Learning Python By Teaching Your Computer To Be Petty And Petty Good At It

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We all learn Python by printing “Hello, World!”
But today, let’s learn Python by teaching your computer to hold a grudge.

That’s right — we’re going to write a Python program that:

• Tracks every time you run a certain program (e.g., Slack, YouTube, Steam…)
• Keeps score
• Shames you (gently) if you’re overdoing it

Why?
Because if you want to learn how to build real-world Python scripts, nothing’s more fun than coding something slightly ridiculous but surprisingly useful.

???? Why This Works

This mini-project teaches you:

• File handling (to track usage)
• Scheduling tasks with Python
• Conditional logic
• Fun with notifications and alerts
• And how to prank yourself in a productive way

We’ll even make it extensible — you can track any app or any behavior later.

????️ Step 1: Let’s Track Something You’re Guilty Of

Let’s say we want to track when Slack is running.

Here’s a little script that checks if a program is active:

import psutil 
 
def is_running(process_name): 
    for proc in psutil.process_iter(['name']): 
        if process_name.lower() in proc.info['name'].lower(): 
            return True 
    return False 

psutil is like giving Python X-ray vision into your system. You’ll need to install it:

pip install psutil 

???? Step 2: Count the Offenses

Let’s store the count in a JSON file so it persists:

import json 
import os 
 
def load_data(filepath): 
    if not os.path.exists(filepath): 
        return {} 
    with open(filepath, 'r') as f: 
        return json.load(f) 
 
def save_data(filepath, data): 
    with open(filepath, 'w') as f: 
        json.dump(data, f) 

Use this like so:

data = load_data('guilt.json') 
data['slack'] = data.get('slack', 0) + 1 
save_data('guilt.json', data) 

Every time Slack is found running, it adds one to the count.

???? Step 3: Add a Little Sass

We want the script to say something spicy when you're overdoing it:

import random 
 
def judge_you(app, count): 
    if count > 10: 
        print(random.choice([ 
            f"Slack again? That's {count} times today. Everything okay?", 
            f"You and {app} need to take a break.", 
            f"Intervention time. Step away from the screen." 
        ])) 

You can expand this with system notifications using plyer, notifiers, or native macOS/Linux tools.

⏲️ Step 4: Schedule It to Run Automatically

You can use schedule in Python:

import schedule 
import time 
 
def check_slack(): 
    if is_running("slack"): 
        data = load_data('guilt.json') 
        data['slack'] = data.get('slack', 0) + 1 
        save_data('guilt.json', data) 
        judge_you("Slack", data['slack']) 
 
schedule.every(10).minutes.do(check_slack) 
 
while True: 
    schedule.run_pending() 
    time.sleep(1) 

This will check every 10 minutes and build up the “guilt count.”

???? The Bigger Lesson Here

What did we really learn?

• You can track app usage with Python
• You can create persistent counters
• You can wrap it in humor to learn faster and remember more

This is how I personally actually learned Python — by building weird little projects that solved real problems in funny ways.

And if this kind of project speaks to you, I found inspiration from:

• ???? Python Developer Resources — real stuff I use to explore ideas like this
• ???? Articles — many more clever rabbit holes to fall into
• ???? Trending Repos — often where I grab useful libraries like psutil, notifiers, and schedule

I keep python.0x3d.site bookmarked. It’s like a cheat sheet and inspiration board in one.

???? Want More Like This?

• Add more apps to track
• Set daily “guilt” limits and alert when you cross them
• Build a silly dashboard with emojis and trends
• Tweet your own usage reports using Python + Twitter API

You’re only limited by how petty your computer can be ????

So the next time someone tells you to "build a productivity tool," maybe build one that lightly bullies you into being productive.

Keep learning weird,
Keep coding Python.

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