Dopamine Menu Builder
A menu you build when you have capacity, so you can read it when you don’t.
- ~30 sec
- No signup
- Works offline
How much have you got right now?
Pick honestly. Low isn’t a failing grade.
The book calls this Dopamine Engineering. Same idea, applied to your break instead of your task list.
This browser is blocking local storage, so your menu will reset when you leave.
About this tool
What it is
Twenty starter activities sorted by the energy they require, plus room for your own. Mark what you actually did and what you skipped instead, and the menu reorders around what works for you.
What it won’t do
It doesn’t judge what you pick, cap your screen time, or send you anywhere. Custom activities and usage counts live in this browser only.
Why it works
Dopamine-seeking isn’t a discipline problem, it’s a supply problem. The failure mode is deciding what would help while your brain is already reaching for the fastest hit. Deciding in advance, in writing, is how you win that one.
Questions
What’s a dopamine menu?
A written list of things that give you a genuine lift, sorted by how much energy each one costs. You build it when you have capacity so you can read it when you’ve none.
Do I need an account to add my own?
No. Adding, marking, and rating all work with no signup. Everything saves in this browser.
Why does it ask what I avoided?
Because "I went for a walk instead of scrolling for an hour" is the actual win, and it’s the part you’ll forget you did. It only ever lives on your device.
The starter list isn’t for me.
Hide the ones that miss and add your own. The menu reorders around what you actually use, so after a week it stops looking like someone else’s list.
Is this in the book?
The system is, under a different name. Built For Chaos calls it Dopamine Engineering: instead of moving a task you can’t start, you add the fuel it’s missing, and it names five kinds of fuel to add. This tool is the applied version, built around the break you take rather than the task you’re avoiding. If you search "dopamine menu" you’ll find plenty of lists; the book is where the reasoning behind them lives.
This tool came out of Built For Chaos.
The book is the whole system: ten chapters, 38 pages of worksheets, and the eleven crisis cards these tools were built from. Start free with the Starter Kit, or go straight to the full thing.
