MonDive#26: Google's Powerful No-Code Builder

I tried to build my LifeOS - Can Track Goals, Tasks, and Workouts - with Google Build.

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Welcome to the MonDive

Today in MonDive, we’re going hands-on with Google's new no-code AI builder.

To show what it can really do, we’re going to create a personal Life OS from scratch.

No complex setup, no heavy coding. Just describe what you want, shape how it behaves, and watch Build turn your idea into a working prototype in minutes.

Alright, let’s get started on building my app.

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🧠 Why This Matters

Good ideas don’t wait — and they shouldn’t slow down while you set up tools or chase templates. Google Build removes that friction. You describe what you want, and Gemini 3 generates the logic, interface, and workflow in minutes. You can tweak, test, and explore instantly — without committing time, budget, or a team.

And unlike many no-code AI builders that charge $20–$100+ a month, Google Build is free, so you can create as often as inspiration hits.

Other popular no-code builders and their pricing:

  • Replit — Free tier available; Core plan $20/month (annual billing).

  • Cogniflow — Free tier; Starter $15/month, higher tiers up to ~$140/month.

  • Voiceflow — Free tier; Pro $60/month, Business higher.

  • Formaloo — Free credits; pay-as-you-use for full AI features.

  • Glide — Free tier; Business $199/month (annual billing).

Just tell Build what you need — and watch your idea turn real while the moment is still fresh.

Accessing Google AI Studio & Build

Step 1: First visit Google AI Studio

Step 2 — Open the “Build” Section

On the left sidebar of Google AI Studio, locate the menu option labeled “Build”.

Click on Build — this is where you’ll create, customize, and manage your own personal AI-powered apps.

Planning my Personal Life Operating System (LifeOS Dashboard)

First, I wrote the draft idea that I had in my mind and passed it to ChatGPT to optimize

A fully modular, database-driven personal management system.
Centralizes every aspect of life into one unified interface.
Designed like a polished productivity platform.
Provides full visibility into tasks, goals, habits, notes, finances.
Includes scheduling and weekly reviews.
Everything connected, organized, and running locally.
Functions like an application ecosystem.
Multiple relational databases.
Cross-linked views with real-time data.
Automated summaries and progress indicators.
Custom filters, tags, conditional logic.
Time blocking and daily planning.
Weekly review flows.
Full multi-page app with no external APIs.
Feels like a professional SaaS.

ChatGPT provided me with the final plan. You may use Claude or even Google AI Studio to plan your app.

It’s better not to prompt Google Build your draft idea because most of the time it’s not detailed enough to build something viable.

ChatGPT provided me with this:

📝 Tasks Module
Lightweight but powerful task manager.
Core Fields:
– Title
– Description
– Status (To Do / In Progress / Completed)
– Priority (Low / Medium / High)
– Due Date
– Category / Tag
– Linked Goal
Advanced Features:
– Auto-group by status
– Overdue highlighting
– Smart filters (Today / This Week)
– Quick-add
– View tasks linked to goals or habits



🎯 Goals Module
Structured space for long-term objectives.
Core Fields:
– Goal Title
– Description
– Target Date
– Category
– Progress Percentage (auto)
Advanced Features:
– Progress bars
– Auto-completion when tasks = 100%
– Milestones (optional)
– Goal breakdown view



🔥 Daily Habits Module
Streak-based habit tracker.
Automatic analytics.
Core Fields:
– Habit Name
– Frequency
– Category
– Streak Counter
– Last Completed Date
Advanced Features:
– Heatmap
– Don’t-break-the-chain tracker
– Weekly completion stats
– Auto streak resets



🗒️ Notes & Knowledge Base
Flexible notes system for journaling, research, ideas.
Core Fields:
– Note Title
– Body
– Tags
– Linked items (tasks, habits, goals)
Advanced Features:
– Multi-tag filtering
– Quick search
– Pin to dashboard
– Notebook categories



💰 Personal Finance Mini-Tracker
Simple income/expense tracker.
Core Fields:
– Transaction Name
– Category
– Type (Income / Expense)
– Amount
– Date
– Optional tags
Advanced Features:
– Monthly totals
– Category breakdown chart
– Spending summaries
– Date/category filters



✨ Time Blocking & Daily Planner Module
Hour-by-hour daily planner.
Drag-and-drop time blocks.
Assign tasks to time slots.
Local Pomodoro timer.
“Ideal Day” templates.
Auto-move unfinished blocks to next day.
Adds structure and reduces decision fatigue.



