This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Leena Malhotra
I used to think I had a focus problem.
My tabs were always full
My to-do lists never ended
My brain jumped between tasks like a bad Wi-Fi signal
So I downloaded productivity apps.
I tried Pomodoro timers.
I followed the “systems” of people who looked more disciplined than me.
Nothing stuck.
Until I realized the issue wasn’t focus.
It was context-switching—and the scattered tools that caused it.
The problem wasn’t me. It was the friction in my environment.
That’s when I stopped trying to “optimize” my attention…
and started building my own AI stack to protect it.
Context-Switching Is a Developer’s Silent Bottleneck
You don’t notice it right away.
You toggle between IDEs and browser tabs
You paste error messages into different chats or models
You write specs in one tool, execute in another, and reflect nowhere
Each switch seems small.
But over time, the cost compounds:
20 minutes lost reorienting
3 hours of shallow focus
Entire days where you “worked,” but didn’t build
Most productivity advice ignores this.
But builders know: the real leverage is not more effort—it’s less friction.
I Needed a Stack That Thought Like I Do
That’s when I started building an AI stack that mirrored my mental architecture:
Modular
Context-aware
Persistent across domains
Not a set of disconnected tools.
But an integrated thinking system—where code, copy, strategy, and questions lived in one environment.
That’s what Crompt AI became for me.
Let me show you how I rebuilt my workflow—without context-switching.
1. Thinking Space → AI Companion
Every project starts messy.
Fragments of ideas
Error logs from last week
Half-written thoughts from a late night
I used to dump these into Notion or sticky notes.
Now I feed them into AI Companion:
“Here’s what I’m building, here’s what’s unclear. Help me map this.”
The tool holds memory across chats.
It’s like version control for my thoughts.
No need to “get back into context”—it’s already there.
2. Tool Layer → Single Interface for Multi-AI Access
Most devs rotate between ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and others.
Each has strengths.
But switching tabs, logging in, and copy-pasting context wastes time.
With Crompt, I can:
Compare outputs from GPT-4o, Claude 3, Mistral, and Gemini—side by side
Ask one question and see multiple model perspectives
Stick with the one that gets me closer to clarity
This replaced my copy-switch-retry loop with confidence in fewer steps.
3. Refactor Layer → Legacy Code, Modern Patterns
One of my biggest wins?
Feeding legacy codebases into Crompt’s environment and using the AI to refactor them without losing intent.
Instead of:
“Rewrite this.”
I ask:
“Preserve this logic, modernize this syntax, and annotate as you go.”
Pair that with the Code Explainer, and I get:
Comments on why decisions were made
Safer refactors based on original purpose
Cleaner handoffs to future teammates
I’m not just moving faster—I’m moving with context integrity.
4. Documentation Without Drag → AI-Powered Drafting
Writing documentation always fell last in my process.
Now I write code and then immediately prompt Content Writer:
“Draft the README based on this logic and comments.”
“Generate a changelog from these updates.”
Then I edit, not start from scratch.
It’s not about outsourcing—it’s about keeping momentum.
When context is fresh, creation flows.
This stack lets me capture that window.
5. Own the Stack, Don’t Get Owned By It
What I built wasn’t another toolset.
It was a thinking environment that adapted to:
How I build
How I switch between writing, coding, and architecting
How I learn from the AI I’m already working with
I stopped jumping between 7 apps and started shipping with one OS for thought.
That’s the part most devs miss.
You don’t need another model.
You need a stack that holds your mind steady.
Focus Isn’t a Trait. It’s an Environment You Design.
If you’re constantly distracted, unfocused, or overwhelmed—
Don’t assume it’s a discipline problem.
Assume it’s a context-switch problem.
Your cognitive load isn’t caused by too much work.
It’s caused by too many places to hold the work.
And that’s what building your own AI stack solves:
Fewer switches
Deeper sessions
Consistency over chaos
I don’t need productivity hacks anymore.
I just need fewer tabs—and one intelligent place to think.
-Leena:)
This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Leena Malhotra