This one got a complete makeover:
✅ Updates:
- Full UI redesign 🎨
- Pangle Ads SDK integrated
- IAP: "Remove Ads" feature 💎
- Shipped v2.3.0 to Play Store 📦
Rank dropped to 65 - spent more time testing and publishing than coding. But shipping > everything!
🐛 Day 6 - Rank: 73
Project 246 - Bug Fixing
Got a message from a user: "Can't install on my Android Go device."
Oh crap. 😅
Time to optimize for low-end devices:
✅ Fixes:
- Updated login UI
- Better optimization for low-end devices 📱
- Pushed v1.0.3 to Play Store ✅
Project Code: HijriDate - Polish Time
More refinements:
✅ Updates:
- Fixed notification schedule for Islamic events ⏰
- Better UI tweaks
- Added rounded widget variants
- Update shipped to Play Store 📤
Rank at 73. Makes sense - debugging and architecture thinking takes brain power, not just lines of code!
🤔 Week Reflection
This week felt different.
More thinking than coding. 🧠
I spent hours just... thinking. What's next? How do I solve this? What do users actually need? Should I pivot this feature?
Some weeks you ship 10,000 lines. Some weeks you ship 3 apps with smart decisions. Both count.
📊 Stats:
- 🚀 1 new app launched (Hijri Today)
- 📦 3 app updates published
- 📈 WakaTime peak: Rank 20
- 🧠 Strategy > Raw coding hours
💭 Developer Diary
Here's what I learned: Sometimes the best code you write is the code you don't write.
That Stories feature I deleted? Probably saved future users from confusion and saved me from maintenance headaches.
Also, launching Hijri Today in 3 days proved something: when you have a clear vision + solid tools + no overthinking = magic happens ✨
🔮 What's Next?
Next week's looking interesting! Got some ideas brewing:
Potential adventures:
- 🌐 Update Lens Browser - adding adblock feature
- 📖 New app: Hadith app
- 🧪 More user feedback from Hijri Today
- 🐛 Squashing bugs as they come
- 💡 Whatever cool idea hits me next
Let's see where the code takes me! 🚀
💬 Let's Chat!
Ever had to kill a feature you spent days building? How did you decide it was time?
Or what's YOUR record for fastest app ship? Let's compare notes! 👇
Drop a comment! I'm always curious what fellow devs are building and the tough calls you're making.
Building in public, one commit at a time. 💻✨
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Tags: #Flutter #Android #DevLog #IndieDev #BuildInPublic #WeeklyDevLog #Wakatime
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