🌿 Weekly Review & Reset Module
Guided weekly reflection.
Includes:
– Reflection (what went well / didn’t / needs improvement)
– Journal notes
– Auto-imported metrics from modules
– Tasks completed
– Habits completed
– Spending totals
– Goal progress
– Next week planning
– Top 3 priorities
– Tasks to carry forward
– Adjusted goals
– Notes & intentions
Makes reviewing fast, easy, and satisfying.



📊 LifeOS Dashboard (Main Screen)
Central mission control.
Real-time updates.
Widgets:
– Upcoming Tasks
– Habit Streaks
– Goal Progress
– Daily Summary Panel
– Notes Quick View
– Today’s Time Blocks
– Weekly Snapshot Panel

Then I asked ChatGPT to ask questions on this plan so it can be more useful and according to my needs. This extra step will improve your final prompt a lot because it will fill up the small gaps and details that you might have missed otherwise.

ChatGPT asked quite a few questions, and it finally provided the plan that seemed great to me.

This is the final prompt that I pasted in Google Build:

📄 PAGE 1 — DASHBOARD (HOME)

This is your mission control.

A. Dashboard Layout (Sections / Widgets)

Header

Title: LifeOS – Tech Career & Fitness
Subtext: “Focus: Portfolio • Deep Work • Cardio”
Section 1 – Today’s Focus
View: from Tasks database
Filter:
Status ≠ "Done"
Due Date = Today OR Priority = High
Show fields: Task Name, Status, Related Goal, Priority
Sort: by Priority (High → Low), then Due Date (ascending)
Section 2 – Portfolio Progress
View: from Goals database
Filter:
Category = "Portfolio"
Display as: Gallery or Table
Show fields: Goal, Progress %, Target Date, Status, Repo Link, Live URL
Add a Progress Bar field (formula or visualization) per goal.
Section 3 – Goal Progress Chart
View: from Goals, grouped or charted by:
Goal on X-axis
Progress % on Y-axis
If your tool supports charts → use Bar or Donut.
If not → “Progress %” plus color-coded tags (e.g., 0–25%, 25–50%, etc.).
Section 4 – Weekly Workout Tracker
View: from Workouts DB
Filter: Week = Current week
Show:
Date, Workout Type, Duration, Intensity
Add a formula field (in Workouts DB) to compute Week Number or Week Start Date.
Add a Rollup / Summary:
Total minutes this week
Total number of workouts this week
Compare to target: 4 workouts
Section 5 – Quick Add Buttons / Templates
Button or template links:
+ New Portfolio Goal
+ New Task (linked to Goal)
+ Log Workout

🎯 PAGE 2 — GOALS (TECH + PORTFOLIO CENTER)

Database: Goals

A. Fields / Properties

Create a database called Goals with these fields:
Goal (Title)
Category (Select)
Options: Portfolio, Career, Learning, Fitness, Personal
Description (Long text)
Status (Select)
Not Started, In Progress, On Hold, Completed
Priority (Select)
High, Medium, Low
Target Date (Date)
Progress % (Number)
0–100 (can be manual or auto)
Related Tasks (Relation → Tasks DB, multi)
Tasks Completed (Rollup)
Rollup from Related Tasks.Status with a count where Status = "Done"
Total Tasks (Rollup)
Rollup from Related Tasks with count all
Auto Progress % (Formula)
Example formula logic (pseudocode):
If Total Tasks > 0 → Tasks Completed / Total Tasks * 100
Else → 0
Milestones (Text or sub-database if you want)
Repo Link (URL)
Live URL (URL)
Notes (Text / Relation to Notes DB if you add one later)
You can then decide whether to use Auto Progress % or Progress % as your main displayed metric (or use Auto to update Progress).
B. Recommended Views
All Goals
Default table with all fields.
Portfolio Only
Filter: Category = "Portfolio"
In Progress
Filter: Status = "In Progress"
Timeline
Calendar / Timeline view grouped by Target Date
Analytics / Progress
Sort: by Auto Progress % descending
Show: Goal, Auto Progress %, Tasks Completed, Total Tasks


