The MINT Clock is our first product. It is a two-part alarm clock system designed as a 'commitment device'. Its sole purpose is to ensure you get up on time by making your intention to wake up the path of least resistance.

The system has two components: the clock (alarm) and the base (which you place in another room, like the kitchen or bathroom). The alarm can only be stopped by physically returning the clock to its base.

This isn’t just a hardware decision. It’s a commitment device, there’s:

• No snooze button

• No passive off switch

• No way to negotiate with the alarm from under the covers

The action of getting out of bed and replacing the device is a binding mechanism that forces the user to act on the intention they made the night before.

This same principle has been used in savings apps, medication adherence tools, and productivity platforms. But rarely in the consumer hardware space.

It is different by design. Apps and smart clocks are part of the problem, they are "designed for failure" because you can always bypass them (snooze, turn off the phone, override the app). The MINT Clock is a dedicated, physical product. Its physical, two-part system cannot be rationalised or bypassed in a moment of temptation.

Core Design Principle 1: Unavoidable Action

Removing the option to fail at your own goal. This important behavioural intervention is simple but powerful: the user cannot turn off the alarm unless it’s returned to its secondary base, which they’ve placed somewhere away from their bed.

Why unavoidable action works

Pre-commitment theory: Restricting access to a tempting behaviour is one of the few consistently effective strategies to improve self-regulation.

Strategic friction: Most product design focuses on reducing friction. The MINT clock does the opposite, adding friction where it’s needed most. Snoozing is too easy.

Environmental anchoring: The act of placing the base somewhere intentional and ideally as a precursor to a morning routine creates a physical ritual. It binds intention to environment. The alarm doesn’t just go off it requires action placing users in meaningful space.

Reclaiming agency: The real value here isn’t forcing action. It’s restoring control over consistency. Waking up late can lead to frustration or regret, setting the tone for the day. The MINT Clock means starting your day as intended, not by willpower, but by design.

Core Design Principle 2: Movement Activation

The second critical behavioural mechanism is what happens after the user gets up. They move. And in doing so, they engage the most reliable biological systems for shifting from sleep to wakefulness. Using the body to wake up the mind.

Why movement activation works

Interrupts sleep inertia: Physical movement is one of the fastest, most reliable ways to cut through the cognitive fog that causes people to relapse into sleep. You’re using the body to pull the brain into wakefulness.

Activates biological systems: Movement triggers the body’s natural alertness response without needing sound, screens, or stimulants. It makes staying up not just a decision, but a default state.

Disrupts the snooze habit loop: Behavioural loops around waking are deeply entrenched: alarm (cue), snooze (routine), more sleep (reward). Movement interrupts that sequence. It introduces an intentional routine at the moment of highest risk for habit relapse.

Reframes effort as momentum: Once you’ve stood up, moved out of the room, and replaced the device, the hardest part is over. You have already succeeded. That early win builds momentum for the rest of the day, a small act of self-alignment that has disproportionate emotional impact