About Tasks & Treasures

Who's behind this

Hi, I'm Martin.

I'm a dad of two girls, a Dungeons & Dragons nerd, and I've spent the last 15 years in recruitment helping companies build great teams. I also run The People People Group, a community for thousands of HR and talent professionals across North America.

Tasks & Treasures started as something I built for my own family. The funny part is that it helps me almost as much as it helps my kids.

I have ADHD, and I regularly forget my own chores. Take out the garbage. Switch the laundry. Book the dentist. Water the plants. None of them are hard. They're just easy to forget when life gets busy. My wife would probably tell you the app has made me a better teammate around the house.

The more I worked on it, the more I realized this isn't just an ADHD thing. Everyone forgets things. Everyone gets distracted. Parenting is busy, work is busy, and keeping a family running means remembering hundreds of tiny jobs that never seem to end.

So I built the app I wished existed.

Today it's still a one-person operation. I design it, write the code, obsess over the details, test every feature with my own family, and answer every email that comes in.

I don't think kids need more screen time. I think they need better reasons to put screens down. I don't think parents need another productivity app. I think they need a system that helps the whole family remember what matters and celebrate getting it done together.

That's what I'm trying to build.

If you're curious about the research and thinking behind the ADHD-friendly design, you can read more in Tasks & Treasures for ADHD.

Why it exists

Tasks & Treasures started as a piece of software for exactly one household: mine. I was tired of being the family's reminder system, repeating the same six instructions every morning and evening, forever. So I put the routine on a spare tablet on the kitchen wall, attached stars to tasks and treasures to stars, and let the kids drive.

It worked well enough that it never came down. Every feature since has been earned the same way: something went sideways in a real family morning, and the board grew an answer. That's the development process, and I'm keeping it.

What we believe

Your family's life is not inventory. The board is local-first: your kids' names, photos, tasks and progress live on your tablet and nowhere else. No analytics, no ads, no data brokers, no cloud copy of your seven-year-old's morning routine. The website only knows what it needs to log you in. The details are all in the privacy policy.

Motivation shouldn't be manipulation. Kids' attention is the most fought-over resource on earth right now. The board borrows the good parts of what wins that fight (visual, immediate, satisfying feedback) and points them at real life, without the dark patterns. No infinite anything, no engagement traps, no guilt mechanics. Streaks celebrate consistency; they don't punish a sick day.

Claims should come with receipts. Where I say the approach is backed by research, I link the research, including where it's mixed or unproven. You'll never get "scientifically proven!" from me without a source you can click.

Use the hardware you already own. Any spare tablet with a browser becomes the family board. No proprietary device, no subscription hardware, nothing new to buy.

Where it's headed

Right now Tasks & Treasures is in early access: the app is real and battle-tested by my family every single day, and I'm building the setup experience that makes it work just as well for yours: your names, your photos, your tasks, your treasures. Early-access families get in first and shape what gets built next.

Questions, ideas, or just want to say hi? Get in touch. It's really me answering. There's more of my non-chore-related work at martinhauck.ca.