✅ PAGE 3 — TASKS (TO-DO LIST STYLE)

Database: Tasks

A. Fields / Properties

Create a database called Tasks with:
Task (Title)
Description (Text)
Status (Select)
To Do, Doing, Done
Priority (Select)
High, Medium, Low
Due Date (Date)
Category (Select)
Coding, Design, Writing, Study, Fitness, Personal, Other
Related Goal (Relation → Goals)
Estimated Time (min) (Number)
Difficulty (Select)
Easy, Medium, Hard
Blocked? (Checkbox)
Resource Links (Text/URL)
Created Date (Created time property if available)
B. Views
Today
Filter:
Status ≠ "Done"
Due Date = Today
This Week
Filter:
Due Date is within current week
By Goal
Grouped by Related Goal
Kanban Board
Board view grouped by Status: To Do → Doing → Done
Backlog
Filter:
Status = "To Do"
Due Date is empty OR in the future
Completed Log
Filter: Status = "Done"
Sort: Due Date descending

🏃 WORKOUTS MODULE (INTEGRATED)
Database: Workouts
A. Fields / Properties
Create Workouts DB:
Workout (Title) – e.g., “Morning Run”, “Evening Ride”
Date (Date)
Workout Type (Select)
Running, Cycling, Cardio (Other)
Duration (min) (Number)
Intensity (Select)
Low, Medium, High
Week (Formula)
Pseudocode: week number of year or week start date based on Date
Notes (Text)
B. Weekly Quota Logic


Goal: 4 workouts per week
In Workouts, you’ll create:
Views:
This Week
Filter: Week = current week
History
All workouts by date
Summary (in a tool that supports rollups/charts):
Count of workouts in current week
Compare against 4 (target)
Total minutes this week
On the Dashboard, show:
“Workouts This Week: X / 4”

“Total Minutes: Y”

📊 CHARTS & ANALYTICS

Depending on your tool, set these up:

Goal Progress Chart
Source: Goals
X-axis: Goal

Y-axis: Auto Progress % (or Progress %)
Color by: Category or Status
Workout Minutes per Week
Source: Workouts

Group by: Week
Metric: Sum of Duration (min)
Tasks Completed per Week
Source: Tasks
Filter: Status = "Done"

Group by: week of Due Date or Created Date
🎨 STYLE: COLORFUL & PLAYFUL
Use bright colors for:
Category tags (e.g., Portfolio = purple, Career = blue, Learning = yellow)
Status pills (greens for Done, oranges for In Progress)
Progress bars & charts with fun colors

Emojis in names:
🎯 Goals
📋 Tasks
🏠 Dashboard
🏃 Workouts
💻 Portfolio
🧠 DAILY & WEEKLY WORKFLOW (HOW YOU USE IT)


Daily
Open Dashboard
Look at Today’s Focus tasks
Execute tasks (mainly portfolio/career)
Log your workout after running/cycling/cardio
Check progress on key goals
Weekly
Check Goals page → see progress
Review Workouts weekly total → Did you hit 4?
Look at Tasks Completed → what moved your portfolio forward?
Plan next week: add tasks and adjust goals

Final App Preview

As you can see, this is a fully functional and fully personalized LifeOS.

You can replicate this process to make your own dream app with Google Build.

Does this get you excited to try building your own app?

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