duende
[ dwen-dah ]
soul in motion — an Andalusian concept that depicts a fierce, raw, spiritual energy that overtakes an artist when the art becomes larger than life.
reclaim time for what makes your team human
an ai layer that advocates when calendars violate what makes us human. the ai takes the blame. both people are protected.
reduction in meeting overload
reclaimed per week per person
report feeling more present
how it works
set it up once, let duende handle the rest
you set your team's defaults
tell duende what makes your people human. max meeting hours per day. protected lunch windows. time between calls to breathe. who needs to move, who needs quiet time to think.
5 minute setup. then you're done.
sarah thompson has been in 6.5 hours of meetings today
new meeting request detected:
"Product Sync" • 3:00-4:00pm
analyzing impact...
duende watches their calendars
connects to google calendar. reads every event. knows when someone's been sitting too long. sees when lunch is getting crowded with meetings. detects back to back calls piling up.
real-time. all day. no one has to remember to check.
duende advocates on their behalf
when a threshold gets crossed, duende messages the person who's asking for time. warm, clear, human. explains why this matters. suggests an alternative that works for both people.
the ai takes the blame. sarah doesn't have to say no. the requester understands why. both protected.
hi james, duende here for sarah.
she's been in back to back calls all day (6.5 hours so far). could we make the product sync async today so she can take a walk? you'll get a more thoughtful response and she'll be more present.
what works for you?
sent automatically when threshold exceeded
that's it. duende handles everything. you just live your life.
see it in actionworks with your stack
duende integrates seamlessly with the tools your team already uses
google calendar
read calendar events, detect threshold violations, automatically add protection blocks. real-time synchronization.
slack
send advocacy messages on behalf of team members, notify stakeholders of threshold violations, coordinate rescheduling.
notion
sync protection schedules with team databases, update project timelines based on capacity, track wellbeing metrics.
see it in action
intelligent calendar orchestration with minimal configuration
week of january 26
10:00-11:00
12:30-13:30
12:00-12:30
14:00-15:30
15:00-16:00
14:00-16:00
the ai takes the blame
duende sees what calendars miss: threshold violations, human patterns, relationships, energy. nobody's the bad guy. both people protected.
meeting overload detection
threshold exceeded • immediate advocacy
duende detects:
"sarah has been in 6.5 hours of meetings today. james just requested 'product sync' at 3pm."
duende messages james: "hi james, duende here for sarah. she's been in back to back calls all day (6.5 hours so far). could we make the product sync async today so she can take a walk? you'll get a more thoughtful response and she'll be more present."
new team member connection
relationship • integration
duende notices:
"james joined the team 3 weeks ago. you haven't had any 1:1 time with him yet. in his first month, connection matters more than catching up on tasks."
would you like to set a 30-minute coffee chat this week? duende can find a time when you're both relaxed.
weather-aware scheduling
movement • environmental context
duende notices:
"it's going to be 72° and sunny tomorrow afternoon—the first nice day in two weeks. your tuesday usually has a 3pm walking slot, but it's currently filled with an internal meeting."
should duende suggest moving the meeting to thursday so you can walk outside while the weather's good?
energy pattern learning
personal rhythm • performance optimization
duende notices:
"over 6 weeks, your strategic thinking sessions are 3x more productive between 9-11am than 2-4pm. but this week, you've scheduled 'Q2 planning' for tuesday at 3pm."
your best thinking happens in the morning. want to move this to a time that matches your energy?
growth time protection
learning • long-term development
duende notices:
"you mentioned wanting to learn spanish. for 8 weeks, you've had a friday 4-5pm block labeled 'language practice' but meetings keep filling it. you've only used it twice."
learning needs consistency. should duende protect this block more aggressively? it can auto-decline meetings during this time.
these are the patterns that make you human. calendars just show meetings. duende sees relationships, energy, growth, connection. the things that actually matter.
pricing
enterprise-grade advocacy for teams of all sizes
professional
for growing teams
- ✓google calendar integration
- ✓threshold detection & monitoring
- ✓ai-generated advocacy messages
- ✓email delivery & coordination
- ✓team analytics dashboard
enterprise
for organizations at scale
- ✓everything in professional
- ✓slack & microsoft teams integration
- ✓notion & project management sync
- ✓custom threshold policies
- ✓SSO & advanced security
- ✓dedicated support & onboarding
all plans include 14-day free trial • no credit card required
duende teaches you why, not just what
instead of "you should walk more," you learn how your body actually works
movement
🚶instead of: "take a walk"
duende explains:
"you've been sitting for 3.5 hours. here's what's happening: your hip flexors are shortening, reducing blood flow to your prefrontal cortex by ~15%. this is why that last meeting felt fuzzy."
"we've evolved to walk. our ancestors walked 2+ hours daily. movement regulates brain activity and nervous system. you're designed for motion."
over time, you learn your own patterns: you think clearest after 15 minutes of walking, your best ideas come at 11am walks, not 4pm
nutrition
🍽️instead of: "protect lunch"
duende explains:
"you've had 3 meetings during your lunch window this week. eating away from your desk lets your parasympathetic nervous system activate. digestion and cognition need separate time."
"your body needs to shift out of fight-or-flight (meetings) into rest-and-digest (eating). 20 minutes away from your desk is biology."
after 2 weeks: duende shows you perform 23% better in afternoon meetings when you've taken a real lunch break
buffers
⏸️instead of: "add breaks"
duende explains:
"you just switched contexts 4 times in 90 minutes. each switch costs ~23 minutes of cognitive recovery. that's why you feel scattered."
"your brain needs ~10 minutes to clear working memory and prepare for new context. back-to-back meetings keep your cortisol elevated. buffers are how humans work."
duende tracks: with 10-min buffers, your decision quality improves 34% in late-day meetings
deep work
🎯instead of: "block time"
duende explains:
"you haven't had a 2+ hour uninterrupted block in 6 days. complex problem-solving requires sustained prefrontal cortex activation—this builds over 90+ minutes."
"shallow work (email, slack) uses different neural pathways than deep work (strategy, creation). constantly switching keeps you in reactive mode. protection is about the kind of thinking that makes you human."
your pattern: tuesdays 9-11am are your deepest focus window. duende guards it fiercely.
you're learning how your specific body and brain work. duende shows you patterns you've never noticed. you become an expert on yourself.
a humanity tool, not a productivity tool
traditional productivity software optimizes for output. duende optimizes for sustainable performance by protecting the foundations that make humans effective: movement, recovery, connection, focus.
the result? teams that perform better because they're operating from wholeness.
ready to protect your team's humanity?
start with a 14-day trial. see autonomous advocacy in action.
no credit card required • setup takes 5 minutes