Catch&Release

Making something out of noting

A button the size of a checker. Press it once when a certain thought or feeling arises; press it twice once you’ve let it go. The app records both the catch and release.

: Press — note the arising thought or feeling
: Double-press — note that you’ve let it go
: Press and hold — undo the last action
: Press and hold again — clear anything that’s pending

The practice

A guide to noting whatsoever

Choose a thought or feeling you want to understand better — anger, anxiety, craving, fear, negativity, tension, anything. When it arises, press the button. The gesture is the same for whatever thought or feeling you’ve chosen, wherever you are. When you’ve released that thought or feeling, press the button twice. (If you press it by mistake, press and hold to undo.) That’s the practice.

One button, one thought or feeling. To follow more than one, carry more than one button. Each keeps its own record and knows nothing of the other.

The ledger

Noting lasts forever (unless you delete it)

The app charts the frequency and duration of the noted episodes over the previous day, week, or month. No judgment; no scoring. Add context (for example, “work” or “driving”) to any episode. Export the data in various formats, or delete it once you’ve examined it — it’s not saved anywhere else.

The app’s Duration card: a typical episode of 15 seconds, above a line chart of daily medians across thirty days. — How long noted episodes lasted over the past 30 days (sample data).

The device

Button, button, who’s got the button?

The app is designed to work with a Flic 2 button (not included) — one for each thought or feeling you follow. Buy them from the manufacturer, or contact us to see if we have any available. Each works for a year or more on a single (replaceable) coin cell.

Two Flic 2 buttons, one white and one black: low discs with a large circular pressable face. — The Flic 2 buttons ($35 each at flic.io; less in multipacks).

Terms without conditions

No, no, a thousand times no.

nomicrophone — it does no listening of any kind and requests no speech access
nonetwork — there is no code in the app that opens a connection
noaccounts, no sign-in, no sync, no cloud
noanalytics, no tracking, no third-party anything
nonotifications, reminders, streaks, badges, or targets
nodiagnosis, no treatment claims, no pharmaceutical ads

Questions or corrections: info@catch-and-release.org · Privacy