When Life Gives You Lemons, Design a Lemonade App

You know those moments when life just piles it on? Yeah, that’s been me for the past few months. I work a full-time job designing saas products for small businesses all over Africa (which, don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love), but that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

On top of that, I somehow thought it’d be a great idea to start a six-month mentorship program for folks wanting to break into UI/UX design. We’re talking weekly sessions, assignments, feedback — the works. We’re ten weeks in now, and some days I can’t tell if I’m teaching them or if they’re teaching me how to keep my shit together.

Oh, and did I mention I used to write? Yeah, “used to” being the key phrase here. My poor blog has been gathering digital dust since April. Every time I open my laptop thinking, “Today’s the day I’ll write something,” my brain just goes “Nope” and decides to binge-watch tiktok videos instead.

So there I am, drowning in work, barely keeping my head above water, when this email pops up. “Design Challenge: Make Teamwork Less Sucky” or something like that. My first thought? “Ha! As if I need another thing on my plate.” But you know how sometimes your brain just goes “Why not?” at the worst possible moments? Yeah, that happened.

Now, let me paint you a picture of my typical day. I wake up, chug water like it’s the elixir of life, and dive into my day job. It’s all about designing platforms that don’t make people want to throw their phones across the room. A quick lunch break in between and before I know it, it’s evening, and I’m switching gears to mentor mode. Cue hours of teaching UX and UI Design to eager newbies and by the time I’m done, my brain feels like mush. The kind of mush that makes you stare at the wall for ten minutes before realizing you’re not actually watching TV.

That’s usually when I remember I haven’t written anything in months, feel guilty for about 30 seconds, then decide that’s a problem for Future Me.

So, back to this design challenge. I don’t know what possessed me to say yes. Maybe it was the lack of sleep. Maybe it was my inner masochist. Or maybe, just maybe, it was that tiny part of me that missed actually creating something just for the heck of it.

Whatever it was, I dove in. And let me tell you, it was like opening Pandora’s box of “Why does work suck so much?” I started asking everyone I knew about their work life. My friend went on a rant about email threads. Another complained about her boss’s instructions being vaguer than a fortune cookie. Even my dad chimed in with some “back in my day” wisdom that actually wasn’t half bad.

As I dug deeper, I realized something. All these work problems? They were my problems too. The constant juggling, the unclear priorities, the feeling of drowning in a sea of tasks — it was all there, staring me in the face.

So I did what any sleep-deprived, overworked designer would do. I started sketching. And boy, did I sketch. My notebook looked like a tornado hit a sticky note factory. I’m pretty sure I fell asleep on my sketches at least once, waking up with “SIMPLIFY!” imprinted on my forehead.

Slowly, something started to take shape. I called it TeamSync. Yeah, I know, not exactly winning any awards for creativity there. But hey, name a famous app that doesn’t sound a bit silly out of context. Slack? Trello? Exactly.

The big idea behind TeamSync was simple: make work suck less. Want to know what’s going on? Bam, here’s a dashboard that doesn’t need a PhD to understand. Need to chat? Here’s a messenger that won’t make you want to pull your hair out. Trying to figure out who’s doing what? Check out this task board that’s easier to use than your TV remote.

But my favorite part? The “Get Stuff Done” button. One click, and it shows you exactly what you need to work on next. No more excuses about not knowing what to do. (Honestly, I wish I had this for my actual life.)

As I worked on TeamSync, something weird happened. The chaos in my head started to calm down. It was like all the stress and overwhelm found an outlet in this project. All those frustrations with juggling multiple responsibilities? They became features that could make work life easier. The mentorship program? It inspired a built-in learning module. My full-time job? It gave me insights into what small businesses really need.

When I finally finished and sent it off, I felt… different. Not exactly relaxed (let’s not get crazy here), but lighter somehow. Like I’d not only designed a tool for better teamwork but also sorted out some of my own mental clutter.

Then came the response. People were actually excited about it. Like, genuinely pumped. Looking back, it’s kind of funny. Here I was, drowning in stress about work, and what saved me was… more work. But the good kind, you know? The kind that reminds you why you fell in love with this crazy field in the first place.

Don’t get me wrong, life’s still crazy. I’m still juggling more balls than a circus performer on espresso. The mentorship program is still going strong, my day job is as busy as ever, and my blog? Well, let’s just say this story might be its comeback piece.

But now? I’ve got a secret weapon. Whenever things get too much, I remind myself: “If you can design a solution for teamwork chaos, you can handle your own chaos too.” And who knows? Maybe someday you’ll be using TeamSync and think, “This doesn’t suck.” And I’ll be somewhere, probably still drowning in tasks, but smiling. Because sometimes, the best ideas come from the messiest situations.

If you’re curious about what teamwork looks like when it’s designed by someone who’s barely keeping it together (kidding… mostly), I’ve actually put TeamSync out there for the world to see. You can check it out here.

I also put it up on Figma Community because, well, why not? Maybe it’ll help another designer who’s drowning in tasks and crying into their coffee. Or maybe staring at it will just make you feel good. Either way, I’m counting it as a win. Just click here.

Until next time, keep designing and keep laughing. Your future self will thank you.