Choose Your Coach: How to Customize Kaia's Advice Style
Sometimes you want a coach who's in your face yelling "let's GO!" Sometimes you want someone who quietly nudges you when you're off track. And sometimes you just want everyone to leave you alone. Now Kaia adapts to what you need.
🎚️ What Is Coaching Intensity?
As you use Mind Your Now, Kaia learns about you - your patterns, your tendencies, what works and what doesn't. But here's the thing: some people love getting proactive suggestions. Others find it annoying. And some days you just want to figure things out yourself.
Coaching Intensity lets you control how much Kaia speaks up based on what she's learned about you.
Think of it like choosing between:
- A silent study buddy who's there if you need them
- A helpful friend who occasionally points things out
- An active coach who's watching your back and jumping in with advice
🔇 Off Mode: "I Got This"
What it does: Kaia keeps everything she's learned but stays quiet about it.
When to use it:
- You're in a flow state and don't want interruptions
- You're working on something creative where you need space to think
- You're having a stressful day and just need to execute without input
- You want to prove to yourself you can handle things solo
What it looks like:
Kaia might notice you've rescheduled a task 5 times, but she won't mention it. She's still there to help if you ask, but she won't volunteer observations or suggestions.
Real example: You're cramming for finals. You know your schedule is chaos. You don't need an AI telling you what you already know - you just need to grind through it. Off mode keeps Kaia helpful when you reach out, but quiet otherwise.
💚 Gentle Mode: "I'm Here If You Need Me"
What it does: Kaia occasionally offers insights when they're really relevant.
When to use it:
- You want helpful nudges without feeling monitored
- You're generally on top of things but appreciate occasional reminders
- You want a balance between independence and support
- You're new to productivity systems and want gradual guidance
What it looks like:
If Kaia notices something significant - like you've been avoiding a task for weeks or you're overloading yourself - she might gently mention it. But she's not going to comment on every little thing.
Real example: You've pushed "call the dentist" to tomorrow for the 8th time. In Gentle mode, Kaia might say: "Hey, I noticed this task keeps getting moved. Would it help to schedule a specific time for it, or is there something blocking you?" It's helpful, not preachy.
🔥 Proactive Mode: "Let's Optimize Everything"
What it does: Kaia actively uses what she's learned to offer coaching and suggestions.
When to use it:
- You want maximum productivity support
- You're trying to break bad habits or build new ones
- You're working on an important project and want all the help you can get
- You genuinely want to be called out on your patterns
What it looks like:
Kaia will actively point out patterns, suggest improvements, and offer coaching based on your behavior. She might notice you always procrastinate on certain types of tasks, or that you overcommit on Mondays, or that you're most productive in the morning.
Real example: You tend to say yes to everything, then scramble at the last minute. In Proactive mode, Kaia might jump in when you're adding another commitment: "Heads up - you already have 6 things due this week, and historically when you have more than 5, something gets dropped. Want me to help prioritize?"
🎯 Choosing the Right Mode for You
Here's a quick guide:
| If you're feeling... | Try this mode |
|---|---|
| Overwhelmed and need space | Off |
| Generally good, open to occasional help | Gentle |
| Ready to level up your productivity | Proactive |
| New to Mind Your Now | Gentle (start here) |
| Studying for exams | Off or Gentle |
| Starting a new job/semester | Proactive |
| Having a rough mental health day | Off |
| Working on breaking a bad habit | Proactive |
🔄 Switch Anytime
The best part? You can change this whenever you want. Having a good week and want more input? Bump it to Proactive. Feeling overwhelmed? Drop to Off. There's no wrong answer, and Kaia won't judge.
To change your setting:
- Go to Settings
- Click Kaia's Memory
- Find Coaching Intensity
- Pick your mode
Takes 2 seconds. Change it as often as you need.
🧠 How Kaia Learns About You
You might be wondering: what exactly does Kaia learn?
Kaia picks up on things like:
- Patterns - "You reschedule workout tasks a lot"
- Tendencies - "You're most productive between 9-11am"
- Preferences - "You prefer morning meetings over afternoon ones"
- Habits - "You usually complete creative work on weekends"
She doesn't judge any of this. She just notices patterns that might be useful for helping you.
And here's the important part: you're always in control. In Settings → Kaia's Memory, you can see everything she's learned, edit it, or delete it entirely. Your data, your rules.
💡 Pro Tips
For Students
- Use Proactive at the start of the semester to build good habits
- Switch to Off during exam week when you just need to execute
- Try Gentle for regular weeks - helpful but not distracting
For Professionals
- Proactive is great when you're onboarding or starting a new role
- Gentle works well for day-to-day when you're established
- Off for deep work sessions or when you're in back-to-back meetings
For Everyone
- There's no shame in Off mode - sometimes you just need quiet
- Proactive isn't for everyone, and that's fine
- Your needs change - your settings should too
🎓 The Science Behind It
Here's why this matters: research shows that the effectiveness of coaching depends heavily on the coachee's readiness and receptiveness. Unwanted advice can actually decrease motivation and performance. But well-timed, welcome coaching can dramatically improve outcomes.
By letting you control the intensity, we're making sure Kaia's insights land when you're ready for them - not when they'll just annoy you.
✨ Try It Now
Head to Settings → Kaia's Memory and check out your Coaching Intensity setting. If you've never changed it, you're probably on Gentle (our default).
Try switching to Proactive for a week and see how it feels. Too much? Drop to Gentle. Want more space? Try Off. Find what works for you.
Kaia's here to help, not to nag. Now you get to decide exactly how much help you want.
The Mind Your Now Team 💙
P.S. - If you're curious what Kaia has learned about you, check out the full memory list in Settings. You might be surprised what patterns she's noticed. And remember - you can edit or delete anything you don't want her to remember.