FOCAL
FULL-STACK DEVELOPMENT, API INTEGRATION
2026
INTRODUCTION
Focal is a personal dashboard I built because I was tired of checking four different tabs every morning. I wanted one place that surfaced Gmail, Google Calendar, and Canvas assignments together
DESIGNING METHOD
The AI chatbot was the feature I spent the most time on. Its context window pulls from calendar events, Gmail action items, Canvas assignments, and notes so it actually knows what's going on. Asking "what should I do right now" generates a prioritized task list across everything, and toggling off a calendar in the UI also removes those events from what the AI sees.
The weekly recap pulls from past calendar events, completed emails, and upcoming work to generate a summary of the week. Combined with the "what now" prompt, it makes the dashboard feel less like a static feed and more like something that's actually tracking what's happening.
FINAL PERFORMANCE
The dashboard is live and I use it daily. The AI chatbot pulling from all four data sources at once turned out to be the most useful part, being able to ask "what should I do right now" and get a prioritized answer across email, calendar, and assignments is something none of the individual apps can do on their own.
