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I Built a Calm Decision Tool for Questions That Do Not Fit in a Spreadsheet

#webdev #productivity

I keep noticing the same moment in conversations: someone has a decision in front of them, but what they really want is a little space to think.

“Should I move?”
“Is it time to change jobs?”
“Should I take this relationship more seriously?”

A pros-and-cons list can help. So can talking to a friend. But sometimes the question stays unresolved because the hard part is not finding more information. It is finding a clear way to look at the information we already have.

That is why I built Yi Ask: https://diluowei.com/?lang=en

Yi Ask product overview showing the Ask, Pause, and Reflect flow

The product flow in one view: ask a focused question, pause with it, and reflect on a structured result.

Yi Ask question screen showing a focused yes-or-no prompt and a clear Start button

The experience starts with one focused question, not a long form.

The idea

Yi Ask is a small web app inspired by the I Ching and Meihua Yishu. A user writes one focused yes-or-no question, then selects two numbers through a slow, circular interaction. The selection creates the upper and lower trigrams, while the current traditional time is used for the changing hexagram.

The result is deliberately structured:

  • a directional answer: move forward, pause, or proceed carefully
  • the conditions that support a positive decision
  • signs that suggest waiting or checking more carefully
  • one practical next step

The goal is not to predict the future or pretend that a symbolic system can remove uncertainty. It is to help turn a vague feeling into a question with a direction.

Why the interaction is slow

The number selection is the most important part of the experience. A fast random button would be easier to build, but it would not create the right moment for the user.

The interface cycles gently through the eight trigrams. The user stops it twice, once for each trigram. That small pause gives them a chance to keep the question in mind instead of immediately asking a different question every few seconds.

It is a tiny interaction, but it changes the mood from “generate an answer” to “take a moment with the question.”

Yi Ask number selection screen with eight trigrams around a central Stop button

The number selection is designed as a pause, not a slot-machine-style randomizer.

What I am learning

The first version of the interpretation was too abstract. It sounded thoughtful, but users could not always tell what to do next.

So the product is moving toward more concrete language. Every interpretation should answer:

  1. What is the current direction?
  2. What needs to be true for this to work?
  3. What should make me pause?
  4. What is the next small action I can take?

That structure is useful even when the user does not agree with the result. A good reflection tool should not replace judgment. It should make judgment easier to exercise.

Yi Ask reading screen with a directional answer, hexagrams, and a recommended action

The result is organized around direction and action, while leaving the decision with the person asking.

A small, privacy-minded product

The first use does not require an account. Users can try the experience anonymously, then use email verification when they want to save their reading history. The web version is multilingual, with English as the primary language.

There is no claim of certainty, and Yi Ask is not a substitute for professional medical, legal, financial, or mental-health advice. It is simply a quiet tool for questions that are difficult to settle alone.

I am still learning what makes this kind of experience genuinely useful. If you try it, I would be interested in one thing above all: did the result help you see your next step more clearly?

Try Yi Ask: https://diluowei.com/?lang=en

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