When Maps End, nuj Begins

You know that moment when you’re squashed on a packed bus, trying not to make eye contact with anyone, while simultaneously attempting to figure out where your stop is?

Yeah, I’ve been there too — that’s actually why I created nuj.

“Nothing quite says ‘Monday morning’ like walking back three blocks in the rain because you were too absorbed in your true crime podcast.”

Here’s the thing about traditional navigation apps: they’re brilliant at getting you somewhere new.

But once you know the route?

Opening up Google Maps to navigate somewhere you’ve been a hundred times feels a bit like using a GPS to find your kitchen.

You don’t need turn-by-turn directions to your regular bus stop.

You need someone to nudge you when you’re about to miss it because you’re too busy finding out who-done-it.

When we were designing nuj, we kept thinking about Mary.

Mary isn’t real, but she is who we test all of our scenarios with, a blend of who we think our users are and what they need.

She could be any of us. 

She knows exactly where her bus stop is.

She’s been getting off there for months. Every single weekday, rain or shine, same route, same stop.

But here’s the thing: when the bus is crowded, she can’t see out the windows properly.

When it’s raining, the windows are too foggy. When she’s trying to catch up on work emails, she’s too absorbed to notice the familiar landmarks.

The result? Missed stops. Multiple times. And that walk back in the rain?It’s not doing wonders for her morning coffee’s temperature or her laptop’s wellbeing or the slightly awkward emails explaining why she’s late.

Again.

Mary doesn’t need Google Maps.

She doesn’t need a robot voice announcing every turn like she’s on some sort of tourist bus.

She just needs someone to tap her on the shoulder and say “hey, remember that thing you were supposed to remember? This is it.”

And sure, she could set a timer.

But unless you’ve got the precision timing of a Swiss watchmaker and the psychic ability to predict traffic, that’s about as useful as a chocolate teapot.

A timer doesn’t know about that unexpected roadwork, or the school run traffic, or that one traffic light that seems to have a personal vendetta against your schedule.

The Birth of a Memory Assistant

This is exactly why we designed nuj the way we did.

Not for people who are directionally challenged, but for people who:

• Ride crowded buses (and are too polite to peer over people’s shoulders)

• Can’t always see out the windows (thanks weather)

• Feel awkward staring past other passengers (don’t we all?)

• Would rather focus on morning reading (because multitasking is a myth)

• Need enough time to make their way to the bell (through what sometimes feels like an obstacle course)

• Are tired of using “the bus was packed” as an excuse for being late (even if it really was)

  
  

“Your brain is too busy remembering the lyrics to that one song from 1997 to remember what it was supposed to be remembering.”

How It Works

The magic happens in four simple steps:

1. Create your nuj while you’re actually there (or even before) no more dropping pins in roughly the right area and hoping for the best

2. Add a note (like “Shepherd St stop — the one with the wonky bus shelter”)

3. Set how far out you want to be reminded (accounting for that one person who always has a massive backpack, and the time it takes to politely shuffle past the person who’s deeply engrossed in their phone)

4. Make it active when you need it (because weekend you has all the time in the world, and Monday you needs all the help you can get)

   
   

The result?

No missed stops.
No awkward walks back in the rain.
No apologetic emails about being late.

Just smooth, efficient journeys where you actually get to enjoy your podcast without that nagging feeling that you should be looking out the window.

Beyond the Bus: A World of Forgotten Moments

While this started with bus stops, it’s about something bigger.

It’s about all those moments when your brain decides to take an impromptu holiday:

• That pharmacy you always drive past (but remember your prescription five minutes later, prompting a U-turn that would make a stunt driver proud)

• The supermarket you walk by every day (until you need milk, and end up having cereal with orange juice, trying to convince yourself it’s a new breakfast trend)

• The motorway exit you’ve taken hundreds of times (but still manage to miss while perfecting your car karaoke routine)

• That dry cleaning place you pass twice daily (but only remember your suit needs cleaning when you’re already at work, staring at the coffee stain from last week)

  
  

Sometimes, knowing where you’re going isn’t the same as remembering to actually stop when you get there.

The Future of Remembering

The interesting thing about memory is that it’s not just about storing information - it’s about retrieving it at the right moment.

Your brain knows where your bus stop is.

It knows you need to pick up that prescription.

It knows all these things, but sometimes it’s just a bit too busy thinking about what you’re going to have for dinner, or rehearsing an imaginary argument you’ll never have, or wondering if penguins have knees.

nuj isn’t about telling you where to go — your brain already knows that.

It’s about being that friend who nudges you and says “hey, remember that thing you were definitely going to remember? This is your moment.”

Sometimes, the difference between a good morning and a soggy one is just a gentle reminder at exactly the right moment.

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First published on our Medium account