From Burnout to Breakthrough: My Solo Journey Building Melofi

I’ve started more projects than I can count. Most of them fizzled out somewhere between “just one more feature” and “I’ll finish it next week.” But Melofi was different. This one made it all the way to launch.

Melofi is a productivity and relaxation web app designed to help you focus. It features Lofi music, stunning visuals, and powerful built-in tools. You can track your focus stats, manage notes, sync with Google Calendar, and more — all in one seamless experience.

I’d always wanted to build something like this. The idea of studying or working while music played in the background, paired with a calming visual scene, really appealed to me. But it wasn’t until one of my favorite sites, Lofi.co, went offline that I finally had the push I needed.

If you’ve ever used Lofi.co, you’ll probably notice how much of Melofi was inspired by it. Their product was incredibly well put together — from the design to the feature set to the marketing (which is no small feat). When it disappeared, it sparked something. I didn’t just want to use a tool like that. I wanted to build one.

The Struggle

Turning that inspiration into a finished product wasn’t smooth sailing. I ran into challenges around UX and UI design, deciding which features were realistic (offline mode? alarms? YouTube embed?), and dealing with waves of self-doubt when comparing Melofi to similar apps.

Then came the slump.

For nearly three weeks, I had zero motivation. No momentum. Just... nothing. I’ll share how I worked through that too.

The Grind

Like any new project, I was excited to get started. Classic “shiny new object” syndrome. But this time felt different. I was determined to actually finish. No more half-baked apps collecting dust in a GitHub repo.

I stuck with Next.js as my framework. I already knew it well, and since I planned to deploy on Vercel, it made sense. I’d built a few smaller projects with it before, so this wasn’t new territory.

I brought in Electron early because I wanted Melofi to be more than a web app. I wanted it to live on users’ desktops, alongside their other focus tools.

For the backend, I went with Firebase. It’s been reliable for me for years. From authentication to Firestore to hosting, it just works — and it scales. If Melofi ever serves hundreds (or thousands?) of users a day, I won’t have to panic about infrastructure.

For state management, I used Zustand, a lightweight and intuitive alternative to Redux. For testing, I leaned on Cypress, which I already use professionally.

I’ll admit: I don’t have the strongest system design background. But that didn’t stop me. I opened up Excalidraw and started sketching a rough architecture. Then I dumped all my feature ideas into a doc. Some made the cut. Others were scrapped once I realized how hard they’d be to build. Reality has a way of trimming scope.

One smart decision? Starting with a true MVP (Minimal Viable Product). I told myself: “Get the core experience working. Everything else can wait.” That helped me avoid feature creep. My MVP included:

• Guest and logged-in user modes
• Lofi music streaming
• Spotify integration
• Customizable scene backgrounds
• Pomodoro widget
• Notes widget
• Calendar widget with Google Calendar sync
• Templates to save app state

That was enough to deliver value and prove Melofi could actually work.

Design, Feedback, and Comparison Traps

UX and UI were fully on me. Well, me and my girlfriend — my unofficial design consultant. She helped me work through decisions like button placement and layout clarity. I also pulled inspiration from Lofi.co, Dribbble, and CalltoInspiration.com.

Once Melofi started looking like a real product, I joined a few Reddit threads where devs were sharing their own projects. That’s when things got rough.

I broke the golden rule of social media: I started comparing. My project didn’t feel good enough anymore. I saw polished UIs, beautiful animations, features I hadn’t even considered. And I let it get to me.

What I failed to consider was context. Some of those devs had over a decade more experience. Some were working in teams. Some probably weren’t solo at all. But that didn’t stop the self-doubt from creeping in. Combined with burnout — I was working on Melofi after long days at my job — I hit that three-week slump. I didn’t want to open the project, let alone write any code.

Getting Back Up

So how did I recover?

I reminded myself why I started. I didn’t build Melofi for other people. I built it for me. Because I missed Lofi.co. Because I wanted a tool that helped me focus. Because I told myself I would finish something, and I meant it.

Eventually, I got back in the zone. I completed the MVP and even managed to implement some of the tougher features I originally thought were out of reach — like offline mode and a fully functional desktop app.

I asked questions, researched constantly, and yes, leaned on ChatGPT for help. And it all came together.

Launch

Before launching, I ran tons of tests — both manual and automated. I reviewed my Cypress tests repeatedly and tried to anticipate every edge case. I knew real-world use would surface bugs I hadn’t thought of, but I wanted to be prepared.

And then, I deployed.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t the nightmare I expected. If you’ve shipped anything before, you know deployment is often where things fall apart. But this time, everything just worked. Next.js and Vercel did their job. I pushed it live, made the announcement, and held my breath.

No major bugs. No crashes. Just the quiet satisfaction of seeing something I built out in the world.

The Takeaway

If you’ve ever hit a wall on a project or wondered if the late nights were worth it, you’re not alone. I built Melofi for people like me — people who want a clean, beautiful space to focus, relax, and finally finish what they start.

If this story resonated with you, keep an eye out for my next post. I’ll be sharing the biggest lessons I learned: what worked, what didn’t, and what I’d do differently next time.

In the meantime, check out Melofi and give it a spin.

Tried it? Loved it? Broke it? I’d love to hear from you. Drop a comment, DM me, or reach out on LinkedIn.